Seal Rocks to Diamond Head
Oh Australia, you are unbelievably beautiful! A few months ago, I had the opportunity to go on my very first road trip in a camper van. I don’t think it can get any more Aussie than that, at least in my mind. My friend Élodie (from Elo Runs The World) and I chose to drive up the coast of New South Wales, approximately 4 hours from Sydney to start our journey in Seal Rocks. Within 4 days, we continued to drive further north until we reached Diamond Head, after a short detour inland to see a magnificent waterfall. In this blog article, I’ll be sharing our full 4-day itinerary and the details about each location we’ve visited.
Barrington Coast
4 Days Road Trip
In this blog article:
1. Seal Rocks
I don’t think I have any other word to describe Seal Rocks other than ‘magic’. Honestly, it’s hard to beat. I’d say it might be best to end your trip with this destination because it sets the bar pretty high! Imagine going for a short walk to a freshly painted picturesque lighthouse which overlooks a long white sandy beach, then walking back down to another beautiful beach with crystal clear waters. You sit down, start enjoying the view, and then you see dozens of dolphins swimming peacefully about 30 meters from the shore. Well, that’s what happened!
2. Sunset Point
On our way up to our campsite for the night, we passed a sign that said ‘Sunset Point’ and decided to stop for a beer and to watch the sunset. I think it was a good idea, do you?
3. Pacific Palms
The next morning we headed to Elizabeth Bay and did a short walk to Shelly Beach. I’m not sure why but so far all the nudist beaches I’ve seen in Australia have some of the most beautiful landscapes! A few other beaches worth worth a visit in that area are: Blueys Beach, Boomerang Beach and Seven Mile Beach.
4. Forster
I’d say that Forster per se is probably not somewhere I’d recommend spending time, however there are two places I would recommend visiting. The first one is to go for a walk along the bicentennial track, from Pebbly Beach to Bennetts Head Lookout, and the second is to visit Cape Hawke Lookout for sunset.
5. Wingham Brush Nature Reserve
On day three, we decided we wanted to venture further away from the beach and go bushwalking and chasing waterfalls. On our way to our main destination for the day, we decided to stop in Wingham Brush Nature Reserve, a place where the trees are big, and the bats are even bigger! We didn’t have much expectations about this little reserve, and what we found was a beautiful, peaceful and empty paradise for nature lovers.
6. Ellenborough Falls
Next on our itinerary was Ellenborough Falls, and what we didn’t expect was to drive on gravel roads for about 20km (one way) in order to get there! Despite thinking that our van would never make it, I’d say it was very much worth it! The short hike down consists in 641 steps; it’s relatively easy but slightly challenging for your cardio on your way back. Fun fact: Ellenborough Falls is the tallest single-drop waterfall in New South Wales.
7. Diamond Head
After this little hike, we decided to head back to the beach and drove up to Gogley’s beach to see Charles Hamey’s Lookout. There I saw my first bull ant (see below) and for some reason got fascinated by it. After a short walk around Perpendicular Point, we headed to Diamond Beach Campground where we camped for the night. The sunrise the next morning was absolutely stunning!
8. Crowdy Head
On our fourth and last day, we started heading back to Sydney and stopped everywhere we hadn’t seen along the coast, starting with this cute lighthouse in Crowdy Head. The animal pictured below is an echidna.
9. Harrington
Then we stopped in Harrington, a popular fishing town with captivating views on the lagoons and sand dunes. I decided to fly the drone despite the heavy winds, and gosh it was worth it!
10. Black Head
Before we headed to Black Head, we stopped in Old Bar, but unfortunately probably due to strong winds, the beach was covered in seaweed so we didn’t stay there. Instead, we went straight to Black Head to end the trip with more beautiful beach views!
