Spotlight: Crowdy Bay NP, NSW

The coastline of New South Wales is blessed with countless beautiful national parks where tracts of rainforest and other undeveloped pockets of coastal bushland run into the sea.

While many caravan parks enjoy their own prime positions along the coast, they also attract a lot of development, so you miss out on much of the natural beauty of an area.

The Crowdy Bay National Park seeks to form a happy medium between the two. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean, forest pockets and tidal waterways, yet only a stone’s throw from the townships of Camden Head and Laurieton, it ticks all the boxes for a wilderness getaway, without straying too far from civilisation.

SOMETHING’S FISHY

If like us, you like the idea of fishing and eating fresh seafood, but don’t have the patience or inclination to flounder around with smelly bait and tangled lines, help is close at hand.

Fishing is one of the key attractions, so you can mingle with the locals fishing off the beach, the break walls or at the local jetties and then head straight to one of the local fish shops to land a big one!

We stopped in at Armstrong Oysters at Laurieton to check out the local produce. The company farms Sydney Rock Oysters on their Camden Haven River leases, which can be purchased from their shop along with other local fresh fish.

From Laurieton, cross the river and head 10km south towards the national park along the Diamond Head Road. The surface is unsealed, but it’s easy going if you keep your speed down.

DIAMOND HEAD CAMPING

Diamond Head Camping area is the most popular camping area in the park with 66 sites for caravans, motorhomes, camper vans and camper trailers, plus a walk-in area for tents.

With manicured lawns, designated sites, cold showers, flushing toilets, barbeque facilities, picnic shelters, garbage, and a dump station, it’s not hard to understand its popularity.

While it has most facilities, it doesn’t have power or drinking water and generators are prohibited, so plan to be self-sufficient. And like other national parks, you’ll need to leave your pets at home.

Online booking resources show site size and location, which helps work out which sites are most appropriate. Bookings can be processed online up to 12 months in advance or if you would prefer to use the phone, you can contact the Port Macquarie Parks Office on (02) 6588 5555 during week days.

Like the other campgrounds throughout the park, rates start from $23 per night plus a vehicle access fee of $8 per day. If you plan on staying more than two nights, an annual vehicle parks pass is the best way to go ($22).

The camping area offers easy access to Dunbogan Beach which is popular for a range of activities including swimming, boogie boarding, fishing, snorkelling and exploring on foot.

The views here are quite spectacular, in particular, the uninterrupted view of the coastal wilderness as the beach sweeps around towards Dunbogan, with North Brother Mountain in the background. If you’re feeling enthusiastic, you can trace the arc of the shoreline on foot.

Departing from the campground there are a number of other interesting walks ranging from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. The Forest Walking Track cuts through the rainforest, which backs onto the Indian Head Camping area, while other walks take in the coastal views.

INDIAN HEAD CAMPGROUND

Indian Head Campground is a few kilometres further south on Diamond Head Road and is an interesting contrast to Diamond Head.

Set back from the beach in a clearing amongst rainforest vegetation, it offers a more relaxing atmosphere. With less facilities (long drop toilets and cold showers) and a different aspect, it appeals to a different audience. My kind of place!

That said, the area is large enough to accommodate 60 vehicles, but there are no designated sites or a booking system. Camp fees are collected at the site office back at Diamond Head rather than using a self-registration station at the campground, which seems a little odd to me, particularly when the requirement is to register at Diamond Head first before proceeding to the camp ground.

I would expect most would check out the camp ground first to see if there’s a suitable site and if so, set-up and only then, meander back to Diamond Head to pay their fees. Once registered, the ‘pay and display’ process identifies registered campers.

The campground links up to the Diamond Head Loop Walk, Forest Walk and Metcalfes Walk, which leads to Kylies Beach Campground. There’s also foot access to the beach.

It’s more of the same at Kylies Beach Campground, the final campground at the northern end of the park, with 70 unmarked sites protected behind the dunes.

The beach is named after Kylie Tennant, an Australian author who frequented the area for inspiration. Although not at its original site, her timber hut is now located along Metcalfes Walking Track as part of a walk-in camping area for those exploring the area on foot.

The gum trees in the area are popular with koalas and yellow-tailed black cockatoos, so make sure you occasionally look upwards to spot the locals. Four-wheel drive access is permitted along the beach up to Diamond Head, although a special permit is required.

CROWDY GAP

Crowdy Gap is a smaller campground located at the southern end of the park near Crowdy Head on the site of an old dairy farm.

Limited to only 10 marked sites, it’s suitable for smaller campers or vans less than 4.6m. Like Diamond Head, sites can be booked up to 12 months in advance.

Facilities here include long drop toilets, gas barbeques, cold showers, fire pits and picnic tables. There’s also a walk-in camp area behind the dunes on the beach.

A rainforest walk provides access to the beach to enjoy fishing, swimming, surfing, or just meandering along the shore. This site is managed by Taree Parks Office (02 6552 4097) but you can still book online.

WILDLIFE GALORE

One of the key attractions of national parks is the close encounters with wildlife. Eastern grey kangaroos can often be seen in the campgrounds, either sprawled out on the grass or taking in the shade behind a van.

While these animals have become accustomed to co-existing with holiday makers, they’re still a wild animal and should be treated with respect.

A case in point is the back packer that was bitten on the face by a dingo at Fraser Island. He was feeding the animal by passing fish clenched in his teeth! Ah-huh!

While this is at the upper end of sheer stupidity (and alcohol may have been involved) it reinforces the fact you just can’t predict the behaviour of wild animals, even cute furry ones like koalas and ‘roos. 

Other animals to keep an eye out for include goanna, snakes and other lizards. Bar a few goannas, we didn’t see any snakes or other nasties during our stay, so it’s not something to worry about.

Like any wildlife that you encounter, keep your distance and don’t make them feel threatened and everything can happily co-exist.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

There are plenty of other pockets of wilderness to explore nearby. The views from North Brother Mountain in the Dunbogan National Park (visible from Diamond Head campground) provide a birds-eye view of the surrounding landscape, in particular the inland waterways and coastal views.

In the north, on the eastern side of the park, the shallow tidal waterway of Watson Taylor Lake is a mecca for paddle craft and popular for fishing, in particular bream, flathead, luderick, prawns and crabs.

If you’ve never been prawning at night before, it’s well worth an outing if you can rally up a few mates, with the reward a belly full of tasty tucker.

A pair of booties or old sandshoes goes a long way for foot protection if wandering around the shallows.  Or you can fish from a kayak or small tinnie.

While a drag net is generally the most rewarding, a scoop net gets the job done OK. Just shine the torch light into the shallows, keeping a lookout for red eyes (prawns) or the white belly of a crab and scoop them up as you go.

A fishing licence is mandatory, as is the registration of drag nets with the Department of Primary Industries.

The secret to succulent crabs is to cook them in sea water, so make sure you grab a pot full of water at the time!

For seasoned campers, it’s hard not to fall in love with Crowdy Bay National Park. With its unique blend of seaside camping and pristine wilderness, it blossoms with natural beauty.