Where

Werrikimbe National Park in North Coast, Country NSW

Accessibility

No wheelchair access

Distance

1.8km loop

Time suggested

1hr

Grade

Grade 3

What to
bring

Hat, sunscreen, raincoat, snacks, drinking water, sturdy shoes, suitable clothing

Please note

Carrabeen track overlaps with the start of Mesa trail, a challenging 8hr return hike that requires a high level of fitness.

Starting from Cobcroft picnic area, this loop walk is a beautiful self-guided tour of Werrikimbe National Park's ancient rainforest diversity, suitable for all ages.

Listen for lyrebirds' mimicking calls as you stroll through tall open groves of New England blackbutt and eucalypts. Then dip into cool gullies where blue gums tower over an understorey of tree ferns.

Scattered throughout are yellow carabeen trees, that give this track its name. Slow growing, yet often the forest's highest trees, their large, wide root buttresses straddle the forest floor and can extend 2-5m up the trunk.

Come in spring to see carabeen trees burst into flower with creamy white blossoms. It's also a great time to see wildflowers throughout the park, and spot the birds they attract.

After your walk enjoy lunch at the picnic area. If you're feeling adventurous, Carabeen walk is easily combined with the longer Mesa trail, an ambitious 8hr trek for fit hikers.

Keen to explore more? Pitch your tent at Mooraback campground, among snow gum woodland. You’ll wake refreshed and ready to discover more of the Mid North Coast hinterland, including neighbouring Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

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Abundant landscapes

You'll find three different rainforest types; cool temperate, warm temperate and subtropical. The park also contains significant endangered ecological communities, like at Bishops Swamp and Racecourse Swamp. Head to Mooraback campground to see the snow gum woodland that is slowly regenerating from over 100 years of grazing.

Thousands of species

There are close to 1,000 plant species found in Werrikimbe, including nearly 30 that are listed as rare or threatened. The diverse landscapes of Werrikimbe are home to a wide range of wildlife including around 52 species of mammals, over 120 bird species and 48 species of reptiles and amphibians. You'll see bandicoots, eastern grey kangaroos and wallabies including the rare parma wallaby, sometimes seen around Brushy Mountain. You'll also find a range of forest birds such as eastern yellow robins, scarlet robins, grey and rufous fantails. If you're lucky, you might spot rare species such as the olive whistler, rufous scrub-bird and sooty owl.

Traditional lands of the Dungutti People

When you're exploring the beautiful mountains, rivers and bushlands of Werrikimbe National Park, you're on the traditional lands of the Dungutti Aboriginal People. Aboriginal groups continue to have an active role in the management of the park. There are a number of important sites in the park that show that Dungutti people are the original inhabitants of this land, including several stone arrangements and surface deposits of stone artefacts.

World Heritage wonder

The rainforests in Werrikimbe National Park are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area; the most extensive strip of diverse rainforest anywhere on earth. This World Heritage Area is a direct window into the past and the future, providing a link to the ancient pre-human world and an irreplaceable record of life on our planet. Explore the rainforest on one of the park's many walking tracks, like King Fern walking track from Plateau Beech campground. Discover ancient Antarctic beech trees and listen for the lyrebird whose mimicking calls ring out through the rainforest.