Point Plomer Road Sealed and Ready for Holiday Traffic
This month, work to seal one of the last stretches of dirt road on the East Coast was finished.
Point Plomer Road runs between Crescent Head and the Hastings River at Port Macquarie, and has long been an escape for surfers seeking refuge from busier zones.
Since 1997, Kempsey Shire Council (KSC) has been threatening to seal the road as far as Big Hill, where the road enters Limeburners Creek National Park, citing ongoing costs to maintain the road. Many local residents and visiting surfers have opposed the move saying it will permanently alter the character of the region.
In October 2018, KSC successfully sought a grant of $2.88m under the RestartNSW Regional Growth – Environment and Tourism Fund Program, which combined with a further $720k from KSC funded the project.
Work began on the 11.8 km stretch in February, and this month line marking was finished.
“From the outset, the primary goal in sealing Point Plomer Road was to provide a safer road, and by finishing this on time we’ve secured that safety for the peak holiday season,” said Kempsey Shire Council General Manager, Craig Milburn.
“This is also a big win for residents,"continued Milburn. "Not just those who live nearby who will benefit from reduced noise and dust, but for the whole shire with a marked reduction in environmental damage and ratepayers no longer funding the ongoing costly gravel road maintenance activities.”
KSC maintains that the road sealing is not related to land zoning or development along the road. While in relation to the road changing the character of the area, KSC has put concerned residents at ease by developing a 'local character statement' that reflects the spirit of the Point Plomer area.
Comments
Colour coded spread sheet Stu?
one of the best named coastal spots in the world "Delicate Nobby" My pommie friends got a kick out of that one back in the 80s
What's the go with the ongoing saga of the carpark infront of the caravan park at Crescents?
What do the 'locals' actually think of this?
I would love to look at that "Local Character Statement". Some of the local characters around those parts are classics and I love them dearly.
I really am sad to see the Plomer road sealed, as the goat track it became, post sand mining, was part of the allure of the place and made scoring waves along that stretch a pre dawn, bumpy right of passage from teenage years to near retirement.
In follow up to Ryder's question, the building of the luxury cabins and a landscaped coastal walkway along the point seems to be still in limbo. I attended a protest back in April 2021 and it was wax heads versus Kempsey Shire Council. Not completely up to date on who is currently winning that battle.
Used to camp there annually on my way back up to Qld. when I used to live in Sydney. Lovely part of Oz. I'd stop short of saying it's a shame and probably go with it was inevitable.
like the train ride.........?
As much as my suspension is happy with this there is nothing like a dirt road to add to the aroma and nostalgia of a surf session. Removing barriers of any kind always paves the way for more crowds (boom rush)
Un-wilding the wild. A sad day and no trip there will be the same again :(
Oh but just think the council can charge someone to put a coffee cart and a "Trendy" van selling "Truffle Pie's" and "Foie Degras" to the "posh people"...... Its a shame as it can be hard to keep your sense of adventure as you get on....so even something as simple as a bumpy dirt track to negotiate before you get your first glimpse of the days waves can give a small sense of being "away from it all".
Not every piece of land needs to have tarmac on it.
Part of the adventure was the dirt road.
There goes backbeach
For those curious, here's the character statement. It's not a standalone statement, made with the express purpose of placating those opposed, rather it's page 56 of a colourful but meaningless brochure full of blah blah.
Never thought you would write a sentence with blah blah in it Stu.
There goes the last hideaway for surfers. Once Seals Rocks road was sealed years ago( maybe 10) the hordes arrived in force to the point where you can't even get a parking spot on any weekend or holiday period! Another paradise lost! They paved paradise & put up a parking lot!!!
No parking lot Greg, just gridlock on hot weekends/ holidaze.........
Feel so lucky to have surfed it way back in the winter of 70 ,don't they call it progress
There is usually a reason why roads are built - and it has nothing to do with cars.
Yep. Cars could already get down that road , just not in the volume they’d like to fulfill the grand plan.
Many classic memories along this stretch, including the night my little blue cattle dog 'Legend' came back into the tent whilst me and my missus was having a nookie. Legend had been rolling in some very dead animal of some kind and proceeded to rub himself all over us and our bedding and it was absolutely putrid. He was very happy with himself, I was less so- ha ha. Always a bit spooky surfing alone on this stretch when it was thick, thick cornflake weed. Ah, the good old days, very thankful to have had it like it was, virtually all to myself more often than not.
Sounds romantic Dave.
Thanks for dropping in.
