NSW - Wooli, Diggers Camp, Minnie Waters

We decided to spend some time at Wooli which is east of Grafton. When we lived in Grafton many years ago, we often used to go there to fish and swim, and have very fond memories of this part of the coast.

It has probably been about 20 years since we have been to Wooli, and very little has changed. It is almost like a time warp. The fish and chip shop we used to eat at was still there and so were many of the original beach houses. A few new homes have been built along the beach, some have been updated, but other than that, it hasn’t expanded much. We were hoping for some fine weather as we were looking forward to renting a canoe on the Wooli river, and Mike wanted to fish off the break wall and off the beach. Unfortunately, none of this eventuated. We had one day of sunshine which we spent drying out the van, washing and general catch up. The rest of our four days there, it rained.

We drove to Diggers Camp which is about 10 ks north, down a gravel road and were so excited when the road ahead was covered with water. Our first chance to do a bit of “bush” driving. Much to our disappointment, it was only about 15 cm deep, but I had to take a photo of it anyway.

At the southern end of Diggers beach there are some great rock pools. Mike and I found an octopus, a massive sea cucumber and a spotted moray eel. When our daughters were young we all used to find Kauri shells here and we noticed that there were still a lot around. Diggers has a very small camp ground, tents only, and part of the National Parks. There are a few homes built here but there is no electricity or town water.
We then headed off to Minnie Waters, about twenty minutes north. This is a very small, one shop, beachside town, but with some beautiful new homes built on the headlands with uninterrupted ocean views. There are two camping areas here.
While we were walking along the beach I was fascinated by the abstract designs that the crabs had made by digging holes in the sand. A lot of the beach has dark coloured sand, with a lighter covering. As the crabs roll their sand balls along, they remove the top layer of white sand and leave some fabulous patterns. I was so taken by it that I took about ten photos of different designs, and labeled it “crab art”

These three areas are very quiet so be prepared to amuse yourselves or enjoy the peace.


Caravan Park : Solitary Islands Marine Park Resort see “Our Camping spots” for more information.
To contact us please email us on: gourmetgreynomads@bigpond.com