The first photo taken on my little trip. It's the map of the whole Cooranbong area with the Wattagans National Park at the top and Lake MacQuarie at the bottom. (If you happen to own the petrol station where I photographed this map: I am a cyclist so I didn't buy fuel from you but I have bought sandwiches from you)

The creature in the out-of-focus photograph below is a cookabura (don't ask me if it's spelled right). During the daylight hours I think they're amusing making their weird laughing noise but at 5:00 in the morning when their weird laughing noise seems like the loudest thing I've ever heard I am not half as amused as them and I feel tempted to throw bricks at them. This one is alright because it lives out of earshot of everywhere I've ever slept.

Forest near the edge of the park.

The welcome sign.

This little feature somehow manages to crack me up every time I see it. Back home in New Zealand we only use 1080 to kill possums but sometimes it kills dogs by mistake.

I'm not used to seeing vehicle tracks in national parks.

I quite like this one and the following ones. The native forest in New Zealand looks similar but has no gum trees or palms and has more tree ferns and has something called cabbage trees which are actually lillies.

Cabbage trees actually look a lot like this but are not actually in the same family.


In New Zealand we have introduced gum trees but they aren't this shape. I like this one though.

Fortunately for me this sign is stil pointing roughly the same way it used to point. I suspect that's more good luck than someone's goodwill.

The Gap Creek Falls, I took a few photos here before turning round. It's very pretty but there isn't much water.

I would have taken more photos on the return trip but unfortunately the overhead clouds were beginning to thicken and everything was just better lit on the way there.  I tried to photograph a lyre bird which I saw but not enough light was reaching the ground through the clouds and the really thick canopy.

If you decide to go there yourselves: from Sydney head north on the F1 until the Morriset/Cooranbong exit then follow Freemans Drive past Cooranbong then take the last left before the overpass over F1. This will take you to the Wattagans National park. Once in the park take the left fork if you wish to see the falls.
The drive is about 100 kilometers from Sydney, the walk takes about three quarters of an hour each way but is quite tiring.
Good luck!
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