We embarked upon our journey up the Mann River valley a little later than originally hoped, but actually wrenching ourselves out of bed was more difficult than expected.
The country we experienced was huge, green, empty (of humans) and stunning. The good quality dirt road follows the calm waters of the Mann most of the way, meandering between steep tree clad ridges and hugging close to the escarpments. Thousands of broad pools separated by rapids and smooth worn rocks provide glorious havens to sit by. And none have crocs in them either!
We eventually arrived at the wild bush hippie farm that formed such a large part of my formative years. Georgie said to me “Don’t be disappointed.” But of course I was, all those fruit trees we planted, the kilometres of fencing we built, the bakehouse and a dozen other things were either gone or in disrepair. But that was all more than 30 years ago now….
We then drove up through the wild hills of the Guy Fawkes National Park. Little did we realise exactly how rough the road would be. For several hours we trundled along at a maximum of 25 km per hour, bouncing over rocks and gutters. But the lookouts we found in those remote and isolated hills were breath taking, until a large rain cloud hovered over us and doused us in an almost tropical-style downpour. Gone were the views, and the rough dirt road became a gushing water course. It was most exhilarating.
Next came the drive across the gorgeous Dorrigo plateau, with its rich red soil and lush dairy country. The transition from the remnant sub-tropical rainforests to the temperate Antarctic Beech rainforests was fabulous.
We then headed down through the pretty Bellinger Valley to the coastal highway. Tomorrow we should manage to get past Sydney.