Magificent Mid North Coast NSW
Fully Guided Hiking Tours
Fully Guided 6 Day Hiking Holiday
Come and explore some of the amazing and iconic walking trails on the Mid North Coast of NSW. This package is for private groups, from one couple up to 11 people. Your accommodation will be in the heart of beautiful Port Macquarie, and each day you’ll be picked up by your guide and taken on one of the Mid North Coast’s iconic walks. You’ll walk the Port Macquarie Coastal walk; see Rawson and Ellenborough Falls; Walk to the top of North Brother Mountain and through Kattang Nature Reserve; Walk near Smokey Cape Lighthouse and Trial Bay Gaol at South West Rocks and visit the largest Bottlebutt tree in the Southern Hemisphere, followed by a visit to the Bago Maze and winery near Wauchope. Have a look at this short 3 minute video of the Port Macquarie Coastal Walk to whet your appetite!
By late afternoon each day, you’ll be back at your accommodation and you’ll have free time to enjoy all the pubs, clubs, restaurants and nightlife of Port Macquarie. The FAQs below should answer most of your questions, so what are you waiting for…. Come and have a great holiday and see some of the best local sites in our beautiful area!!
National Parks NSW Accredited
Trip dates
Photo gallery
| Departure Date |
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| To book this trip, please contact us. As these are private tours for 4-11 people, you can decide the dates. |
Frequently asked questions
These packages are tailored for private groups. The minimum group size is 4 people. The maximum group size is 11people.
The tour is 6 days and 5 nights.
Prices per person twin share (includes GST):
$1,395pp (10-11 guests),
$1,495pp (8-9 guests),
$1,595pp (6-7 guests),
$1,695pp (4-5 guests),
Included
- All accommodation, based on twin share luxury apartment in the heart of Port Macquarie.
- All transport to and from all hikes
- 5 morning teas and one lunch
- A guide for the five days
Not included
- Transport to and from Port Macquarie
- Most meals
- Passport (if applicable), visa (if applicable) and travel insurance
NOTE: All hikes can be modified to suit the group.
Day 1 – Sunday
3.00pm Arrive at accommodation
Macquarie Waters Boutique Apartment Hotel or
Port Macquarie Breakwall Caravan Park
5.00pm Meet and great with your guide for the week. Briefing about the week ahead.
5.30pm Free time for the rest of the evening
Day 2 – Monday – Port Macquarie
7.00am Breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby Cafe.
8.30am Meet your guide, and drive to Kattang Nature Reserve
9.30am Hike to Point Perpendicular, and Flower Bowl circuit (5km, easy)
12.00pm Fish lunch at the Laurieton Fish Co-op
1.00pm Hike to the top of North Brother (3km, 450m ascent, difficult)
2.30pm Hike back down the mountain. (3km, 450m decent, moderate)
4.00pm Drive back to Port Macquarie
5.00pm Free time for the rest of the evening
Day 3 – Tuesday – South West Rocks
7.00am Breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby Cafe.
8.30am Meet your guide, and drive 1 hour to South West Rocks
9.30am Hiking to Gaol. (8km, 360m ascent, moderate)
1.00pm Lunch at local cafe
2.00pm Visit the Trial Bay Gaol
3.30pm Visit the Lighthouse
4.00pm Drive back to Port Macquarie
5.00pm Free time for the rest of the evening
Day 4 – Wednesday – Port Macquarie
7.30am Breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby Cafe.
9.00am Meet your guide, and hike from Town Green to Lighthouse beach.
Rated easy to Moderate. Distance 9.0km. Total ascent 250m.
Stop for morning tea at Flynns Beach.
12.00pm Lunch at Sea Acres Rainforest Reserve
1.00pm Walk the boardwalk at Sea Acres
2.00pm Visit the Koala Hospital and Roto House.
3.30pm Free time for the rest of the evening
Day 5 – Thursday – West Comboyne and Elands
7.00am Breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby Cafe.
8.30am Meet your guide, and drive 1 hour to Comboyne via Byabarra
9.30am Morning tea at Comboyne or Byabarra or Boorgana
10.00am Hike Boorgana Nature reserve and to Rawson Falls
12.00pm Drive to Ellenborough Falls
12.30pm Picnic lunch at Ellenborough Falls
1.30pm Hike to the bottom of Ellenborough Falls and to the lookouts
3.30pm Drive back to Port Macquarie
5.00pm Free time for the rest of the evening
Day 6 – Friday – Wauchope
7.30am Breakfast at your accommodation or at a nearby Cafe.
