UNESCO parks, walks, and wines in eastern Australia

Having spent weeks driving our motorhome north along the coast of New South Wales (NSW) to Port Macquarie, we decided to now head back south, and to do it on an inland route. The bucolic scenery we passed on that route, made the move away from the coast absolutely worthwhile; it was so pretty and green.

Beautiful scenery-inland north-eastern NSW

Leaving Port Macquarie, we had been advised not to take the B56 Oxley Highway due to roadworks. So, we travelled along the legendary Pacific Highway then around 2-hours south of Port Macquarie, we turned inland, toward the small town of Taree.

The scenery around Taree was lovely. After having spent most of this road trip along coastal routes, travelling the inland route was becoming quite a colourful event.

A sea of mauve entering Taree, NSW

In Taree this was because of the spectacular sea of mauve created by the flowering jacaranda trees. It was a gorgeous welcome into Taree. We stopped in Taree to do some shopping, but ended up also admiring the jacarandas and the many historic buildings in the town centre.

After our shopping and sightseeing expedition, we headed to the wee town of Gloucester (pop 2,390), which is the gateway to a UNESCO World Heritage Site that would be our destination for the next few nights. But getting to Gloucester was tricky as we had to travel along the famed Bucketts Way.

The shocking road conditions and lovely scenery on The Bucketts Way, NSW

Named after the Buccan Buccan (Bucketts) Mountains in the area, Bucketts Way presented several challenges for our large motorhome. It was absolutely full of small but numerous potholes for most of the drive, and very narrow and winding in many places. It slowed us down considerably, and tested our driving stamina with its poor condition. It did however, provide some beautiful scenery.

We pressed on, and eventually made it to Gloucester, where our first stop was the Gloucester Information Centre. We wanted advice from them on access to the Barrington Tops National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage Site that we had come to see.

One of the river crossings driving up to Barrington Tops (UNESCO), NSW

The helpful folk at the Info Centre advised that the main Barrington Tops Road was closed, but that we could go to the Gloucester Tops entrance. To do that, we needed to drive along the Gloucester Tops Road which involved traversing six or more water crossing over the Gloucester River.

We decided to try it and felt that if the river was too high and could not be crossed, we would bite-the-bullet and return to Gloucester for the night skipping the UNESCO park. However, we needn’t have worried. The river levels were low and we were able to safely make all crossings via the well-maintained causeways.

Beautiful scenery on Gloucester Tops Road, NSW

The Gloucester Tops Road was unsealed for much of the route, and was even more narrow than Bucketts Way in several places. However, it provided us with some beautiful scenery. At this stage in our travels in south-eastern Australia, we had seen a lot of gum trees. But the beautiful straight Shining Gums and Antarctic Beech trees along this road were lovely.

Around 1.5 dusty and bumpy but interesting hours later, we arrived at the entrance to the UNESCO site. We had booked a campsite with NSW Parks and so were ok to find a camping spot and relax. It was such a peaceful environment.

Entrance and campsite to Barrington Tops (UNESCO), NSW

We were visiting Barrington Tops because it is one of the last remaining segments of the prehistoric Gondwana rainforest. Gondwana was a supercontinent that formed about 550 million years ago. It began breaking up about 180 million years ago, eventually forming what we know today as Australia, New Zealand, South America, Antarctica, Africa, India, and Madagascar.

What is believed to be the original Gondwana rainforest, has now been identified for preservation, and the Australian Gondwana Rainforests are considered the most extensive in the world. Collectively, they are a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and we wanted to see some of it.

The narrow road up to the walking tracks in Barrington Tops (UNESCO), NSW

The next morning, we drove up the mountain to the start of one of the many walking tracks in this part of the forest. We were advised that the track began around 30-mins drive from the camp. But seriously, that 30-mins became much longer for us on that road. It was a totally wicked road.

We were glad we’d left early enough to avoid oncoming traffic as there was no room for two cars to pass, let alone a chubby campervan! However, with nowhere to do a U-turn, we were committed, so on we went.

Leigh on the Gloucester Falls track in Barrington Tops (UNESCO), NSW

Eventually arriving at the track’s parking area, we set off on the short Gloucester Falls Track. Wow, it was great. The variation in the walking surface was challenging, ranging from cleared track, to steep stone steps, to narrow rocky paths with a steep drop-off to the side. But the variety of rainforest greenery was lovely.

A hot 2-hours later, we returned to the van having enjoyed our walk under the Snow Gums and Antarctic Beech, towering above the very green and textured ancient ferns. The Gloucester Falls were small but interesting. For us, it was all about the greenery, birdlife and the walk itself. We loved it.

View over the Barrington Tops National Park (UNESCO), NSW

It was now time to drive back down the mountain to the campsite. The drive down was interesting as we had more time to check out the beautiful mountain views of this ancient area.

We drove quite slowly, hoping not to meet any oncoming traffic. We did meet two separate 4WD vehicles but they were great and hugged the side of the hill so our big van could get through.

Coming off the mountain, we decided against another night there. So we drove back on the skinny Gloucester Tops Road, and through the 6-river crossings to Bucketts Way, then turned south.

Vines in Hunter Valley, NSW

Over 2-Bucketts Way-hours later, we turned west toward our next destination which was the Hunter Valley, the birthplace of Australian Wines. There are over 150 cellar doors here, and while we were not planning to sample wine at all of them, we were planning to visit several.

We found a campsite in the wine district of Pokolbin in the heart of the Hunter Valley, and settled in for the night. The next morning saw us up and ready for an organised wine trip, so that we didn’t have to drink and drive. Our trip was with Prestige Wine Tours who provide a personalised service, so there was just us plus a guide/driver, and everything was pre-arranged.

The wines we bought in Hunter Valley, NSW

The vineyards that we visited were all interesting, and we ended up buying three beautiful wines; 2 reserves and 1 dessert wine. The descriptions are delicious, for example, “ripe blackcurrant and plum”, and “blueberry and vanilla, with sage and dark chocolate.” The dessert wine is described as “black forest cake in a glass” – yum!

In the end, we visited and tased at five vineyards, enjoyed a wonderful lunch, did a chocolate tasting, enjoyed a cheese and olive oil tasting, and visited and tasted at a spirits distillery. What a fabulous day we had.

Historic buildings in Cessnock, Hunter Valley, NSW

Before leaving the Hunter Valley, we visited Cessnock, the largest town in the area which dates back to the 1820’s. It is an old coal mining town, and has several interesting historic buildings.

Then, after figuring out how to fit our wines and an olive oil we purchased, into an already overstuffed suitcase, we decided to move on. So, we drove south, aiming for the Blue Mountains - but that’s in the next blog.

This is part of a wider blog on our travels around south-eastern Australia, that began in Melbourne, Victoria