Exploring the natural parks of Tweed

The Tweed coastline.

Scrambling up the rocky escarpment that is Brummies Point in the Mt Warning National Park it occurs to me that I'm the only one in our party in shorts and I suddenly have visions of receiving a non-too-friendly nip on the ankles.

"Nah worries, mate. The slitherers are hibernating at this time of the year, you'll be right," our guide Owen Easby says nonchalantly.

Suitably reassured that one of Australia's venomous beasties isn't going to cut short my visit I pick my way through the undergrowth to catch a glimpse of Mt Warning or Wollumbin to the Aboriginal Bundjalung Nation.

Brummies takes its name from a logging spotter who in the late 1800s used to climb the vantage point in the spring to locate prized red cedar.

The red cedar - of which there are 1000-year-old examples in the surrounding parks - is the only Australian native to lose its leaves in winter and the bright red spring re-growth would have been a sure giveaway to the trees' location.

Brummies also enjoys a commanding and relatively close-up view of neighbouring Mt Warning, which at 1157m is the dominating feature of the Tweed Valley in northern New South Wales.

Mt Warning was once part of a huge shield volcano which covered 5000sq km straddling the present border with Queensland.

Shield volcanoes don't form the steep-sided peaks usually associated with volcanoes but a slowly sloping dome with multiple vents.

Over the 20 or so million years since the last eruptions, wind and rain have carved out a huge bowl around the central magma chamber - Mt Warning - which being formed of harder rock has better resisted the erosive powers of nature.

This is the so-called caldera of the shield volcano and it is surrounded on three sides by sheer ranges which form the caldera rim and today make up a series of spectacular national parks. On the fourth, the Tweed River and its tributaries make their way out to the ocean.

Owen, who runs four-wheel-drive tours into the nearby Border Ranges National Park, explains that Captain Cook gave the mountain its English name as a quasi navigational tool - "if you can see Mt Warning you'd better watch out for Point Danger down at the Tweed Heads".

The mountain is sacred to the local Aborigines and a traditional place of cultural law, initiation and spiritual education.

Their name for it - Wollumbin - is often translated as Cloud Catcher or Chief. It's easy to see why it got the former when even on clear days there is often a solitary cloud clinging to its upper reaches - supposedly a sign of coming rain.

Mt Warning, which for most of the year is the first place in Australia to see the sun, is also a popular destination for walkers and the moderately fit can reach the summit in a return trip of about four hours.

Under Bundjalung law, only specifically chosen people are allowed to climb Wollumbin and out of respect you may decide not to make the climb.

We decide to tackle a couple of less arduous bushwalks but even that is not without its perils.

Owen points out a Giant Stinger Tree or Gympie Gympie which has a burn similar to scalding water that lingers for weeks and only intensifies if you try to wash it off. Apparently a hot wax treatment is the best method for removing the very fine needles causing the problem.

Ouch.

Then there's always the barbed Lawyer Vine, which as the name perhaps implies "doesn't let go once it gets its hooks into you".

What is it with Australia?

If it doesn't sting, bite or curse, don't they let it through customs?

But it's not all bad. The Giant Stinger for example was used by Aborigines to relieve rheumatism.

And the aptly named Walking Stick or Midginbill Palm, which has a straight trunk and bulb as its root base, was harvested following World War I and, after being refashioned, issued to returning Diggers who had lost limbs or been injured.

Driving tours are a favourite way of enjoying the Tweed and even former logging trails high in the World Heritage-listed national parks can be negotiated without four-wheel drive as long as it has been dry.

Volcanic soils and the substantial rainfall catchment have combined to produce a fantastically fertile micro-climate and passing through the charmingly named villages of Tumbulgum, Tyalgum or Uki (pronounced you-KY) you are variously surrounded by sugar cane, banana and tea plantations.Coffee is a new crop in the valley and a solitary vineyard welcomes visitors.

The settlements have changed little since colonial times and period architecture, cafes, country pubs and farmers markets all make them popular destinations.

Murwillumbah, the administrative capital of Tweed Shire, is nestled mid-valley on the banks of the river and here you'll find the World Heritage Rainforest Visitor Centre where you can get all the information required to plan your visit be it for bush walks or village tours.

Further down the valley Bob Brinsmead, founder of Tropical Fruit World, charms us with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the 500 varieties grown on the property - and his off-road antics in a golf cart.

Personal favourites were the Black Sapote and Rollinia which were transformed into chocolate pudding and lemon meringue pie respectively.

Bob has his own preference - the Miracle Fruit, which has the remarkable effect of turning sweet into sour and vice versa.

"Get one of your mates who's goin' out for few drinks and a smoke to chew on these berries for a couple minutes," explains Bob, and he'll hardly touch a drop or finish a smoke - they'll taste awful."

Having flown into Gold Coast Airport on one of Freedom Air's new Airbuses it would be remiss not to mention Tweed's coastline.

After all, while most tourists disembark at Coolangatta and head north to Surfers and the theme parks, just across the NSW border Tweed boasts 35km of its own relatively unspoilt coastline.

You could hop on a river cruise at Tweed Heads, catch your own mud crabs and later feast on them while surrounded by curious pelicans - sure to be a family hit.

A drive out to the beach settlement of Kingscliff is an excellent option for lunch or an evening meal - there are even campgrounds and not an apartment block in sight.

Or perhaps you could step on to the white sands at the new settlements of Salt or Casuarina and see how far you can walk and still get back in time for tea.

In my case I chose to jump into the surf at Cabarita Beach - one of the many great breaks along the coast - where in early August the water was 20C and the air temperature about 23C and I was able to go sans wetsuit. Sweet.

Now if only Owen was around to reassure me about those pesky stingers.

* Robin Martin travelled to Tweed courtesy of Freedom Air and was hosted by Tweed and Coolangatta Tourism.

Getting there

Freedom Air flies direct to the Gold Coast from Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Internet only fares start from $189 each way (plus taxes, levies and surcharges). See www.freedomair.com or call 0800 600 500 for more information. Please visit the links below for more options on what to do in Tweed.