Gunnemooroo - Warrumbungle National Park

This blog post is about a hidden pocket in famous country. A place rarely visited and a little neglected but wickedly scenic. To convince you of its beauty here are our notes and photos: there are off-track walks and explorations, anecdotes collected along the way, wild encounters had. This blog is also aimed at disproving an opinion - as we handed over a security deposit for the key that opens the gate to this treasure trove - we were told in surprised tones: 'you know there's nothing to do out there.'

Ah, Gunnemooroo, where there's nothing to do. We chanted this for 6 days as we bagged amazing peaks, slept under the stars, soaked up the solitude of a remote bush camp and woke each morning to sweet light and the spectacular countryside. 

Gunneemooroo campground is located at the southern end of Warrumbungle National Park in central west NSW. It has a unique perspective of familiar Warrumbungle landmarks such as Crater Bluff, Bluff Pyramid and Mt Exmouth. Perhaps it's biggest drawcard is its proximity to the imposing and magnificent Tonduron Spire. 

The campground itself is set in the shadows of Mount Naman, a little-known but cracking mountain that rises to 820m. It was our first destination. 

8/8/18 – Journal entry

Lovely wispy clouds this morning, a sickle moon and grand view from bed, which is on the top of Mt Namen. I am looking north into everything – Exmouth, Bluff Mountain, Bluff Pyramid, Belougery Spire then to my right is grand old Tonduron Spire and all the rocky, cliff-lined peaks between. 

Walked up here yesterday from the Gunnemooroo campground – headed SSE behind the decrepit, neglected pit toilets, then climbed steeply right up to the ridge top. Then west along its saddle and up! Veered right as we climbed, then a left zag and up the final pinch to the highest point on the mountain. 

As we climbed we were surprised by clumps of spinifex grass amongst the rocks as well as the endemic Dywers Mallee. On the summit the yellow flowered phebalium was in full bloom. 

We relaxed on the summit for 40 mins then set off without packs and circled the big broad summit plateau. Lots of open rock, tiny beard heath close to flowering (eager, tight buds holding their anticipation). In the main central gully on the plateau we walked through a lovely stand of grass trees with three of them easily breaking 12 feet in height. From there we climbed onto the eastern edge of the summit and a thrilling, knife-edge walk back to the summit. The cliffs to our right dropping up to 120m in a sheer, terrifying wall. 

The only literature we could find on the Gunnemooroo Campground was on the NPWS website which states you need a 4WD for access once inside the locked gate. We have an AWD with a bit of clearance but, as the region had been incredibly dry for such a long time prior to our visit, we had no problems with the access road. There were two small, but rocky, river crossings which could have proved problematic in the wrong weather. There are a couple of different fire trails veering off from the campground access road. As you drive in, the first right hand turn leads around the back of Mt Namen to the base of Tonduron Spire. We walked a short section of this road and it looked in excellent condition, but any wet weather would make it 4WD only and we can't vouch for the entire length of it. For better details on the road (and climbing the spire) visit The Crag. A mountain bike would be perfect for exploring its length. 

A little further on there is a road to the left, which is signposted and barred by a locked gate. This trail can be walked all the way across to the main section of the national park to Mt Exmouth where it joins the network of walking trails around Cathedral Arch to Bluff Mountain and beyond.

9/8/18 - Journal entry

Back at the campground about 10:30am, then re-stocked our backpacks, early lunch and headed up Picnic Ground Mountain. Walked up the valley first and climbed the east side of the peak. A rough, excessively steep, not easy route. But, do-able – loose dirt, sloping bare bits of rock, lots of grunting from me and a couple of assists from Caz who held out his walking stick for me to haul myself up the bigger ledges. Then emerged on peak into a small saddle covered in wattle saplings. 

What a lovely mountain. A maze of rocks and small terraces. This peak feels close to everything, surrounded by views. All evening there were moments of complete stillness as if the mountain was pausing to listen or holding its breath. A white-tufted honeyeater roosted for the night in the wattle trees beside us. Then two incredible shooting stars tore across the sky. 

The next afternoon - sitting in Gunnemooroo campground, catching up on some reading and watching the grey kangaroo mother and her tiny joey testing its legs outside of the pouch. The pair never venture far from the grassy flats by the dry river bed of the creek. Amongst the river oaks I see crimson rosellas, eastern rosellas, and a rare olive-backed oriole but the Noisy Miners bully most visitors out of the place. Then an emu appears upstream, pecking the ground and wandering slowly amongst the rocks. 

Our final walk at Gunnemooroo was a day trip up and over Castle Rock and then back up and over Saddle Mountain. There were solid trails to follow through the cypress forest – probably made by emu, but there was evidence of wild cattle and wild pigs and goats aplenty. 

All these peaks are beautifully and vividly drawn on Miles Dunphy's 1957 map of the Warrumbungles. On a corner of the map Dunphy writes: "Surface water is very scarce in this territory. Watercourses carry flowing water only during wet periods and when snow is melting on the Tops."

As we walked through an unseasonably hot winter's day, during one of NSWs most crippling droughts, the thought of snow on the Grand High Tops was exotic enough to be unbelievable. The park however is also home to remarkable springs, one of which we stumbled across at the bottom of Saddle Mountain. Dunphy goes on to say: "The avoidance of pollution of springs and waterholes is secondary only in importance to the prevention of grass and forest fires....visitors not prepared to abide by the local requirements of water and fire use are a menace to this district and quite definitely are unwelcome. All creatures depend for existence upon the few springs and waterholes scattered throughout these arid mountains."

My final reference to this map, which we purchased from the spanking new and beautifully fancy NPWS Warrumbungles Information Centre, is Dunphy's description of the Warrumbungles and his effort in mapping it.

"An attempt has been made to show this extraordinary maze, probably the weirdest scenery in the State, because of its mountainous rocks, fearsome cliffs and extraordinary turrets, all on a monstrous scale."

Camping and exploring from Gunnemooroo campground is an exciting new way to experience this now well-known and famous maze of extraordinary peaks and turrets. But on handing back the key, we were told that there is talk of removing the pit toilet at Gunnemooroo because the drive out there for staff is too long. When you look online at the NPWS website for the Warrumbungles, Gunnemooroo Campground is hidden behind drop down tabs and not actively promoted. 

To me, what Gunnemooroo needs is not less attention but more. Not resources taken away, but resources put in. This blog then, is also a call to all our readers - go there! Keep the place alive and keep it loved because at Gunnemorro, there is buckets of stuff to do. 

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