Cambridge Plateau Scenic Drive, Richmond Range National Park, NSW.

Cambridge Plateau Lookout and Picnic Area.

We drove along Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive to get to Peacock Creek Campground but the scenic drive is a destination in its own right. We entered Richmond Range Road from the Bruxner Highway and drove for about nine kilometers on unsealed road through rolling rural countryside before entering Richmond Range National Park.

Entry to Richmond Range Road.

Richmond Range Road.

Once you enter the national park the road becomes Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive and continues for 32 kilometers through World Heritage rainforest.

Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive.

We parked at The Cambridge Plateau Picnic Area and Lookout. First we did the Culmaran Valley Walking Track. It is a loop walk of 2.5 km and is listed as moderate however, there are lots of steep steps both down to the valley and back up again. The walk took us deep into vibrant green forest and we saw a good selection of fungus.

Culmaran Valley Walking Track.

Culmaran Valley Walking Track.

Fungus along the Culmaran Valley Walking Track.

Afterwards, we had lunch at the Cambridge Plateau Lookout overlooking the Richmond Valley.

Cambridge Plateau Lookout.

We continued driving north along the Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive until we stopped to admire "Old Spotty"; a stately Spotty Gum that is signposted as 200 to 300 years old.

"Old Spotty"

"Old Spotty" in the sunlight.

The road narrowed again as we turned west into Peacock Creek Road to head to Peacock Creek Campground.

Peacock Creek Road.

We arrived at Peacock Creek Campground in the early afternoon well pleased with our day of exploring. 

Our set up at Peacock Creek Campground.

The road was in good condition when we were there in May 2019. Parts of the road are narrow and it can become slippery and boggy in wet weather. Cambridge Forest Road is listed as Easy (in dry weather) by NSW National Parks and Moderate 4WD on our Hema App.

Peacock Creek Campground, Richmond Range National Park, NSW.

Peacock Creek Campground.

We stayed the night in Casino so that we would have plenty of time the next day to enjoy the scenic Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive on the way to Peacock Creek Campground. The unsealed roads were in good condition in May 2019. 

Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive.

Peacock Creek Road.

We did the Culmaran Valley Walking Track and had lunch at the Cambridge Plateau Picnic Area and Lookout. We stopped to admire  "Old Spotty" a 200 to 300 year Spotty Gum and arrived at Peacock Creek Campground early in the afternoon.

Cambridge Plateau Lookout.

The campground is a flat open grassy area with a remote feel. There are non-flush toilets that were clean and a camp shelter with a table and wood fire place. There is a water tank but you can't access the water.

Peacock Creek Campground, Camp Shelter.

There was a great variety of birds in the campground. The most common being Bell Miners, Superb Fairy-wrens, White-browed Scrubwrens and Australasian Figbirds. 

Bell Miner

White-browed Scrubwren

Grey Shrike-thrush.

There were a few Green Catbirds and Satin Bowerbirds on the edges of the campground. Welcome Swallows had been nesting in one of the sheltered picnic tables and they liked to perch on top of the water tank.

Green Catbird.

Welcome Swallow.

Considering the time of year, there were a lot of butterflies about. We particularly enjoyed seeing the Small Green-banded Blues fluttering about in the sunlight; their iridescent colours catching and changing in the sunlight.

Small Green-banded Blue Butterfly.

Small Green-banded Blue Butterfly.

At dusk we saw bandicoots and sadly we saw a dead native bush rat near the water tank.

There are no designated walks from the campground but there are nearby fire trails. We made a convenient loop walk by walking east up the steep part of the road and turning left into a fire trail near the Richmond Range National Park sign and then turning left into a fire trail that ran alongside Peacock Creek before emerging back onto the road at the Peacock Creek Campground sign. On this walk we saw several Restless Flycatchers, a Pacific Bazza and a Collared Sparrowhawk. The photos of the Sparrowhawk aren't great but we are pleased that we finally have managed to take some.

Fire trail.

Pacific Bazza.

Collared Sparrowhawk.

