It’s been quite a while between drinks for a bunch of us old “Overlander” members from back in the early 2000’s. Normally the yearly catch-up is at Norm’s near the Myall Coast, but this year we all decided to have a mid-year as well.
As with all good ideas, winter on the banks of the Mann River became a cracking plan that sounded utterly amazing until the sun went down. Saying that, the days were clear and sunny and a fire at night certainly assisted with the comfort levels (any maybe a drink or two!).
The above map shows the loop out of Grafton as quite frankly it was just highway from Port Macquarie. Still, can’t wait for the Coffs Harbour bypass to be completed.
I still love looking at the data from the GPS. No surprises with anything really, but you can clearly see how hard the vehicle works some days, and the correlation between elevation and speed always brings a smile (elevation changes normally brings corners).
We headed straight up the Gwydir Highway to the top of the range before turning left onto the Old Grafton Rd (approx 40km’s short of Glen Innes). The 14km drive (drop) down to the camground does take a little while, but mainly because we had the vehicle between 1st and 2nd gear with the trailer as we descended.
The Mann River campground is right on the banks of the river and it definitely is nice and clean. Drop toilets, BBQ, camping sites set out (although good luck with pegs), table at each site plus fireplace.
The river itself is good for an explore, and there is plenty of water holes for swimming. No doubt summer would see a few snakes around too.
The early morning’s let you know you were alive
Packing up was a slow affair as we wanted the canvas dry before we departed. Eventually we said our goodbyes and headed out along the Old Grafton Road which quickly changed to a gravel road.
The condition of the road was relatively ok, but there was patches where you would be placing your wheels carefully if you were in an AWD. I wouldn’t recommend any modern 2WD due to clearance issues. Considering it used to be a Cobb & Co stage run and was built in the 1860’s, there’s probably a good reason for some of that.
If anyone is interested the road winds past the Mann, Henry, Guy Fawkes, Boyd, Nymboida and Orara Rivers – which all feed into the Clarence River. As you can imagine that equals a whole bunch of slow corners and elevation changes along the way.
The Damorton tunnel was hand cut and blasted through the granite bluff not far out of Dalmorton. 20 metres long it has graffiti written in black paint on the roof (dates 1880’s). The tunnel is around 3 metres high so there was plenty of room.
Talking of Dalmorton that was our next stop, and like plenty of other areas throughout Australia they discovered gold in the 1860’s. Also similar was the 13 pubs and 5,000 people – unfortunately no pubs left now. There is a nice campground down by the Boyd River which would be a nice spot to spend a night or two.
The rest of the run was quite pleasant, with the low concrete brigade at Buccarumbi a good spot for photos. There is a basic campground next to the Nymboida river if you are self-contained.
A quick stop at Macksville on the way home was good to stretch the legs
Fuel figures towing, noting max weight of trailer is 1,000kg = ouch. 731km’s, 146 litres = 20 litres per 100km’s. Soft sand is going to be scary 🙂
To put that into perspective, we have a 3.5 litre V6 petrol with a 5 speed manual. Without towing we are regularly seeing 15-16 litres per 100km’s. Therefore towing has added an extra 5 litres per 100km’s to the equation.
As per normal the break away, no phone reception and trip as a whole was exactly what was needed. Common thing I seem to always type – but the area is amazing and well worth a visit.