Dorrigo–24 to 29 March 2011

Our friend Sidsel lives on a 30 acre property adjoining Junuy Juluum  National Park in Dorrigo.  Dorrigo is an attractive town on the escarpment, a caldera of an extinct volcano and the beginning of the rich farming area known as New England.  Most of the Dorrigo area was clear felled for timber and then used for potato and dairy farms.

Some virgin rainforest was left and the rainforest is regenerating in areas unsuitable for farming or as tree changers buy a property and allow it to return to nature.

This is a really beautiful part of the world with wonderful views from the escarpment.  We visited the Skywalk in the Dorrigo National Park which has a platform built over the forest canopy, a great series of walks and a cafe. By chance we met a friend from long ago at lunch. This was an unexpected pleasure, two old friends in one place.

We drove the Moonpar Forest 4WD track and we walked through the Norman Jolly Grove. This is virgin rainforest, left for future generations so we can see what pre white settlement Australia looked like. We saw Platypus Flats a great place to camp or picnic by the Nymboida River.

We fed Sidsel's almost tame wallabies with macropod food, chased the python off the road so it was not run over and had a lovely time catching up.