There aren’t any amazing views to speak of but it’s a great walk for hot days as there’s plenty of shade (except for the management track and parts of the dry sclerophyll forest).Even in the dry forest the track isn’t very exposed and provides some sun protectionIf it’s been raining, Summit Falls should be flowing. We spent the long weekend in the much quieter and lesser known of the north western Washpool National Park and Washpool State Conservation area. You’ll find some of the most varied and least-disturbed forest in NSW, including the world’s largest stand of coachwood trees and extraordinary specimens of giant red cedar.It’s also a natural haven for an incredible diversity of plants, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, including some of Australia’s rarest and most unusual creatures, like the once thought to be extinct parma wallaby, the pouched frog, the long-nosed potoroo, and the beautiful, cat-like spotted-tailed quoll.Birdwatchers will be in their element here – more than 140 species have been recorded, including the rufous scrub bird and the increasingly rare powerful owl.Explore the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area in our NSW national parks. You're sure to find a walk, tour, activity or attraction to appeal, regardless of the season. Washpool National park is almost mid-way between Grafton and Glen Innes on the Gwydir Highway. The Washpool National Park is a protected national park located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Turn right and from there the trail will get narrower before climbing up a bit.Eventually you’ll get to a rocky outcrop from where you can see granite columns, The Needles, rising in the distance.Most of the walk is shady and either through dry forest or rainforest, making this a good option when it’s a bit warmer and sunny. Washpool National Park offers an exceptional visit all year round.
Many NSW national park campgrounds, accommodation and visitor centres will start to reopen from 1 June but important changes are in place to keep visitors safe. With the development of Enjoy guided tours, walks, waterfalls, scenic drives, and accommodation surrounded by ancient landscapes.Washpool National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.$8 per vehicle per day applies only at attractions in the Glen Innes area. hollows for nests and shelter. Others we met also said that the Fern Tree Forest Walk is quite exposed and I wasn’t particularly keen on that.To do the Lyrebird Falls Walk, you’ll need to drive to the Boundary Falls picnic area on the north side of Gibraltar Range National Park.We did this walk the day we left Gibraltar as we were going via Glen Innes anyway and Boundary Falls is on the way.In nutshell, it’s an easy walk along wide track to a lookout point into a valley and Lyrebird Falls.At the height of summer, the waterfall wasn’t gushing but a mere trickle, and the views themselves were rather limiting.We actually did this walk twice, on the same day (!
Washpool National Park in northern New South Wales, and adjacent Gibraltar Range National Park, form part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. The area is about 3.5 hours southwest of Byron Bay or just over 2 hours northwest of Coffs Harbour.Coming from Queensland, we took the M1/A1 (Pacific Highway) along the coast down to Grafton, which seemed to take ages as most of the Pacific Highway is single-lane in NSW. Still, the fog was quite impressive, too.March-April is probably a great time to visit as it’ll be cool enough to do all the walks during the day but not yet so cold that you’ll freeze some part of your body off.In addition to camping fees, you will also need to pay for a There are four camping areas across both national parks, some nicer than others.We stayed at Mulligans Campground in Gibraltar Range National Park, and thoroughly enjoyed having our own site. habitat due to clearing.
But even without the trees in the way, the views wouldn’t be breathtaking (according to NSW National Parks, they are…).Plus, you can only make Lyrebird Falls out in the distance.On the positive side, we did actually see lyrebirds crouching around the underbrush. In the last 200 years many animals have lost their That’s 2.9km one-way.For current alerts on walking tracks, more details on how to get to Washpool National Park or the multi-day World Heritage Walk, check out And for my all-time favourite hikes in Australia, check out rarely seen.The forests and swamps in the park have many frog species, including the unusual Take time out to explore the unparalleled landscapes of Washpool National Park, a place of steep gorges, clear waters … Later on the trail goes through more open, dry sclerophyll forest with the very occasional (and limited) view, and then back into rainforest and along Coombadjha Creek to complete the loop.The next section is along a management track. the extraordinary Gibraltar-Pretty camping and picnic spots at Bellbird and Coombadjha camprounds give you a There are a number of turnoffs to different parts of the park and grounds and most are linked by walking tracks so you can do shot or long walks through some lovely bushland that … It has an abundance of birds and some special walking tracks, including the half-day Washpool Walk. drew timber cutters with bullocks, axes and crosscut saws. lands here; the area was once used as a route between the coast and the tablelands, Gibraltar Range and Washpool National Parks are roughly a 6-hour drive from the Sunshine Coast.
See instructions From there you meander through forest (with more incline than I had expected) and eventually drop down to Coombadjha Creek, where you could go for a refreshing dip if there was enough water.Definitely take the detour to Summit Falls, they’re quite pretty.Since we camped at Gibraltar Range during mid-January, temperatures were in the low to mid-30s during the day. Or for a slightly longer walk, start the hike along Coombadjha Creek (clock-wise) and walk to Summit Falls. I loved that.If you don’t want to do the entire 8.5km circuit, you could just do the 900m short loop. Here’s what you need to know to explore them on your own.
Youâll find some of the most varied and least-Itâs also a natural haven for an incredible diversity of plants, mammals, amphibians,