Solo Solitary Island Coastal Hike

Why would you do a hiking holiday? Great question… one with many equally great and justifiable answers. For your convenience here are those answers in a dot point list…

You stay/get fit: Walking over 30,000 steps a day is great for the legs and the booty. You are getting where you want to go and exercising while you do it. Which leads me to the next point…
You can eat well: All that exercise means that you can ‘holiday eat’ without feeling guilty. You want gelato? Well go for it girl, you worked for it!
You see way more: Slowly taking the time to walk to your next destination means you get to see all of the things. Dolphins riding the waves, different shells on the sea shore, different types of sand (some easier to walk than others), all of these things would be missed in a car.
You can find money: Yep, literally that’s a thing. Found money as I was deciding whether or not to get gelato… That five dollars made the decision for me. Lychee and rose sorbet thank you very much!
You can have some meditation time: free therapy…
You save money: no car equals no petrol and no public transport either.
You save the environment: remember no car, no fumes. We all want to save the environment right?

Surely you are now convinced that hiking holidays are the way to go. So here’s some information on the Solitary Islands Coastal Hike so that you can make your new dream into a reality.

Where: Sawtell to Red Rock (or vice versa)

When: I went December and got blessed with amazing weather.. but you might be more sensible and do it sometime cooler. Honestly though being coastal I think any time of year would be great as you can jump into the sea at any point.

Who: Just me! Really enjoyed doing it solo. I could walk at my own pace and time it the way I wanted. However, you could do it with a group and that would be grand too! In terms of other backpackers I did not see a single other one doing the walk, but you may see people doing parts of the track. So it’s perfect if you want to take some ‘me’ time without any massive crowds.

How long: I did the walk in a very do-able and enjoyable 4 days (but you could do it in 3), it worked best to stay the night in Coffs Harbour, Moonee Beach and Woolgoolga. The entire length is 60km so that left me doing approximately 15km per day, give or take. Though walking was one thing, exploring was another and I would usually finish up the day over 30,000 steps.

Accommodation: Hostels and Air BnB is what I went with, but there is also caravan parks, motels and hotels too.

Coffs Harbour: Coffs Harbour YHA $33

Moonee Beach: ‘Tav’s Place’ Air BnB $74

Woolgoolga: Woopi Backpackers $29 (Highly recommend this one, such a great stay!)

How: Yes, how indeed. Well the hike is very well sign posted and there are maps and information you can download. I found it really easy to navigate 90% of the time. I will throw out a few tips though… if your unsure of where your going, generally sticking to the coast is best. There are a few points on the map where it looks like you need to do a creek crossing (around the Hearne Lake area), well those ‘creeks’ are dried up so don’t worry too much about that. The only legitimate creek crossing I had to do where you take your shoes off is at Moonee Beach (you’ll want to do this at low tide).

Food: The beauty of this walk is you can buy all your food when you get to your destination. I had some delicious finds. However, it is wise to pack snacks for while you hike and I also did a packed lunch of peanut butter sandwiches (just to save the dollars). I personally believe that you should always carry peanut butter on you as a rule. It’s just good hiking practice. How can you go wrong with a fresh 80c bakery roll lathered in peanut butter?

Sawtell: Cafe TREEO, Goodness Bowl

Coffs Harbour:

Sakura Harbour Japanese, Sashimi and rice

Supply Specialty Coffee and Bar, Coconutty Granola

Woolgoolga:

Ground Earth, Peach Cobbler Smoothie Bowl

Tips: Walk according to the weather. Try and time your walks to coincide with low tide and you’ll have a much better time. I did all my walking before midday because that worked best with the tides and allowed me to chill all afternoon. But do what works for you. Think about what you are packing. Hiking in the summer means you wont need a lot. A few hiking outfits, towel, minimum toiletries, pjs, light jacket (plus rain jacket depending on the forecast) and one (max two) clean outfit/s to wear to dinner etc (so you don’t stink up the place.

Here are some Haikus to help surmise the whole experience… yes, your mind ends up thinking in the ancient Japanese language of Haiku on experiences such as these.