We had not been to Mount Kaputar before and were really looking forward to getting there. We saw it as being a highlight of our 6 week trip. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us and we lost almost 2 days to rain. Nevertheless we got most of one day to get up there and see at least part of what is on offer – absolutely splendid scenery in all directions. We loved the first taste of Kaputar – we hope to be back in Spring.

We were at Mount Kaputar from 3rd May 2021, leaving it on 7 May.

Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia

Getting There

Lightning Ridge > Walgett (78kms) > Burren Junction (93kms) > Wee Waa (51kms) > Narrabri (40kms) ~ 262kms

Note that you cannot bring a caravan into Kaputar NP so we are staying at Narrabri.

History

Mount Kaputar is the remnants of a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. The central feature of the region is Mount Kaputar, the park’s namesake, which rises to an altitude of 1,510 m. The 360 degree view from the summit of the mountain encompasses one-tenth of the State.

Mount Kaputar is the traditional Country of the Gamilaroi people. The park provided a rich resource for food, medicines, shelter and weapons and the landscape is part of Dreaming stories. Reminders of the Gamilaroi’s connection to this ancient landscape are evident in Aboriginal rock carvings, campsites, marks on trees and axe grinding grooves throughout the park.

John Oxley was the first European to explore the area in 1818. Oxley named the range the Arbuthnot Range but the Gamilaroi name, Warrumbungles meaning “crooked mountains”, became the most common name.

Before it was a national park, the area was used largely as grazing land. The conditions in the park are very harsh, but several pioneering families lived there, and remnants of their occupation remain.

Sheep and cattle continued to graze on the plateau until around the 1950s. It was an isolated place, and the stockmen in charge of the cattle often would not see another human for months at a time.

In 1925 some 775 ha of land around Mount Kaputar were declared a “Reserve for Public Recreation“. Two years later, a trust was formed to give guidance on managing the park.

At the summit, there is a large panel setting out the history of the construction of the road to the top. In 1925 the only way up was to walk or go on horseback. In 1926 a local holiday was declared so that people could go and have a look. In 1932, in another promotion, 250 to 300 people camped at the top for 3 days. But funds were not forthcoming until 1938 as unemployment relief. The narrow road reached Coryah in 1941, leaving a 12 mile gap to the summit. In 1957 a rough track was built suitable for a jeep as it was thought an observatory was to be built there (this went to Siding Springs). The current road was completed in 1963. This allowed construction of a small dam, cabins and toilets, and the opening up of tracks.

The area was expanded to 14,244ha and proclaimed a full national park in 1959. In 1967 control of the park moved to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and is still administered by a regional advisory board.

Day 1 – 3 May – Drive to Narrabri

Lovely clear day.

We passed Stanley the Emu on the way out and went back down the bumpy road to Walgett.

From there we took the Kamilaroi Hwy, which was not a bad road, heading east. We are soon in agricultural country with cropping fields almost as far as we can see. The more east we went, the cotton crops and and farm dams increased.There was also lots of water alongside the road in drains and billabongs. The road got progressively more bumpy.

We stopped to look at the Burren Junction hot springs where there were a handful of caravans set up. They hot springs look great (temperature 41.5) and it was very tempting to get in, but we resisted and drove on.

Its even more of cotton and large dams to Wee Waa. This is a nice town and we stopped and had a walk around. Some good buildings.

Then we began to see our destination – Mount Kaputar – as a backdrop on the horizon. I have long wanted to get to this National Park and this is going to be a standout on this trip.

The van site is right in town – the man in the office told us there was the RSL 200m in one direction and a good pub 200m in the other direction.What more could anyone want. The site is a drive through with lots of room. However the abolition block is being renovated and there is a temporary set of toilet/shower units available. Not so good.

We went to the Tourist Information office and the lady there quickly put us straight on the walks. Some are now closed after the damage caused but the terrible 2019 bushfires. Many of the old timber bridges were burnt out. They also told us that some severe rain was forecast for the next few days. After 5 weeks of near perfect weather, day after day, our long anticipated visit to Mount Kaputar is going to be badly rain affected. Again, as with so many of our visits to the local Tourist Information, this lady was quite passionate about the area and offered lots of helpful advice.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the town and were quite impressed – it seems a busy and vibrant place with a good street-scape. There are the usual historic buildings to admire, with the Post Office (dating to 1888) as the standout. Lovely building. There is a lovely old railway station building too – but it was fenced off – I hope they are renovating it.

Next to the PO is the Court House dating to 1865.

