Angourie to Brooms Head
18 km (253 km) | 6 hr
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are ~Chauncey Depew
Angourie, or 'tail feather', is the jumping off point for the Yuraygir coast walk. My overnight ‘backpacker express’ bus arrived at Yamba at 5.00 am – excellent timing for an early morning coffee and a lucky lift with a dawn surfer to arrive at Angourie Point just in time for a perfect sunrise.
There’s always a peculiar moment for me at the start of each chunk – it’s the first ‘official step’. Of course there are plenty of ‘pre-official’ steps - in this case getting off the bus, walking to the café, getting into and out of the car, walking to the lookout platform to take a few sunrise snaps… but there comes an actual conscious moment – a dramatic fully aware mindful ‘second’ where the inner voice announces to itself that THIS is the first official step of the walk – a deep breath - a bit of internal triumphal music – a look around and then up and then down – the step is taken… and I’m on my way!
Along the firm low-tide sands of Angourie Back Beach it doesn’t take long to settle into a comfortable stride. I walk with poles which makes walking on sand much more relaxed, and the regular movement of arms and legs, combined with the rhythmic sounds of the waves and the wind rapidly puts me into that peaceful, serene, almost meditative state that all solo hikers know and love.
I soon reach Diranggan Lookout and enjoy the kangaroos having an early morning graze nearby. I feel as if I am in a beautifully produced tourist ad for Australia - kangaroos, a glorious view, an idyllic surf, wrapped by National Park and enjoying some fine steaming black coffee from the Yamba café that I cleverly poured into my thermos… just sublime.
The sun inches higher, and the day moves on. I round One Man Bluff –a place that the Yaegl mob must have enjoyed for tens of thousands of years before my little sojourn. I wander along ‘pretty as a picture’ Little Shelley Beach. Next is Shelley Headland and its delightful campground, followed by a scramble down to Shelly Head Beach - a charming little cove enhanced by the Shelley Caves that can be accessed at a lowish tide – simply magical!
The track then returns to a stretch of sand at Caves Beach before arriving at Buchanans Head. Plumbago Beach is another few km of softish sand. It’s no trudge though; walking towards Red Cliff with its glowing cinnabar colouring makes for a spectacular motivational target on this segment of the day’s walk.
Red Cliff and Grey Cliff both have National Park camping areas and would both be mighty fine places to pitch a tent. I’m staying in comfort tonight though, so I set off for the final leg along Main Beach to the delightful town of Brooms Head. The settlement there consists of some houses, a caravan park, a café, a bowling club, and a small general store with attached accommodation and my abode for the night. A hot shower, a cold beer and one very happy coastal walker.