Why go to Wooli?
Wayne Kampe

THE LIFE of a photo-journalist is one of great hardship. For example, for this report some of my research involved having a great feed of fresh oysters, king prawns, and smoked trevally from the Wooli seafood outlet. But hey - someone’s got to do it…

Wooli is situated almost due east of the city of Grafton in northern New South Wales. Turn-offs to Wooli are obvious on the Pacific Highway at either Ulmarra (north of Grafton) or 14 kays south of the Jacaranda City (where a decent-sized sign indicates that Wooli is a mere 35km away). The road into Wooli is a good one, so towing caravans or boats isn’t a problem.

Our holiday destination is a small town because its growth is limited by the surrounding Yaraygir National Park. This makes Wooli a fairly compact holiday destination, but one with a lot of charm.

ACCOMMODATION

Wooli's not short of places to rest the head - I noted a hotel/motel, some rental properties, and two caravan parks for the benefit of the traveller. As you enter the northern end of town you’ll see the Wooli Bushland Holiday Park. The holiday park offers both powered and un-powered sites, private cabins, and luxury villas. You also have the opportunity to pump yabbies on the river flats which are virtually at the back door of the park. Adding to its appeal is the fact that open fires are allowed, there's a private boat ramp, swimming pool, and hire boats and canoes. Dogs are allowed, subject to conditions. Last but not least is the fact that visitors can camp right on the river side or out in the natural bush areas where the possums will pinch a bit of tucker at night.

Right in town you’ll find the Council-owned camping grounds with 44 short-term and seven long-term van sites, and seven tent sites. All are well sheltered. The river is close - just over the road - and over the road on the east side of the caravan park is the ocean. There's heaps of beach for swimmers and surfers, some excellent formations for beach anglers, and pipis and worms for bait. Great stuff! BBQs are on site and the nearby picnic grounds on the river. In all, it's another great attraction at Wooli.

THE FISHING

One of the most striking features of the place is the sheer cleanliness of the water, the coastline, and the general surrounds, in keeping with the National Park. The fishing here is diverse - you can choose between the beach, the small Wooli River, and heading out offshore.

If you take a look around you will see the telltale signs of good fishing areas. Things like the large number of oysters along the river walls, the schools of bream and luderick mooching around the boulders of the sea wall, and the large whiting darting about in the shallows of the river at high tide. For me the clincher was the sight of the bunch of huge scales left on the cleaning table at the boat ramp… mute testimony of some lucky so-and-so catching a big jewie.

Both the river and sea wall fishing are good options for land-based anglers. The river yields the expected whiting, bream, and flathead from the flats and main channel areas, and the training walls near the mouth offer luderick fishing as well.

The sea wall is renowned for jew, tailor, bream, and some salmon over the last two winters. Night fishing after a good fresh is the way to secure a jew and, unlike some river walls where you almost need the skills of a mountaineer and the agility of a blue rock crab to fish steep sloping boulders (fun rating: zero at night), the walls at the river mouth are friendly places to fish. The height above water is manageable and it's only in very rough weather that breaking waves tend to make things uncomfortable.

There is great offshore fishing available in this area. Local fishing charters can help non-boaters to get amongst the quality reef fish in the area, which include snapper, kingfish, jew, and amberjack. If you’re an experienced offshore boater, you’ll find the bar on the Wooli River no great obstacle to some fine offshore fishing. The river is small and the tidal outflow isn’t huge but, like all river bars, it must be treated with respect and only navigated when conditions are safe. (Be aware that the Solitary Islands Marine Park is a feature of the offshore grounds at Wooli, and a map showing restricted areas is available at the caravan parks and other outlets in town.)

NON-FISHING ATTRACTIONS

Other attractions at Wooli include the picnic areas on the river, the surfing at the main beach and river wall areas, the fabulous diving around the offshore islands, and the Yuraygir National Park. The driving and walking tracks in the Park make it easy for visitors to get around and look at the kangaroos, emus, and other wildlife.

And if you visit Wooli make a point of dropping into the seafood outlet while you're there. Sure, you can catch a feed of fish without much trouble, but those oysters and prawns are something else!

WOOLI CONTACTS

Wooli Caravan Park - (02) 66497671
Wooli Bushland Holiday Park - (02) 66497519
Wooli River Lodges - (02) 66497750
Wooli Hotel Motel - (02) 66497532
Wooli Fishing Charters - (02) 66497100
Charon Fishing Charters - (02) 66497554
Wooli Seafood - (02) 66497537
Wooli Dive Centre - (02) 66497100