National Park Odyssey

Archer Camping Area, in the northern end of D'Aguilar National Park, is a grassy, tent only, campground less than two hours drive north of Brisbane.

Archer Camping Area

Each campsite has a numbered car park and a fire ring.

Laughing Kookaburra in Archer Camping Area.

The campground is near Neurum Creek and has access to the water. Swimming here is popular with families.

Neurum Creek at Archer Camping Area.

As well as a few turtles, we saw a particularly light coloured Yellow-faced Whip Snake going for a swim when there was nobody else around.

Yellow-faced Whip Snake.

Take extra care to secure your food and rubbish as Lace Monitors and Brush Turkeys were constantly foraging in the campground.

Lace Monitor

Red-necked pademelons are found around the campground; especially early morning and during the evening.

Red-necked Pademelon

A pair of Tawny Frogmouths were easily visible during the day. Olive-backed Orioles and Kookaburras also frequent the campground.

A pair of Tawny Frogmouths.

Olive-backed Oriole

On our January visit, there were a huge variety of butterflies about. We saw Monarchs, Meadow Argus, Yellow Albatross, Orchard Swallowtails, Clearwing Swallowtails, Small Grass-yellows, Blue Triangles, Blue Tigers, Varied Eggfly, Leafwings, White-banded Planes and Common Crows; as well as a few Skippers, Blues and Yellows that we were not quick enough to ID. Orange-spotted and Heliotrope Moths were also present.

Leafwing. Closed and open.

At the causeway between the campground and Broadwater Day Use Area, Yellow Albatross and Blue Triangles were puddling. There were a large number of White-banded Planes, also known as Common Planes, flying about the campground in their distinctive gliding patterns.

Yellow Albatross puddling and a White-banded Plane.

The shells of Razor Grinder Cicadas were a common site and around dusk the waves of sound created by these aptly named cicadas was excruciatingly loud.

Razor Grinder Cicada

Details for Archer Camping Area, D'Aguilar National Park:
Where: Just north of Woodford, take Neurum Road, turn left into Stanton Road, right into Rasmussen Road and continue past Neurum Creek Bush Retreat. The campground is signposted shortly after entering D'Aguilar National Park. Or enter the national park by Sellin Road and drive north via 4WD road to the campground.
Access: 2WD if entering via Rasmussen Road. Very low clearance might be a problem closer to the campground.
Camp sites: Tent camping only. Open grassy area with 9 numbered sites. Maximum 6 people per site and only 1 car per site. Bollards between vehicle and tent. Near Neurum Creek.
Booking and Fees: Normal National Parks QLD fees. $6.30 per adult. Online and phone booking only. No phone reception at the campground.
Facilities: Individual car parks, fire pits BYO wood, flush toilets, limited tank water. 1 shower cubicle without plumbing; BYO shower and water. No bins. No phone reception at campground. We had Telstra reception at the Gantry picnic area and on a small section of the 4WD road south of the campground.
Prohibited: pets, generators, collecting wood.

The Mount Mee Forest Trail follows a loop through the northern section of D'Aguilar National Park. The road is unsealed and listed as Easy 4WD. There are plenty of things to do along the way for an enjoyable days outing or you can extend the trip by tent camping in either Archer Camping Area or Neurum Creek Camping Area. For the 4WD enthusiast there are also tracks listed as Moderate and Difficult in the park. A PDF map of the trail can be found here .

Rocky Hole
It is a short walk to Rocky Hole Lookout from the car park and from there only a few stairs down to this inviting swimming hole.

Rocky Hole

Orange Threadtail at Rocky Hole.

Mill Rainforest Walk, Class 3, 1.4 km circuit.
We particularly enjoyed the Mill Rainforest Walk. Magnificent strangler figs and epiphytes abound.

Strangler Fig

Footbridge along the Mill Rainforest Walk.

There are more catbirds here than we have encountered anywhere else. While we often hear catbirds on our travels, seeing them is another matter, but here we saw several. Getting a good photo of one is always a challenge though. Another highlight was watching a male Paradise Riflebird as he searched for insects.

Green Catbird

Paradise Riflebird, male.

Falls Lookout, Class 2,1 km return to the lookout.
A short walk to a lookout overlooking the northern side of D'Aguilar Range and Neurum Valley. The walk continues down to Bulls Falls.

The view from Falls Lookout

The Gantry Day Use Area

The Gantry

The Gantry Day Use Area is accessible by 2WD via Sellin Road. It is a large grassy area with toilets, picnic tables, gas BBQ's and wood BBQ's (BYO wood). Two walks start opposite the entry to the Gantry car park.

The Gantry Day Use Area

Somerset Trail, Class 4, 13 km circuit.
We had a quick peek along the trail and decided to come back for this walk at a cooler time of year.

Piccabeen Walk, Class 2, 1 km circuit.
This is a very pleasant walk. The entire path is either bitumen or boardwalk, making it just perfect for wheelchairs or families with strollers.

Resting area on the Piccabeen Walk.

Broadwater Day Use Area
The Broadwater is a small day use area close to Archer Campground. There is access to Neurum Creek, a small toilet block and a few shady picnic tables.

Broadwater Day Use Area

Swimming hole at the Broadwater Day Use Area, Nuerum Creek

Spectacled Monarch at Broadwater Day Use Area

There are two campgrounds in the Mount Mee section of D'Aguilar National Park: Archer Camping Area and Neurum Creek Camping Area which I will cover in separate blogs.

Wildlife List for Mount Mee section of D'Aguilar National Park:
Lace Monitor, Elf Skink, Bar-sided Skink, unidentified skink, Cane Toad, Yellow-faced Whip Snake, Red-bellied Black Snake, Black-striped Wallaby, Red-necked Pademelon, Red-legged Pademelon.
Insects: Razor Grinder Cicada.
Butterflies & Moths: Monarch, Meadow Argus, Yellow Albatross, Orchard Swallowtail, Clearwing Swallowtail, Small Grass-yellow, Blue Triangle, Blue Tiger, (Unidentified dark brown) Skipper, Varied Eggfly, Leafwing, White-banded Plane, Common Crow, Orange-spotted Moth, Heliotrope Moth.
Dragonflies & Damselflies: Scarlet Percher, Blue Skimmer. Orange Threadtail.
Birds: Satin Bowerbird, Australian Brush Turkey, Green Catbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Pacific Black Duck, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald Dove, Spangled Drongo, Rufous Fantail, Red-browed Finch, Tawny Frogmouth, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Azure Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Forrest Kingfisher, Common Koel, Rainbow Lorikeet, Spectacled Monarch, Olive-backed Oriole, Australian King Parrot, Wonga Pigeon, Eastern Yellow Robin, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Russet-tailed Thrush, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler.

