The Comboyne plateau is situated in the hinterland of the Mid North Coast of NSW. It lies primarily within the Port Macquarie Hastings Council Local Government area but also in the Greater Taree City Council area. It is approximately 60 km west of Port Macquarie.

The unique Comboyne volcanic plateau varies from 550 to 750 metres above sea level. The region has deep red basalt soils and a high rainfall. The mean annual rainfall for Comboyne village is 1817.6 mm (Bureau of Meteorology 2006). The predominant rainfall is in summer but 100 year records show high rainfall can occur at any time of year (BoM, 2006). The highest annual rainfall recorded at Comboyne over the last 100 years was 3709mm and the lowest 913mm (BoM, 2006). Rainfall decreases in amount from the eastern to the western sections of the Plateau.

The plateau was originally a rainforest area of some 18,000 hectares however extensive clearing has left only a few small pockets of remnant vegetation. The largest remnant is reserved in Boorganna Nature Reserve while smaller remnants have recently been reserved in Comboyne and Bridal Veil Falls Nature Reserves. There are also some voluntarily conserved areas on private property which extend the National Park reserves.

The Comboyne Plateau is the source of a number of rivers and creeks. It has many small natural springs which also feed the rivers. Arising on the Plateau are: Upsalls Creek, Camden Haven River, Thone River, Mumfords Creek, Hartys Creek, Bridal Veil Falls Creek, Toms Creek. These creeks and rivers flow into the Ellenborough River, Hastings River, Camden Haven River and then out to sea.

References

Hydrology Section, NSW Office of the Bureau of Meteorology 2006 Monthly data for Comboyne Post Office. Unpublished document.