The Northern Rivers Rail Trail is one of those adventures that works best when you stop treating it like something to complete. Running through Bundjalung Country in northern New South Wales, the trail follows former railway corridors through green countryside, old stations, bridges, tunnels and small towns.
For this trip I explored the Tweed section with Sunny. The open route between Murwillumbah and Crabbes Creek is 24 km, but you do not need to ride or walk the whole thing to enjoy it. Shorter stretches around Stokers Siding, Burringbar and Mooball make it easy to slow the day down and let the landscape set the pace.
Travelling with a dog changes how you move through a place. There are more stops, more smells, more moments spent noticing shade, water and whatever is happening at the side of the trail. What might otherwise become a distance to tick off turns into a series of small discoveries — which is probably why the Northern Rivers Rail Trail felt so naturally suited to an Eden Quest kind of day.