Neurum Creek Camping Area

The first thing we saw on arrival at our campsite in Neurum Creek Camping Area was a Sacred Kingfisher chasing a Lace Monitor.

Sacred Kingfisher at Neurum Creek Camping Area

There were Russet-tailed Thrushes wandering about the shady areas near the amenities.

Russet-tailed Thrush

There is a short walking track from the campground to Neurum Creek. While walking along the creek we saw a Red-bellied Black Snake foraging in the leaf litter.

Neurum Creek, showing the dry area we walked along on the right.

Red-bellied Black Snake

Lophostemon Walk: Class 3, 750 m circuit.
After a short rock crossing over Neurum Creek this is an easy and pleasant walk. I guessed that Lophostemon would be a type of tree and on returning home I looked it up and found out it is a genus of evergreen tree in the myrtle family.

Lophostemon Walk

Typical site at Neurum Creek Camping Area with parking space and fire place.

Details for Neurum Creek Camping Area, D'Aguilar National Park:
Where: Enter the national park by Sellin Road. From The Gantry day use area the road is classified as 4WD to the campground. However, when we were there, the section of road between the Gantry and the campground was in excellent condition and a number of cars used it. We drove to the campground from Archer Camping Area which is a 4WD road and has some more challenging sections.
Camp sites: Tent camping only. 13 numbered and defined dirt sites. Maximum 6 people per site and only 1 car per site. Bollards between vehicle and tent. Near Neurum Creek.
Booking and Fees: Normal National Parks QLD fees. $6.30 per adult. Online and phone booking only. No phone reception at the campground.
Facilities: Individual car parks, fire pits BYO wood, flush toilets, some sites have taps, treat water before use. No bins. No phone reception at campground. We had Telstra reception at the Gantry picnic area.
Prohibited: pets, generators, collecting wood.
What's good: shallow creek popular with families.

Dangars Gorge and Dangars Falls are about 23 km south-east of Armidale. (This is a completely different area to the similarly named Dangar Falls near Dorrigo.) We arrived at Dangars Gorge Campground on a very hot day and chose a site with afternoon shade in mind. There is free entry and free camping here, so we were pleasantly surprised to see that there were good facilities and only 2 other campers.

Dangars Gorge Campground

Eastern Grey Kangaroo at Dangars Gorge Campground.

We couldn't find any information signs about the wildlife or walks but fellow campers directed us to the signage, which is about 100 m away, near the picnic area car park.

The Dangars Falls Picnic Area is at the end of Dangar Falls Road. It is separate to the Dangars Gorge Campground and has it's own car park. The picnic area is quite large and overlooks an off-shoot of the Salisbury Waters river. There are toilets, picnic tables and gas barbecues.

Dangars Falls Picnic Area

There is a well equiped camp kitchen halfway between the campground and picnic area. Although the camp kitchen is a bit further away from camp than normal, it is very well set up with tables and free gas BBQ plates as well as gas burners. This turned out to be fortuitous for us as we had misjudged how much gas we had before setting out and ran out of gas in our main bottle only two days into the trip. We do carry spare canisters so it wasn't a complete disaster but the gas burners allowed us to boil water quickly and the BBQ plates were handy for frying a large batch of onions. An added bonus was the pleasant views while we cooked. There is also a beautifully placed outdoor table between the camp kitchen and the main lookout over the falls.

Camp Kitchen

Walks:
There are excellent lookouts and views within 300 m of the camp kitchen which makes Dangars Gorge a great destination for those who don't hike.

Despite visiting in the summer, when the waterfalls are usually at their most stunning, Dangars Waterfall was barely a trickle when we were there. Even in the dry, Dangars Gorge is worth seeing. The gorge is immense and photos of it just don't seem to do it justice.

Dangars Waterfall.

Dangars Gorge from the top of Dangars Waterfall.

The area around the river, near the picnic area, is pleasant to explore.

Foot bridge near the picnic area.

Orchard Swallowtail, male.

We couldn't resist exploring further, so we set off early the next morning on a walk combining the Mihi Falls Walk and the McDirtys Walk. Altogether, about 11 or 12 km.

Rock Wallaby Lookout, Grade 3, 2.2 km return.
We saw both Swamp Wallabies and Brush-tailed Rock Wallabies on the way to Rock Wallaby Lookout.

View into the gorge from Rock Wallaby Lookout

Mihi Falls Lookout, Grade 3, 9 km return or about 7 km return via the shortcut.

We encountered large numbers of female Common Brown butterflies along this walk. Despite their name, these butterflies are not commonly sighted where we come from so we enjoyed seeing them. Their superb camouflage when resting and their sudden bursts of flight do make them a challenge to photograph.

Common Brown Butterfly, female.

Mihi Falls

Gorge view from Mihi Lookout.

Instead of continuing on the Salisbury Waters Walk we headed back via a loop that runs along the edge of the national park boundary and then added on McDirtys Walking Track.

McDirtys Lookout Walk, Grade 3, 7 km return to Dangars Falls Picnic Area.

The track follows the gorge ridge and is rocky underfoot. Along the walk there is a good viewpoint out over the gorge and at the Lookout at the end of the walk.

View from the Lookout at the end of McDirtys Track.

Details for Dangars Gorge Campground:
Where: 23 km south-east of Armidale. From Armidale head southeast along Dangarsleigh Road, turn left into Dangars Falls Road. At the end of the road turn left into the campground. (Please note: this is not the Dangar Falls area near Dorrigo).
Access: Dangars Falls Road is unsealed for about 10 km. 2WD, all weather access.
Sites: 10 dirt sites. Suitable for tents, camping beside vehicle, camper trailer, motorhome and caravans.
Fees & Booking: Free entry. Free camping. No bookings.
Facilities: Non-flush toilet, fire pits, wood supplied, some sites have tables, some water taps, access to walks. No phone reception. No bins. Information signs are near the picnic area car park.
Prohibited: Pets, Smoking.

Wildlife:
Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Hare, Eastern Water Dragon, Orchard Swallowtail, large numbers of Common Brown Butterfly.

Birds: Nankeen Kestrel, Satin Bowerbird, Grey Butcherbird, Galah, Little Pied Cormorant, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Pied Currawong, Crow, Pacific Black Duck, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Red-browed Finch, White-faced Heron, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, White-naped Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Australian King Parrot, Crested Pigeon, Wonga Pigeon, Flame Robin, Scarlet Robin, Eastern Rosella, Crimson Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Grey Shrike-thrush, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Brown Thornbill, Buff-rumped Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper, Red Wattlebird, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

Gara Gorge

After packing up at Dangars Gorge Campground we drove to Gara Gorge. We pulled up at Blue Hole Picnic Area for a quick look then we drove on to Threlfall Picnic Area and started the walk from there.

