Distance: 278klm
Overnight: Big Sky Caravan Park
Weather: Warm, sunny 24 degrees
About Narrabri
We have been carefully watching the weather reports as separate weather systems in 3 states combine and created a major rain event in our area ‘central western plains’. We settled in for a 2nd night and waited for the rain to blow through to the coast. The same weather system dumped a load of snow in the Alpine region we have just left. We got our van out just in time. While it rained we visited the old Dubbo gaol, a good exhibit on a par with the Melbourne gaol.
We left Dubbo and stopped at Coonabarabran for coffee and excellent cake served with cream and a swirl of toffee sauce, it is my last treat. Margaret says there will be no more visits to cafes for coffee and cake while we are away as it is costing us $100 a week!
Bird road sign
I just had to stop and photograph this sign as I am sure Robyn does not have it in her collection. We have seen several emus today but the image is not an emu, what is it and why the sign?
Approach to Mt Kaputar National Park by Margaret
We parked the van at Narrabri then drove into Mount Kaputar National Park. The approach is across a flat plain. We stopped a couple of times to take photos.
Approach to Mt Kaputar National Park by Ian
I think Margaret got the best shot.
Lichens
The most accessible feature is ‘Sawn rocks’ an easy 35klm drive and pleasant walk in past these huge boulders covered in moss and lichens.
Sawn Rocks
A sign at the site says, Sawn Rocks is possibly the best example in Australia of organ piping. This cliff is the remains of a lava flow. Millions of years ago the molten lava cooled slowly and evenly enabling individual crystals to perfectly align. Weathering and plant roots forced vertical cracks between crystals to open resulting in rock falls that leave these vertical columns.
We believe the sign is for Bush Turkey or sometimes called Brush Turkey. All well on the home front hope you don’t freeze to death but you are heading for slightly warmer climate.
Agreed, Brush or Bush Turkey (depending on your state). Some populations are threatened and are listed in NSW for conservation.
Fantastic post, and its brilliant to see a home grown post on Freshly Pressed. Congratulations on the spotlight. =)
I know Mt Kaputar and the Sawn Rocks, the excellent picture of the rocks on freshly pressed immediately drew my attention. Well done.
I believe that sign might be for the Mallee Fowl, a now endangered ground dwelling, nest mound building native bird, originally found across the southern drier interior regions of Australia. In fact it looks like that area around Mt Kaputar is the eastern most occurence of the last 20 years.
A remarkable Australian native fowl that is highly threatened across much of it’s original habitat – http://www.malleefowl.com.au/malleefowl.aspx
Thanks for the explanation and for adding to our knowledge of the Mallee Fowl
My friend took some photos of a Mallee Fowl and its rather unusual nest. One of the photos is posted on his blog. http://peterthegreenie.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/my-trip-to-little-desert-national-park-animals-i-saw/
Ian and Margaret – you sound like you’re having a fantastic trip!
I am from Dubbo and know the scrub. These signs are regarding Mallee Fowls in the area. They are renowned for building large mound nests for their eggs tohatch their eggs. They are fairly rare but are seen often through the Goonoo State forest
my husband’s been in the field planting this week, so seeing such relaxing time together through your photos gives me a little something to look forward to. enjoy the weekend!
Your picture with the caption: Approach to Mt Kaputar National Park by Ian
Is very very cool.
Wow…great pics!
very nice pictures. i love the second one
The Australian bush is an amazing place. Prior to an extended trip overseas in 2009 and 2010, my wife and I spent a couple of weeks up north in the national parks around Darwin. In my humble opinion, the natural rock formations, unmistakably Australian flora and extraordinary fauna have no peers anywhere in the world.
What beautiful scenery! Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
awesome pics! Especially the rocks.
Looks like fun. We’re doing the same as you, living full time in our RV, here in Canada.
Ruth from At Home on the Road
Reblogged this on peyami.
