Anton Ingarfield, Acting Ranger for these parks, and Discovery Ranger Anita Menhofer will be guiding the tour and they encourage local community members to tag along and spend the day enjoying the spectacular forests right on Dorrigo’s back doorstep.

“Dorrigo Plateau has a rich forestry history and the Big Tree Explorer tour is a terrific opportunity for locals to come along and share their knowledge of this fascinating history. Step back to the early 1900’s when all the hard work was done on the end of a crosscut saw and the timber was carted to the mills by bullock teams and later on timber tramways,” said Anton.

The tour will begin at the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre before heading out to Bostobrick. Here the bitumen is left behind and the tour follows Moonpar Forest Drive out to the Norman Jolly Memorial Grove to see the big tallowwood trees. There will be a series of stops with short, easy walks and a lunch stop on the Nymboida River at Platypus Flat. The tour finishes at the old timber town of Cascade.

“We’re inviting locals and visitors to the area to appreciate some of the tallest, biggest and oldest brushbox and tallowwood trees remaining on the Dorrigo Plateau. We also visit one of the best patches of Red Cedar”, added Ms Menhofer.

Participants will need to bring their own 4WD, lunch, drinks and suitable footwear for walking on well formed tracks. The cost of the tour, which includes morning tea, a map and park brochure, is $60 per vehicle. Bookings are essential and can be made by contacting the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre on 02 66 572309.