The Threlfall Walking Track: Grade 3, 5.5 km Loop.
The Threlfall Track leaves from either Blue Hole or the Threlfall Picnic Area. As well as passing through spectacular scenery the walk passes by remnants of the 1894 Gara Gorge Hydro-electric Scheme.

Flumes still remain from the Hydro-Electric Scheme

We were't sure which direction to walk the loop so we chose clockwise which meant we walked back past Blue Hole.

Looking back over the Gara River to Blue Hole Picnic Area

Kingfisher fishing the Gara River

The walk continues on to open eucalypt forest before gently climbing to Gara Gorge Lookout. Then descending back to the picnic areas.

Threlfall Track

View from Gara Gorge Lookout

It was a very hot day which made the walk seem longer than it is. However, it was a perfect day for reptiles. We saw numerous Jacky Dragons as well as some Eastern Water Dragons and one Nobbi Dragon.

Jacky Dragon

Nobbi Dragon

Eastern Water Dragon

There were plenty of Common Brown Butterflies here as well.

Common Brown Butterflies

See the Bird List below for the birds we saw along the walk.

White-eared Honeyeater

Wildlife:
Eastern Grey Kangaroo,Jacky Dragon, Nobbi Dragon, Eastern Water Dragon, White's Skink, Orchard Swallowtail, Common Brown Butterfly.
Bird List: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Pacific Black Duck, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-browed Finch, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, Sacred Kingfisher, Crimson Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Silvereye, Buff-rumped Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper.

Once again, we chose a nice shady site to get some relief from the hot weather. Each site had plenty of room, a table and fireplace.

Barokee Campground.

Our site backed onto natural bushland and a small creek. We could sit in our campsite and see plenty of birds.

Scarlet Robin

Brown Thornbill

Red-necked Wallabies grazed in the campground in the afternoons.

Red-necked Wallaby

Cathedral Rock Loop Walk: Grade 4, 5.2 km. Extension to the summit: Grade 5, 800 m return. Another option is to walk from Barokee Campground to the summit and return: Grade 4 and 5, 4.2 km. The last 400 m to the summit involves scrambling over boulders and jumping over crevices. I've been a bit wary of rock hopping since breaking my ankle so we decided to do the loop walk around Cathedral Rock without doing the extension to the summit. Instead, we planned on climbing to the top of Woolpack Rocks when we moved to Native Dog Campground. We set off in a clockwise direction early in the morning and surprised a wallaby and a lyrebird with our presence.

Superb Lyrebird

The loop walk will disappoint those looking for great views of Cathedral Rock as the best it offers are glimpses through the trees. However, it's a great wildlife walk and covers a variety of habitats from swampland to granite rocks and Manna Gum forest. Lots of eucalypts were in flower which attracted a variety of birds.

Cathedral Rock is in there somewhere.

Common Brown Butterfly

Whites Skink Liopholis whitii

Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Red Wattlebirds

Wildlife: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Sugar Glider, White's Skink.
Bird List: Wedge-tailed Eagle, White-winged Chough, Pied Currawong, Crow, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, New Holland Honeyeater, Stripped Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Superb Lyrebird, Australian Magpie, Eastern Yellow Robin, Flame Robin, Scarlet Robin, Crimson Rosella, Grey Shrike-thrush, Brown Thornbill, Russet-tailed Thrush, Red-browed Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Red Wattlebird.

Details for Barokee Campground:
Where: 82 km east of Armidale or 123 km south-west of Coff's Harbour. 5 km west of Ebor, turn off the Waterfall Way onto Round Mountain Road.
Access: 8 km of unsealed, narrow road. 2WD suitable in dry conditions. 4WD in the wet. This road can be quite rough.
Sites: Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle and camper trailers.
Booking & Fees: No bookings. Self-registration. $6 per adult, $3.50 per child per night.
Facilities: Tables, fire places, wood supplied, non-flush toilet, walks. No bins. No water.
Prohibitions: No pets. No smoking.

Woolpack Rocks

Our primary reason for going to Native Dog Campground was to do the Woolpack Rocks Walk. We had thought, that due to this campground being closer to the road and having access to more rig types than Barokee Campground, it would be the busier of the two however, this was not the case when we were there.

Woolpack Rocks Walk: Grade 4, 8 km return, 2.5 to 3.5 hours.

The start of Woolpack Rocks Walk

The walk gently climbs towards Woolpack Rocks in the distance for 3.7 km before turning towards the summit. The climb to the top is about 300 m and, by all accounts, much easier than climbing Cathedral Rock. There are a couple of obstacles to overcome but National Parks NSW has put in a couple of structures to aid with getting up. The first structure is a step that looks a bit like a saw horse and is used to help get through a narrow gap between two large granite rocks. I found this easy enough going up but a bit of a challenge coming down.

The second aid to climbing Washpool Rocks is a ladder which was easy to use both going up and down.

The views at the top are truly stunning. This is one of those walks that offers some challenges but also produces a great sense of achievement when accomplished.

Details for Native Dog Campground:

Native Dog Campground

Where: In Cathedral Rock National Park, NSW. 84 km east of Armidale. 122 km west of Coff's Harbour. Turn off the Waterfall Way onto Guyra Road. After 8 km turn left into the park entrance.
Access: Roads are sealed until entering the park. The park entrance is fairly short but is unsealed and narrow.
Booking and Fees: No bookings. $6.00 per adult, $3.50 per child per night.
Sites: Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle, camper trailers, motorhomes and Caravans.
Facilities: toilet, tables, fire places, wood supplied, information, walks.
Prohibitions: No pets, no smoking.

Ebor Falls

There is a lovely picnic area with plenty of parking at Ebor Falls. While we were there, golden everlasting daisies were flowering in profusion.

Picnic Area at Ebor Falls

Carpet of everlasting daisies.

It is only a 700 m walk to the Lower Ebor Falls, or you can drive.

Lower Ebor Falls

We may have been there to see the falls but I couldn't resist a photo out over the valley as the sky was drawing my attention.

If you would like to take your time to explore while supporting the local community, the Ebor Sports and Recreation Area is a great little spot to stay the night.

Ebor Sports and Recreation Area.

Ebor Sports and Recreation Area:
Where: 79 km east of Armidale. About halfway along the Waterfall Way. Just south of Ebor Falls Road, on the other side of the road.
Access: Just off the highway. Suitable all rig types.
Cost: Please place your donation in the pillar near the toilets.
Facilities: Toilets, Tank Water, Sheltered Picnic Tables, Fire place, Bins, Phone and Internet Reception. Pets are allowed. There is a walkway from here to the village of Ebor and to Ebor Falls.