That's some real Mills & Boon stuff right there, Dave.
Hope you are going really well.
Good one Dave what a legend
I'm saddened by this a little; particularly because there arent actually that many locals along that stretch of road (a few large "ranches" posing as Air BnBs and holiday cabins now). However, I did a trip down there last year before it was sealed and every camp was chockas (aside from Malaleuca as usual). It's now only 4 hours from Northern Sydney. Still, doesnt sound like it is sealed beyond Big Hill so still some character left and less dust for sure. Is Maria River road sealed now too ?
Limeburners NP starts where the sealed road now ends by the way.....
So many great memories from there through the '80's.
Broken cars, broken bodies, broken hearts. Some memorable solo surf sessions too.
Had the carburettor on my Datsun 120Y rattle off driving that stretch, stuck on the side of the road till we could get parts, late 70's I think. Then another year a 4WD came around a bend too fast & side swiped the side of my wagon, every panel damaged, they didn't stop. All worth it for the camping & waves, so many good memories, sad to see it go this way
My surf trip up north are officially over. Stay home and surf my crowded local break. No difference.
Wise decision!
Plenty of good memories and sessions on this coastline, from around 1994 onwards. I was always a "No Tar for Goolawah" person - purely as it would speed up the development of the area. I've noticed though that in the last few years, despite the lack of tar, there's been plenty of surfers at the main spots down to Big Hill when Creso point is busy; I don't think that tarring the road will increase surfer numbers substantially.
When I read this article, I also realised that after Big Hill it turns into Limeburners Creek National Park which goes down past Queens Head. That'll hopefully stop further development down on this stretch of coast and keep the spots quiet. I reckon there's plenty of solo and uncrowded sessions left in the area.
It’s a fickle stupid place anyway. Hard to get a quality wave. Smart Sydney people would head south to the Wollongong area where you can get great waves and a fun night out at the end of the day and it’s less than an hour and a half to drive.
Yep, smart decision!
I see what you’re doing there mr mick ....
Haha, no fooling you Guy,
Was up there two weeks ago back beaches were all still pretty quite. Was glad not getting another stone chip in the windscreen (got one last year) but agree the dirt always add to the sense of adventure. Time will tell if it crowds the lineup, TBH the van lifers are a much bigger impediment to scoring a quite solo session these days.
haha. I got two in two minutes on that c#nty road!! Perilous journey at the best of times for the shockers and windscreen.
What's next? . A bridge to Port Macquarie.
Inevitable yes….. necessary fuck no. Check out the next stage of the Plomer so called improvements by our National Parks team and tell me they aren’t gunna fuck that lovely price of paradise. Seal Rocks camp ground…... Gone… Plomer going the same way if we don’t speak up. Get on board when the time comes guys.
Learnt to surf & wire up an exaust pipe along that stretch of road.
Plently of wildlife in this wilderness area; they are going to need road awareness training, hospital or become wilddog / fox food.
Looks like the Plomer Rd bushland is going to be slided up & cut down for mozzy filled dream homes.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-residential+land-nsw-crescent+he…
My opinion is a little divided on the outcome of the road. It’s totally unnecessary outside of a little extra convenience for a select few but I’m split on its flow on effect for crowds. It’s crowded already with road trippers and the 4wd crew as even without the tar it’s accesible anyway. I’ve counted 40 cars parked on the beach at Queenies when it’s on and the other waves in the area are at best average waves anyway.
Loss of character and the gentrification of rural coastal communities, sadly, certainly isn’t confined to this little neck of the woods.
40 cars at Queen's, wow
40? Try 110 last summer. It's consistently up around 80 over the busier periods now. Absolute circus!
That’s crazy. I don’t even bother weekends or holidays but I didn’t know it got that bad.
Havent been down that road for 20+ years, amazing that its still dirt would have thought it was sealed years ago.
went through there a few times early 90s, pretty sure there was talk of tarring it then
hadn't been back until I snuck a 'no dirt roads' hire car down there a couple of years ago. was still rough as, and a bit intense in the hire car
I was surprised it was still dirt, got some pretty reasonable quiet little waves too... which was also a nice surprise... was small though, and a particularly sharky season.... but still great fun
Last few times I was there the worst bit was from Big Hill onwards to Plummer, the stretch between Crescent and there was pretty sound. So not sure it will make a heap of difference. It is sad to see the development but not surprising.
We were there in April and the road past Big Hill was ridiculously potholed - what you'd expect from a goat track rather than a posted road.
