ok kids... here is my suggestions for this cruise, i know the area EXTEREMLY WELL! i currently live in Armidale, but my partner lives in bellengin and i have driven the road many times (to those who don't know where armidale its, its about 100km WEST of dorrigo)
MY suggestion is this.
I wouldn't stay in dorrigo, it is the one of the worst possible places you would want to stay. yes its nice to stop and check out hte water fall, and yes it has the fancy skyway lookout, but in all seriousness - it pretty ****. its foggy about 20 hours of the day and you can't see where you going, and there are imbreds walking around that try to scratch your car.
I would suggest that the people coming from the south leave the pacific highway at hexam (end of hte F3) and continue staright ahead up the New England Highway. This is not as pretty as the pacific highway, but its much quicker and lots less traffic. follow the hunter vally all the way to the top, cross the range and enter the north west slopes and planes (peel vally). get to see all the coal mines and all kinds of other stuff you wouldn't see on the pacific highway. Drive through tamworth and look at hte giant golden guitar blah blah blah... then you drive up the moonbi range and into the northen tablelands and the New England. Nice ungulating good quality roads. anyways you arive at armidale and you leave the new england highway and turn onto the Waterfall way, and there are heaps of awesome waterfalls you can look at along this road (this is the road that takes you through to dorrigo).
some examples of the water falls (i have personally taken these shots)
This is a shot from bellengin looking back at the dorrigo mountain range
And this is a photo of the dorrigo national park skyway
Now this road isn't exactly the best quality, but it sure is dam fun. tricky high speed corners, no massive drop offs., i've driven it many a time and i have a turbo laser with stock suspension
.
arrive at dorrigo, check out hte scene. have a beer at the 1 ONLY pub there. cruise down the windy dorrigo mountain into bellengin and some some reefa and stay the night. bellengin is approx 30mins from coffs harbour and its nearlly all duel carriage way now so it's pretty quick.
and then return trip could be just back down the pacific. too easy, get to do a full loop of most of northern country nsw!
and just for fun, here is a shot of the jetty at coffs
And there is plenty more photos where they came from... to see my gallery click ---->
http://namwens.deviantart.com/gallery/
any questions, send me a pm or somthing as i don't check this forum too much
