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Byron Bay – A Northern Rivers Natural Wonder.
Posted on January 21, 2015 at 7:26 AM |
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WOODY HEAD - On borrowed time - going, going ... gone ?
Posted on January 13, 2015 at 7:42 PM |
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Woody Head – A
Northern Rivers Natural Wonder - On
borrowed time, going, going ... gone ? Erosion is
posing an ever bigger threat to numerous beachfront campsites and caravan parks
along Australia’s magnificent coastline. In recent years, huge waves and strong
currents have caused massive changes to many, many areas and it’s far from just
an issue in our towns. Woody Head in Bundjalung National Park is one of the fastest-eroding
beaches in New South Wales … and is retreating at about two metres every year. Artificial
dunes have slowed erosion considerably along part of the beach. Around 5000
cubic-metres of sand, has been ploughed into an artificial dune on the shorefront
at Woody Head to stop the damaging effects of coastal erosion. The National
Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Roads and Traffic Authority undertook
a two week, $200,000 project to construct a beachfront dune that measures about
100metres long. The
massive dune barrier has been built directly in front of the Woody Head Camping
Reserve and has been planted out with native trees and plants. It is reported
that the man-made dune was the most effective method of protecting the
rapidly-disappearing coastline and camping infrastructure at Woody Head from an
eroding longshore current. It is estimated that the magnificent Woody
Head campground will almost certainly be gone by 2025. Woody Head is a campground with the lot - you can pitch
your tent, park your caravan or book a cabin to enjoy a pleasure packed beach
escape for the weekend or longer. It's a great place for a family holiday.
There are heaps of things to do and children and adults alike will love
exploring the rainforest, shallow reefs and rock platforms around the
campground. There's also a boat ramp for those who bring their boat along,
great places for fishing and water babies will love being so close to the
beach. There is one designated group camping area and the campground is wheelchair
accessible. Woody Head is a hugely popular north coast campground and you'll need to book
with plenty of time to secure your campsite. The
Hammond family were the pioneers of Woody Head and of the 3 sons, Charlie, Bert
and Bill (all commercial fishers). Their original family house (hut) has been
restored ( Hammond Cottage) and offers accommodation to holiday makers. If
you’d been fortunate enough to have known Charlie and Bert particularly, you
might have seen one of their little trawlers (“Woody H” or “Endeavour”) moored
in the bay adjacent to what is now the boat launching area. What you may not know is that at the top of the boat
ramp there is a small green shed, the purpose of which is unknown to most. The
shed housed a ’29 Chevy engine that was hooked up to a windlass and in times of
heavy seas wooden ladders were placed on the beach and into the surf, along
which the trawler would be hauled to eliminate the danger posed by big seas.
When this happened, it was literally all hands on deck, as wooden rollers were
attached to the vessel to steady it as it was retrieved from the water. The
beach where this happened is long gone and where it was is now eroded to the
rock at the right of the boat ramp. Those days, when they launched their boats
to head out for snapper, they parked their vehicles on the beach above the high
tide mark. Nowadays you can’t even get to the beach. Keep in mind, however that
the beach at that time was a straight beach to Shark Bay Rocks. So when you
drive into Woody Head campground, you will feel that you have arrived somewhere
really special and unfortunately, future generations will definitely not be
enjoying this which is such a pity because there's so very much to enjoy at
this Northern Rivers Natural Wonder. |
Whian Whian Falls – A Northern Rivers Natural Wonder.
Posted on January 6, 2015 at 7:45 AM |
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Whian Whian Falls – A Northern Rivers Natural
Wonder... Just outside the town of Dunoon in the Northern
Rivers, NSW there is a stunning oasis that is known as, Whian Whian Falls. Like most, it isn’t signposted very well
signposted and to
get there you drive through Dunoon, take a left hand turn down Whian Whian
Road. Not far down that road, at the bottom of a hill and across the bridge, there is a parking area on
the left seemingly
in the middle of nowhere. It is a little hard to miss, especially if there is a
tour bus parked there as was the case on the day I visited. There is a well worn walking track along a fence
line that leads down to the falls and only takes just a minute or two. Always
incredibly popular, there was a large group of about twenty other people
enjoying the spot with swimmers, photographers and onlookers, all soaking up
the incredible beauty of this stunning place. I couldn’t
resist and took advantage, snapping a couple of shots. There are plenty of fresh water around and shallow pools for waders and frolickers, so everyone can have a little fun. Put aside a few hours and make the trip out to Whian Whian falls to see for
yourself, one of the Northern Rivers natural wonders. Word of warning:
people have been badly injured jumping at the falls. Do so at your own risk. |
Bexhill Brickworks
Posted on December 29, 2014 at 10:08 PM |
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Bexhill, established in the early 19th century, was the central point of the early North Coast of New South Wales. In the 19th century Bexhill was known as Baldhill. Bexhill's early production was red cedar logging and its close proximity to Boat Harbour made the floating of logs an easy task during flood waters. As the Red Cedar industry started to dwindle, the Bexhill Brick works was established and it produced many of the bricks for the far north coast. It closed down towards the end of the 1990s, unable to keep up with the production of bricks from Coffs Harbour and Newcastle. Today it is located on Crown land and the quarry has over the years, filled with water. The NSW Department of Lands have fenced its perimeter and additional warning signs have been erected. Water quality tests by Lismore’s SCU-based Environmental Analysis Laboratory, suggest the water is high in acid, magnesium, aluminium and the chemical analysis of the water by Southern Cross University reveals swimmers are putting themselves at risk. It is understood the bright blue colour comes from copper in the disturbed clay and the origin of the acidity and metals is due to an acceleration of natural processes similar to the acid sulphate soils in this region releasing acid and metals. A beautiful sight with its cobalt blue water and dramatic cliff face makes the swimming hole hard to resist on a hot day. |
Browns Creek Rehabilitation Stage 1
Posted on December 29, 2014 at 9:53 PM |
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Browns Creek Rehabilitation Stage 1 - 10 years on and thriving... In Lismore, New South Wales today, most people would travel over Browns Creek without knowing it was there, especially if they were going over the track from Richmond Lane car park to Zadoc Street. On most maps of Lismore it does not appear. However, it has a long history and so does the family who gave its name to the creek. Browns Creek was a part of the natural drainage system of Lismore. It ran from below the New Ballina Cutting, down Orion Street, across the area now occupied by Lismore Caravan Park, over Dawson and Zadoc Streets, down Keen Street and across to Molesworth Street, where it entered the main river system just above the old Northern Star Building. Today the majority of Browns Creek is contained by large drainage pipes and mostly covered by roadway and car park. There is however a section of Browns Creek where the cement drain has been removed and replaced with natural creek system utilizing native trees, grasses and aquatic plants that improve storm water quality naturally, improve habitat and visual amenity. Browns Creek is named after Henry Johnson Brown who arrived in Australia with his sister in 1840. |
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