After setting up at Thungutti Campground, the first thing we noticed was that a number of Bassian Thrush were wondering around on the grass out in the open. Usually we see them along forest trails and the dim light makes it hard to get a clear photo.

In the afternoon, a hare and a rabbit came out to graze. They are both introduced pests, although rabbits seem to pose more of a problem than hares.

Red-necked Wallabies are more welcome visitors.

There is a large kitchen shelter in the center of the park which has gas hot plates, tables and a water tap with non-potable water. Unusually, there is also a free-standing shower cubicle plumbed with cold water in the campground.

Camp Kitchen at Thungutti Campground

Enclosed shower at Thungutti Campground.

Bollarded sites at Thungutti Campground

To our delight, Flame Robins frequented the campground.

One evening we were visited by a Frogmouth. It was making a sound we hadn't heard before but seems to be a regular Tawny Frogmouth.

I'll write about the walks we did and the beautiful lookouts we saw in the next blog.

Details for Thungutti Campground:
Where: 81 km east of Armidale or 134 km south-east of Coffs Harbour. Turn off the Waterfall Way onto Point Lookout Road. The campground is about 15 km along Point Lookout Road.
Access: 2WD, all weather roads
Booking and Fees: $6 per adult, $3.50 per child. Self-register. No bookings.
Sites: Designated for tents and camping beside your vehicle. Shaded, grassy sites behind bollards. Listed as having 10 sites but there appear to be a lot more.
Facilities: Large camp shelter with gas BBQ's and tables. Taps with non-potable water. One cold water shower in cubicle. Non-flush toilets.
Prohibitions: No pets, no smoking.
Note: Little Styx River RV Campground is a few kilometers before Thungutti, along Point Lookout Road. It is a free camp alongside the Styx River. Suitable for tents and all rig types such as caravans and camper trailers. There are trout in the river.

Wildlife List: Swamp Wallaby, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Hare, Rabbit.
Bird List: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Pied Currawong, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Rufous Fantail, Tawny Frogmouth, Superb Lyrebird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Flame Robin, Crimson Rosella, Forest Raven, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Bassian Thrush, White-throated Treecreeper, Red-browed Treecreeper.

We combined the Tea Tree Falls Walking Track with the northern section of the Lyrebird Track via Tree Fern Valley. Altogether, the walk was about 6 km and was listed as Moderate. However, we found the Tree Fern Valley section quite challenging.

Tea Tree Falls Walking Track

Tea Tree Falls

A feature of the walk is the different types of lichen and moss.

Tea Tree Falls Track

Rufous Fantail

Another part of the walk is through eucalypt forest with a coral fern under-story. We saw Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos in the gum trees.

Eucalypts and Coral Ferns.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo.

The walk goes past Toms Cabin which is available for hire; a bargain at $50 a night.

Tom's Cabin

Tree Fern Valley Track:

This track is listed as a way to shorten the Lyrebird Track but as we discovered it is very steep and there are many steps to negotiate. As this walk was listed as a Grade 3 and at 6 km was relatively short, we decided to carry our heavy camera equipment. In the end I had to pack my camera away and concentrate on clambering out of Tree Fern Valley unencumbered. Nevertheless, if you have the fitness to do this detour, it is an enchanting valley with a remote feel.

It is worth noting here that Queensland walks are classified by Class and New South Wales walks are classified by Grade. It is our experience that walks in New South Wales tend to be slightly harder than walks in Queensland with the same number. We wouldn't hesitate to do a Class 4 walk in Queensland but we sometimes find a Grade 4 walk in New South Wales pushes our capabilities a bit.

Tree Fern Valley

Crimson Rosella

After joining the Lyrebird Track we saw a Superb Lyrebird but it was too quick for a decent photo. We made our way to Banksia Point where there are magnificent views. Although we walked to Banksia Point from Thungutti Campground it is an easy drive along Point Lookout Road. National Parks NSW have two properties for hire at Banksia Point. The Residence is a large house that would accommodate several people. The Chalet is a small cottage which accommodates up to four people. The back veranda looks right out over the view. I priced the Chalet for two people and it was $105 a night. Definitely worth considering for a future visit.

View at Banksia Point

The next morning we drove up to Point Lookout. At the car park there are toilets and a beautiful stone shelter with tables and an internal fireplace. A walking group was just finishing up their breakfast there as we arrived.

Inside the stone shelter at Point Lookout.

It is only 200 m to the lookout via a track suitable for wheelchairs. This would have to be one of the most beautiful views we have ever seen. The forest covered mountains appeared to stretch on and on into the distance and the early morning mist made us feel like we were standing in the clouds.

Point Lookout

There are several other walks in New England National Park. We will definitely be back!

Information about Thungutti Campground and the wildlife we saw in New England National Park is in my previous blog.

Superb Lyrebird at Edgars Lookout

Edgars Lookout:
When we drove to Edgars Lookout in the Wollomombi section of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park we were excited to observe a Superb Lyrebird quietly foraging between the lookout and the picnic area.

View from Edgars Lookout, Wollomombi Falls.

Wollomombi Falls Picnic Area:
There is a large picnic area at Wollomombi Falls with tables, toilets, a large picnic shelter, information boards and a beautiful vista. The walks start from here.

Wollomombi Picnic Area

Wollomombi Walk: Grade 3, 4 km return.

View from Eagle Lookout, Wollomombi Walk.

Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Dusky Woodswallows, Wollomombi Walk.

Chandler Walking Track: Grade 5, 3 km return.
We only walked 150 m to the Wollomombi Falls Lookout (300 m return). The falls were barely a trickle but the gorge is still a magnificent sight.

Wollomombi Falls

Wollomombi Falls Campground:
This is a popular campground for quick overnight stays as it is only a short drive off the Waterfall Way and it takes all rig types.

Wollomombi Falls Campground has clearly defined sites.

Details for Wollomombi Falls Campground:
Where: 42 km east of Armidale or 151 km south-west of Coffs Harbour.
Access: 2WD, all weather roads. Turn off the Waterfall Way onto Wollomombi Falls Road. Turn right into the signposted campground.
Sites: 10 defined, compacted gravel sites, designated for tents and all rig types.
Fees and Bookings: $6 per adult, $3.50 per child, self-register, no bookings.
Facilities: Non-flush toilets, fire rings, firewood supplied, taps with non-potable water. Walks nearby.
Prohibitions: No pets. No smoking.

Bald Rock

Bald Rock Walking Track:
There are two ways to get to the top of Bald Rock. Rockface Walk: Follow the white dots, straight up the granite face of Bald Rock. This is a popular option for those who are fit and aren't afraid of heights. Bungoona Walk: a longer option but comfortably achievable for most people.

Granite Arch, Bungoona Walk.