The Tourist Hotel has lovely ceilings under the wide awnings. And there are some really good stained glass windows around town.

Here are some of the other building that caught our eye.

Day 2 – 4 May – To Mount Kaputar

There are some good walks around van park area, up to the Tourist Office, and then to Lake Narrabri. But the clouds were moving in. I hurried back and we quickly headed off to Sawn Rocks in the northern section of the Park – we were hoping to get that in before the rains, and possibly Waa Gorge.

It’s 33 kms to Sawn Rock and quite a pretty drive with the mountains as the backdrop, and some amazing cloud formations. Past more cotton farms.

The walk to Sawn Rocks is an easy 1.5km stroll on a paved track, but we were hurrying to beat the rain. Closer to the Rocks there is a raise pathway.

There are a few examples of organ piping in the park, but Sawn Rocks is a spectacular example of regular geometric columns. These are formed via volcanic activity and are indeed impressive. And they do truly look like the pipes of a huge organ.

Many section of the rock face have broken away over time and lie in the Creek bed. There are steps that take you down to the Creek where you can see massive parts of the formation lying at the side. Did you spot that some were 5-sided and some 6-sided.

We scrambled back to the car with vague thoughts of going around to Waa Gorge. But at the same time we saw that the road to the Gorge was a 30km or so of gravel – each way – and the heavens opened. So it was back to the van for us for the rest of the day.

Day 3 – 5 May – Rained in

It rained most of the day with a break in the afternoon. We went around to look at the lovely Lake Narrabri, and a couple of other things. The trees are beautiful colours – there are many around. The Lake is kept filled by a weir, with a mass of green weed just behind it. A very serene lake with perfect reflections for us this day.

Day 4 – 6 May – To Mount Kaputar

The forecast was for the rain clearing in the early morning and then a bit cloudy, but fine. So we made an early start to the Park. But we had forgotten about fog and low clouds. Quite an ethereal mix of morning sunlight on the mist.

But as we got closer to the Mountain we could see sunlight at the lower levels but low-lying cloud covering the top. Its a gravel road at the start of the park and in some isolated places its pretty rough. Higher up it is bitumen again.

Our first stop is Euglah Rock Lookout – a 650m return walk to see glorious views. It’s a really good camping area and it was a very pleasant walk to the lookout. But the views were non-existent – we looked directly at a blanket of grey cloud – we did not take a photo!

From there we decided to go up to Dawsons Springs to see what was happening there. It was pretty grim with a thick mist. We decided to sit it out for a while. So read our books as we waited.At least it was warm in the car – freezing outside!!!

Finally we began to see blue skies in amongst the grey. So we went out on the Dawson Spring Nature Trail hoping for clear skies on our return. It’s a short walk of only 1.4km with a lot of interpretative signage on some of the interesting plants on the trail. With a bit of luck we were hoping to see a giant pink slug – a threatened species – which may be seen on misty or rainy days.

The track is bitumen and it’s a very easy walk. Fairly soon we are on a bridge over a little waterfall, and then on a walkway up the hill. And then we saw 2 wallabies on the track. A really good walk.

Next we went on the Lindsay Rock Tops Walk, which is described as an easy return walk of 2km. We walked out through a snowgum woodland to open rocky lava flow areas. This was really different to other area of the park we had seen – a really interesting landscape. On a good day there would be great views to the south and east. But that day there were views only of low cloud and mist.

We decided to go up to the summit and wait there hoping for a break in the clouds. If anything it seemed thicker. No chance of seeing anything – but there was some interesting coloured bark.

We checked out the lookout at the Peak but it was no good. We looked at the panel at the carpark which tells the story of how the road up to the peak was built. It started in 1925 when the first reserve was declared but there was no road to the top. That history is set out above.

After about an hour or so things began to look promising and we walked back up to the lookout. After another 15 or so minutes we finally got a breakthrough. Views! Stunning views. A reward for our patience.

We drove back down to the Governor Lookout for more views. It is only a short walk from the car park – a return trip of around half a km. with views of the volcanic formation.

Then we were faced with the Governor Summit (Corrunbral Borawah) walking track. We were warned that this half of the track, though, will definitely get your heart racing. I decided to take this track and see how I go, but it sounds too much for Kerry, who retired to watch the views and rolling mist.

Stunning views on the way and pretty soon I was on a raised walkway curving around the hills. Followed by a rocky track from which I get to see the mountain.

I ascended the rock face via ladders, until I got to a point where I knew that was enough. Stunning rock formations on the way – well worth the effort, even if I did not get to the top.