yuraygir national park

We did a lot of 4x4 driving here and enjoyed the experience. Really pretty national park with no massive fees. If we had more time we would of done a lot more.

Very beautiful heathland park which borders the Pacific Ocean. Great coastal 3-5 day walk ending up in beautiful Yamba. A true gem, very few areas of unspoilt natural coast like this now exist in Northern east Australia

Just back from our Xmas camping trip to Illaroo campsite at Minnie Water. We have camped before but this is the first time we have done it with all our own gear. We learned a lot so here we go...Illaroo campsite is right on the beach at Minnie Water inside the Yuraygir National park. It's accessible by a dirt road about 500 metres from the main drag. Easily driveable in a 2 wheel drive car. The camp is split into 3 sections. South camp, North Camp and a group campsite that is $250 per night for up to 50 people. We camped in the South camp which is the smaller of the two. Camping is $10 per person and we bought a 12month pass for our car for NSW national parks for $45. I think it's $7 per day if you don't wish to buy a pass. We were intending to say longer than 9 days so got a pass.The camp has a few tables and BBQs there as well as fire pits. There is no power there and generators are frowned upon. There are eco long drop toilets but no showers so you have to sort that out yourself. Most people had those shower bags you leave in the sun to heat up. A shower tent is also a good idea although I did manage to make a shower screen out of some plastic sheeting and tent poles... but we will go the shower tent next time. Our blow-up matress failed the first night. But Grafton is only 40 min away if you need to do an emergency dash.It's all about the beach at this place and it doesn't disappoint. 10 km of pristine white sand stretches from the campsite to Sandon up the north end. If you have a 4WD you can drive along the beach at low tide and through the bush to Sandon village. Seems like most of the fishing happens up there. You'll need a licence to fish. Get it at the Minnie Water shop for $7 for 3 days.The shop is about a 5 minute drive and it has basic supplies and ice.We went with a double ice box system, keeping ice in one and ice plus the things we would need during the day in the other one. This worked to a certain extent but I think we have a lot to learn about Ice management... One tip I did pick up was to cover anything in the icebox with a wet tea towel. This really helped to keep the ice going for longer. Also block ice lasts longer than party ice.We got a few visits from the local Goannas. You'll need to keep all meat and eggs in a sealed container or esky so they don't raid your tent.We also felt we needed a tarp over our tent as many others did. This keeps the tent cooler and also dryer in the event of rain. We had a big storm hit us the last night we were there and did get some leakage in the fly extension. A tarp over the tent would have prevented this. You also need one for an area outside the tent and one under the tent. We packed up then as more rain was forecast and we didn't feel prepared for it.To sum up. If you like your creature comforts this spot is not for you. For me the amazing location and lack of crowds make it all worth the extra effort and planning you have to put into it.

Yuraygir is an extensive national park with some excellent mangrove, coastal heath, and wetland areas which is excellent for bird watching. In two days, a group of about 60 people saw about 176 species in an area which extended beyond the Yuraygir National Park but was in the 'local' area.

This is a reasonably quiet area but well worth visiting. Great beaches that many travellers would pass.

We set off looking for a track reviewed by "Making Tracks" and weren't disappointed. We are relatively new to this and had a great time. We travelled along Shark Creek Rd went through a property gate the headed left up into the park. we ended up in Minni Water some 2hrs later. Great climbs and descents, even a few mud holes to play in!

This is an easily accessible and easily executed four day hike through the longest stretch of protected coastline in NSW. We decided to stay in caravan parks along the way at Brooms Head, Minnie Water and Wooli. This allowed vehicle support each night and no need to carry our packs! The walking was easy, mainly on beaches but also through some rocky stretches, heathlands and river and creek crossings. We were blessed with fine weather and lucky with the tides. Our four day walk coincided with low tide around lunchtime each day. This meant wide firm beach walks and enabled us to wade not much more than knee deep across the final river crossing at Corindi River to reach Red Rock. It is necessary to organise boat crossings at Sandon and Wooli, but that is easy to do through contact numbers supplied by the NSW NPWS.Good information is available from the National Park's website. The track is signposted at points where the track leaves the beaches. I would recommend this walk for first time multi day hikers, including families with children if you pick the ideal weather and tide times. The walk can be done independent of vehicle support. There is a bus service from Grafton to the starting point at Angourie (Busways) and also from the finish point of Red Rock back to Grafton (Ryan's Bus Service). If you undertake this walk you will be rewarded with beautiful coastal scenery and a taste of the laid back lifestyle of the holiday villages along the way.