Our Rivers Today
experience so much more

Our rivers are an important part of our enviable lifestyle.  There are innumerable ways to experience our rivers whether it’s travelling our scenic highways along the rivers, visiting numerous historic river towns or getting out on the water. You can meander along riverside  walking and bike paths, cook up a barbecue by the river or just take in the beauty and serenity of sitting by the water. Our rivers and creeks also provide many fishing spots to try your luck with a hook and bait. Most of all they provide the opportunity of making memories to last a lifetime.

Here are our Top Ten ways to discover and experience each of the four rivers of the Mid North Coast to give a sense of their value not only to our history but their ongoing value to who we are today.

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Camden Haven Trail

The Camden Haven River starts on the Great Escarpment and the Comboyne Plateau west of Port Macquarie and flows east through state forests and fertile valleys for its relatively short length of 72.4 kilometres. As it meanders through historic townships and districts such as Lorne and Kendall it is a small but very scenic river that then broadens dramatically as it reaches the Pacific Highway, the first place many travellers actually see the river. It then becomes part of an expansive waterways system including Watson Taylors Lake before travelling to the township of Laurieton where it joins with water from Queens Lake before its broad calm waters travel through North Haven and Dunbogan to enter the Pacific Ocean at Camden Head. While the river historically was an important transport route for the timber trade and later farming ventures its value today is in the activities that take place on the river of fishing, boating and kayaking and recreational use of surrounding national parks and State Forests.

Here are our Top Ten ways to discover and experience the Camden Haven River and its history today.

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Hastings River Trail

The Hastings River rises in the Great Dividing Range in the surrounding Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and Werrikimbe National Park and flows generally south, southeast and east, joined by seven tributaries before reaching 180 kilometres later its mouth at Port Macquarie.

Unlike the other rivers its upper reaches are still accessible through the national parks in the region and special river side villages like Ellenborough, and Beechwood as well as the larger centre of Wauchope. However it is lower reaches where today the Hastings River has become central to the identity Port Macquarie and its tourism industry.

Here are our Top Ten experiences on the Hastings River:

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Manning River Trail

The Manning River starts high in the Barrington Tops National Park area and travels some 261 kilometres to flow into the Pacific Ocean at both Harrington and Old Bar. It descends from the mountains through rural farmlands to the picturesque town of Wingham which was chosen in the 1840’s as a location for a government settlement because supply boats could not proceed any further up the Manning River. The river continues its journey past Tinonee to reach Taree as a majestic setting for now the largest town on the river. From here it splits and the southern arm flows into the Pacific Ocean at Old Bar while a northern arm is joined by the Dawson River and the Landsdowne River to flow to the ocean at Harrington. Indeed the Manning River is the only double delta river in the southern Hemisphere and the only permanent multiple entrance river in the world other than the Nile in Egypt. Such changing and varied riverscapes offers locals and visitors alike many opportunities to use and enjoy the river for many leisure activities today.

Here are our Top Ten ways to discover and experience the Manning River and its history today.

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Macleay River Trail

The Macleay River rises a considerable distance inland within the Great Dividing Range east of Uralla. The river travels some 300 kilometres south east to reach the ocean at South West Rocks and is said to be the second fastest running river in the world. In its upper reaches it passes through some rugged landscapes and gorges creating spectacular waterfalls in the Cunnawarra and Oxley Wild Rivers National Parks. However it is its lower reaches on the Mid North Coast that have generated a series of historic river townships with the largest being Kempsey as well as other at Frederickton, Gladstone, Smithtown and Jerseyville. South West Rocks at the mouth of the river along with the nearby Trial Bay Goal are today popular tourism destinations.

Here are our Top Ten ways to discover and experience the Macleay River and its history today.

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