Headlands & Lookouts
There is so much beauty to taken in on Coffs Coast. To appreciate the best of offer we have put together a list of the most popular headlands and look outs in the area.
Muttonbird Island, connected to the land and the Coffs Harbour International Marina via a breakwater, features in many photos of Coffs Harbour. It is a unique place for many reasons and you can’t come to Coffs without going to Muttonbird Island at least once. A sacred and very significant site to the local Gumbaynggirr Aboriginal people, who call the island Giidayn Miirral, the island is a protected Nature Reserve and home to thousands of wedge-tailed shearwaters, also known as muttonbirds. (Read more about the birds in the Wildlife section).
On top of the island, you’ll have an incredible 360-degree view across the ocean, beaches, harbour and marina, the city and the mountains. A paved walkway (1km return, with some steep sections) leads you across the island to a lookout platform on the other side. Migratory humpback whales can be seen from June to November. Don’t forget your camera!
Perched on a ridge just above Coffs Harbour at an elevation of 310 metres, Sealy Lookout provides an expansive view over the city and south along the coastline to Sawtell. It gives you a great idea of the layout of Coffs Harbour. The lookout is located in Bruxner Park Flora Reserve, a 407ha reserve of dense rainforest and eucalypt forest in Orara East State Forest. Combine it with a picnic or bushwalk (see Bushwalks section). To get there, turn west off the Pacific Highway 1km north of the Big Banana and follow the 5km winding road up the hill through banana plantations and avocado groves to The Gap parking area, then turn left and drive a further 2km to the Lookout. Note: Sealy Lookout is closed between June and early September 2011 for the building of a new viewing platform.
This headland at Emerald Beach, about 15km north of Coffs Harbour, is part of Moonee Beach Nature Reserve. A short loop trail takes you up and around the headland, which is a significant Aboriginal site. It offers great views over the ocean, South Solitary Island with its lighthouse, deserted Moonee Beach, the village of Emerald Beach and Mount Coramba and surrounding mountains out west. You’re likely to come across the headland’s resident eastern grey kangaroos which can often be seen grazing, resting or hopping around the headland and you may spot migrating humpback whales between June and November. To get there, turn east off the Pacific Highway at Emerald Beach and from Fiddaman Road, turn right at Dammerel Crescent to the carpark at the foot of the headland.
Just outside the Rainforest Centre at Dorrigo National Park is the Skywalk, a 70-metre long platform that stands 21 metres over the top of the rainforest canopy. From here, at an altitude of about 760m above sea level, you’ll be able to take in the spectacular views of the subtropical rainforest below, sweeping vistas over the Bellinger Valley all the way to the coast and the Pacific Ocean on clear days. Dorrigo National Park, which also offers great bushwalks and lets you experience wildlife up close, is located 4km east of Dorrigo and one hour’s drive west of Coffs Harbour. There’s also a gift shop, interpretation centre and café.
This lookout on the other side of the Waterfall Way from Dorrigo National Park offers some of the most superb views on the Coffs Coast. From Griffiths Lookout you’ll enjoy breathtaking wilderness views of the Great Dividing Range unfolding before you looking south. To the east, you’ll see the Pacific Ocean and on clear days, right down to Kempsey some 100km away. Located among farms, the lookout point has an interesting interpretive display sign and picnic tables. From Waterfall Way, turn into Maynard Plans Road near the Lookout Motor Inn and after 1km you’ll see a sign on the left pointing to Griffiths Lookout, which is another 4km further to the end of the road.
Two kilometres north of Dorrigo town centre is Dangar Falls, a beautiful 30-metre waterfall set amidst scenic agricultural and dairy farmland. There’s a car park, a viewing platform, picnic tables and a walking trail that leads you to the river at the bottom of the waterfall. The viewing platform offers a great vantage point and excellent photo opportunity of the falls. Dangar Falls is signposted from Dorrigo town.
Even more elaborate waterfalls can be found some 55km north of Dorrigo, just west of the village of Ebor. At Ebor Falls, 1300 metres above sea level, the Guy Fawkes River drops 115m over columned basalt rock. There are three viewing platform, barbecues, picnic tables, running water and toilets for your convenience. From the carpark and upper viewing platform, a 600-metre walk along the escarpment takes you to the second viewing platform from where you have an excellent view of both the upper and lower drops of the falls and the wilderness area of Guy Fawkes National Park. A third viewing platform is just 20 metres away for a great view west. Ebor Falls is located 2km outside of Ebor on the Waterfall Way between Dorrigo and Armidale.
If you’re on this longer trip along the Waterfall Way, it’s worth driving another 20 kilometres to the top of Point Lookout in New England National Park. At 1564, this is one of the highest points in New South Wales. Make sure you bring a jacket and your camera. There’s a short walk around the top where you’ll be rewarded with spectacular wilderness views to the east, south and west. Often, you’ll see the tops of the mountain ranges peeking out above the clouds and mysterious mists drifting across the valleys of the Great Escarpment. There is a picnic shelter with an open fire place and some great walking tracks. Access to Point Lookout from Waterfall Way is via an unpaved road.
All along Coffs Coast, there are plenty of headlands that offer incredible views of the coast and the Pacific Ocean. All are great for whale watching between June and November. Here are a few to consider, all very accessible with car parking nearby and a path across the headland: Woolgoolga Headland in the northern seaside town of Woolgoolga, Macauleys Headland between Park Beach and Diggers Beach in Coffs Harbour, Boambee Headland and Sawtell Headland to the south and north of Sawtell Beach and the village of Sawtell, and Hungry Head just south of Urunga, where you’re also likely to spot grey kangaroos.
