Dorrigo National Park

Leaving Ballina, we headed south via Grafton, where we took a little side turn across Grafton’s famous old bridge, then took Armidale Street to Dorrigo National Park. The curvy, scenic drive is, for someone used to drive on the right side of the road, an experience by itself. But the car did well and took the driver and family safely to the Dorrigo National Park’s Rainforest Center.

My wife went to check out the restrooms. When she came back, she said something like: “There is blood on the floor”. As non-rainforest-dwellers, we didn’t think much about it in that minute – until we entered the visitor center and saw that warning sign right there: “Leeches are very active today. Wear solid shoes, check your legs after your return – and if you got a leech, here is how to remove it with your bare hands….” Alright! So we are all set in our trekking sandals and shorts for our walk in the rainforest.

We took two short walks there. One out on the Skywalk, which literally starts behind the center and is a boardwalk leading to an observation deck above the canopy. The second one had a somewhat higher leech risk, but was also solid ground and partially boardwalk again.

The vegetation is phenomenal and if we have had more time, we would have probably explored more of the park like the Never Never area.

After checking for leeches – my new favorite hobby – we headed to  South West Rocks. An Australian friend had recommended this lovely town a few days ago, so we went for it.