Northern Rivers Rail Trail (Murwillumbah)

A key reason for coming to Murwillumbah was because I had read that the Northern Rivers Rail Trail was a beautiful cycle trip. Initially we had thought to do an organised supported cycle tour over 4 days. However when we discovered that they only transported 2 bags, and didn’t seem to budge despite the high premium for the trip we cancelled and reconsidered our options. So glad we did as the first day would have been undertaken in a full day deluge!

Anyway we trotted down to the (excellent) local bike shop (Better by Bike) and asked them for their recommendations. I had come up with a couple of routes but the gentleman in the shop had some alternative suggestions for our 2 day rental which I am really glad we took him up of.

Key memories from our ride

• Alas riding over a green snake (subsequently found out it was a harmless tree snake) as we were riding side by side along the path. Both a bit frightened by the experience and saddened. We could not avoid it without getting into ‘striking’ range or cycling into each other!
• Drenched for the second day in a row. This time by a rain storm a few km from home. Fortunately it’s not cold so we just got wet! Later there was a much bigger thunderstorm so really glad we were back in our cosy accommodation by then.
• The cycle path was in very good condition and it was nice passing a mix of farmland (small pastures with cows grazing), woodland, wetlands with small streams and the odd remnants of of the old railway line / infrastructure.
• Didn’t see any bats or glowworms in the Burringbar Range tunnel. Glad we were going south as that was the dowhill grade so we could just see the tunnel exit in the distance. Amazed to find Mike was videoing me in the dark tunnel. He did a really good job
• Stopped at Burringbar for a very welcome nice coffee and slice of banana bread before we headed off to Mooball to see if the cycle shop there had any cycle gloves. We had forgotten to pack these essential items. I managed to find a pair of weightlifting gloves which stood up pretty well, especially given they only cost $12. However Mike couldn’t find anything to fit, even in the bike rental shop. He also drew a blank at the Mooball bike shop.
• Not a big detour and gave us time to digest our coffee before heading to a nice cafe just outside Burringbar for a couple of toasties. Lucky timing as we were just about to leave when the heavens opened. Sheltered in a bus stop until the worst was over and then headed off on the path less well travelled.
• I think most people just cycle up and down the bike path. They definitely miss something as the quiet country roads in the surrounding area are delightful.
• Really enjoyed cycling through the forested areas of this National Park. In particular seeing the different levels of canopy, tree ferns, abundance of different trees, birdsong and absence of other people. Very refreshing. This pocket of forest gave me a good impression of what we will be experiencing on our hike next week. It also made us both realise how difficult this landscape would have been to traverse for the early settlers. Glad that they did not clear everything and that some forward thinking individuals protected special areas.
• After a while the landscape we cycled through changed to pastureland for cows and horses. Very charming.
• Shame that when we came to descend down to the Tweed Valley it was encased in cloud and then the rain came so we only caught small glimpses of what would have been a beautiful descent as we had an exciting ride down the great switchbacks.

What was lucky was that after we had been home for about an hour the heavens really opened and the wind howled. A major storm warning had come into effect whilst we were out so we were very glad to be tucked up in a cosy cottage enjoying a tasty steak and bottle of red wine.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.