A good option is to go up the rock face and come down via the Bungoona Walk; roughly 3.2 km total. This is what we planned to do but when we got going early in the morning there was heavy cloud and mist with light rain. We learnt many years ago not to walk on wet granite after a scary experience with slick granite on The Pyramid in Girraween National Park so we made the decision to go up and down the long way; about 5 km in total. The Bungoona Walk is worth doing anyway as it has many interesting granite rock formations and interesting flora.

Rock Lily Orchid Dendrobium speciosum

When we reached the summit the cloud looked like it might lift so we decided to have a snack and wait to see if the weather cleared up. Fortunately the weather did clear for a short while and we finally got some blue sky. (See photo at the top of this blog).

Bald Rock in the clouds.

Balancing Rocks, Bald Rock.

We decided to do the Rockface Walk in the afternoon. unfortunately, it looked like an afternoon storm was coming and as we arrived at the base we could hear thunder and lightning. We didn't like the idea of being exposed on the top of a granite dome in a thunder storm, so once again, we made the decision to call off walking the rock face.

Afternoon thunderstorm coming over the Rockface Walk.

That evening, we checked the weather forecast and heavy rain was predicted over the coming days so we decided to relocate to Girraween National Park to wait out the wet weather. We plan on coming back to conquer the Rockface Walk sometime soon. Our blog on the wildlife we encountered at Bald Rock National Park can be found here.

Bald Rock Picnic Area:

Bald Rock Picnic Area

There is an excellent picnic area next to the campground. $8 per vehicle per day entry fee. Facilities include: tables, gas BBQ's, non-potable water taps, non-flush toilets, information, walk trail-heads, car park.

Details for Bald Rock Campground:

Bald Rock Campground. Self-registration

Site at Bald Rock Campground: table ,fire ring with plates, nearby water tap.

Where: Bald Rock National Park. 34 km north of Tenterfield. Turn off Mount Lindsey Road onto Bald Rock Access Road and follow signs to campground. ( Or 43 km south-east of Stanthorpe , road has unsealed sections.)
Access: Sealed roads if coming from Tenterfield. 2WD, all weather access.
Bookings and Fees: $12 per adult, $6 per child, plus $8 vehicle entry fee per day. No bookings. Self-register and pay on site.
Sites: 14 defined sites, crushed granite surface, designated for tents, camping beside vehicle, camper trailers, caravans.
Facilities: Non-flush toilets, tables in each site, fire rings with cooking plates, wood provided, several non-drinking water taps, information board, walks, camp kitchen shelter with gas BBQ hot plate and table. We had 1 - 2 bar Telstra phone reception. No bins. No showers.
Prohibitions: No pets, no smoking, no generators.
Caution: Overly pushy Kookaburras steal food.

Wildlife: Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Cunningham's Skink, Squirrel Glider.
Bird List: Satin Bowerbird, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Pied Currawong, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Noisy Friarbird, Tawny Frogmouth, Scarlet Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Musk Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Rosella, Crimson Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Spinebill, Brown Thornbill, Striated Thornbill, Red-browed Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper.

Family of Cunningham's Skinks

We were delighted to see a family of Cunningham's Skinks sunning themselves. These skinks vary a lot in their colouration and the ones on Bald Rock have a very colourful palette.

There were quite a few Common Brown butterflies about. We did mange to get a photo of a slightly different brown butterfly that I wasn't familiar with and I was able to get it identified as a Ringed Xenica by a member of The Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club (BOIC).

Ringed Xenica Geitoneura acantha

We often encounter wildlife around campgrounds that have become accustomed to people feeding them. Unfortunately, feeding wildlife can lead to undesirable behaviors developing in that wildlife. Aggression is just one of the reasons that national parks often display signs asking people not to feed wildlife. At Blackdown Tablelands National Park, QLD, we encountered unusually large numbers of thieving Pied Currawongs, at Mulligans Campground in the Gibraltar Range National Park, NSW, we even encountered a very aggressive Satin Bowerbird. At Bald Rock Campground there are problems with very pushy Kookaburras. A young man camping there had told us that Kookaburras were "getting in his face", we didn't realize how literal he was being until I was eating a sandwich and a Kookaburra flew right into my face and stole the sandwich while I was biting it. The beak of the Kookaburra, which believe me is very large at close range, actually hit my hand on the way through and left a red swelling and a blood blister on my thumb.

The culprit with the evidence.

Here are a few other bird photos that I liked:

Eastern Spinebill

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Scarlet Honeyeater

Superb Fairy-wren

Wildlife: Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Cunningham's Skink, Squirrel Glider.
Bird List: Satin Bowerbird, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Pied Currawong, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Noisy Friarbird, Tawny Frogmouth, Scarlet Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Musk Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Rosella, Crimson Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Spinebill, Brown Thornbill, Striated Thornbill, Red-browed Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper.

Granite Arch

Girraween National Park is an outstanding national park and I have lost count of the number of times we have been there. Even if you aren't keen on camping, it is well worth dropping in for a day trip as there are excellent walks in the park. If you are short of time, the walk to Granite Arch is only a 1.6 km circuit.

Bald Rock Creek Day Use Area

Bald Rock Creek Day Use Area is a well equipped picnic area, with a huge car park, that is an ideal base for exploring.

Girraween National Park Visitor Information Centre

The Girraween National Park Visitor Information Centre is next to the Day Use Area and is a good place to learn about the park. There is free WiFi available at the centre which can be used to check the weather and make camping bookings. There is also a phone booth in the Information Centre Car Park.

The Pyramid. View from near the Information Centre.

Another visit to Girraween National Park hadn't been on our itinerary but we decided to come here due to the wet weather. It seemed like a good idea to spend time in the rain at a place where we had already seen all the sights and we liked the idea of hot showers after wet walks. We knew we wouldn't be climbing The Pyramid this trip though as it is too dangerous in the wet.

We have always camped at Castle Rock Camping Area so for a change we decided to camp at Bald Rock Camping Area.

Our site at Bald Rock Creek Camping Area

We choose a site that had a tent pad made of compacted granite. As always, on this type of pad, it took a fair bit of effort to knock in the tent pegs. We were woken during the middle of the night by loud noises and debris hitting the side of our tent. We leapt up to investigate only to discover that an echidna was excavating a hole in the granite pad. It really is amazing how quickly such a small animal can make a hole in such a hard surface. The echidna immediately ran away and tried to hide its head, as they like to do when disturbed, but we did manage to get a photo of it before leaving it alone.

Echidna

While we were investigating the hole that the echidna made, a Brush-tailed Possum came over to us to investigate us. It seemed quite fascinated by the light from our torches.

Brush-tailed Possum

Satin Bowerbirds, Musk Lorikeets and Red Wattlebirds were frequent visitors to our campsite.

