Camplify Uncovered: stunning New England Highlands

Recently I spent a week with Camplify and Aussie travel startup, Travis, travelling around Northern NSW, on a mission to create a guide of my favourite places to see and things to do in the region. The vehicle of choice for my journey - was the ‘Expedition Ranger’ from Tom in Brisbane. ‘Expedition Ranger’ is a 2018 Ford Ranger purpose-built for the adventure lover. It has all the essentials including a fridge and stove, kitchen space, camping gear, solar backup and even a shower with running hot water which ticked all my boxes! Inside you get all the latest tech including Apple carplay to make the drive a cruisy and entertaining one!

Day 1 - Brisbane, Brooms Head

My trip started on a Tuesday morning with the handover where Tomwalked me through the features of the truck before I was on my way! The first day was a 4-hour drive from Brisbane to Brooms Head in the Clarence Valley region of NSW. One of my favourite campsites on the East Coast is in a National Park and relatively remote so guaranteed to be quiet. You’ll most likely be sharing the site with a couple of hundred kangaroos, although they are very friendly.

Day 2: Brooms Head, Dorrigo, Ebor, Cathedral Rocks, New England National Park

Wednesday started off with a beachside breakfast and coffee before packing up and hitting the road. The journey into the highlands started at the very Eastern end of Waterfall Way, just south of Coffs Harbour. After approximately half an hour of driving, you'll begin to climb up the range into Dorrigo. This part of the drive itself is very scenic and even passes over a couple of waterfalls!

Must-see spots in Dorrigo include Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Skybridge, Dangar Falls and the railway museum. Components Cafe in town was a great stop for lunch and a coffee!

After another hour up the road and gain of 600m in elevation, you'll reach Ebor Falls in Guy Fawkes River National Park. Ebor Falls is one of the most iconic waterfalls in NSW due to it being a tiered drop waterfall (actually three separate waterfalls), literally walking distance from the town of Ebor. Both waterfalls can be viewed from lookouts making them very accessible. For the adventurous, there is a track to the base although due to recent fire damage, I decided to skip this one this time around.

The next location is just up the road from Ebor Falls, although once again the landscape is dramatically different. Cathedral Rocks National Park will likely be the first taste of what's to come as you climb further into the mountains; the vegetation and climate in this area are much more reminiscent of that of an alpine area. In this park, you can explore rocky crags and scramble to the summit for panoramic views across the region. Not for the faint-hearted - there is a chain at the top that gives you an indication of what the climb entails. If you're not into heights, there are plenty of walking options around the base of the rocks. I summited Cathedral Rocks just in time for sunset before scrambling back down whilst I still had light. My final destination for the day - Thungutti Campground, a 20-minute drive away at the entrance to New England National Park.

Day 3: New England National Park, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Hillgrove, Armidale, Washpool National Park, Gibraltar Range National Park

I started Thursday before dawn, packing up the tent and racing up the road to Point Lookout, the highest accessible road in New England National Park. The park contains the highest peaks in NSW outside of the Snowys - Point Lookout sits at over 1500m and is entirely accessible via a sealed road, making it one of the best lookouts in the area. I arrived at Point Lookout just before dawn and walked the 200m pathway up to the lookout where I sat and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and watched fog lifting in the valley below. A sunrise at Point Lookout is always spectacular and not one to be missed if you’re in the area.

After sunrise and a quick breakfast in the park, I packed up and made my way further west along Waterfall Way. As you head further away from the coast, the landscape opens up as you traverse along the highest point of the plateau. You'll come across spectacular deep gorges in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, and seasonal waterfalls such as Wollomombi Falls, the highest waterfall in NSW. While passing through I stopped to explore Hillgrove, an abandoned mining town which was once one of the largest towns in the region and is now a historical area and village of a few hundred people - worth checking out to learn more about the history of settlement in the area.

Further West again and you’ll end up in Armidale, which marks the end of Waterfall Way and the halfway point of my trip. As such it marks the perfect spot to stop and recharge. Armidale is the largest town in the region and home to a historical town centre well worth exploring. I stopped for lunch and coffee at Goldfish Bowl Bakery before setting off on the rest of the day's drive. From here on, the rest of the trip will take me north and then back east.

Heading North now, and after a 2-hour drive from Armidale, I arrived at Washpool National Park. Washpool is a Gondwana Rainforest and a remote area of untouched wilderness, located in the Washpool/Gibraltar Range section of the Great Dividing Range. Highlights of Washpool include Coachwood Pools and Granite Lookout. These two things alone were easily enough to fill up my afternoon! From here I left Washpool and drove across to the adjacent Gibraltar Range National Park, to my campsite for the night - Mulligans Hut.

Day 4: Gibraltar Range National Park, Old Grafton Road, Brisbane

I spent Friday morning exploring Gibraltar Range National Park which sits at 1100m ASL. Mulligans Hut campground, where I spent the night, is right in the middle of the park and ideally located as almost all works in the park start from Mulligans Hut, including the 6km Needles Walk which is spectacular, and took me a little under 2 hours. Little Dandhara Creek runs right past the campground and made for an excellent spot to cool off after a hike! After a morning of exploring, I packed up the truck for the final stint.

On the final leg of the journey home, I opted to spend the day taking the scenic, historical route down the mountains back towards the coast. This did mean a bit of backtracking and a longer drive, but it was worth every minute. Old Grafton Road was constructed in the 1800s and forms the original route across the range. It follows the Mann, Boyd and Nymboida Rivers closely and is beautiful in its remoteness. One highlight of this drive is Australia's longest and oldest hand-cut tunnel. Definitely worth the trip out! After 3 roughly 3 hours of remote driving and no mobile reception, you end up at the bottom of the range on the same road you left earlier, some 1000m lower. From here, you’re almost back at Grafton and on the home stretch! I took the rest of the day getting back to Brisbane, where I later met up with Tom to return the truck.

What a journey! 4 days, 9 National Parks, hundreds of photos and plenty of memories made. Travelling in such a comfortable and well-equipped adventure vehicle made the experience that much better, thanks to Camplify for supporting the journey! If you’d like to see more, I have created a guide over at Travis where I have shared a guide of my trip in an easily digestible short snippet format! Thanks again to Travis and Camplify for making this trip possible, I look forward to my next adventure!