ATTRACTIONS THE SANDON NSW

Any visitor to Sandon – who’s come from the Brooms Head direction – will see the village on the south side of Sandon River and wonder how in the world you get there, because clearly there isn’t a bridge! Sandon Village is pretty unique in this regard. The number of non-4WD vehicles in Sandon Village is exactly zero, because the only way to get there is along the Sandon Back Trail from Illaroo to the south. This trail takes in a stretch of beach, so that is serious 4WD access. Anyway, Sandon Village backs on to Clay Head, and as you’d imagine in a place that’s legitimately challenging to reach, (your correspondent paddled across Sandon River on his surfboard, careful not to get his camera wet) Clay Head is a lovely, lonely, and spooky-but-in-a-nice-way place. The coves beneath Clay Head are jagged but picturesque affairs with grassy foreshores and pebbly beaches, and when the headland eventually spills down to the south-facing back beach, you can still feel vulnerable and humbled by one of the more rugged and desolate stretches of Clarence coast....

First things first, the 10 kilometres of unsealed road from Brooms Head to Sandon can be a jarring affair. Dental fillings have been loosened and car suspensions have been known to cry out in horror, but patience is rewarded when you eventually approach the Sandon River campground, with the river to your right, and glimpses of beach coming into view on your left. Sandon beach is sublime and stretches north to Brooms Head in the distance, Plover Island protects the beach for swimmers, there are gentle waves for novice surfers, and the river is gorgeous. Speaking of the road in, legend has it that a long time ago, when a rare alignment of sand off Plover Island created a temporary, excellent surf break, the local road-grader – himself a surfer – was contracted to smoothen the road. Which he duly did, but left the first 400 metres rough as guts for a few days longer, to deter would-be visitors....

If you love beach hiking then the moderate Brooms Head to Illaroo section of Yuraygir coastal walk is for you. Take in sweeping stretches of golden beaches and protected woodlands of paperbarks. There are scenic coastal views at the southern end of Brooms Head Beach which are ideal for whale watching and dolphin spotting. At low tide, explore Plover Island, which holds great cultural significance for the Yaegl People. Middens and artefacts have been discovered in the area and information about these can be found on the island. Sandon River, around the halfway lunch break mark, is the northernmost point of Solitary Islands Marine Park, which runs south for 75 kilmetres to Muttonbird Island at Coffs Harbour. The small settlement of Sandon, on the south side of the river, is made up of only about 35 dwellings....