Satin Bowerbird

Musk Lorikeet

Details for Bald Rock Creek Camping Area:
Where: Girraween National Park. 39 km north of Tenterfield. 36 km south of Stanthorpe. Turn off the New England Highway onto Pyramids Road. Turn left into the campground after about 9 km.
Access: Fully sealed roads suitable for all vehicles. (Entry from the north via Eukey is a nice option if you like unsealed back roads.)
Bookings and Fees: Online or by telephone. There is now free WiFi at the rangers office. Rangers do not take bookings. There is a telephone booth in the car park at the rangers station.
Sites: There are areas for tents and a section with 8 sites for camper trailers. (There are non-powered caravan sites at Castle Rock Camping Area).
Facilities: The amenities block is wheelchair accessible, hot showers, flush toilets, tables, non-potable water taps, fire places (BYO wood). No bins. No powered sites. No phone reception. Outdoor telephone box in the car park at the rangers station.
Prohibitions: No pets. No generators. Do not collect firewood. Do not dump ashes in the campground (damp down and remove to transfer station).

Wildlife: Echidna, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Brushtail Possum, Red-bellied Black Snake, Jacky Lizard, Elf Skink, Copper-tailed Skink, Eastern Water Skink. Joseph Coat Moth. Common Brown Butterfly.
Bird List: Satin Bowerbird, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Great Cormorant, Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Darter, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Rufous Fantail, Red-browed Finch, Noisy Friarbird, White-throated Gerygone, White-necked Heron, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Musk Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Crested Pigeon, Eastern Yellow Robin, Crimson Rosella, Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Shrike-thrush, Eastern Spinebill, Brown Thornbill, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper, Red Wattlebird, Golden Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

The rain brings out the colours of this rock at Underground Creek

We deliberately came to Girraween National Park to wait out some widespread wet weather. Both campgrounds have hot showers and flush toilets; an appreciated bit of luxury on wet days when tent camping.

As we have done all the walks in Girraween National Park in fine weather we decided to redo some of our favourites in the rain. Naturally, this affects our photos as grey sky's are a bit gloomy and we missed some photo opportunities when we had to pack our camera gear away to keep it dry.

The Junction Walk: Class 3, 3.7 km return from the Bald Rock Creek Camping Area, 5.2 km return from the Bald Rock Creek Day Use Area. We combined the walk with the Bald Rock Creek Circuit, Class 3, 2 km and the Granite Arch Circuit, Class 3, 1.6 km. (The Combined Bald Rock Circuit and the Granite Arch Circuit is Class 3, 2.7 km.) By combining the three walks we probably walked a bit under 6 km.

Yellow-tufted Honeyeater

Joseph Coat Moth

Flowering Sundew

The sun came out and a few minutes later it bucketed down. We didn't wear jackets because it was too hot but our gear is mostly quick dry. We always carry dry bags to quickly protect our cameras though.

The Junction Walk

Eastern Water Skink

Dr Roberts Waterhole: Class 2, 1.2 km return.

Dr Roberts Waterhole

Underground Creek: Class 2 and 3, 2.8 km.

Underground Creek

Sundown National Park

Sundown National Park is an outstanding birdwatching area offering good opportunities to see Turquoise Parrots. A 4WD is not necessary to enter the south-western section of Sundown National Park, however, parts of the road to The Broadwater Camping Area are narrow and not suitable for long or wide vehicles.

Entry to the south-western section of Sundown National Park.

Road to The Broadwater Camping Area.

Take a container and collect some water at the Park Headquarters which is 1 km before the campground.

Water station on the way to The Broadwater Camping Area.

As an added bonus, we saw some nice birds as we filled up our water container.

Diamond Firetail

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

The main area of the campground has a row of sites quite close together. Each site is defined with wooden barriers that could make it hard to manoeuvre a long vehicle.

The Broadwater Campground

You can no longer self-register at The Broadwater Camping Area and it is necessary to choose a site number when booking; always a challenge if you haven't seen the sites.

Site 10 showing the wooden barriers enclosing the campsites.

Sites 13 to 16 are grassy open areas listed as group camping sites.

Jacky Winter at Site 15.

Amenities at the campground include non-flush toilets and a donkey shower . Wood is not provided.

Donkey Shower and Shower Cubicles.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos graze around the campground in the late afternoon.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos watching me watching them.

In the early evening we could see Nightjars chasing micro-bats. As the campground is reasonably remote, the stars were particularly bright at night.

Details for The Broadwater Camping Area:
Where: In the south-western section of Sundown National Park. 300 km south-west of Brisbane. Turn off Glenlyon Dam Road into Permanents Road and follow the road for 4 km until arriving at the campground.
Access: 2WD access. 4 km narrow unsealed road. National Parks QLD state that "caravans longer than 4 meters are not recommended due to narrow sections along the campground access track." also "Access not suitable for vehicles over 5 tonne."
Fees & Booking: All sites must be booked online or by phone. You used to be able to self-register sites 8 - 15 but this is no longer the case despite outdated information on the internet and on signs near the park headquarters. Maximum length of stay 29 days.

Sites: 15 numbered sites. Sites listed as suitable for tent camping beside vehicle, caravans less than 4 meters, small motorhomes, camper trailers and large groups. Sites 1 - 12 are individual sites defined by barriers. Note that the entrance width to these sites varies from 4 to 7 meters and may be difficult to access in long/wide rigs. Sites 13 - 15 are open grassy areas for large groups and are a long way from the amenities.

Facilities: Non-flush toilets, fire pits, donkey shower with shower cubicle, BYO wood. We had 1 bar Telstra phone reception. There is drinking and non-drinking water available at the park headquarters 1 km before the campground. BYO water container.

Prohibitions: No generators. No pets. Do not collect wood from the bush. Do not dump ashes in the park.
Caution: Ticks.

Wildlife List: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Feral Goat, Lace Monitor, Copper-tailed Skink, Eastern Water Dragon, Micro Bats (type unknown). Joseph Coat Moth. Butterflies: Common Brown, Common Crow, Common Grass-blue, Common Plane, Monarch, Orchard Swallowtail.
Birds: Apostlebird, Grey-crowned Babbler, White-browed Babbler, Whistling Kite, Pacific Bazza, Grey Butcherbird, White-winged Chough, Little Corella, Pallid Cuckoo, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Torresian Crow, Pied Currawong, Pacific Black Duck, Bar-shouldered Dove, Spangled Drongo, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Diamond Firetail, Restless Flycatcher, Little Friarbird, White-faced Heron, Striped Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Jacky Winter, Common Koel, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Noisy Miner, Mistletoebird, Nightjar (unsure of type), Olive-backed Oriole, Australian King Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Pheasant Coucal, Red-capped Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella, Hybrid: Eastern Rosella x Pale-headed Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Brown Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

Western Circuit Walk, Sundown National Park.

