Gondwana Rainforests Tour (EAGR)

7 days, 6 nights

From Sydney to Gold Coast

April-May 2010

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves) include the most extensive areas of subtropical rainforest in the world, large areas of warm temperate rainforest and nearly all of the Antarctic Beech cool temperate rainforest. Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals which remain relatively unchanged from their ancestors in the fossil record.

The Gondwana Rainforests extend from just north of Newcastle to west of Brisbane and include some 50 national parks and reserves. They were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986 and included in the National Heritage List in 2007. The area of the Mount Warning volcanic caldera, dubbed “The Green Cauldron”, was declared one of eight National Landscapes in 2008 by Tourism Australia and Parks Australia.

To see these magical places with Paperbark Tours, you’ll travel in a fully-equipped, air-conditioned 4WD coach and stay in unique accommodation, including mountain valley farm resorts, an historical coaching inn and a heritage gold-rush pub.

You’ll take a variety of walks through lush rainforests and ancient Antarctic Beech forests; you’ll enjoy magnificent views from spectacular lookouts; you’ll gain an insight into these extraordinary landscapes at interpretation centres and with local guides; you’ll join the lucky band of people who have seen the sun rise over Mount Warning; and you’ll have close encounters with a range of Australian wildlife and unique Australian flora.

You’ll get typical Aussie hospitality, meet lots of interesting locals, and enjoy a number of guided tours to places you’ll never forget.

You’ll stay in constant touch via phone and mobile internet to share your experiences with family and friends. And you’ll be in a small group of like-minded people who want to see and learn more about this amazing country.

Itinerary

Day 1

On your first day you travel north to the most southerly of the World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests – the Barrington Tops National Park. You take a walk along the Blue Gum Track by the Williams River, where sub-tropical rainforest mixes with stands of Sydney Blue Gums along with pristine streams and the peaceful Crystal Pool. Overnight at Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort on the banks of the Karuah River in the Monkerai Valley. (LD)

Day 2

Today you head into the higher reaches of the Barrington Tops, with a short walk through snow gums to enjoy spectacular views at Thunderbolts Lookout on the edge of the escarpment. You gain an insight into the wetlands and high altitude forests of the Barrington Plateau at Pollblue Swamp, where black sally and snow gums give way to sedges, sphagnum mosses and trickling streams in the centre of the wetland. Then it’s further north to the charming historical village of Nundle for a tour of town and the Woollen Mill. Overnight at the historical Peel Inn. (BLD)

Day 3

Heading further north via Uralla you stop at Point Lookout on the western edge of New England National Park. At 1,564 metres above sea level, there are spectacular panoramic views of the rainforested escarpment edge, looking below to a wilderness of deep forested valleys and peaks against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. After lunch you head to Dorrigo National Park, where the highlights include the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, the Skywalk and the Walk With the Birds Boardwalk. Overnight at Nymboida Coaching Inn. (BLD)

Day 4

Today's focus is the Gibraltar Range and an inspiring wilderness walk along Coombadjha Creek in Washpool National Park. Pressing north you stay in the border region tonight at Dairy Flat Farm, on the headwaters of the Richmond River near Woodenbong. (BLD)

Day 5

Today’s highlight is Nightcap National Park, a flashpoint in the 1970s campaign to save the forests from continued logging. You’ll enjoy a scenic walk in this spectacular park to Protesters’ Falls before heading into The Channon and Nimbin, twin capitals of the counter-culture community. Your accommodation for the next two nights is at Midginbil Hill, a 400-acre cattle farm nestled between Nightcap and Mount Warning National Park. (BLD)

Day 6

An early start takes in breakfast at dawn at The Pinnacle Lookout in Border Ranges National Park to watch the sun rise over Mount Warning (Wollumbin). Then it’s on to the Helmholtzia Loop to witness the rare stream lily found only in this region, as well as lush rainforest and stands of ancient Antarctic Beech, before continuing on to see a giant 1,000 year-old red cedar tree. You’ll also take a delightful stroll along the Lyrebird Track at the base of Mount Warning (Wollumbin). In the afternoon you visit the World Heritage Rainforest Centre in Murwillumbah. (BLD)

Day 7

Your final day takes in several features of Springbrook National Park just across the border in Queensland, including Natural Bridge - a natural formation with a plunging waterfall and arched cave surrounded by lush rainforest in the beautiful Numinbah Valley; Best Of All Lookout - an aptly named location that offers a short walk through ancient Antarctic beech forest to the highest lookout on the Springbrook Plateau, with a panoramic view across Mount Warning to Byron Bay and Coolangatta; and Twin Falls Circuit - which takes you through different forest types, behind two waterfalls, through mossy rock clefts and among palms, tree ferns and 1,000-year-old brush box trees. Your tour concludes in Coolangatta in time to catch a return flight to Sydney or transfer to your chosen  post-tour accommodation.

What You Get

Start in central Sydney and finish in Coolangatta, six nights accommodation, all meals, morning and afternoon teas, entry and admission fees, local tours, individual trip kit including personal comfort pack, use of a netbook computer for the duration of the tour, flexible  air fare from Coolangatta to Sydney.