Waterfall Way is one of the most beautiful scenic road trips in Australia, and yet it manages to fly under the radar! It’s much less touristed than the iconic Great Ocean Road in Victoria, and makes a great 4-5 day road trip from Brisbane. Our Waterfall Way Road Trip took us through Southern Queensland Country and into northern New South Wales, including Country NSW and North Coast NSW. Waterfall Way is most famous for its many beautiful waterfalls: Wollomombi Falls, Ebor Falls, Dangar Falls and Crystal Showers Falls. The country towns and villages on this itinerary include Warwick, Stanthorpe, Tenterfield, Armidale, Dorrigo, Bellingen and Grafton, and the coastal towns of Coffs Harbour, Yamba and Byron Bay. You could easily also add a stop at the Gold Coast on the way from Byron Bay to Brisbane.

I took this road trip with my parents, siblings, aunt, uncle & cousins when we all lived in Brisbane. We took 4 days, starting & ending in Brisbane and driving a loop through the countryside on the first few days, and back home along the coast. Before this trip, Northern NSW was a bit of a mystery to me – despite its proximity to Brisbane, I had no idea what lay across the border beyond Byron Bay and beaches. There is so much more to discover in northern NSW, I’m so glad our family went on this trip!

Our Waterfall Way Road Trip included four national parks: Main Range National Park, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Dorrigo National Park and Guy Fawkes River National Park. Read on for my Waterfall Way Road Trip itinerary, from Brisbane.

Itinerary: 4 Days Waterfall Way Road Trip

• Day 1: Brisbane to Tenterfield via Stanthorpe
• Day 2: Tenterfield to Dorrigo. See Wollomombi Falls & Ebor Falls
• Day 3: Dorrigo & Bellingen. See Dangar Falls & Crystal Showers Falls
• Day 4: Dorrigo to Brisbane via Coffs Harbour & Byron Bay. See Dorrigo Skywalk

Waterfall Way Highlights

This itinerary took us through Warwick & Stanthorpe, Tenterfield, Armidale, Dorrigo, Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Dorrigo National Park including the Skywalk, Yamba, Grafton, and most importantly, four amazing waterfalls: Wollomobi Falls, Ebor Falls, Dangar Falls & Crystal Showers Falls.

Day 1: Brisbane to Tenterfield via the Granite Belt

Cunningham’s Gap

We left Brisbane early in the morning, to reach our first stop at Cunningham’s Gap which is 1.5 hours from Brisbane. Located just off the Cunningham Highway, the Cunningham’s Gap has a 1km trail leads you to a stunning lookout with views over the Great Dividing Range, which separates Brisbane from Warwick. The Great Dividing Range is part of Main Range National Park. This is a quintessential Southeast Queensland view!

Warwick

It’s only a 30 minute drive from Cunningham’s Gap to Warwick, which is one of the largest towns in the Southern Downs, which is part of Queensland’s charming Southern Queensland Country region. Warwick is known as the town of roses & rodeos, and it’s pretty town centre with historic sandstone buildings. When we visited in July, the annual Jumpers & Jazz in July festival was in full swing, and I loved seeing all the gorgeous handmade knitted jumpers that local residents have dressed up the town’s trees in. Warwick is home to Australia’s most famous rodeo, which is on the last weekend of October every year.

The Granite Belt

The Granite Belt is one of Queensland’s only winemaking regions, and is famous for it’s abundant local produces – particularly apples & grapes! Stanthorpe is known for producing uncommon wine varietals, which is celebrated on the Strange Bird Alternative Wine Trail, a self guided trail of cellar doors which have been producing tempranillo, gewurtztraminer, barbera, nebbiolo, before they were cool. One of the biggest annual events in Stanthorpe is the Apple & Grape Harvest Festival, held in late February every year. We visited Boireann Winery, Castle Glen Distillery, Sutton’s Juice Factory, Cider & Shed Cafe and Stanthorpe Cheese. The apple pies at Sutton’s are an absolute must!

This is a great area for stocking up on wine & cheese for the weekend. We had lunch at Jersey Girls Cafe at Stanthorpe Cheese, which oozed country hospitality.

We also clambered around the granite boulders and caves at Donnelly’s Castle, the former hideout of the bushranger Thunderbolt. There’s a lookout at the top, which rises 200 metres over the surrounding landscapes and offers lovely views in every direction.

Tenterfield

We crossed the border into New South Wales at dusk and arrived in Tenterfield just after dark. Tenterfield is a historic, well-preserved town and was one of my favourites on the trip. Tenterfield’s claim to fame is that it was where Sir Henry Parkes gave his rousing speech that kickstarted the movement towards Australia’s federation in 1901. We were all knackered, so we got Tenterfield Gourmet Pizza delivered.

Accommodation: Tenterfield Golfer’s Inn – Comfortable and spacious, a good option for families.

Day 2: Tenterfield to Dorrigo & Ebor Falls

On Day 2, we left Tenterfield for a long drive through the rolling hills of the New England countryside. We drove through Glen Innes, but didn’t stop till lunch time in Armidale.

