Type

Lookouts

Where

Gibraltar Range National Park in North Coast, Country NSW

Accessibility

Easy

Entry fees

Park entry fees apply

What to
bring

Hat, sunscreen, drinking water

Please note

• The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable and the park is in a remote area; please ensure you are well prepared for your visit and advise a friend or family member of your plans.
• Remember to take your binoculars if you want to bird watch.

Named after a spur used by Aboriginals and stockmen in their descent to Mann River, this lookout offers a spectacular survey point for the entire Bindery-Mann Wilderness Area. You can see the challenging slopes and ridges once traversed by early graziers and miners. Sometimes mist rolls in, creating a dazzling scene of ghostly hollows and quiet rainforest down below.

This is a terrific spot for birdwatching: you might even glimpse a wedge-tailed eagle soaring on updrafts created by coastal sea breezes as they push onto the tablelands. Eastern whip birds with their distinctive whip-crack call can also be heard, though watch out for lyrebirds with their unrivalled knack for mimicry.

Bring a picnic lunch and take advantage of the nearby tables, setting down to enjoy the view and the blooming guinea flowers. Whilst early morning and dusk sees wallabies feeding along the road to the lookout.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Lands of plenty

The European heritage of the park may be shorter, but look around and you'll find its traces clearly etched in the natural environment. Living around the range are direct descendants of graziers, lumberers and miners who made their livings here. Bullock teams and horses once struggled through the bush and granite tors, attempting to tame a landscape that today inspires for its wild ruggedness. Evidence of their work can be glimpsed at Mulligans campground and picnic area, where an aborted hydro-electric scheme from the 1900s is memoralised by a remaining hut and several weirs. Hikers on the wide-reaching Gibraltar-Washpool World Heritage walk might also notice relics of pre-WWII tin and gold-mining operations in the Grassy Creek area.

World Heritage Area

Part of the Gondwana Rainforests Reserves of Australia, Gibraltar Range is listed on the World Heritage register for rainforest plants that have existed since Australia was part of the Gondwana super-continent. Gibraltar Range National Park is home to several threatened species of animal: the endangered giant barred frog, which can grow to the size of a small adult's hand; and glossy black cockatoos, under threat from a loss of breeding habitat. Feeding locations are very important to the continuing survival of the cockatoo.

Years in the making

Long stewarded through history by Aboriginal people in the area, the Gibraltar Range continues to hold significance for contemporary descendants. The Range is rich in cultural sites and sacred places, with Aboriginal groups having moved regularly between the tablelands and coastal plains, conducting ceremonies and gathering food along the way.