Bellingen is a town that took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up far better off. It sits on the Bellinger River in the hills behind Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast, a small place of timber verandahs, bookshops, galleries and cafes, with a reputation for artists, potters, organic growers and people who moved up from Sydney and never went back. On a sunny morning the main street has a laid-back air that would be dull in a more pretentious place and is simply pleasant here.
The Bellinger valley is lush, green and humid, with rainforest on the ridges, dairy farms on the flats and the river winding through. Above the town, the Dorrigo plateau rises in a steep escarpment, and this is where the Waterfall Way begins its climb, with bends that tighten steadily as the road climbs through forest to the tableland. The sections out of Bellingen are among the best on the route: wide enough to relax, tight enough to need attention, and with a surface that is generally good, though leaf litter and damp patches under the trees need care.
Bellingen has a few quirks. A colony of grey-headed flying foxes roosts on an island in the river near the town, and at dusk the bats stream out across the sky, a spectacle that is loud, slightly smelly and strangely beautiful. The town holds a monthly market that fills the park with stalls, music and local food, and has hosted jazz and blues festivals that draw people from all over the state. The valley was once logged for red cedar, and some of the old buildings are built from timber hauled from the surrounding forests.
For practical purposes, Bellingen is an easy stop. It is a proper town of nearly four thousand people, with fuel, shops and food, and it has a good selection of cafes serving excellent coffee and bakery goods. Coffs Harbour, about twenty kilometres away on the coast, offers more of everything if you need it, and Boambee East is a suburb on the way.
The best months are autumn and spring, when the heat is bearable and the forest is fresh. In summer it can be hot and humid, with thunderstorms in the afternoon, so an early start is a good idea.