Where

Carrai National Park, Werrikimbe National Park, Willi Willi National Park, The Castles Nature Reserve, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park in North Coast, Country NSW

Distance

137km one-way

Time suggested

2 days

What to
bring

Drinking water, snacks, clothes for all weather conditions, first aid kit, personal locator beacon

Please note

• This route combines Carrai trail in Carrai National Park and Coachwood trail in neighbouring Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.
• It can be driven in either direction.
• The start of Carrai Road to Kookaburra is 24km. It’s another 22.5km to/from Daisy Plains picnic area. It’s around 51km from Coachwood Road to Oxley Highway via Racecourse trail and Kangaroo Flat Road.
• This is a remote area. Please ensure you’re well-equipped, with fuel, spare tyre, water, and warm clothing. It’s a good idea to bring a personal locator beacon.

This route combines Carrai trail in Carrai National Park and Coachwood trail in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. Driven in either direction, it’s a great way for self-reliant 4WD enthusiasts to explore the views and natural beauty of the mountain plateau west of Port Macquarie.

From Kempsey, it’s around a 1hr drive to reach Carrai trail, which follows unsealed Carrai Road through open farmland before delivering you into the forest. After around 24km, at the junction with Coachwood Road, stop for a break in Kookaburra. Once a thriving centre for trade in prized red cedar, it’s now a ghost town overgrown by trees.

From Kookaburra, continue around 22.5km north along Carrai trail, through old growth forest to Daisy Plains picnic area. Set among tall eucalypts, it's a good place to stop for lunch if you want a break from driving.

Listen to the squawk of glossy black cockatoos before backtracking to the junction with Coachwood Road. Follow this trail, which winds 17km through Gondwana rainforest in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. The 300m walk to unfenced Hoppy’s lookout is an optional stop along the trail.

From the end of Coachwood trail, connect with scenic Racecourse trail around 19km, and make your way out via Werrikimbe National Park, and Walcha.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

A safe haven for native animals

Maintaining vast tracts of remote forest, like those at Carrai, is essential for protecting biodiversity and keeping the populations of native animals at high levels. Carrai is known to harbour endangered species like the Hastings River mouse, a rodent that likes damp habitats, and the giant barred frog, which grows to a size of about 12cm and lays its eggs on banks overhanging rivers. Listen for its deep grunt when you stop by a creek.

From the 1800s

In many ways, Carrai’s remote location has protected it from extensive grazing and mining. In 1818, John Oxley was the first European to visit the New England Tablelands, closely followed by cedar loggers. Graziers eventually moved their stock up river valleys onto the tablelands. Both tin and gold were mined in the area until the 1960s, and forestry ceased in the early 90s.

Protecting Carrai's wilderness

An area of 3,530ha within Carrai National Park has been declared wilderness under the Wilderness Act 1987. Although much of Carrai's forested area has been affected in some way by human habitation - logging and grazing, for example - it's now protected, allowing it to recover. There are three old-growth forest ecosystems in the park, including groves of white mahogany, dry redgum, bloodwood, native apple, and tallowwood. Look for the endangered Guthrie's grevillea, with its green and maroon flowers, as well as epiphytic orchids attached to the trunks of trees.

Traditional lands of Thunggutti People

The Carrai plateau is a special place for the Thunggutti People, with many ceremonial sites that have their origins in the dreamtime. It's believed that Aboriginal people moved from the coastal hinterlands to the New England Tablelands, including parts of what is now Carrai National Park, during the summer months. In the early to mid-1800s, the rugged country at the head of Macleay River also provided refuge for many Aboriginal people.

Plants and animals protected in this park