Details for Peacock Creek Campground:
Where: Richmond Range National Park, NSW. From Kyogle: via Sextonville and Peacock Creek Roads. From Casino: via Richmond Road and Cambridge Plateau Road, easy 4WD. From Bonalbo via Peacock Creek Road. From Toonumbar Dam: via Iron Pot Creek Road and Peacock Creek Road, the northern section of Iron Pot Road was in poor condition requiring high clearance and ideally a 4WD vehicle. See comments below.
Access: Unsealed roads listed as 2WD in dry weather. However, I wouldn't take my small sedan in there. The roads didn't seem ideal for towing or large rigs as they are narrow in parts. We drove to the campground via the scenic Cambridge Plateau Road which is 41 km of unsealed road including Richmond Road. It was in quite good condition when we were there in May 2019 and we didn't need 4WD however, it is listed as Easy (in dry weather) by National Parks NSW and as Medium 4WD on my Hema Map. When we left we went down Iron Pot Creek Road to Toonumbah Dam and the "road' had water damage requiring high clearance and good tyres. Everyone we met had driven in via Bonalbo or Kyogle which indicated that those roads might have been easier options.
Bookings & Fees: No bookings. $6 per adult $3.50 per child. Place correct cash in pay station.
Sites: Undefined grassy sites. Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle, and camper trailers. Listed as suitable for caravans however the access roads didn't seem suitable for the average caravan.
Facilities: a couple of picnic tables, camp shelter with table and fire place (BYO wood), non-flush toilets. Quiet generators allowed. No phone reception. No bins. No accessible water.
Prohibited: No pets, no smoking, no gathering firewood. Noise restrictions.


Wildlife May 2019: Red-necked Pademelon, Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Bandicoot, dead Native Bush Rat. Butterflies: Small Green-banded Blue, Lesser Monarch, Meadow Argus, Brown Ringlet, Common Crow. Birds: Pacific Bazza, Satin Bowerbird, Green Catbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pheasant Coucal, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Australasian Figbird, Red-browed Finch, Restless Flycatcher, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Bell Miner, Australian King Parrot, Eastern Yellow Robin, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Grey Shrike-thrush, Eastern Spinebill, Welcome Swallow, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler.

Diamond Head Campground, Crowdy Bay National Park, NSW.

Diamond Head Campground, Crowdy Bay National Park, NSW. Under threat from a bushfire.

Diamond Head Campground has designated sites, great amenities and a staffed national parks office. This large campground has more of a caravan park feel than the open plan Kylies Beach Campground nearby but we were content with our site close to the amenities and the beach.

Our campsite looking towards the amenities and the beach.

Our campsite as seen from the barbecue area.

There is also a walk-in campground at Diamond Head that was completely deserted while we were there; well except for the kangaroos. 

Diamond Head Walk-in Campground.

The beach in front of the campground is ideal for water activities most of the year; bearing in mind that there is no patrolled area. It is perfect for long walks and exploring the split rock in the headland. 4WD access to the beach is allowed but a permit is required. A couple of enjoyable walks start at the campground and I will cover them in a separate blog.

Beach access at Diamond Head Campground. Looking north. The small fire in the background that spread a couple of days later.

Beach in front of Diamond Head Campground. Looking east.

       The campground has a peaceful, laid back feel and there is plenty of wildlife.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo.

Lace Monitor.

Crested Pigeons.

Laughing Kookaburra.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.

The last day of August didn't begin well. The ute wouldn't start so we called the NRMA. We told them the battery seemed to have completely had it so they picked a new one up from Wauchope before driving all the way out to the campground. Testing confirmed that the battery was history and within no time the new one was installed and we were on our way. This was the first time we have used our roadside assistance and it was definitely worth the annual fee.

NRMA diagnosing the status of our battery.

We had a delicious lunch at Laurieton Seafoods and returned to the campground. There had been a small fire burning north of the campground for several days next to Watson Taylors Lake. We noticed on our return drive that the fire had grown and smoke was billowing over Diamond Head Road. A national parks ranger came to our tent and told us that the campground had been put on a one hour "wait and watch" by the fire brigade.  She explained that this meant we would be given one hour to evacuate if the situation deteriorated. From the sound of it, no one really thought the fire was that much of a threat because historically no fire had ever crossed the road and no fire had ever come near the campground.

