Yuraygir Coastal Walk, NSW: Lake Arragan to Shelley Beach Headland.

View north from Shelley Beach Headland on a wet day.

While camped at Lake Arragan we took the opportunity to do another section of the Yuraygir Coastal Walk. 

Lake Arragan to Shelley Beach Headland: Grade 4, 6.5 km one way.

It was very hot and humid so we set off early, heading north from Lake Arragan Campground, across the dry bar between the ocean and the lake before entering the coastal trail. 

Sunrise on the Yuraygir Coastal Walk: Lake Arragan to Shelley Beach Headland.

It wasn't long before we came upon concrete bollards beside the track. These are relics of what became known as The Friederich Line. After the national park was gazetted there were very bitter clashes over access for four-wheel drive vehicles to the beaches and to an old sand mining track known as the Shelley Beach Track. In 1992, national parks won the case to close the tracks in the Land and Environment Court.

Concrete bollards from The Friederich Line.

We live at the beach so are familiar with Brahminy Kites but on this walk we saw the biggest Brahminy Kites we have ever seen. There were also lots of Spangled Drongos and black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes.

Brahminy Kite

We stayed on the path which led us to Shelly Headland without walking on the beaches. If I did the walk again, I would walk along the beach on the second half so that we could see the sea caves that are below Shelley Beach Headland. There is a "goat track" down to the caves near Shelley Beach Headland but I wasn't game to go down there in the rain. I much prefer to scramble up rough tracks rather than down them even in good weather.

Next time I would walk north along the beach from this access point.

There is a helipad on Shelley Beach Headland and I couldn't help having the ominous thought that it was there to rescue people who slipped down the cliff trying to get to the caves. 

Shelley Headland Helicopter Pad

We enjoyed the extensive views from Shelley Beach Headland before returning to Lake Arragan.

Looking north from Shelley Beach Headland.

Looking south from Shelley Beach Headland. The caves are down there.

We noticed a small sand blow near the track on our way back.

Sand blow

On our return we saw a pair of Beach Stone-curlews on the banks of Lake Arragan.

Beach Stone-curlew on the banks of Lake Arragan.

Yuraygir Coastal Walk: Lake Arragan to Brooms Head, NSW.

Yuraygir Coastal Walk

We have gradually been doing short sections of the Yuraygir Coastal Walk. We first encountered the walk back in 2013. I infamously fell flat on my face and dislocated my finger while walking the Angourie to Shelley Beach section but, despite that, we loved the walk so much that we vowed to do more of it as the opportunity arose.

In 2018 we did the Illaroo to Sandon section and the Minnie Waters to Wooli section from Illaroo Campground. 

In March 2019 we did two more sections from Lake Arragan Campground. We headed south to do the Lake Arragan to Brooms Head section (covered by this blog) and went north to do the Lake Arragan to Shelley Beach Headland section (covered in the next blog).

Lake Arragan to Brooms Head: Grade 4.

Plumbago Beach and Grey Cliff.

From behind our campsite at Lake Arragan Campground we walked south along Plumbago Beach. We scrambled up the distinctive grey cliffs and discovered some rook pools just waiting to be explored.

Grey Cliff.

Rock Pools

This part of the walk is absolutely stunning but please supervise children as the ill defined walking track follows the edge of rugged cliffs to the trig point at Red Cliff. 

Grey Cliff - Red Cliff.

Approaching Red Cliff.

Looking north towards Grey Cliff from Red Cliff.

Here we saw a couple of trendy Instagram types taking risky photos over the cliff. He held the back of her bustier top while she leaned out over the edge. I'm not afraid of heights but I wouldn't want to trust in the latest fashion to keep me safe.

Trig Lookout at Red Cliff.

Looking south towards Brooms Head.

Walking along Red Cliff.

From the trig the path briefly goes out to Red Cliff Road before descending to Red Cliff Beach. The beach is covered in distinctive grey and red stones eroded from the cliffs and rounded over time.

Red Cliff Beach.

The second half of the walk is along the beach to Brooms Head from Red Cliff Campground. We made our way down to the beach early because the steps near Red Cliff Campground are closed due to damage caused by erosion. Anyone doing the full Yuraygir Coastal Walk will need to arrange a boat to get over the river mouth, at the end of this beach, to cross over to Brooms Head. As we are doing the walk in sections we simply turned around and walked back to Lake Arragan.

The entry steps were washed away and the beach to Brooms Head was  badly eroded.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos can be seen grazing all along the coastal track. Grasshoppers seemed to be in plague proportions while we were there. Brown quail and feral Guinea Fowl were having a good feed on the grasshoppers. The Guinea Fowl would suddenly take off on a mad dash in pursuit of the grasshoppers and it was quite a spectacle to watch.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos grazing next to a Yuraygir Coastal Walk information sign.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo.

Brown Quail and Grasshopper.

Feral Guinea Fowl.

Masked Lapwing showing us its spurs on Red Cliff Road.

In the future we are planning to camp at Brooms Head to do the Brooms Head to Sandon section. Lastly we plan to camp at Red Rock to do the Wooli to Red Rock section. Maybe it would have been a lot simpler to have thrown large backpacks on and walked the 65 km one way but this involves arranging transport at both ends and organising  boats to cross three river mouths. We are happy to potter along and get there eventually. However, doing it our way, we will have to cover about 130 km because we return on each section.