While camping in The Broadwater Camping Area in Sundown National Park we did the short Permanent Waterhole Walk and the Western Circuit Walk. The trail-head for the walks can be found at the far end of the campground where there is an information hut.

Information Hut and walk trail-head at The Broadwater Camping Area.

Permanent Waterhole Walk: Class 3, 2 km return.
Permanent Waterhole is a popular swimming hole.

Permanent Waterhole

Western Circuit Walk: Class 3, 4.5 km return.
We found this walk to be easy, enjoyable and very exciting for bird-watching. The walk meanders through a forest of cypress pines where we saw many striped honeyeaters foraging in the tree tops.

Cypress Pine Forest

Striped Honeyeater

Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Red-necked Wallabies were easy to spot amongst the cedar pines.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Red-necked Wallaby.

As we emerged from the cedar pine forest into mixed eucalypt forest there was more variety in the birds we saw.

Red-capped Robin

Mistletoebird

We were pleased to see White-browed Babblers as well as Grey-crowned Babblers.

White-browed Babbler

Grey-crowned Babblers

We passed a number of large cactus in fruit as we gently climbed to higher open ground. Here we found great views to the south and west over Sundown National Park.

Cactus fruit.

Views over Sundown National Park.

Jackie Winters and White-winged Choughs were present.

Jacky Winter

Restless Flycatchers, White-plumed Honeyeaters, Golden and Rufous Whistlers all made an appearance,

White-plumed Honeyeater

Golden Whistler

As we descended to the open flats we started to see Red-rumped Parrots, Eastern Rosellas, Pale-headed Rosellas and Barr-shouldered Pigeons. There were also a number of birds about that were hybrid Eastern Rosellas and Pale-headed Rosellas. Every time we saw a turquoise flash we were hopeful of seeing a Turquoise Parrot but all our sightings turned out to be male Red-rumped Parrots.

Entering parrot habitat.

Red-rumped Parrot, male.

Red-rumped Parrot, female.

On the walk we saw one red deer and about twenty goats. National Parks Queensland is closing the park in May 2018 for feral pest eradication so check the Alerts section online before planning a trip to Sundown National Park.

Wildlife List: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Feral Goat, Feral Red Deer, Lace Monitor, Copper-tailed Skink, Eastern Water Dragon, Micro Bats (type unknown). Joseph Coat Moth. Butterflies: Common Brown, Common Crow, Common Grass-blue, Common Plane, Monarch, Orchard Swallowtail.
Birds: Apostlebird, Grey-crowned Babbler, White-browed Babbler, Whistling Kite, Pacific Bazza, Grey Butcherbird, White-winged Chough, Little Corella, Pallid Cuckoo, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Torresian Crow, Pied Currawong, Pacific Black Duck, Bar-shouldered Dove, Spangled Drongo, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Diamond Firetail, Restless Flycatcher, Little Friarbird, White-faced Heron, Striped Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Jacky Winter, Common Koel, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Noisy Miner, Mistletoebird, Nightjar (unsure of type), Olive-backed Oriole, Australian King Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Pheasant Coucal, Red-capped Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella, Hybrid: Eastern Rosella x Pale-headed Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Brown Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground is in a peaceful setting next to the Severn River. The river is popular for both swimming and fishing.There was a man fishing while we were there and he was apparently catch and releasing one to two Murray Cod a day. A permit is required for fishing in NSW.

The "Beach" at Lemon Tree Flat Campground.

When we were not out walking and exploring the area we enjoyed watching the wildlife in the campground. Several resident goannas patrol the area; one regular has the Bells Phase variant of skin patterns.

Bell's Phase Lace Monitor

Eastern Grey Kangaroos graze in the campground alongside Red-necked Wallabies.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Red-necked Wallaby with Joey.

Feral goats could also be seen grazing in the quieter areas.

One of many different coloured goats.

Never camp under Gum Trees. There are a number of large Gum Trees along the river bank so we set up further back. While we were there, an area near the information and self-registration shelter had been roped off due to a gum tree dropping a very large limb which was dangling precariously where it was tangled up in other trees. On the bright side, the gum trees attracted Red-winged Parrots and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.

Red-winged Parrot, male.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground has a a couple of large open grassy areas suitable for driving straight in with a caravan or camper trailer. There is also a large tent camping area surrounded by bollards and there are a number of small parking areas for the tent campers to park their cars next to the bollards. Strangely, when we arrived every car park in the bollarded area was taken up by people with caravans so we ended up putting our tent in an open area so that we could park our ute next to it.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground

The caravaners appeared to be travelling together and had a sausage sizzle that night. The next day they all left. That afternoon more caravaners arrived and we got a few funny looks from them. They must have been wondering why we were taking up a prime caravan spot instead of setting up in the now empty tent area. Although that situation is a little bit amusing we were not laughing when we went to use the toilet after the first lot of vans had left. Somebody had dumped all their rubbish, including plastic bags and meat trays, down the toilet!

Details for Lemon Tree Flat Campground:
Where: In Kwiambal National Park. 160 km north-west of Glen Innes via Inverall and Ashford. From Ashford travel along Limestone Road. After entering the national park follow signs to the campground.
Access: 2WD roads, can become boggy when wet. Approximately 26 km of unsealed roads before arriving at the campground.
Booking & Fees: No bookings, self-register on arrival, $6 per adult, $3.50 per child.
Sites: Suitable for tents, camping beside vehicle, camper trailer, caravan and motorhome. There are open grassy area suitable for all rig types and an enclosed grassy area, with separate parking, suitable for tent camping. The campground is beside the Severn River, there is access to the river but it is mostly not visible from the campsites.
Facilities: fire places, wood supplied, tables, non-flushing toilets, camp kitchen shelter with free gas/electric BBQ, 1 non-potable water tap near the camp kitchen. Fishing is allowed with a permit. Swimming. Walks.
Day Use: Share campground facilities. It is best to drive to the end of the campground near the camp shelter. Behind the shelter is access to the river.
Prohibitions: No generators, no pets, no smoking.
Caution: Never camp under Gum Trees.
Managed by: National Parks NSW, Tenterfield Office Ph 02 6736 4298

Wildlife List: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Eastern Wallaroo, Euro, Squirrel Glider, Lace Monitor including Bell's Phase, Eastern Water Dragon, Feral Goats. Butterflies: Common Brown, Lesser Wanderer, Orchard Swallowtail. Birds: Apostlebird, Whistling Kite, White-winged Chough, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Little Pied Cormorant, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Spangled Drongo, Emu, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Diamond Firetail, Restless Flycatcher, Noisy Friarbird, White-faced Heron, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Sacred Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Noisy Miner, Olive-backed Oriole, Red-winged Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Crested Pigeon, Common Bronzewing, Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale-headed Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella x Crimson Rosella, Speckled Warbler, White-browed Scrubwren, Welcome Swallow, Dusky Moorhen, Brown Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

Kookabitta Campground looking towards the new camp kitchen shelter.