I decided to walk up the headland a little way to get a better look at the fire. I could see that the fire had grown considerably but what really concerned me was that I could see a trail of spot fires forming. I made my way back down to the campground, stopping briefly to see the fire from the beach.

The fire as seen from the headland above the campground.

Spot fires were spreading the fire.

The fire as seen from the beach.

I got back to our campsite and the ranger came back to tell us that they had just been informed by the fire brigade that the fire had crossed the road and was fast approaching the campground. People were advised to pull in their awnings because the fire brigade expected that flying embers would set fire to them. We were no longer permitted to leave and were directed to evacuate on foot to the beach immediately. Everyone moved their vehicles to the other side of the campground so that there was a large fire break and we all went down to the beach.

Grabbing our backpacks before evacuating to the beach.

Two helicopters were working the fire and they were soon joined by a float plane that did a few low passes over the campground. By this time we had packed our camera gear and valuables in our back packs so I didn't take any more photos. We all went down to the beach which was now covered in far more smoke than previously. We felt safe down the beach but I think we all thought that there was a good chance that the campground and all the rigs would be lost. 

Air support.

Right about the time that we thought all hope of containing the fire was lost the strangest thing happened. The heavens opened up and it poured with rain. It only poured for about fifteen minutes but the rain managed to completely put the fire out. A few of us took shelter in the barbecue area while we waited for the all clear from the fire brigade. That turned into a "happy hour" I don't think I'll forget any time soon.

Waiting for the all clear from the fire brigade. Our backpacks were safely tucked away in the green garbage bags.

Smoke lingering over the campground.

After a smoky nights sleep we woke to hear that the road to Laurieton was open but would close shortly so that the fire brigade could do a back-burn from the campground. We quickly packed the tent and left. 

Lessons learned: if a fire looks even remotely like it may be a problem, it is probably a good idea to leave.

Special thanks to the national park staff who stayed after hours and remained calm throughout. A big thank you to the fire brigade and the helicopter and float plane pilots who fought hard in trying circumstances.

Details for Diamond Head Campground:
Where: Crowdy Bay National Park, NSW. 49 km, 45 minutes, south of Port Macquarie via the highway. 348 km, 4 hours, north of the Sydney Bridge. Leave the highway at Ocean Drive near Kew, through Laurieton and Dunbogan. Dunbogan Head Road becomes Diamond Head Road on entering the national park. About 7 km of unsealed road.
Access: The 2WD, all weather, unsealed road was in good condition when we were there in August 2018. 
Bookings & Fees: Check in 12 pm. Check out 11 am. Check in at onsite office on arrival. Minimum fee of $24 for 1 or 2 people, $12 additional adult, $6 additional child, free for children 0-4 years old. There is a daily vehicle fee for park entry of $8 or buy an annual pass. 
Sites: 75 numbered and defined sites. There are sites for tents, camping beside vehicles, camper trailers, caravans and motorhomes. 
Facilities: Amenities block with cold showers and flush toilets. There are picnic tables and gas barbecues near the amenities block. Non-drinking water. Dump Point. Industrial rubbish bins. Information. Walks. Staffed rangers office. Fires permitted in off-the ground braziers only. We had Telstra phone reception. Out door showers at the beach. 4WD access to the beach with a permit from the Port Macqaurie-Hastings Council, arrange before arrival.
Prohibitions: No fires on the ground. No gathering fire wood. No Pets. No smoking.
Contact: Port Macquarie National Parks Office 02 6588 5555, enquiries only, not for bookings.

Wildlife in Crowdy Bay National Park, August 2018: Lace Monitor, Eastern Gray Kangaroo, Grey Flying Fox.
Birds: Whistling Kite, Pied Butcherbird, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Pied Cormorant, Darter, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Red-browed Finch, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Masked Lapwing, Noisy Miner, Crested Pigeon, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Eastern Spinebill, Welcome Swallow, Sooty Oystercatcher, Red Wattlebird, Little Wattlebird, Golden Whistler, Willie Wagtail.