Diamond Head to Manning River
24 km (606 km) | 8 hr
I was listening to an Australian Hiker podcast interviewing Yvonne Everett, who runs the brilliant Coffs Trails site https://www.coffstrails.com/ (comprehensive information on many walks in the region) and who has written a superb walking guide for this part of the coast. She was pressed as to the 'best' walk in the region, and she nominated Diamond Head.
I’m tempted to agree. I have to say it very well may be the 'jewel in the crown' - even though it would be a mighty crown filled with many other splendidly sparkling gems! As I walked around this magnificent headland, I was also reflecting on the wise words of Thich Nhat Hanh:
People sacrifice the present for the future. But life is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.
As a result, I tried my very, very, very best to stay in the ‘now’ as I enjoyed every step of this spellbinding walk.
Starting at Diamond Head campground, I went out and back to Mermaid Lookout before tackling the amazing Headland Walk track. Just do it - I can't find the words to describe the quality of this walk. Definitely check out (carefully) the down and back up track to the Natural Arch as soon as you can. I worry what's going to happen when Sunday arvo instagrammers start sliding off the steep slippery track to their doom - it's a Darwin awards kind of place so I wonder how long the open access will last.
On to Indian Head campground (the first foreign name for Diamond Head, because Cook saw 'Indians' there) which was a perfectly peaceful kangaroo feeding ground in the early morning. Kylie's Hut (Kylie Tennant's perfect little writing studio, lovingly restored after being engulfed in flames in the 2019 bushfires) and Kylie's Beach just topped off the perfection of this amazing bit of the walk. Again, if you are nearby and have not done this walk go tomorrow! As Kylie Tennant so beautifully writes:
Diamond Head has its own special illusion. Anyone who comes there is seized with a wild resolution to stay forever.
And:
League after league the headlands curve up the coast of the continent. The white fingers of the sea play on them, each bluff giving out its unique note, making its own music.
After the delights of Diamond Head, I made beachfall at long, long Crowdy Bay beach - 15 kms of sandy perfection with a small pod of dolphins trailing me oceanside. Past Colly’s Creek (closed entrance), Abbey Creek picnic area, and then Crowdy Head with its perfect view of the 'three brothers' and its cute lighthouse, along with several whales frolicking offshore.
An afternoon stroll along Crowdy Back Beach which morphs into Harrington Beach concluded with a lovely rainforest walk off the beach to the break wall. And just like that, (drumroll) ♫ tada - the Manning River.
Won't mean much to most, but for me that's the Tweed, Richmond, Clarence, Macleay, Hastings and Manning Rivers accomplished, and every headland and beach along the way. Only the Hunter and the Hawkesbury to cross on the 'Northern Way' of my Aussie Camino...
I like to think of my coast walk as a gentle pilgrimage or 'camino'. Camino comes from a late Latin word 'camminus' by way of Gaul 'kamman' and ultimately proto-Celtic - so just like any good pilgrimage it is a well-used, well-travelled word with deep, long, strong roots –an etymology that makes it available to us all.