Visit Gundabooka National Park this Easter

The Mulgowan Artsite with walking track and day use area. Photo NSW NPWS

As the weather cools down, Easter is the perfect time to explore the stunning scenery, artwork, walking tracks, and campgrounds of the Gundabooka National Park.

Bourke is lucky to have the iconic Mount Gundabooka so close to town – with so many natural and cultural features to enjoy.

Gundabooka National Park is rich in Aboriginal and European heritage that stretches from the banks of the Darling River, across the plains and over to Mount Gundabooka and the Gundabooka Ranges.

Due to the rain over the past year the landscape here is magnificent; the green in the trees brings out the red in the soil and vice versa, so everything looks picture-perfect under a royal blue sky.

Visitors to Gundabooka are met with raw beauty, untouched landscapes, ancient artwork, wild animals, and wild terrain; but now, due to the new camping amenities at both parks, visitors can enjoy the rough landscape without a rough sleep.

There are new amenities at the Dry Tank Campground out at Gundabooka with a brand-new BBQ and toilet area and twenty campsite.

Bookings can be made via the online bookings system through the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service website.

The Gundabooka Ranges, featuring woodlands, floodplains, sandhills and rugged mountains, are of great significance to the local Ngemba Aboriginal people.

It is well worth taking a stroll along the Yapa Aboriginal art site walking track at Mulgowan to see some ancient Aboriginal rock art up close.

There is quite a bit of wildlife around too – always a big attraction for visitors.

Because the weather is cooling down, there are lots of lizards – bearded dragons and sand goannas – on the road, and through the walking tracks, and you will see a range of beautiful native birds.

Some of the birds you could encounter include wedged tailed eagles, brown falcons, emus, black swans, and a range of cockatoos.

Local reptiles and mammals include the common kangaroos, echidnas, bearded dragons and brown snakes through to the rarer Fat-tailed Dunnart.

The Mulgowan site at Gundabooka is an ideal place to have a wander around to look at the scenery, artwork, and all the natural beauty that the park has to offer.

And it’s a short walk from the Yapa Aboriginal Rock Art site.

The Yanda campground – also on Gundabooka National Park – is a relaxing and picturesque site by the river suitable for tents and caravans and is a great place to explore some of the local waterways.