2010/11 Australia trip - Warrumbungles |
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We’d thought about taking yet another short cut to get to the Oxley Highway going west but the sky looked black in that direction. Getting stuck on a dirt road in a downpour didn’t appeal so we drove all the way into Tamworth and picked up the highway there. And yes it did rain for most of our trip through Gunnedah to Coonabarabran and on to the Warrumbungle Park. This park has very different 
geology, made up of volcanic flows similar to those of nearby Mount Kaputar we visited on our way north. We passed some emus on the way in, and the roads and campground were busy with kangaroos. We just had enough daylight to note the spectacular skylines of the park’s volcanic peaks.
Tuesday November 2nd
This may have been the coldest night of our trip; the rain had ended but we still had a cloudy evening and a strong wind. In the morning it was sunny but still cool with that wind. The park itself is just gorgeous though; ringed by weird mountain shapes, remnants of the giant volcano that once was here. Below the shapes, the mountains are covered by trees, and the meadows below were busy with abundant kangaroos feeding and socializing. It looked like a scene out of Jurassic Park.
The meadows were a mass of purple flowers, a display similar to the mass bloomings in Western Australian, so we were surprised that the park’s literature didn’t make more fuss about the display. We also thought it odd that there were few butterflies amongst the flowers, and the kangaroos seemed to avoid the plants, just eating the grass in between.
(When we got back, John and Edna looked at our pictures of the purple flower displays and confirmed what we’d suspected: the plant is known at Patterson’s Curse, a weed accidentally imported from Europe. Not only does it displace the native vegetation but it’s also somewhat poisonous to both wildlife and cattle, causing animals to become ill and not gain weight.)
Once we’d warmed up a little we set off on a number of hikes, following a creek into Burbie Canyon, then a short climb up to Whitegum Lookout, and finally an energetic hike up to Fan’s Horizon for a 
front row seat looking out on the shapes, the Spire, the Bluff, the Breadknife and all the other strange remnants of that ancient volcano.
Sandie counted 940 steps up to Fan’s Horizon, less than the advertized 1000, so has someone been stealing steps we wondered? I would have liked to hike into the country around the spires, but those are all-day hikes, and we only had enough light left to drive the remaining stretches of road in the park.
Sandie spotted a herd of goats up on the hillside; feral goats are a problem in all the parks, as are 
pigs, rabbits, and all those other European animals.
Back at the campground the kangaroos were waiting for us again. Most of them are familiar with humans and completely ignore us, but there are some that are still wild and go into a mad panic when we show up. We watched one joey repeatedly attempt to leap back into its mother’s pouch even though it was 
much too big.
All day we had been seeing birds and yet more new flowers and butterflies, and here are a few of the pictures: