What do you do when they are expecting the coldest July weekend for the year - You head to a Mountain! Mount Kaputar to be precise, in central NSW. The National Park is located about an hour from Narrabri so our chances of camping alone when the chill factor would get well below zero were high.
The Nandewar Ranges are an extinct volcanic range created between 17 and 21 million years ago. What is left of these volcanoes now provide an amazing walkers paradise with panoramic views from many of the peaks.
The Yulludunida Walking Track is a hard 4km return hike which starts at the Green Camp car park. The first part of the walk is a constant climb up a well formed stairs through the woodland. Once you reach the base of the Yulludunida 'crater' it open up to an amazing rock summit. From this point you follow the stone cans with some near vertical climbs up the rock face. There were definitely point that I was thinking - i hope no one falls as there is only one way out and that is via a chopper.
The Corrunbral Borawah walk is an easy 2km return that begins at The Governor carpark. From hear a open track takes you to the top of The Governor with more amazing views over the range.
From Dawsons Springs camp area there is a, easy 6km round trip hike that takes in a range of lookouts. Eckford Lookout overlooks the southern part of the park and Lindsay Rock Top, a strange open rocky lava flow, both having spectacular views over the surrounding agricultural plains. The day of our walk didnt get above about 5 degrees but luckily there was not a breath of wind.
While Mount Kaputar is the highest peak at 1512 metres, it is the easiest to access with a short 4WD track to the peak and a viewing platform to make life easy.
Probably the most frustrating bit of the trip is when you drive for 8 hours looking forward to some dark night skies and you realise you have forgotten your tripod! The best I could do was one shot with the camera on the ground.
If you plan ahead you can also get a key to access the Barraba track which climbs from the small town of Barraba on the eastern side of the park.
A short video from the trip