Paperbark Campground, Lake Arragan, Yuraygir National Park, NSW.

Site with direct access to Lake Arragan.

While camped at Lake Arragan Campground we noticed that there is a nearby campground called Paperbark Campground which is right on the lake. The turn off to this campground is on Lake Arragan Road but it is not sign-posted and the last time we were camped at Lake Arragan we didn't notice that Paperbark Campground was there.

The turn off to Paperbark Campground.

Unfortunately, I took photos of the campground on a wet day so the photos are very dreary. However, there are several campsites positioned with direct access to Lake Arragan and these would be ideal for kayaking. As the name implies, the campground is set in a paperbark forest so I would expect that there could be a fair few mosquitoes at dawn and dusk but we didn't notice any while wandering around. The facilities are limited in the campground to a few tables and fire pits and the closest toilets are at Lake Arragan Campground.

Paperbark Campground.

Views across Lake Arragan to the entrance onto Plumbago Beach.

Fishing and camping information at Paperbark Campground.

We saw quite a few Superb Fairy-wrens in eclipse plumage. 

Superb Fairy-wren.

Details for Paperbark Campground:
Where: Between Ballina and Grafton. 290 km, 3.5 hours, south of Brisbane. 142 km, 1 hour 45 minutes, north of Coffs Harbour. Leave the M1 to take Brooms Head Road. Before Brooms Head, turn left into Lake Arragan Road. The entry road into Paperbark Campground is off Lake Arragan Road, on the left hand side, about 300 meters before Lake Arragan Picnic Area. The turn off is unmarked.
Access: Lake Arragan Road is a wide unsealed road that was in good condition when we visited in 2018 but had some corrugations when we visited in March 2019. The entry road and road in the campground itself is in poor condition and is signposted as not suitable for caravans.
Fees & Booking: No bookings. Vehicle entry fee: $8 or buy an annual pass. Camping Fees: During NSW and QLD school holidays and long weekends there is a minimum site fee of $24 for 1 or 2 adults. At other times it is $12 per adult, $6 per child from 5 to 15 years. Fees are collected by campground managers. Take correct cash.
Sites: This is a surprisingly large area with two main sections. Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle, camper trailers.
Facilities: A few picnic tables, some fire pits. No toilets; the non-flush toilets in Lake Arragan Campground are the closest. There is no water in the campground but there is a drinking water tap near the main entrance sign on the way in. Some sites have direct access to Lake Arragan suitable for kayaks.
Prohibited: no pets, no smoking.
Caution: mosquitoes.

Lake Arragan and Red Cliff Campgrounds, Yuraygir National Park, NSW.

Lake Arragan, kayak platform.

The Lake Arragan and Red Cliffs section of Yuraygir National Park is just north of Brooms Head on the mid north New South Wales coast. There are several campgrounds along this coastal stretch with a total of 65 sites to choose from. The 65 km Yuraygir Coastal Walk passes through here going both north to Angourie and south all the way to Red Rock, just north of Corindi. Lake Arragan has a kayak and canoe platform and is an idyllic waterway for a paddle.

Lake Arragan kayak platform looking towards the beach.

Lake Arragan Road and Red Cliff Road are wide unsealed roads suitable for 2WD vehicles. There is no water available at the campsites so don't forget to fill up from the drinking water tap at the main entry on Lake Arragan Road on your way in.

Lake Arragon Road.

Drinking water tap on Lake Arragon Road.

Lake Arragan Campground has great access to both the lake and the ocean.

Individual site at Lake Arragan Campground.

Individual sites at Lake Arragan Campground.

At Lake Arragan, there is a picnic area adjacent to the campground with picnic tables and access to the toilets.

Picnic Area at Lake Arragan.

Both the beach and the lake can be accessed from the picnic area and the campground.

Beach access from Lake Arragan Picnic Area.

The mouth of Lake Arragan.

The Red Cliffs and Gray Cliffs Campgrounds stretch along the coastal cliffs just south of Lake Arragan.

Looking towards Grey Cliff and Red Cliff from Plumbago Beach behind Lake Arragan Campground.

Details for Lake Arragan & Red Cliff Campgrounds:
Where: Between Ballina and Grafton. 290 km, 3.5 hours, south of Brisbane. 142 km, 1 hour 45 minutes, north of Coffs Harbour. Leave the M1 to take Brooms Head Road. Before Brooms Head, turn left into Lake Arragan Road.
Access: Lake Arragan Road and Red Cliff Road are wide unsealed roads in good condition when we visited.
Fees & Booking: No bookings. Vehicle entry fee: $8 or buy an annual pass. Camping Fees: During NSW and QLD school holidays and long weekends there is a minimum site fee of $24 for 1 or 2 adults. At other times it is $12 per adult, $6 per child from 5 to 15 years. Take correct cash.
Sites: Total of 65 sites between Lake Arragan and spread out along sections of Red Cliff Road. Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle, camper trailer and caravans.
Facilities: Some picnic tables, BBQ facilities, non-flush toilets. There is no water at the sites but there is a drinking water tap near the main entrace sign on the way in.
Activites: beach not patrolled, kyaking, fishing with NSW recreational licence, bird-watching, walks. Wildflowers in spring.
Prohibited: no pets, no smoking.