Australia's newest four-day hike traces an ancient, stunning route
Vision Walks' CEO Wendy Bithell is passionate about supporting local suppliers, so almost everything we eat and drink comes from the Northern Rivers, including Brookfarm muesli, Stone & Wood beers, Jilly wines, Nimbin Valley cheeses and chocolates from Love Byron Bay, all lovingly prepared by local caterer the Bloody Good Food Co.
That night, rain drums on the roof above our table as we dine in a bubble of light from solar lanterns, feeling like the only people on Earth. There's no mobile reception, no Wi-Fi, no one else around; in four days we see only one young couple and an older group of three, all carrying big packs.
Each day we walk for five or six hours – except on day two, which is an eight-hour, 18-kilometre epic. After climbing what feels like a thousand stone steps that morning, we reach the rim of the caldera, 800 metres above sea level. The rain is relentless, ditto the mud and the leeches (though they're mercifully small). At the five lookouts we pass, mist teases us with fragments of views – Wollumbin! The sea! I love the unexpected adventure of it all.
I also love the hour of silent walking we do each morning, each of us falling into single file behind Skye, tuning in to bird calls, small details beside the track – like a tiny forest of mushrooms on a mossy log – and the simple, timeless act of moving through this landscape on foot.
At other times, Skye points out how the Minjungbal people (and the Widjabul Wia-bal, when we enter their Country) use particular plants, the rainforest their pantry, medicine cabinet and shed all in one. (On future trips, a Bundjalung guide will meet the group one afternoon to offer an Indigenous perspective on the walk.)
After a gentle descent on day three, we arrive at a spectacular lookout and the sun makes a guest appearance, spotlighting three gushing waterfalls on the far side of Wanganui Gorge. A few minutes later we arrive at our final campsite, where our dining table has the same view and our tents are dwarfed by tall eucalypts – blackbutt, bloodwoods and stringybarks.
We hear the official end-point of the Gidjuum Gulganyi before we see it. Living in northern NSW, I know Minyon Falls well, but arriving on foot really dials up the glory. For most walkers, the viewing deck at the top is their finish line, but Vision Walks adds an extra six kilometres to include the trek to the base of the falls.
It's the most difficult section of the entire walk, with a tricky creek crossing and a scramble over slippery boulders, but standing at the base of the thundering falls drenched in spray is exhilarating – and gives us a visceral sense of this landscape and all the water running through it.
On our way back to Byron Bay in the shuttle, I ask Skye Weatherstone for her thoughts on the walk, since it was her first time doing it too.
'I thought about the old people a lot,' she says, 'how so many of the local elders are too old or unwell now to come up here any more and that the forest would have reclaimed these trails without the Gidjuum Gulganyi. It's bringing these trails back to life, and the forest gets to have humans in it again, people who can appreciate its beauty and hopefully act as caretakers into the future.'
The details
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Where
The Gidjuum Gulganyi Walk starts at Unicorn Falls in Mount Jerusalem National Park near Uki in northern NSW and ends at Minyon Falls in Nightcap National Park, 45 minutes' drive from Byron Bay.
Walk
Vision Walks' guided pack-free glamping experience includes chef-prepared meals and drinks, bento-box lunches, snacks, transfers, camping gear and expert local guides, from $3200 a person. See visionwalks.com.au
Connect Adventures is the other operator licensed to run guided walks on this track and offers pack-free walks from $2165 a person and full-pack walks from $1855 a person. See connectadventures.com.au
The self-guided option, carrying your own food and camping gear, costs $173 for one or two people, for the three nights. Each public campsite has five hardwood tent platforms, a sheltered table, rainwater tanks and a composting toilet. See nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
Drive
All hikers must walk from north to south so you'll need to arrange transport at either end. Transfers are included in guided walks; Vision Walks also provides transfers for self-guided hikers for $38 from Mullumbimby, $61 from Byron Bay, $121 from Ballina Airport and $138 from Gold Coast Airport. See visionwalks.com.au
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