With three secluded swimming spots, kangaroos galore, and more spiders than you can shake a stick at (and will have to), Connors Walking Track near Hat Head, NSW offers a quieter coastal track and the chance of a schooner at the end. 

 

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Dungutti people who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

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Quick Overview

The walk from Hungry Gate to Hat Head, which features Connors Walking Track, is located on the Mid-North Coast of NSW on Dunghutti Country. It’s a cracker of a day hike or a great addition to your camp trip at Hungry Gate Campground.

Connors Walking Track Facts

Distance: 10.5km return
Duration: 2.5-3 hours
Elevation gain: 315m
Nearest town: Hat Head

About Connors Walking Track

Hat Head was colonially named (very unimaginatively) because it looks a bit like (you guessed it) a hat. Hat Head is on Dunghutti Country in the Macleay Valley, and the national park by the same name is full of culturally significant areas for the Dunghutti people.

The Dreaming story of the area centres on a disagreement over a White fig tree between the coastal people and the inland group. It ended with The Great One taking away the tree. The space where the tree was is said to be either at a cleft rock or a sand hollow near the bowling club.

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

 

How to Get to Connors Walking Track

You can drive to the start of this walk from Coffs Harbour in 1.5 hours and from Port Macquarie in an hour. A perfect little day adventure. From Sydney, it’s more of a trek; 5 hours following the M1 and then the A1. Coming from Brisbane, it’s 5.5 hours, again following the A1 and M1 almost the whole way.

You can start at either Hungry Gate Campground or The Gap car park in Hat Head, walking out-and-back from either end or arranging a car shuffle and walking in a single direction. We started at Hungry Gate, as we camped there the night before.

If camping isn’t your thing, or you just have a day to explore the area, you can park a little up the track from the campground and walk from there.

Where to Stay Near Connors Walking Track

We stayed at Hungry Gate Campground as it’s a beautiful spot to camp. As a national park campground, it currently costs $12 a night per site – an absolute bargain if you ask me. You’ll need to book in advance.

The campground for tents and camper trailers has picnic tables, toilets, and rubbish bins available. BYO drinking and cooking water.

Nearby Accommodation

Skill Level

Intermediate 

As a Grade 4 trail, some bushwalking experience is recommended.

Essential Gear for Connors Walking Track

  • Hat 
  • Water 
  • Snacks
  • Sunscreen
  • Mobile phone
  • Solid footwear 
  • Swimwear and a towel
  • ID to get into the bowling club!

What it’s Like to Hike Connors Walking Track

We started this walk on a slightly unexciting 4WD track. It’s undercover, viewless, and quite hilly; a recipe for a moan-a-minute walk. But as we reached the end of the track and burst out onto the headland, we worried we may have peaked too early.

With panoramic views of the coastline and roos hopping left, right, and centre, I was (nearly) inspired to break into song Sound of Music style. Not fully trusting the windpipes, I spent my time on the headland taking a million photos of the same view.

 

 

But this walk had not peaked yet.

Around the corner, the stunning views of the coastline continued, and we wound along the path as it hugged the shore. It was an undulating, thigh-burner of a trail that dipped down to the beaches and back up to the headlands. At times it was overgrown and uneven, but mostly very easy to follow.

The walk was a treasure trove of wildlife. We did it in autumn and saw kangaroos, goannas, and our aforementioned leg-endowed friends. In spring, the track explodes with wildflowers and birdsong, and from May to July, migrating Humpback whales pepper the water.

I recently returned to Hat Head and stood glued to the spot as whales breached repeatedly for half an hour. The track is used often enough that it’s well-marked and clear, but is quiet enough that every corner we rounded shook with the rustle of an unknown inhabitant.

 

 

Walking the route in March, the first half of the track was densely crisscrossed with spider webs. Along with ample water and snacks, my best advice is to bring a cracking stick and a cracking friend who’s willing to go ahead of you and face your eight-legged friends alone. Our spider-stick-bearer ended up resembling Fiona from Shrek with a stick full of webbed candyfloss.

This walk offers up two quiet beaches where you may have the joy of swimming alone.

Read more: How to Stay Safe at the Beach

The first is Third Beach (don’t get confused). It has the most intrepid scramble down, but you’ll be rewarded with the most secluded swim. To get there, follow the main path and as you round the far end of the beach, there’s a small rocky path down to the bay.

 

 

With the call of a schooner at Hat Head and the promise of more beaches on the way, we skipped the scramble down to Third Beach and pushed on to sands more accessible to tired legs.

The second (slightly) more popular spot is about another kilometre or so down the path. O’Connors is a bigger beach that the path leads straight down to. We dipped, bodysurfed, and snacked here. We met a few walkers and even a local goanna or two.

From here, the path to Hat Head is at the northern corner of the beach. This part of the walk was slightly more well-trodden, and the path was easily visible from the sand. Following the track, we pushed through a final calf-burning climb up and over the headland and ended up at The Gap car park. There’s another beach here if you haven’t already pruned yourself en route, but my advice is to save yourself for the later swim spots once you reach Hat Head itself.

From The Gap car park, we took Gap Street to the Hat Head footbridge that crosses Korogoro Creek, then walked through the holiday park and turned right to reach a boat ramp that brought us out on the beach. As every tacky holiday house sign says, most paths eventually lead you to the beach, so don’t stress if you wind through a few streets.

Once you get there, depending on the tide and swell, you have two swimming options: Korogoro Creek or Connors Beach. Both are accessible from the main beach. On the incoming tide, the creek is blue, waist-deep, and full of families and small children – a postcard of an Aussie summer. The outgoing tide releases tannins into the water, giving it a stained-tea quality. It’s perfectly safe to swim in, but you might prefer to swim in the clearer water of the bay.

 

 

The town of Hat Head is the cherry on top of this walk. It sings with the love of holiday-makers and locals who’ve called this spot their own for years. The local hall hosts yoga, and the bowling club has an open mic and barefoot bowls. As tiny Aussie beach towns go, Hat Head is a classic.

We swam in the bay, had another round of snacks, and then attempted to go to the bowls club for a schooner. However, we were ID’d at the door and I hadn’t brought mine along! Damn. Next time.

Instead of a beer, we chose a more sophisticated option and visited the holiday park shop for an ice cream and to pose as lobsters in the sea-life themed photo opportunity. The only respectable way to end a serious hike.

 

 

Now all that was left to do was turn back and walk it in the opposite direction.

Tips for Hiking Connors Walking Track

  • The Hat Head General Store sells lots of grocery goodness and has a cafe attached with beaut coffees and delish baked goods
  • Hat Head Bowling Club is the best place to grab a cold one – just remember your shoes and ID
  • Connors Beach is a beautiful spot to sit and have a picnic, so pack a sambo and some snacks to dig into post dip
  • If you’re driving south to get back home, stop in at Steam and Cedar in Gladstone for the best toastie since toasted bread

Cruise More Coastal Trails in NSW

This piece was brought to you by a real living human who felt the wind in their hair and described their adventure in their own words. This is because we rate authenticity and the sharing of great experiences in the natural world – it’s all part of our ethos here at We Are Explorers. You can read more about it in our Editorial Standards.