Narrabri (pop. 7440) lies near the Nandewar Range (Mount Kaputar National Park). It is an old, established agricultural town, though in recent decades cotton (now covering over 50,000ha) has been displacing wheat. Near the town are a solar observatory and a station for measuring cosmic radiation.
Mount Kaputar National Park
(Big Sky Country)
36,800ha.
Mount Kaputar National Park, named after the hill of that name (1524m), is part of the Nandewar Range and, like the rest of the range, was formed by ancient volcanic activity.
The first European in this area was an escaped convict who came here and lived with the Aborigines. When he was recaptured in 1830 he told Thomas Mitchell about a river named Kindur, and in the following year Mitchell set out to look for the river and found the curiously shaped hills which he called the Nundawar (later Nundewar) Range. The region was settled in the second half of the 19th C. In 1925 an area of 777ha was declared a nature reserve, and in 1958 this was extended to form the present national park. There are numerous viewpoints which can be reached by car. Swan Rock is a 40m high basalt formation resembling organ pipes.
The park offers a new campsite at Bark Hut, bush walking, rock-climbing, and observation of nature. At Dawsons Spring, at the end of the access road, there are picnic areas and camping sites, no provisions. Visitor center at Dawsons Spring (32km east).
Address:
Mount Kaputar National Park, Narrabri, NSW 2390, Australia
Tips: Access from Narrabri on a road which is sometimes steep and narrow (41km an unsurfaced track unsuitable for caravans). Access to northern and central areas from Narrabri-Bingara road and Narrabri-Terry Hie Hie track. No access from Barraba.
Adult and child fees are for camping only and apply per night.
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