There are two campgrounds at Kwiambal National Park. Our understanding was that Kookabitta Campground was closed for refurbishment so we drove straight to Lemon Tree Flat Campground and set up. Later, we realised that Kookabitta Campground was open so we went in and had a look. The new kitchen shelter is excellent and overlooks the campground through to the Severn River.

Kookabitta Campground looking towards the Severn River.

There are tables throughout the campground and the fire pits are a bit different as they are concreted holes in the paved platforms.

National Parks New South Wales often supply great camp cooking facilities.

We had heard that Emus come down to the opposite riverbank to drink so we kept an eye open for them. We didn't see any there but overall we saw four in Kwiambal National Park. We did see goats come down for a drink and some Peaceful Doves foraging along the river stones.

Goat coming down for a drink in the Severn River.

Peaceful Doves

In the campground, Brown Treecreepers and White-plumed Honeyeaters were quite active and inquisitive. There were lots of Superb Fairy-wrens and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are common throughout Kwiambal National Park.

White-plumed Honeyeater

Brown Treecreeper

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Superb Fairy-wren; male in eclipse.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos were peacefully grazing in the campground.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

After walking around the campground we realised that we were covered in grass ticks. We don't know if we came in contact with the ticks at the campground or on the walks we had done that morning. Grass ticks are very small and typically there are lots of them. We do carry a fully stocked first aid kit with us on our travels so we were able to get rid of them but it takes up a bit of time to locate them all.

Details for Lemon Tree Flat Campground:
Where: In Kwiambal National Park. 160 km north-west of Glen Innes via Inverall and Ashford. From Ashford travel along Limestone Road. Turn right into Kookabitta Trail a couple of kilometers before Lemon Tree Flat Campground.
Access: 2WD roads, can become boggy when wet. Approximately 25 km of unsealed roads before arriving at the campground.
Booking & Fees: No bookings, self-register on arrival, $6 per adult, $3.50 per child.
Sites: There is an enclosed grassy area, with separate parking bays, suitable for tent camping. There appeared to be only one site at the end of the campground that would be suitable for a motorhome or a camper trailer. The campground is beside the Severn River.
Facilities: Fire places, wood supplied, tables, non-flushing toilets, large camp kitchen shelter with free gas/electric BBQs, rainwater tank (empty when we were there). Fishing is allowed with a permit.
Prohibitions: No noise after 8 pm, no pets, no smoking.
Caution: Grass ticks.
Managed by: National Parks NSW, Tenterfield Office Ph 02 6736 4298

Macintyre Falls

There are so many things to see and do in Kwiambal National Park that we are surprised it isn't more widely known.

The Junction Walk: Grade 4, 7 km return.
This walk starts from Lemon Tree Campground.

An early morning start on the Junction Walk.

The Dungeon Lookout used to be a precarious cliff-top view but is now fully enclosed.

The Dungeon Lookout

View from the Dungeon Lookout

The descent to the Junction

The junction of the Severn and Macintyre Rivers.

Macintyre Falls Picnic Area:

Macintyre Falls Picnic Shelter

There is a large parking area at the picnic area and several walks leave from here. Facilities include: toilets, tables and a picnic shelter with a table and BBQ.

Rufous Whistler at Mackintyre Picnic Area

Macintyre Falls Lookout: Grade 2, 200 m return.

Macintyre Falls Lookout

View from Macintyre Falls Lookout

Rock Pool Walking Track: Grade 3.
A very rewarding walk with good access to the large pool that the Macintyre Falls flows into.

The Beach Lookout

View from the Beach Lookout

The track down to the rook pool has quite a few steps.

Steps on The Rock Pool Track

The Rock Pool at Macintyre Falls

Slippery Rock Walking Track: Grade 4, 4 km return.
The track is fairly unformed and gradually descends to the river. We saw quite a few Eastern Water Dragons near the pools and a variety of birds along the track; mostly Noisy Friarbirds, White-faced Honeyeaters and quite a few Speckled Warblers.

Slippery Rock

Speckled Warbler on the Slippery Rock Walking Track.

Limestone Caves: Grade 3, 600 m return.
It is about 200 meters to the picnic area from the car park and then a short walk to the caves. There is also a dedicated disabled car park 80 meters on from the main car park. This cave system has been mined extensively in the past for guano and phosphate rock. Due to the threatened species of microbats living in the caves the public is asked to only enter the caves from September-October and March-April.

Entrance to the Limestone Caves

Bird nests in the entry to the Limestone Caves.

Interior of the Limestone Caves.

There are a few exits in the caves that the bats probably utilise.

We saw four emus at the creek near the limestone cave car park. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were attracted to the flowering gum trees near the picnic area.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Swimming and Fishing:
The Macintyre Falls rook pool and spots along the Severn River are popular for swimming. Fishing is allowed in the park with a NSW Recreational Fishing Licence.

Camping and Accommodation:
Lemon Tree Flat and Kookabitta Campground are both excellent campgrounds that have self-registration on arrival. Lemon Tree Flat is the campground recommended for caravans. NSW National Parks also has accommodation for rent in Kwiambal National Park that needs to be booked online: Lavendale Cottage has three bedrooms and sleeps up to nine people. Lavendale Homestead has six bedrooms and sleeps up to twenty people.

Archer Camping Area, D'Aguilar National Park, QLD.

Mount Mee Forest Trail Drive, D'Aguilar National Park, QLD: Mount Mee section.

Neurum Creek Camping Area, D'Aguilar National Park, QLD.

Dangars Gorge Section of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW.

Gara Gorge, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW.

Barokee Campground, Cathedral Rock National Park, NSW.

Native Dog Campground and Woolpack Rocks, Cathedral Rock National Park, NSW

Ebor Falls, Guy Fawkes River National Park, NSW.

Thungutti Campground, New England National Park, NSW.

New England National Park, NSW: stunning lookouts and mystical forest walks.

Wollomombi Falls Section of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW.

Bald Rock National Park, NSW: Climbing Bald Rock and Camping at Bald Rock Campground.

Wildlife at Bald Rock National Park, NSW.

Girraween National Park and Bald Rock Creek Camping Area, QLD.

Girraween National Park, QLD: Walking in the Rain.

The Broadwater Camping Area, Sundown National Park, QLD.

Western Circuit Walk and Permanent Waterhole, Sundown National Park, QLD.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground, Kwiambal National Park, NSW.

Kookabitta Campground, Kwiambal National Park, NSW.

Things to do in Kwiambal National Park, NSW.