A very sad part of it is that the bumfluff from Kempsey Shire Council posted by Stu doesn't seem to pay any heed to the impact of the actual road-sealing on visitation. By this I mean not only will it likely increase visitation to various places, but it will facilitate visitation by the kind of people who won't regularly go on dirt, and when they get to the end of the road they'll carry on about needing betters levels of service......and so on and so forth....until they've paved paradise to put up the parking lot.
But the saddest part is that, as a coastal planning and policy wonk, it's dead obvious the statements about preserving the character etc as part of what Stu posted is effectively all smoke and mirrors without much clearer statements in state planning policy and the LEP that actually prohibit specific kinds of development - explicitly. As it stands, a smart developer could skate through those statements with their hands tied behind their back and deliver a proposal that ticks all the "protection" boxes.
BTW I reckon you lot who think a dirt road is part of the experience need to get out more. Dirt roads are everywhere if you venture off the tar.
Bottom line is they likely sealed it because of higher traffic levels….
A council would never bother sealing a dirt road if it was relatively quiet!
It’s costly to repair because of the traffic which leads to the requirement for endless resheeting.
So face it, surfers put the place on the map and everyone else followed.
I have had some great waves down there, especially one morning at big hill in crystal crystal clear water and perfect peelers.Adding to the session was another lovely lady I knew with perfect titties swimming on the inside showing me a beautiful, beautiful spectacle as I was finishing off my waves. Great, great memories.
I'd like to thank everyone in and on Swellnet and wish you and all your loved ones a great Christmas and a bloody fantastic 2022. May you all be happy and healthy.
Cheers to all of that Dave!! All the best.
Merry Titsmas
You had me at perfect titties Dave.
All the very best to you and yours too.
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/fashion-trends/glitter-boob-t…
Hooray for Christmas everyone :)
And Hooray for boobies!
Best for Xmas and 2022 to you too Dave. Maintain the rave, my man.
I love boobies!
Recent readings for gamma radiation along that area are still high due to the ilmenite and thorium dumps all along that stretch of coast. The sand miners left a legacy that will last at least 500 years as nobody cleaned up the radioactive waste and just left it all along the beachfront. Gamma radiation can even be registered in Crescent head so I certainly wouldn’t be frothing on living along that road or even camping there for long periods for that matter. You can google the council documents and there are companies wanting to start digging the stuff up to repurpose for nuclear facilities. Worse still is that for many years some rogue builders have been using some dump piles for landfill under new homes in the area…there are docs on that from council too...an unfortunate shambles really.
Could turn you into The Hulk!
What's happened to you Opti? All doom and gloom these days. Remember who you are...
hhmm used to do a week camping at either Delicate or Racecourse every year and had times where I was the only one in the campground...and often the only one in the surf so have mixed emotions. Got buzzed by a decent shark one morning at sth delicate, beautiful clear Morning 2 - 3feet, autumn westerly, bait fish everywhere and neck minute bang, half baitifsh flying around me. Despite my initial staining of the spring suit it became a pretty surreal experience as it seemed to keep its distance as I "sort of" casually paddled in.
Hmmm I've been buzzed there ...late afternoon. Came very close a couple times
So many fond memories of summer camping on a friend's property at Big Hill, surfing out front or rattling up the road to Racecourse, or down the road to Plummer after a southerly buster. Cooking creek mullet over the fire and drinking cask wine into the night. Those were the days.
rose tinted wine glasses there Phil,
goonsac and mullet....(bait fish)
who used it for a pillow? sounds like hell on earth to me.
$$$
That's what KSC is seeing with this little piece of "progress".
$$$
Nice, day trip coming up. You can still surf there whingers lol. So many spots.
I’ve got a mate who pronounces it plOmer as in Homer Simpson. It sort of does my head in but he’s a legend bloke who is the easily best fisherman I’ve ever met and an all round champion style of fella.
Two good Jew in his first and only two casts at Delicate whilst every other punter is coming up empty tells me he can call it what he likes.
I got my first 20 kegger off the rocks at Plomer on a hard body.
damn, I've lost some big fish there too trying to land single handed with no gaff.
Last trip there the surf was more crowded than it is here, haven't been back.
I hope this isnt becoming the norm for east coast...i hope it doesnt happen to ulladulla area or shoalhaven spots..i guess the thieves turn some people away from those spots anyway.
