We didn’t expect to find some of the most spectacular swimming holes in all of NSW in a little known state forest not too far from Port Macquarie.
The main pool is an emerald showstopper with deep crystal clear water and a serene forest setting. Others lie along a giant cliff wall that wouldn’t look out of place in Girraween National Park.
Every pool we saw was gorgeous and we have no doubt there are plenty more waiting to be discovered.
One day in this area really didn’t do it justice and we’re already planning our return, but in the meantime here’s some tips to help you plan your visit.
Exploring the Wild Bull and Bluff Campground swimming holes
Wild Bull Campground Pool
Distance from car park: a few metres
Car Park: Wild Bull Campground
The first pool you will naturally come to is located at the Wild Bull Campground and this is the most popular of all the pools in this part of the forest.
It really does have the wow factor with the most stunning emerald water, small rock walls and gentle cascades at either end. The pool is very deep yet clear all the way through to the bottom.
It’s one of those places that no matter how good you are expecting it to be, it will meet or exceed your expectations.
Accessing the water is easy as the riverbank slopes gently to meet the river and it’s shallow around the entry point before quickly deepening.
There are numerous rope swings, including one which is accessed by climbing wooden planks fixed to a tree.
We didn’t see anyone use any of the swings and we didn’t either, but the plank swing is very photogenic. Always remember to depth check the water first before jumping.
On the subject of depth, the pool was at least 5m deep on our visit and there was no current, however, water levels and currents will change depending on recent rainfall.
The camping spots are just above the water, less than a 30 second walk away. The site isn’t huge, but even so if you’re looking for serenity you probably want to avoid hot weekends in summer.
We visited on a Friday in early February and there were people around, but not too many and it never felt crowded.
Lara’s Lagoon
Lara’s Lagoon is located a 250m upstream of the main swimming hole at the campground.
You can drive to it but the road is significantly worse than the road to Wild Bull and requires a 4WD to navigate the deep ruts. If that’s not for you it’s a quick walk.
The bushwalk
The road
We initially rock hopped from the main swimming hole to the lagoon without realising there was a road we could use. It’s much quicker and easier to use the road which will take you right to the stony riverbank beside the pool.
A few people were camping here on our visit and as there’s only room for a couple of cars I imagine it would be a very quiet spot even in peak season.
The pool is lovely, with a mix of deep and shallow water and a stony bottom. It’s very pretty but doesn’t compare to the main pool for me, though if the other pool was very busy I would definitely head here.
The Bluff Campground Pools
Distance from car park: 55m
The Bluff Campground isn’t far away from Wild Bull but it’s definitely far enough to drive and the road is in good shape.
To find the main pools, park by the bollards at the far end of the campground (you can see the exact spot on Google maps here).
From here, walk through the picnic area and look for the trail leading into the bush and towards the river. It’s a well worn track that leads down to the riverbank and takes just a minute (55m).
Access to the water is easy as the stony bank is flat to the water and it’s a very shallow entry point. The water is much shallower in this pool than at Wild Bull, with only a few places that were of swimming depth on our visit.
There would be more space to swim but there are rocks in this pool which limits you a bit. It may be that the river was quite low on our visit and it’s usually easier to swim.
If you’re looking to relax in the shallows it’s perfect and you can still have a bit of a swim even when the depth is low.
The huge cliff walls blew me away here, reminding me so much of Girraween National Park which is famous for its incredible rock formations. It’s astounding it’s right here in a little visited part of the Mount Boss State Forest!
The cliffs really give the pool grandeur and I loved it here despite the lack of depth. There was also no one else around at all on our visit which was pretty staggering.
We continued a little downstream of this pool which was also beautiful and somewhere we’ll be back to explore further in the future.
In terms of the campground it’s much quieter than Wild Bull, I mean there was no one there at all on a Friday afternoon so I would say if you’re looking for a peaceful spot it’s the one to head to.
There are pit toilets, BBQs and picnic benches in a gorgeous bushy setting. It’s lovely to think that places as stunning as this are still free to camp at, especially with fees at national park campgrounds on the rise.
Getting to the Mount Boss State Forest
The drive in
Wild Bull Campground is located in the Mount Boss State Forest, about 60km and a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from Port Macquarie. You can see the exact spot on Google maps here.
Accessing both campgrounds involves driving for a significant amount of time on unsealed roads, to get to Wild Bull is just under 18km of gravel road, with The Bluff being an additional 1.7km.
Offline Maps
There is no phone signal at Wild Bull, so you’ll need an offline map to help navigate the area. Before driving here, make sure you have downloaded an offline map for the Mount Boss State Forest.
You can do this on Google Maps by clicking on your profile and selecting “Offline Maps” from the menu that appears (you can also follow these instructions). It’s free, easy and ensures that you will be able to navigate even without phone signal.
Make sure you’re prepared in case you get a puncture (or 2)…
The road is easy to drive and doesn’t have any tricky terrain, but there are some sharp rocks. I’d heard mixed reviews about the road and on the way in was pleased with how good the condition appeared to be.
However, while the road has no technical challenges (no need for a 4WD) those sharp rocks can shred a tyre. So make sure you have a spare tyre, puncture repair kit, compressor and a PLB.
We got two punctures on the way back out the forest and saw another car on the way in that had also suffered a puncture. Whilst this is obviously very unlucky, it taught us we’d been complacent about these ‘easy’ gravel roads for far too long.
As there is no phone signal you need to be able to do a quick patch up to get you back to the sealed road if you get unlucky.
We learnt the error of our ways as by the time we got out of the forest we needed to buy two brand new tyres. I don’t want to put anyone off driving out here as we were very unlucky, but do go better prepared than we were!
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