Early Settlers Walk

Distance: 400 metres

Starts At:  Signboard to right (east side) of Main Path 350m from garden entrance.

This walk crosses through sedgelands and natural forest from the Main Path to Coffs Creek and returns on a boardwalk through the Paperbark Swamp Forest and Rainforest. 

The Early Settlers Walk tells stories of white settlement in the Coffs area including the commercial importance of trees like the Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera) and Red Mahogany (Eucalyptus resinfera). Starting at tall old Blackbutt (Eucalytpus pilularis) trees by the main path it crosses a boardwalk through damp sedgelands to join the Coffs Creek path at a very old Pink Bloodwood tree (Corymbia intermedia). The walk then follows the creek-side path north a short distance before turning back west onto another boardwalk through the Paperbark Swamp Forest to the Rainforest. 

The Paperbark Swamp Forest 

The low swampy ground between the sandy banks of Coffs Creek and the Main Path is dominated by paperbark trees. Swamp forests, comprised mainly of paperbark trees, are found on many low lying areas of the NSW north coast.  The Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) is salt tolerant and occurs along the creek bank where fresh water seeps into the creek. They were an important calendar tree for the Gumbaynggirr people signalling the changes in season and the trees had a variety of uses.

With an abundance of insects and frogs living in these swampy conditions the Land Mullet (Bellatorius major in the Egernia group) which is a dark coloured lizard that resembles an oversized blue-tongue lizard, is often found here along with the non-venomous Carpet Python and Green Tree Snake. Sometimes, the mildly venomous Red-bellied Black Snake is seen warming up in a sunny location. Give these animals plenty of space and they will usually keep to themselves or move away.