Armidale

Armidale is the highest town in Australia, at an elevation of 980 metres (3215 feet). We didn’t spend long here, as we were keen to reach Dorrigo before dark. We had a hearty pub lunch at the St Kilda Pub. They still offer main meals at lunch for only $8!

Wollomombi Falls

Our first waterfall stop on Waterfall Way was Wollomombi Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Australia. There’s a viewing deck with a dramatic view into the cavernous Wollomombi Gorge, with perfect views of the falls. We were there when the water wasn’t running with too much force and they are set in a truly enormous gorge, so they look quite small from the lookout, due to the enormity of their surroundings. Wollomombi Falls is part of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.

Ebor Falls

Ebor Falls is a beautiful cascading waterfall, nearly 40km from Wollomombi. This was one of my favourite waterfalls on Waterfall Way, with two waterfalls cascading from the Guy Fawkes River, and is part of Guy Fawkes River National Park. Three lookout platforms give views of the upper falls, lower falls and valley view.

Dorrigo

We were staying just outside the country town of Dorrigo, at a lodge retreat on Mt Christopherson, which has since closed. This is such a beautiful area, particularly around sunset!

I had a recently renovated room with my own verandah, adjacent to the kitchen and main living area. Every evening I’d sit on the verandah and enjoy a beautiful sunset, the sound of the local birds (and the occasional cow, which I could only hear, but not see) and a glass of wine.

Day 3: Dorrigo, Bellingen & Dangar Falls

Dorrigo

Dorrigo is a charming Australian country town in North Coast NSW, just an hour’s drive from Coffs Harbour. Dorrigo is home to Ebor Falls and Crystal Showers Falls, which are both less than a 10 minute drive from town. It’s also the gateway to Dorrigo National Park, which is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Dorrigo is exactly what I think of when I picture a rural Australian town. Wide, dusty roads, a hotel pub and a handful of little shops, including the charming Red Dirt Distillery (now closed, unfortunately).

Dangar Falls

Dangar Falls is the best waterfall on Waterfall Way, in my opinion. It’s an absolutely beautiful waterfall, dropping 30 metres and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Dorrigo National Park. The view from the lookout is 10/10, and it’s right beside the carpark.

Bellingen

Bellingen is a laidback, charming hinterland village in the hills of the Coffs Harbour Hinterland. It has has a pretty main street, lined with shops and cafes, where we stopped for lunch at a cafe called 5 Church Street.

Crystal Showers Falls

A 2.5km (return) track takes you to Crystal Showers Falls, set in the middle of the rainforest. You can walk along a suspension bridge, so that you’re looking straight across into the falls and take another little track to go behind the waterfalls. Beautiful! Be careful, the track behind the falls is a little slippery.

Day 4: Dorrigo to Brisbane via Coffs Harbour & Byron Bay

Our final day was a huge day of driving, and I’d recommend slowing down a bit and spending a night in Byron or Yamba to break up the trip. We started in Dorrigo & were in Brisbane by the evening!

Dorrigo Skywalk

The Dorrigo Skywalk was what I was most looking forward to one the trip. It’s at the same park as Crystal Showers Falls, but on the day my camera had run out of battery! My family very kindly waited till the last day to do the Skywalk, so I could take some photos. The Skywalk is a wooden walkway with a great lookout on the end over Dorrigo National Park. It’s only around 30 metres long, so it’s really accessible for everyone.

Coffs Harbour

We stopped briefly in Coffs Harbour to stretch our legs, taking in the ocean views at the waterfront. Coffs Harbour is famously home to the Big Banana, but we didn’t stop by.

Grafton

Grafton looks beautiful in mid-late October during jacaranda season, when the main street is covered in a carpet of purple. Unfortunately, we were a bit early for the jacaranda bloom. There are a few historic buildings in Grafton, but nothing that we thought was worth detouring for. We asked the guy at the petrol station what we should see and he said “Absolutely nothing.” He might not have a lot of civic pride, but I appreciated his honesty considering what a long day of driving we had ahead. I’m sure there are things to see in Grafton, but we were a bit short on time. I’d time my next visit with the jacarandas!

Yamba

Yamba is a popular beach town and we’d all wanted to check it out for quite a while. We couldn’t see much of the beach, but didn’t have a lot of time to anyway. We ate at the fish and chip shop in the main set of shops before we packed up again and got back on the road.

Byron Bay

We arrived in Byron just before sunset. We parked up at Cape Byron near the lighthouse and stretched our legs walking along the track to the eastern-most point of Australia. Normally, you can see a goat or two hobbling along the sheer cliffs and the occasional dolphin in the water below.

I’ve been to Byron Bay lots of times, but I’ve never seen a sunset from Cape Byron. It’s one of the few places on the east coast of Australia that you can see the sun set over the water, because of the tiny bay behind the lighthouse. It was a really beautiful way to end a long day full of highways and a trip full of natural beauty.

From Byron, it was almost 2 hours to get home. You could stop in at the Gold Coast on the way home too, but as we’ve all spent a lot of time there and were exhausted, we made a beeline for Brisbane!

Have you driven Waterfall Way? What’s your favourite road trip? 

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