What an amazing trip. Beautiful landscape that makes you appreciate nature in a very inspiring way.
wooooww…beautiful…nice pict…:)
Woah! Incredible stuff! Congrats for being on Freshly Pressed!
how nice..
Wow, can you imagine my surprise when I see this blog this morning! I am from near Dubbo! And I am living overseas now for two years. Love this blog, consider yourself followed
nice place to pass time
Nice photos. i think you enjoy your trip.
Looks Good…
awesome place and awesome way to travel thanks for sharing….
Nice post, amazing pics, Thanks for sharing
nice pics
perfect photography…thanks for sharing..!!!!
I think the sky in “Approach to Mt Kaputar National Park by Margaret” was breathtaking, like a dream!
Reblogged this on Mademoisellelayla's Mind and commented:
Oh I’ve always wanted to do this…since forever…adventure…living in a caravan….
nice blog!! Thanks for sharing
Nice work… i like last Sawn Rocks pics .
FANTASTIC SNAPSHOTS! The coloration and grain-like texture of the ‘Sawn rocks’ actually looks more like wood than rock!
These pictures are stunning! have you ever visited Africa?
x
wow….what a lovely photos with a happy journey.The ‘Sawn rocks’ is looks amazing.
My favorite vacation in the world was a 3-months trip in a caravan from Cairns to Adelaide, hugging the coastline and drinking our way through the various wine regions. What a beautiful country and what wonderful people. When I’m retired I want to do it again, but even longer! Thanks for sharing your travels.
Wonderful tour with great photography.
Te weather is perfect for the tour.Really very good photos.Thanks for sharing.
cool!!photos of weather,lovely shoot.The first is beautiful.I liked it.
Beautiful coloured photos.The last two photos shows the sawn rocks.Definately Sawn Rocks is the best example in Australia of organ piping.I loved it.
wonderful
what a beautiful pict
it’s really awesome! nice post…
wow…!!! awesome post with awesome clicks…
Sawn Rocks pics my fav … thanks for sharing.
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed, and beautiful photos!
Hope your travels stay pleasant.
good worked…nice pic’s
One of the most spectacular Basalt rock formation. Thank you! (brought memories in mind…a tear in the eye and a smile
Reblogged this on euzicasa and commented:
Marvelous trip!
Wow the Sawn Rocks photos are very interesting. Don’t think I have seen anything like it. I am assuming that the Sawn Rock area is expansive. I will be researching the topic. Thanks so so much for sharing!
Incredible photos. My husband is from Australia and I have visited a couple of time. I hope to see more of this wonderful land.
Breathtaking shots. The Sawn Rocks look like a scene out of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. Congrats on the Freshly Pressed.
Love your blog! Did you see any rockclimbers on any of the 11 walks in the Mount Kaputar National Park?
Hello there,
I’m from Vietnam. I haven’t been to Australia yet. Wow, the Sawn Rock is amazing!
wooww!!! beautiful pictures.. i love it!!
Great photos, and congrats on your selection in freshly pressed.
Stunning photos! I really like the Sawn Rocks. They look like they’d belong in a futuristic science fiction movie.
Love the pictures and story. My family and I are doing a similar trip. Hope you are able to check out our blog sometime. Drive safe & enjoy the journey!
Nice Pictures
Those “organ pipes” are the coolest damn thing!
Very good photographs! I envy you — I’m supposed to be retired, but unfortunately my financial position requires that I work full time.
Awesome photography and Narrabri look stunning!! Respect and Peace!!
Nice Post! Enjoy!
http://journeythroughhtml.wordpress.com/
Great pictures!
Wow, these places just look su beautiful. I just wished i would be there right now. now now.
Great pictures ianandmargaretcoles.
Love it! Thanks for sharing your travels and your photos with the rest of us!
Reblogged this on Anything Interesting on WordPress.
Reblogged this on Voices and Visions and commented:
This blog from Australia shows wonderful photos of “organ pipe rocks”….