9.00am Check out from accommodation then meet your guide, and drive to Wauchope
9.30am Hike to Old Bottlebutt, 1.5km easy.
10.00am Drive to Bago Vineyards
10.30pm Morning tea at the vineyards, and visit the maze
12.00pm Drive back to Port Macquarie
12.30pm End of tour
Bookings can be made online or manually. Click the ‘Book online’ button for online bookings. A deposit of $300 per person will secure your booking.
For manual bookings the bank details for the deposit are:
Home Comforts Hiking
BSB 932000
Account 500196069
Bookings can be made online or manually. Click the ‘Book online’ button for online bookings. A deposit of $AU300 will secure your booking. If less than 2 months before the start date of the trip, then payment in full will be required.
For manual bookings, I will send you an invoice. You do not need a PayPal account to make the payment. You just need a Visa or Mastercard to make the payment. Alternatively, you can pay in $AU through a money transfer company such as Wise or your bank, if you prefer. In that case use the bank details above.
Please see our full cancellation and refunds policy on the “Bookings” Page
The balance is due 1 month prior to the tour start date.
We recommend that you take out travel insurance that covers cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances, medical costs, and your valuables.
Overall the hike is rated moderate. For inexperienced and less fit hikers, it would be rated moderate to hard. The total distance walked over 5 days of hiking is 45km. We walk at a slow to moderate pace with plenty of breaks and opportunities to enjoy the views and observe the abundant flora and fauna. Some of the hiking is hard, but none of the hiking is compulsory. As you are in your own private group, we can adjust the hiking and the pace to suit the wishes of your group.
Accommodation is in modern apartments in the heart of Port Macquarie. Accommodation is based on twin share. If you require a single room, there will be a single supplement of $400.
The apartments are generous in size and have a kitchen, bathroom and living area as well as the bedroom. They are located in the heart of Port Macquarie.
Port Macquarie is perfectly located on the Hastings River. There are many pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and entertainment venues to explore in your free time. You may also like to take a river cruise or go whale watching while you are here. If you would like extra nights booked, we can also arrange that for you.
There is only one meal included in the cost of the trip, that is a Lunch at Ellenborough Falls on day 5. We also include 5 morning teas at great cafes. These are the arrangements for the rest of the trip:
- Breakfast – you can prepare your own in your apartment, or visit one of the many cafes in Port Macquarie. The apartments you stay in has a cafe on the ground floor
- Lunch – Most days we’ll visit a local cafe for lunch. At Laurieton we will go to the fish market for lunch. At Ellenborough Falls We’ll provide a picnic lunch.
- Dinner – You will be back at your accommodation by late afternoon each day. There are many pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and entertainment venues to explore in your free time.
Your guide will pick you up each morning and return you to your accommodation each late afternoon. You only need to carry a small day pack with water, snacks and any other personal items. Your luggage will remain at the accommodation.
- Small backpack with waterproof cover
- Shirts, pants, shorts, underwear, socks
- Hiking shoes or boots
- Hiking Pole(s)
- Rainproof jacket
- Swimsuit and micro towel
- Money and/or Debit/Credit Card
- Phone and/or tablet, camera and chargers
- Toiletries and medication
- Food/snacks
Meet at your accommodation. The address will be provided once you book and pay. On the first day, your guide will come and meet you at 5.00pm and provide a briefing.
At your accommodation at Port Macquarie, at about 1.00pm on Day 6.
Our accommodation was on the second floor and our room had a huge sliding window that opened at waist height with a drop to the cement many metres below. An OH&S disaster waiting to happen! The place was thumping, literally, as it was Saturday night with a band and lots of backpackers and locals enjoying the entertainment.
Pam and I searched out some food in town for the next day, and later, wished that we had bought/brought more. Even at 5.00 pm, there was not much open.
The bus trip and dinner provided an opportunity to glean some first impressions of our walking companions and they were all positive: a very nice bunch. As well as Pam Dawes from Manly, there was Sarah, Steve and Claudia from Port Macquarie, Tony from Byron Bay, Derek from Mosman, plus Marcus and his wife Marika, their daughter Monica with husband Dave and daughter little, 12 months old, Ashlin. Steve had camping gear and used it for some of the nights.
Home Comforts Hiking proved to be a well-organised and friendly crew.
Mara Creek Campsite is the starting point for the Yuraygir Coastal Walk and this site is historically-significance as it was a source of fresh water and fish for the local Goorie (Aboriginal) people. A natural fish trap on the rock platform below the Shelley Beach path is clearly visible.
