While staying at North Coast Holiday Parks Urunga Heads, news was spreading that a new accessible walk had just been unveiled and was open to the public so of course we had to go and check it out. It was so new, locals were only just discovering it themselves. We met a local couple who were in awe of the $10 million dollar transformation of the site which had previously been an Antimony Processing Plant from 1969 – 1974. The clean up was significant (thus the $10 million dollar price tag) as the processing activities generated heavy metal rich waste water which spread downstream having a catastrophic impact on the aquatic habitat. Though we had never seen the site before, we could still appreciate the Urunga Wetlands Boardwalk for it’s beauty and wheelchair accessibility.
The 20ha of land consists of two Endangered Ecological Communities, an aquatic Freshwater Wetland and the terrestrial Swamp Schierophyll. The Wetland is particularly important to the conservation of the endangered Black-Necked Storks who are known to nest in the area. We didn’t see much in the way of birdlife but I suspect, like the locals, the birds have been waiting for all the clean up work to be finished before moving in.
I predict this area will be a beautiful haven and bursting with birdlife when word gets out.
The centerpiece of the walk is the wonderful easy access bridge which spans the waterway.
Although we had a boardwalk within easy walk of our cabin we enjoyed the change of scenery the Urunga Wetlands Boardwalk offered. It’s so lovely to have a choice of accessible walks and the Coffs Harbour region certainly offered many, each with a something different and special about it.
The Urunga Wetlands Boardwalk is only short, taking 10-15 minutes to walk it depending on how often you stop to admire the view.
Being a wetland I’d advise applying mosquito repellant prior to arrival to avoid the great Aussie swatting game.
The Urunga Wetlands Walk is situated on the corner of Giinagay Way (Old Pacific Hwy) & Hillside Drive.
We certainly enjoyed exploring this wheelchair accessible walk and I’m sure it will become a regular inclusion in the daily walks of many locals.
We were fortunate to be staying 5 minutes down the road from this walk at North Coast Holiday Parks Urunga Heads and you can read about our easy access cabin here.
You can also read about the well known Urunga Boardwalk here , it offers over a kilometer of accessible boardwalk and well worth the visit.
Leave a Reply