Type

Picnic areas

Where

1780 Woolcara Lane, Captains Flat, NSW, 2623 - in Yanununbeyan State Conservation Area in Country NSW

Please note

• The weather in the area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.
• There is limited mobile reception in this park.
• Remember to take your binoculars if you want to go bird watching.

Apple Box Flat picnic area, in Yanununbeyan State Conservation Area, allows you to enjoy a totally natural environment without having to travel very far from civilisation. Bring a picnic lunch and make a day of it or stock up at the bakery of a nearby town and roll out the thermos for a break from the highway

Apple Box Flat picnic area is situated in an open grassy clearing surrounded by eucalypts such as black sallee, scribbly gum, peppermint, brittle gum and, of course, apple box. In fact, there’s a particularly old and unusually large apple box at the picnic area. Apparently, apple box honey is sensational.

From your picnic area, there’s a whole park to explore if you have the time and energy.  Queanbeyan River is a short walk through the bush and there are plenty of fire trails to follow. Take along your binoculars for birdwatching and keep an eye out for wildlife along the way.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

A home of many gum trees

Yanunbeyan National Park is home to various environments within its landscape. The area is home to wet eucalypt forest, intermediate eucalypt forest, dry eucalypt forest and woodland, grassy woodland and riparian. Eucalyptus is the dominant plant in Yanununbeyan, and its varieties include stringybark, brittle gum, scribbly gum, peppermint gum, snow gum, ribbon gum, mountain gum, apple box, argyle apple and candlebark.

Ngarigo territory

Welcome to Ngarigo territory. The level ground, natural clearings, spring water and forest food sources would have made Yanununbeyan an attractive area to the Ngarigo. There are recorded Aboriginal sites in Yanununbeyan, which include artefact scatters of grey and black chert and quartz. The Ngarigo spent much of their time on the tablelands, yet when temperatures dropped in winter, they would seek shelter at lower altitudes.

On a wing and a pouch

Yanununbeyan is home to many animals and a diverse range of birds. Around dawn and dusk, you're likely to see kangaroos, wombats and wallabies. At night, eastern false pipistrelle, powerful owls and squirrel gliders come out to play or hunt or be hunted.

Times of change

Explorers came to this area in the early 1820s with the purpose of opening up new grazing lands. By the decade's end, European settlers, along with their sheep and cattle, occupied Yanununbeyan. Up until the 1930s, a horse and buggy trail ran along the rough alignment of Woolcara trail and was used as a wool route between Tinderry Station and Bungendore. Physical remains of European settlement in Yanununbeyan include fences, bridle trails and shepherd's huts. On Woolcara trail near The Springs, look for hand-built road foundations.