We’re on approach to Limeburners Creek National Park, on our trek near Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast, when we’re joined by an inquisitive blue heeler. She darts in and out between our pack of 17 hikers, herding us along the four-wheel drive track that runs parallel to North Shore Beach. She must know she’s on to a good thing – at 5km in she’s still with us and seems intent on hanging around for the entirety of our 34km trek to Crescent Head.
A local beach buggy driver, aware of the pup’s tendency to wander, comes to the rescue and we watch as they scoot down the beach back to her home, our lovely canine friend peering back at us. The buggy driver circles back half an hour later with ice blocks – the perfect parting gift as we trek north.
These interactions are the first of many connections we’ll make on this three-day, two-night pack-free hike with Positive Energy Retreats, the brainchild of our Port Macquarie-based hike leaders, Peta Alexopoulos and Belinda Johnson, friends for over a decade who seem to have an aversion to sitting still. The pair have over 20 years of experience in the outdoors, fitness and health, and their love of physical activity, appreciation of nature, and the obvious buzz they get from seeing friendships form is infectious and carries us through long stretches of sand, some gnarly headlands and challenging bushland trails.
A tale of beginnings
Prior to our canine encounter, our day started at Port Macquarie’s Settlement Point, with a welcome to country by local Birpai/ Dhanggati woman Dr Aunty Rhonda Radley, who instils how powerful a connection to land can be if we are open to it.
“Over the next few days, try and be still, try and listen, feel, smell what’s around you. Let go of who you’re expected to be at home and take this time for you,” she says, promising to join us for sunrise on the beach in the morning.
Our hike will connect two sides of Aunty Rhonda’s heritage. Her grandfather was Birpai whose country spans from Port Macquarie to Racecourse headland where Dhanggati, her grandmother’s country, begins and includes our final leg to Crescent Head.
As we amble along North Shore beach Peta shares how an unexpected, re-routed flight up the coast to Crescent Head helped turn the Positive Energy Retreats dream into reality.
“Despite living here and hiking parts of it for years, we’d never seen it from the air! No one was operating in Limeburners, and this seemed like a sign that we should be the first.”
As the sole NSW National Parks Eco Pass certified operator for guided hikes in Limeburners Creek National Park, their vision to create an experience that encouraged people to get ‘out of their heads, and onto their feet’ came to life, launching their first retreats in 2023.
A natural people connector, Peta leads the group, while Belinda’s gentle, reassuring presence keeps watch from the rear. In our motley group, there’s a mother and daughter, two sisters, a pair of friends escaping the rigours of life on a dairy farm, working holiday travellers from Portugal and Spain, some Port Macquarie locals and me, the city dweller from Sydney. Together we connect generations, cultures, lifestyles and experiences and share stories as we cross the hard packed sand and head up and over Queens Head.
We’re about 15 kilometres into today’s walk when the whales come out in style. The obligatory, “Is that one?”, “Do you see it?” and “It’s straight out there, see?” start, before we’re all silenced by the giant body of a southern right whale emerging from the sea in full breach. We walk on, marvelling at the experience – the holy grail of whale watching – until we reach Point Plomer, where another extraordinary aquatic encounter is unfolding.
On the arc of golden sand and in the sparkling sea, a gaggle of families, campers and locals play. As we wander onto the beach, there’s a slight commotion – Geoff, the resident grey nurse shark, has just made his way into the shallows. He frolics, his dorsal fin glinting in the sunshine as the waves gently roll in. It’s mesmerising, and everyone, swimmers, sunbathers, and Geoff, all seem equally unperturbed.
Forty minutes later, we reach Big Hill Beach Cottages, our home for the next two nights where an open fire crackles and wine and cheese awaits. We are weary but we are buzzing, chatting and laughing about the day’s encounters. There’s no reception at Big Hill – no messages to check, no news to google, no doom scrolling. The disconnection creates the ultimate connection as we gather around the camp table for a hearty feast and more chatter before falling into bed. Bliss…
Dawn awakenings, (active) rest and recuperation
Xavier Rudd’s ‘Follow the Sun’ serenades us as our morning alarm (the handiwork of Peta and Belinda circling our cabins with a portable speaker).
We head to Big Hill beach for sunrise where Aunty Rhonda, as promised, welcomes us. The light is perfect, the wind is near non-existent but there is a definite chill in the air. As we stand barefoot in a circle for the ceremony connecting us to land and water, the cold, wet sand feels like ice around our feet.
“You’re feeling the cold, discomfort on your feet,” says Aunty Rhonda. “Just acknowledge it as a feeling, it’s not forever, it will pass.” She’s right, of course, and with that encouragement, I’m able to move beyond the cold and focus on the warmth and positivity of the circle as we silently connect with our surroundings.
Taking Aunty Rhonda’s cue, we peel off layers and head into the water. We might be on Dhanggati country, where the praying mantis is the totem animal, but we’re channelling the porpoise, the Birpai totem, as we roll with the crashing waves.
Energised by our morning swim, then a welcome stretch and mini-yoga practice overlooking the bushland setting, we gather for a ‘Ngarrangga’ (deep listening) session with Aunty Rhonda inside a tent adorned with bowls of eucalyptus leaves, wildflowers and ochre, to be used in the ceremony. For some, it’s cathartic, releasing big emotions. For others, it’s a relaxing meditation.
We take a short afternoon trek through a rare coastal rainforest loop on Big Hill, a contrast to the sun and surf from the previous day as pandanus palms, strangler figs and coastal blackbutt envelope us, and a cacophony of native birds provide a soundtrack unlike any I’ve heard before. Back at camp, a high tea accompanied by a glorious foot soak and massage complete the final preparation for tomorrow’s trek to Crescent Head.
A return to the world
The view from Racecourse Headland is breathtaking across the ocean and rocky ledges as we make our way downhill to Goolawah Beach. A pair of osprey soar above us, silhouetted against a bold blue sky.
It’s an easy, gentle walk along the sand that soon morphs into a challenging incline amongst dense native bush as we travail Big Nobby headland. Melaleuca trees line our path, and the pages of a May Gibbs book spring to life with bottle brush and banksia in abundance. The heart-pumping hike to the top is invigorating.
We trek through what must be one of the prettiest golf courses in the world and alongside Crescent Head’s world-famous surf break watching board riders leap off the rocks into an other-worldly colour blue. We’ve reached our final destination and it’s a stunning finish line.
“Ready everybody, we’re about to head back into civilisation,” says Belinda. By ‘civilisation’ she means people, cars, and ‘Creso’ Pub. We started with a blue heeler and end with a beer – it seems fitting.
I flick through photos from the last few days of the trek and find a map I’ve snapped as a place marker that was on display back at Racecourse Camping Ground. I zero in on a faint blue line, inland and running parallel to the coastal route we’ve just hiked. I show Belinda and Peta who are equally surprised – the irony is not lost on us to discover the faint blue line is, in fact, ‘Connection Creek’.
Fortuitous or serendipitous, or both? I think it’s another sign that Positive Energy Retreats are meant to be here.
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Fact box
Positive Energy Retreats offer 3-day, 2-night, pack free hiking adventures from Settlement Creek, Port Macquarie to Crescent Head.
There is also a Women’s Retreat – February 28 to March 2, 2025 – open for bookings and Positive Energy Retreats will be taking this experience to Lord Howe Island for its inaugural Swim/Hike Retreat on May 17-21, 2025.
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