Korora - The Solitary Islands Marine Park Coastal Walk

One stop along the Solitary Islands Marine Park coastal walk (map) is Korora. It is a small ocean-side suburb to the north of Coffs Harbour. Approaching from Charlesworth Bay the walk follows a steep littoral rainforest track. One knows when one is near dwellings as the weeds multiply and the sound of yapping dogs can be heard. All over NSW it seems a tradition to chuck the 'garden clippings' over the fence, into the 'bush'. They strain to distinguish themselves from this amorphous  'bush' of bio-diversity to grow a mono-culture of lawn and pretty weeds. The only welcomed animals are dogs, stuffed with native marsupial meat. The barking cacophony is not the only extension beyond their fence posts, but the diverse bush is also simply annexed as a tip. The chuck and grab formula applies all over coastal Australia - it is a frame of mind.


When the McMansions are 'just in your face' on the cliff top, there are only dead trees and stumps providing ocean 'views'. The bush reserve is simply disposed over by private interests. Coal- powered air conditioners hum along to the barking audio pollution. No solar ever in sight. The thick line of weeds emanating from these non-places get a regular dousing of pesticide. A sign reads 'These trees have been poisoned'.  Juvenile brush boxes hug the edge of the cliff site,  retaining the soil close to the walk way. This endemic coastal rain forest tree has a colourful bark and white flowers.

Leading down steep stairs to the lagoon more tree stumps grace the walk and indicate that it is a culture scape. Till in the 70s this water body has been described as 'a pristine water hole'. Now it stinks and appears to be a health hazard. "A decade on and the lagoon is choked with silt, weeds, pollution and rubbish." It is still fringed by a bit of native vegetation, if not annexed by the properties hugging the stream. A shy yellow-billed spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) is wading in the foul slime-covered waters searching for food. What option has it got but this human sewer?


More houses are directly ON the beach sprouting stumps and green lawn. Unusual white quartz, pumice accumulates here on the sand. Native Pandanus and Crinum pedunculatum scent the air in a positive way - but the stench wins.

At the beach packs of dogs are let loose. Wildlife like plovers and goannas flee to make way for these feces and urine depositing machines. Most of the poo remains. Even as a human being one does not feel that one's safety is guaranteed. The hyper abundance of canines without effective enforcement makes this a 'backgarden of pet enthusiasts' only. Australian wildlife and walkers/ visitors find themselves in a stinking, noisy and threatening place.



The ocean/surf also smells off-putting which makes one wonder about the sewage arrangements of concrete coastal sprawl. Looking back to the cliff one has spectacular views of the human-made erosion from eradicating the cliff vegetation. Landslides are just there where trees have been poisoned and killed. The beach also seems to erode rapidly in this coal-fuelled climate.