Where

Gibraltar Range National Park in North Coast, Country NSW

Accessibility

Hard

Distance

6km return

Time suggested

1hr 30min - 2hrs 30min

Grade

Grade 4

Entry fees

Park entry fees apply

What to
bring

Sunscreen, hat, drinking water

Please note

Remember to take your binoculars if you want to go bird watching.

Walk the banks of Little Dandahra Creek, through eucalypt forest and rainforest, and arrive at a creek junction that narrows to where Murrumbooee Cascades plunge over the edge of the escarpment. This is the site of entrepreneur Bill Mulligan’s second weir, built in the 1920s, to measure waterflow from his proposed hydro-electric scheme. Keep an eye out along the way for lyrebirds, which inhabit the rainforest, and listen for the rare rufous scrub-bird. Binoculars will come in handy if you enjoy birdwatching.

During warmer weather, the crystal clear waters of Murrumbooee Cascades are an ideal place for a swim. Pack a picnic and spend a few hours in this superb section of Gibraltar Range National Park with family and friends, or just take some time out from everyone and everything.

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.