At Point Lookout, on the edge of the New England tableland in northern New South Wales, the land drops away so suddenly that on a clear morning you seem to be standing on the rim of the world. The escarpment falls more than a kilometre to the Bellinger valley, and on many days a sea of cloud fills the valleys below, with the ridges sticking out like islands. New England National Park protects this edge of the Great Dividing Range, and it is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage site that preserves forests whose lineage goes back to the time when Australia was part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. Here grow Antarctic beech trees, gnarled and draped with moss, in a cool temperate rainforest that feels more like a fairy tale than Australia.
The park ranges from snow gum woodland and heath at the top, often over fifteen hundred metres, to subtropical rainforest at the bottom of the escarpment. Lyrebirds scratch in the leaf litter, and the call of the bellbird rings through the forest. The weather on top is unpredictable: fog, rain and cold winds are common, and in winter snow is possible.
For riders, the park lies on one of the great roads of Australia: the Waterfall Way, which runs from Armidale on the tableland through Wollomombi and Ebor to Dorrigo and down to Bellingen and the coast near Coffs Harbour. Along the way, waterfalls such as Wollomombi, Ebor and Dangar Falls plunge into gorges, and the descent from Dorrigo to Bellingen is a long series of bends through the rainforest. The road into the park itself is partly unsealed and can be rough or muddy after rain. Wildlife, especially wallabies and kangaroos, is common on the roads at dawn and dusk, and the tableland can be foggy.
There are no services in the park, and very few along the road, so fill up in Armidale or Dorrigo, which are a long way apart. Ebor has a small store and a pub. There are campgrounds and cabins in the park for those who want to stay. Dorrigo has cafés and bakeries, and Bellingen, at the foot of the escarpment, is a relaxed town with a good market. Bring warm clothes even in summer, because it can be cold on the tableland.