Wollomombi Walk ~ North Map (click on thumbnail to see larger)  Back

A place to have a quiet picnic beside a tiny creek, a couple of hundred metres North of the main picnic area

Fuzzy Box (Eucalyptus conica ) is the common tree hereabouts. In old age, the bark becomes very ragged- hence the common name. Look around for some of the fruits, and you’ll find they are a bit funnel-shaped- which is where the ‘conica’ bit comes from.

Prickly Moses (Acacia ulicifolia) is the name given to a group of small wattles with sharp prickles, which cover the hills with gold in Spring around here.

The dingo fence seen here, in various states of repair, runs along the edge of the gorges along all the Eastern edge of the New England Tableland. Please close the gate!

Two views of a Greenhood Orchid (Pterostylis sp.) . There are over 30 different Greenhood species so far named in the area, and more are being found all the time. Very easy to miss, but beautiful in close-up.

A view West South West from the edge of the gorge a little further on.

Knife-edge buttresses like the one in the photo are a major challenge to good local climbers, who are attracted by their airy exposure, but repelled by the ‘rotten rock’ that makes them dangerous.

Looking down the gorge from the same lookout as above. The steep grey intersecting spurs make it hard to pick the actual course of the river.

The understorey here – and along most of the track –is Snow Grass and Shiny-headed Matt-Rush (Lomandra longifolia).

Gorge Wattle (Acacia ingrami) is very common in the New England gorges, but very uncommon elsewhere.

Distant view of the steel bridge over the Wollomombi River.

From the bridge, looking downstream, you are acutely conscious that a great drop is just around the bend. The handrails of the bridge are designed to lay down in big floods, to reduce the strain on the structure.

Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) dig with the same motion that a breast-stroke swimmer uses, giving wide, shallow holes in their search for ants. They are very common around here.

(lens cap on left of dig to give relative size)

Small-leaved Clematis (Clematis microphylla) flowers prolifically, and it is a favourite haunt of small native birds. Aboriginal people used it as a food source - the tubers, eaten raw, have a peppery taste, but were often cooked and kneaded into a dough. The crushed leaves are reputed to ease headaches when used in an inhalant.

You can see almost to the base of Wollomombi Falls from this lookout.

The base of Wollomombi Falls from another angle.

Very pleasant walking on this bit of the track, just before the lookout at Grid Reference 08260/ 21615

The base of Chandler Falls from that lookout.

Lyrebirds are among Australia's best-known native birds. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability, lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display. (photo Colin Wood)