So it is with an appreciation of the timelessness of this stunningly beautiful area that we set off, a family of sorts. A group photo is taken. Little Ashlin is strapped into her carrier and Monica steps out strongly with tales of her walk along the Pacific Crest Trail (4,270 km) that makes our 65 km effort over 4 days seem insignificant. But it is good to chat about ultra trail events and great walks and to hear Monica describe her new interest: trail running, her long legs perfectly built for that.
The walk to Lake Arragan via Shelley Headland is varied, with the beach and sand dune trails offering views of ochre-coloured rock platforms and coffee rock sand cliffs to the south. Whales and dolphins are spotted by some of the group but I'm not quick enough to focus. We follow the coastal emu footprint signs and although we come upon wallaby or kangaroo footprints in the sand, we see no emus. Heath and woodland vegetation is diverse and we enjoy a springtime flush of flowers - flannel flowers, orchids, boronias. Coastal banksias, pandanus palms and paperbarks (complete with a native beehive) shade the trails.
By midday, the air became quite smoky from the fires to the north-west of Lake Arragan and as we walk on, we speak with locals who have packed up their pets and driven to Plumbago Headland to be well away from the fires. Later we are told that the picnic area near the lake where some of the group enjoyed a bracing swim was burnt out the next day and National Parks closed the section of the walk from Angourie to Laka Arragan until further notice.
We end the day with views of Red Cliff and Grey Cliff Headlands and drop down to the beach via stairs - newly repaired. We walk briskly along the beautiful beach to Brooms Head with its stately Norfolk Island pines but as we a glance northward, we are reminded that the fire situation is worsening. Devastating for so many.
Our accommodation is adequate - spacious and clean, the only problem being that the bathroom door doesn't close but we aren't too fussed and manage. The bathroom light globe pops but is replaced promptly. The shop is run down as is the owner, the shelves barely stocked and the food is outrageously expensive eg 50g of coffee $12.95! Dinner at the Bowling Club is pleasant and we finish the day with a lively game of BOMB.
Sandon is a pretty place with an estuary separating the camping ground and the renovated beach shacks; some are pretty flash. Life is in the slow lane here as access is limited. There is a clear message in the lack of garbage bins - take care of this special place. There was time to have a swim but the wind was cold so a sit in the sun, lunch and a wander around the camping area and along the inlet filled in the time nicely. The break provided an opportunity to read the information signs and appreciate that this stretch of coast is protected by Sanctuary Zones and Commonwealth Marine Reserves. The environmental campaigns of the '80s and '90s are to be applauded.
There could not have been a greater contrast to the Brooms Head shop in the Minnie Waters shop: pleasant people run it, well-stocked shelves, pricey...yes but good quality. I eyed off the cheeses... not this time. The sign on the window said it all: Kitchen and Coffee close by 4 (or earlier if there are waves or we just wanna) and the local facilities indicate a community at work here.
And what a peaceful end to the day's walk through the Angophoras for the last kilometre to the comfortable cabins at the caravan park. The late afternoon light was magical.
We were all feeling a little worn out after the soft-sand slog in the afternoon but showers and pre-dinner drinks followed by a hearty barbeque dinner prepared by Marcus and the family is just what we needed. I need to add that when we left Brooms Head in the morning, there was a possibility that the road would be closed due to the fires and Dave and the trailer would not make it to Minnie Waters. All was well however and Dave was able to bring the gear through as well as the BBQ makings.
Unfortunately. a cool southerly wind had sprung up and battered us for 6.5 km.
We were pleased to arrive at Wooli River Lodges mid-afternoon. What a nice place. Shady, well-maintained gardens; lodges with good linen; an outdoor fully equipped kitchen; and just 5 minutes to the local store and hotel. We enjoyed dinner at the hotel and this was followed by a gathering in the outdoor kitchen to wish Dave a happy birthday with party hats and cake. It seemed like a long day and I headed back to our lodge while most stayed to play 31. I was surprised to find it was only 7.30 pm but the opportunity for an early night was too good to pass up.
After lunch, we crossed Station Creek estuary easily as it was only wading depth. Then there was another beautiful beach walk to Red Rock River and our final boat crossing to Red Rock.
Press play on the following link:
https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjpeABDY6
Pam and I had intended to spend the night at Nambucca Heads but as it was only 2.00 pm when we arrived at Red Rock, we canceled our motel booking, thanked and fare welled our walking family and drove home to Caves Beach.
What a wonderful walk along a beautiful, pristine coastline in good company, thanks to Home Comforts Hiking – we couldn’t ask for a better few days!
[post_title] => Yuraygir Coastal Walk 7 – 11 September, 2019
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