Below:  A picnic table with stunning views of the entire Manning Valley from Newby's Lookout in Coorabakh National Park

Harrington

Harrington follows the Manning River with a long breakwater which provides great fishing, and the relaxed seaside lifestyle is a welcome escape from the frantic pace of urban life. 

The northern arm of the Manning River reaches the ocean at Harrington and the expansive views from Pilot Hill Lookout are breathtaking. The graves atop this hill attest to the pilots whose job it was to guide the boats over the bar. 

Read More About Things to do in Harrington, Places to Stay, and Great Food in the area!

Crowdy Head

Below:  Crowdy Head looking east

Nearby Crowdy Head is certainly the jewel in the Manning Valley Crown. Crowdy Head is a quaint fishing village located just 7km from Harrington. 

The lighthouse perched high on the headland provides exceptional views and is easily accessible on a sealed road. The seafood co-op at Crowdy Head is a seafood lover's delight with the fresh catch of the day a tempting treat. Crowdy Beach sweeps in a long arc through to Diamond Head Beach in the National Park. Accommodation at Harrington and Crowdy Head includes motels, units, caravan parks and holiday cottages.

Below:  Just walking around the streets of this charming headland village will reveal some fabulous views inland to the near mountains, and on a clear day, three headlands up and down the coast!

(Click for Full-Sized Version -- Suitable for Desktop Wallpaper!)

Nearby National Parks

Harrington and Crowdy Head are ringed by three world-class national parks, well worth a day's exploration (see map below)!

There is no better (or closer) place than Harrington and Crowdy Head to start your day for some great views from Crowdy Bay National Park at Crowdy Head, Coorabakh National Park just across the Pacific Highway, and a bit further north, Middle Brother National Park (Pjurrigan N.P.).

Just don't forget to come home to Harrington or Crowdy Head for a great night out at on of our restaurants, cafes, or take-aways!

Below:  Click on the various map areas of our region for more info!

Into Flora and Fauna?  Find out what's in store for you in the park on our flora and fauna pages!

Crowdy Bay National Park

Below:  Entrance to the park from the southern Crowdy Head end

Harrington and Crowdy Head are both gateways to one of Australia's most beautiful coastal rainforest, headland and beach national parks.  

The Crowdy Bay National Park, runs over 5000 hectares up the coast from Harrington to Crowdy Bay and up to Indian Head and Diamond Head.  

The park combines beaches, beautiful sand dunes, coastal forest, heath lands and swamp areas. The lagoons in the park are noted habitats for water birds and the beaches are quiet and peaceful.

Access to the park is via Crowdy Head as well as from Moorland on the Pacific Highway north of Coopernook.  

With all main areas open to car access, Diamond Head shines as a spectacular outcrop 113 metres above sea level.  Just south of Diamond Head is Indian Head, a small stack out to sea, named by Captain Cook when he sailed up the coast in 1770. He had sighted Aborigines, whom he called 'indians', on the craggy headland.

The Park itself is a combination of Crown Land and land which was previously privately owned. One of the most famous inhabitants of the area was a man named Ernie Metcalf who was subject of a story by Kylie Tennant titled The Man on the Headland. Metcalf built Tennant a house near Diamond Head which was restored by the National Parks in 1980. 

The Kylie's Loop Trail is becoming more and more popular as holidaymakers from Harrington find out about this natural beauty, but there are few days you'll come across more than a handful of other on this find coastal and rainforest track!

Left:  The well-maintained trail leading up to Diamond Head from the Diamond Beach carpark and camping area

Below:   Crowdy Head from Indian Head in Crowdy Bay National Park  (click for full-sized!)

Photo:  siteware

Below:  Diamond Head, just a half hour north from Crowdy Head, the northern border of the Manning Valley

Below:  Gorgeous flowers in Crowdy Bay National Park along the Kylie's Loop track, a medium grade well maintained packed trail with a few short steep sections. Click Photo to see more flora of the park!

Below:  Todea Creek along Kylie's Loop walk in a protected coastal rainforest valley behind Diamond Head

Below:  Waves booming through "The Arch" along the southern end of the headlands just around from Kylie's Lookout.

Click Here for more info on Diamond Head area of Crowdy Bay National Park

Coorabakh National Park

One of the Manning Valley's Best-Kept Secrets, Just Minutes from Harrington!

Below: Just part of the sweeping panorama from Newby's Lookout in Coorabakh National Park, looking south to Lansdowne and Taree

Photo:  siteware

 Just 17km from the Pacific Highway along well-graded state forest and National Parks roads, Coorabakh National Park is the newest national park in NSW (2002). 

Inland from Harrington a half hour, it's well worth the effort, and do not forget to bring your camera!

Below:  The picnic table with stunning views of the entire Manning Valley from Newby's Lookout in Coorabakh National Park

Easily accessible from Coopernook and Moorland on the Pacific Highway (17km from highway to park), this national park features very well done trails, features of interest, rest areas and lookouts.   

The very best view of the entire Manning Valley to the south can be had from the stunning Newby's Lookout (see picnic table above, and panorama below) as well as Flat Rock outlook, both recently developed by National Parks with wheelchair access and information boards.  Both excellent spots for a picnic with a very hard-to-beat view!

Starr's Creek Picnic Area

In a bit further past Newby's Lookout and Little Nellie (an old volcanic vent typical of the region), is the hidden hollow of Starr's Crossing, a fantasy land of rainforest with a world-class boardwalk path leading you through mossy logs, tree ferns, rosewood and other hardwood rainforest trees, vines, and the crystal-clear water of Starr's creek.  

You'll be very impressed with the fine work National Parks has done here -- and wonder why you're the only ones there!

Below:  Mossy log at Starrs Creek, from the rainforest boardwalk trail.

Photo:  siteware

Above:  The stunning view from Newby's Lookout, click for FULL-SIZED Banner!

Photo:  siteware

Further in for the more adventurous is the Big Nellie picnic area (and a bit of rock-climbing for the brave at heart!), and Flat Rock Lookout, towards the northern border of Coorabakh National Park.  

Most roads are accessible year-round by family car

Pjurrigan National Park

Pjurrigan National Park, also known as Middle Brother National Park is the northern-most of the national parks in the Manning Valley region.  

Accessed from east side from the Pacific Highway just north of John's River or from the south entrance at Stewart's River, this  park features the Bird Tree picnic area, and Benaroon, the largest tree in New South Wales.    

Most roads are accessible year-round by family car.  

Below:  Typical of the delightful mountain streams along the forest roads, this one forms into the 42-metre Yoorigan Falls at the Falls Forest Retreat, a new rainforest preserve next to Pjurrigan National Park.

Photo:  siteware

Below: The classic Bangalow forest gulleys in Pjurrigan National Park, featuring bangalow palms, mature tree ferns and various ferns.

Photo:  siteware

(All Photos this page courtesy siteware)

For more National Parks information, please click here! 

Please note that provision of roads, trail and location information in no way promotes unsafe activities at any time!