2015 November: 30-minute walk
North Brother Mountain
Dooragan National Park
NSW, Australia
Prolog
This is a detour to North Brother Mountain
while driving pass the town of Laurieton to
take a walk in Diamond Head later on.
North Brother Mountain
At 490 meters, the mountain dominates
the landscape in the Camden Haven area
(which is between Port Macquarie and Taree).
It is surrounded by water on all sides:
- On the north is Queens Lake.
- On the east is the Pacific Ocean.
- On the south is Watson Taylors Lake
(through which Camden Haven River flows).
- On the west is Camden Haven River.
To reach the top of the mountain
There is a steep walking track from
the town of Laurieton to the top.
Scroll forward is a map
of the North Brother Mountain area
where the track is marked as
Laurieton Walking Track.
There is also a tourist road called
Captain Cook Bicentennial Drive.
5 km, 7 minutes drive on that road
will take you from the town of Laurieton
to a lookout and picnic area
at the top of North Brother Mountain.
I take the road ... why walk when you can drive !
Top of the mountain
At the top, there are:
- Picnic areas
- Toilets
- 3 lookout platforms at the carpark:
• One is un-named.
• One is called Laurieton Lookout.
• One is called Don Johnstone Lookout.
- A loop track
About 700 meters for the entire loop.
It leads to another lookout ...
See photos #10 to #13.
* * * * * * * * * *
Plenty of cars drive up for a visit.
But no one bothers to take a walk
on the loop track.
One reason maybe the start of the track is at
a distance from the carpark / lookout areas.
Unless you explore around,
you won't know the loop track exists.
* * * * * * * * * *
The summit itself is about 300 meters from
the carpark ... towards the south-east.
You can't drive there.
You have to walk.
Just like the loop track,
no one bothers to go there.
This is excusable ...
Beside a concrete cairn,
there is nothing at the summit;
and no view ... too many trees.
The best views are at the lookout platforms
at the carpark.
Map
1:25,000 scaled topographic map:
9434-1S Laurieton
GPS tracklog file & route
For what it is worth ...
The GPX tracklog file of my walk
can be download from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSWkM1T0tlcl9QZFU/view?usp=sharing
Here is the tracklog, brown colour,
in the 1:25,000 map.
In detail:
09:17 0.00 km At start of rainforest loop track
Walk in clockwise direction
09:26 0.36 km At lookout in the loop track
09:35 0.76 km Return to start of loop track
Enjoy views at the lookouts around the carpark.
09:43 0.95 km At start of track to summit
of North Brother Mountain
09:46 1.19 km At concrete cairn
marking the highest point
of North Brother Mountain
09:47 1.19 km Turn around
09:50 1.42 km Return to start of track
09:51 1.50 km At car
================================
Total: 34 mins
1.5 km Distance is from Google Earth
1.6 km Distance is from Garmin GPS
Pictures:
North Brother Mountain from a distance
1) North Brother Mountain.
- View from Diamond Head.
2) North Brother Mountain.
- View from Reid Street, Laurieton
(at the west side of the bridge
over Camden Haven River inlet).
Top of North Brother Mountain
Carpark / lookout area
There are nice picnic areas at top of the mountain.
3) Here is one of the picnic areas.
- The elevation here is 487 meters.
- This is not the summit.
- The summit is another 300 meters
towards the south-east.
(From here, it is straight ahead.)
4) There is a World War I memorial.
5) There are 3 lookout platforms ...
This is one of them.
- View from here is similar to that in photo #7.
6) A lookout platform called Laurieton Lookout.
- It is next to the one in the previous photo.
7) View from Laurieton Lookout ...
towards north-east.
- 6 red arrows, left to right:
1 Queens Lake
2 Tacking Point
3 Grants Head
4 Camden Haven River inlet
5 Gogleys Lagoon
6 Kattang Nature Reserve
- Lighthouse Beach:
Between Tacking Point & Grants Head
- Grants Beach:
Between Grants Head &
Camden Haven River inlet
- Laurieton: Town with a large green park
- North Haven: The town further away,
between the sea and Laurieton
8) A lookout platform
called Don Johnstone Lookout.
- It is on the opposite side to Laurieton Lookout.
9) View from Don Johnstone Lookout ...
towards south.
- The lake is Watson Taylors Lake.
- 3 red arrows, left to right:
1 Kylies Beach
2 South Brother Mountain
3 Middle Brother Mountain
- Area between the lake and Kylies Beach:
Crowdy Bay National Park
Aboriginal dreamtime story
There is an aboriginal dreamtime story about
North, Middle & South Brother Mountains,
re-told by the old men of the Birpai Tribe
when they meet for a tribal initiation
in the Kempsey area ...
The three Brothers Mountains are named
after three brothers.
Two of the brothers were slain and eaten
by a witch.
The youngest, returning from a visit
to his parents, killed the witch
and buried his brothers' bones
on North and Middle Brother.
Then killed himself on South Brother.
The parents, searching for their sons,
heard a voice telling them each mountain
held the spirit of one of their sons.
And so, the name of the
"Three Brothers Mountains" was perpetuated.
Rainforest Loop Track
There is a short rainforest loop track
from the lookout and picnic area.
10) A weather-beaten information board
at the start of the loop track.
- Information written on the board is given below.
The words at the bottom of the above
information board are:
1.
Summit to Viewing Platform (300 m)
Suitable for people in wheelchairs with assistance.
Start on western side of summit picnic area
to viewing platform along tar-sealed track
through the transition zone from dry
to wet eucalypt forest to rainforest.
2.
Viewing Platform to Summit (400 m)
Not suitable for people in wheelchairs.
Track through shaded rainforest
to North Brother Summit.
A moderately easy walking track that
rewards you with view southward
across Crowdy Bay National Park
to Crowdy Head from a hidden viewing platform.
A good alternative to the steep-graded walk
on the eastern face of the mountain.
This walk loops through cool shaded rainforest.
(Note:
The word "summit" in the information board
means the carpark / lookout area.
The real summit is 300 meters
south-east of the carpark.)
11) I do the loop walk in a clockwise direction,
in the reverse order of the above.
- The 2 photos below are what the track is like.
12) The track leads to this lookout platform.
13) From the lookout platform,
there is a good view towards south ...
towards Kylies Beach & Watson Taylors Lake.
- Red arrow: Crowdy Head ...
at the end of Kylies Beach
Highest point of North Brother Mountain
After the loop walk,
I go on to the summit of North Brother Mountain.
14) This is the track to the summit.
15) Summit of North Brother Mountain.
490 meters
- Concrete cairn at the centre marks the summit.
- It is 300 meters south-east from the carpark.
- There is no view from here ... too many trees.
The track keeps on going.
But I turn back from where the cairn is.
(The track goes on a big big loop towards west.
And returns back to the carpark.
From the maps, the track seems boring.
Can someone reading this blog confirm this ?
But still ...
Perhaps one day,
it is worthwhile to walk on it just to find out.)
Post Script
The main activity for today is to
explore the Diamond Head headland .
North Brother Mountain is merely a detour
on the way to there.
Photos and a write up on my walk in
Diamond Head are in my blog:
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/diamond-head-nsw-australia-2015-11.html
Next time you are in the area, take the road that turns off the Pacific Highway near Johns River to the top of Middle Brother - short walk and stunning views from there too.
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