GS, you've got to learn to not name drop all these spots everywhere. You do it in every thread. Just a friendly heads up.
sorry craig could you edit my post a bit? instead make it say shoalhaven instead of what i wrote. thanks a bunch..sorry mate
All good, and done :)
@Blowin... I've got a mate that calls it that too, and I awkwardly let it slide rather than being a dick over-corrector. Ironically he is also a gun fisherman. Out of many and varied fishing sessions, I have only had one glory day when I outfished him.
As for the road it is a bit of a bummer, I travel dirt road everyday, so I'm not precious about goat tracks.
I reckon it could very well be the same bloke!
You been getting waves over your way lately?
Nothing special mate. I've been busy and missed some of the better days, but they were still baby food as free would say.
I'll be up there in mid-Jan for a week. I will report back if it's significantly different.
Got my licence as a 17 year old kid50 years ago. I had a Morris Minor that carried myself and three mates from southern Sydney suburbs up to Plomer. First road trip and certainly memorable. I remember dad giving me a box of tins of oil saying fill it up at the start of Buledelah and fill it up again once you get to the other side. He was right and we made it. On the way through the city the mates sitting in the back were responsible for pulling out the indicator for their side when turning left or right. We got to Port Macquarie and took the punt across the river and made it up the rutile road to Plomer reasonably unscathed. Camped out for two weeks surfing the breaks from Queens to Cres. Absolute days of which memories are made and days that set the tone for many adventures with crew that still continue. Actually meeting up with the boys this afternoon for a couple of Xmas brews! Great days and great times. Maximise every breath stay positive and keep surfing. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all.
Those were the days aye. No money but few responsibilities.
People complaining saying the place will be fucked…it’s already shot. How much more crowded can it get? The road has always been worse after big hill where the council works stop and parks begin so there’s still plenty of bad dirt road for you all to reminisce on whilst shaking your way to pull up at back plomer only to find that there’s more cars there than Kempsey woolies. The same for the next town north, it’s more remote and there’s regularly 50 cars on the beach.
"Invade paradise and put up a parking lot".
1975 and it’s our surfing trip South from Byron. Lighty, Leppy Denham and John Curry and we rolled into Sandon Point only to spy a group of beautiful Wollongong girls camping with mum and dad. Should we push on South or stay? We left and drove South. I distinctly remember the Point Plomer road. Unsealed and isolated, driving toward Port all the while thinking let’s go back to Sandon. There were lots of spots to surf but our thoughts were north and so it was that we drove in on the Blackman’s Point road and headed up the Pacific. Those were the days!
What about a tunnel to Byron bay/the pass
the dirt never stopped anyone and now most sydney people have a suv with a roof tent, (hilux number 1 vehicle sold in OZ) im sure the crowds out front will continue to be a pain.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-residential+land-nsw-crescent+he…
Shame really. Whats that song? "Paved Paradise", "Big Yellow Taxi". Walked that track and my double plugger blew out so I hit the beach at Point Plomer and got back to Crescent Hd before dark.
not going back as far as most but taking my two sons from 2003 to now 2-3 x per year to Big Hill area and surrounding spots. Surfing, fishing, (small) fires on the beach, making surf vids and endless surf photos..........plenty of burnt black and salt crusted bodies from hours in the brine. Shark swimming under the three of us a few years back at a back beach was "invigorating"! Best family memories so far!
Come on lets look at the positives...
1) This will make it much better to take caravans to Big Hill. 2) Property owners along the road will see their values increase substantialy. 3) No more dust to choke on. 4) Caravans will stay cleaner. 5) Less wear and tear on vehicles & caravans. 6) You wont feel like you've been on the Wipeout ride at Dream World when you get to the end. 7) Quicker trips into town for supplies. 8) Much easier to check 'the already' crowded surf spots. 9) Will make for a quick get away, when half a dozen locals with Bob Mc Tavish and Jackson surfboards decide it's time for you to leave.
Not sure why they don’t just relocate the entire area to just North of Hornsby. Think of the convenience!
Brilliant!
Nope, it's a nighmare driving around Hornsby with a caravan.
I'm very disappointed that I won't be able to bring my nice clean off-road caravan and range rover up there and get it dirty any more. There goes my Outdoor Type credibility.
Has Diamond Head Rd been tarred yet, went out there just a few years ago, with the dog chucking up over the misses. She never wants to go out there again, although it is magic.
Blew the tranny out in my 4x4 going a Moderate consistent speed on that road.
Fuckin nightmare of constant potholes.
there's better waves on the east coast.
Wow - haven't been up that way for years -didn't even know Plomer road was sealed.
I guess that's what you get when you live out west - sooo outa ouch!!!!!
Can't wait to get back up there