There is some really nice indigenous art in the caves up here.
I didn't know a lot about the Mulgowan Art Site before our visit, I'd done a bit of googling to try and work out where abouts in the big Gundabooka National Park that I needed to go to start the walk. Thankfully when we arrived in the park this morning we found everything well signposted, not only that but the park also appears to have great facilities. Arriving at the carpark at the end of the Mulgowen Heritage Site Road we (yes, Sam was with me this morning) locked the ute and set off along the good track to see what we could see.
It can still be pretty warm up here in April so even though we visited in the NSW school holidays we weren't exactly over run with other punters.
Checking out the map before heading off.
I really enjoy walking in this kind of country.
Our track climbed over a low hill...
...before dropping down and crossing Mulareenya Creek.
The track is marked with frequent track markers and in the spots where we crossed over large sandstone rock slabs the markers were welcome, although when we weren't walking on rock the track was pretty obvious. After couple of minutes the track started to climb over a broad low hill and while the hill was pretty small it still provided enough height for us to get a bit of a look at the surrounding country.
After ten minutes the track dropped down to cross Mulareenya Creek, this creek was holding a good amount of water on this visit and I'm guessing that the semi permanent water is probably one of the reasons that the Ngemba and Paakandji people utilised the rock overhangs here. Climbing 10 metres above the creek level we arrived at the art site, no doubt the original inhabitants enjoyed the view down over the creek and out across the rocky ridges. There is a good selection of art adorning the walls and roof of this long overhang, although as is pretty normal the actual overhangs are fenced off to prevent people damaging the art. After checking out the art site Sam and I dropped down to the creek to explore a little before shuffling our way back to the ute to head off on our next little adventure.
The track is very well engineered with a lot of dry stone paving and steps.
Mulareenya Creek flows through a shallow gorge here.
Mulareenya Creek
After ten minutes the track dropped down to cross Mulareenya Creek, this creek was holding a good amount of water on this visit and I'm guessing that the semi permanent water is probably one of the reasons that the Ngemba and Paakandji people utilised the rock overhangs here. Climbing 10 metres above the creek level we arrived at the art site, no doubt the original inhabitants enjoyed the view down over the creek and out across the rocky ridges. There is a good selection of art adorning the walls and roof of this long overhang, although as is pretty normal the actual overhangs are fenced off to prevent people damaging the art. After checking out the art site Sam and I dropped down to the creek to explore a little before shuffling our way back to the ute to head off on our next little adventure.
Mulgowan Art Site.
Mulgowan Art Site.
I'm guessing that the creek was fairly reliable water point.
I think this post might be a record for the percentage of shots with me in them!
There is a little bit to explore beyond the walking track here.
Climbing the track back over the hill to the ute.
The Dirt.
According to my Alltrails App we walked 1.7 kilometres and climbed 31 metres on this easy stroll (my Garmin dropped a cog again so it's stats are wrong). I noticed that the NSW Parks folk rate this walk as a class 5 track - that seems a little like overkill to me as it is a good, although rocky track all the way. The only real information that I discovered in my extensive 5 minutes of research before we did this walk was on the NSW Parks website. I used my GPS topos and an Alltrails map that I created on this stroll.
Relevant Posts.
The hill is only low however it still allowed for a decent view - this is old grazing country.
Typical Gundabooka National Park scenery.
Gundabooka National Park.
Alright, it's time to head off on our next little adventure.
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