From Lightning Ridge, we headed south, looking forward to spending four nights in the Warrumbungles... but like all good plans, it changed for the better with a diversion to the Pilliga Forest.
We drove south through Walgett and Coonamble - all productive country, with crops of wheat ready for harvest. The ominous storm clouds brewing explained the urgency in the movement of harvesting machinery on the highways. There was rain forecast - plenty of it - and the farmers were desperate to get their crops off the paddocks before it hit.
At Coonabarabran we restocked, and were just about to head down the back road to the Warrumbungles, when I suggested we head to the Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre at Barandine. Our last house was made of Cypress Pine from the Pilliga, and we had always wanted to see the country where the timber had come from. It was a great decision.
We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Pilliga Forest at the Discovery Centre. The Cypress Pine from this area has built houses all around NSW and Queensland, whilst the Iron Bark milled here formed the backbone of the NSW railways, until concrete sleepers finally replaced timber sleepers about 6 years ago.
But beyond the big trees, there are hundreds of shrubs and bushes, supporting an amazing array of birds and other wildlife. It also has some great free camping - and based on the recommendation of the lovely lady behind the counter, we decided we would spend a night in the Pilliga Forest at Dandry Gorge.
Our first stop however was an impressive fire tower - with an even more impressive view.
The views from the top stretched from the Warrumbungles in the south to Mount Kaputar in the north east. The massive Pilliga Forest grows on an ancient sandstone bed, and this porous rock forms part of the land that recharges the Great Artesian Basin. It is a massive woodland, and we took our time soaking up the view.
The Fire Tower is built on a sandstone shelf that has salt bearing caves underneath. Used by local people, they stretched up to a mile into the cliff, with salt hanging like stalactites from the roof. Parts have since collapsed, so we didn't explore too far into the caves, but it was fascinating to see the ancient sea salt being released from the sandstone in this manner.
Our next stop was Dandry Gorge, where we set up camp - and only just in time. As we were eating dinner, a massive thunderstorm started approaching from the west. It looked nasty, so we wolfed down our food, got the kids showered and ready for bed. I was going to stay out and wash up, but the Meteorologist politely informed me that there was no way I was staying outside any longer than absolutely necessary. The hard set mouth and glare in her eyes matched the lightning bolts that were now striking with thunderous booms. I had no choice but to retreat to the comfort of the camper to ride out the storm.
More than once we thought we might have been safer in the car, rather than the camper. We were cosy and dry in our beds, but the storm raged on and on. It was a spectacular display of nature's power - and we were in awe.
We survived the storm intact - and after brekky (and big wash of all the dishes) we set off on the short walk through Dandry Gorge - also called the Sculptures in the Scrub. And boy, what a wonderful walk it was.
The day was glorious, and the sculptures were incredible. Each sculpture had a board introducing the artist and explaining the symbolism of their art. They were all enchanting, and perfectly at home in this part of the forest.
I found the stone axe heads fascinating - one modelled on the European axe head, the other the aboriginal. Both groups of people used resources of the forest - and often worked side by side in more recent times.
The walk returned along the base of the gorge. At one point we came to a natural camping area, with beautiful grass, shady trees and shelter. We felt the timeless nature of this land - this was a place people had lived for thousands of years. When we looked up the cliffs, we saw the sculpture of the aboriginal man and his child looking over us, and I think we all felt a few tingles up our backs. It really was a wonderful place to pause.
The Pilliga wasn't done with us yet. We headed back onto the highway, and nearly missed the unmarked turn off to another special place - Sandstone Caves. A short walk revealed a series of incredible sandstone caves carved by wind and rain. Some had been used for occupation by aboriginals for thousands of years - with groves ground in the rock showing where stone axe heads had been manufactured. Other caves had been left unoccupied for animals to live in. The kids would dearly have loved to have explored through all the caves and overhangs, but we didn't want to cause any damage to this fragile environment.
Again, we passed many beautiful native shrubs and bushes, among magnificent Cypress and Iron Bark trees. Unfortunately logging has taken nearly all the ancient giants of this forest - photos of Cypress Pine with 1.2 metres diameter were common around 100 years ago. These giants must have been many hundreds of years old, and sadly the balance has been upset. Cypress today is growing thickly - so thickly in some places you can't walk through it. These young trees will apparently reach a certain size and become almost dormant, until fire or humans thin them out, encouraging some of them to grow to their full potential. That said, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Pilliga, and will definitely call in here again.
For now though it was time to head to Coonabarabran and get ready for the Warrumbungles!
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