Great to see rural New South Wales featured on freshly pressed! The landscapes are incredible, makes me miss home! Peter W Davies – New South Welshman in Mexico City.
http://mexicocitymetro.wordpress.com/
Love the photos. I’ve always had an interest in rock formations, but have never seen one quite like this-very nice.
It’s great to see some Australian stuff on Freshly Pressed. I’m from Parkes originally, then Tamworth for a while, now Canberra. You have reminded me that I need to get more miles under my belt. I should adjust my working hours to create more long weekends.
tanga nyo mga dre
Good work to travel and post your photos. it’s a beautiful part of the country and you have captured it in the pix!
Excellent trip, post and photos!
Larva
http://www.larvamedia.wordpress.com
Amazing photos! Hope the trip goes well for you.
nice landscape
Whoah! I’m a Melbournite who’s travelled a little, and I love to take a squiz at other peoples’ travel pics. These are particularly beautiful. I love your Aussie style of wrtiting too. Very friendly to read. I’m going to be following you guys for more beautiful scenery!
Nice pics…
i like this
the sawn rocks really rock! once i traveled with caravan in western australia long ago, it was fun. but i’ve never been to nsw with a caravan. sounds like you’re the happiest retired couple in the world!
FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHY…!!!!!
superb place…….thanks for sharing….
The weather is good for journey.The Sawn Rocks is looks so nice.Amazing photography.I liked all the photos.Thank you.
Stunning photography. Congratulations on Freshly Pressed – looks quite deserving.
Really wonderful photos.Thanks for giving the idea about Sawn Rock.It was beautiful.Thanks for sharing.
I have always wanted to ‘cruise the continent’ as you are doing. This gives me more impetus to do so. Keep the great photos coming.
Beautiful shoot and great photography.I enjoyed all the colourful photos.Thanks.
Lovely experience and great job.I enjoyed it.Specially the sawn rock.
Wow!!!wonderful photos.My brother is in Austrailia.He already visited that beautiful place.Thanks for sharing.
I like your travel experience.Thank you for sharing!
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
awesome post!
Great pics!
Narrabri is a great place, wish I will have a trip there too!
Thanks for sharing.
Wow, amazing pics and it looks fun, Thanks for sharing
Wonderful shots!
http://valentinedefrancis.wordpress.com
Amazing photos! The last one looks like Devils Tower in Wyoming, maybe it’s the same type of formation.
Those Sawn rocks are pretty interesting! Thanks for sharing them! Looked like it was a lovely day!
Thanks for posting the pictures. My fiance and I are hoping to go to Australia for our honeymoon. Is the bird sign a warning because they walk across the road?
Signs posted along the road in Australia mean that the bird or animal depicted is to be found in the area.
Fantastic post with wonderful shots!
I like the last photo the best
Great work
Amazing photos!
$100 a week for coffee and cake?! Wow! Maybe I could live without the cake, but not the coffee
What an AMAZING blog, you guys rock! I think to myself that I’d love to do something like this, but don’t you get homesick? Still, amazing sights. Following! Can’t wait to continue reading about your adventures.
Those pictures are awesome, the organ piping is spectacularly breathtaking. Stunning. Great photos
Beautiful pictures! I’m suddenly very nostalgic of my trip to Australia as a yound adult nearly 20 years ago, I’d love to go back! Thank you!
nice one sir
These look a lot like the “Giant’s causeway” in Ireland (except for the sea, of course). I think they were formed the same way.
Take a look here: http://journeyphotographic.com/2010/08/07/giants-causeway-northern-ireland/#comment-9562. Notice the similarity?
Very impressive the sawn rock.
Fantastic photography
Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Great Travelling, someday i wanna see sawn rock, it so great and beautiful.
Nice photos. The rocks are a wonder. God bless. Connie
http://7thandvine.wordpress.com/
The shots of the sawn rocks are great!
Beautiful pictures, it sounds like you’ve made retirement into a dream come true! What a way to live! Congratulations on getting to travel; may you have many wonderful adventures!
God Bless,
Donna
woaaa…
amazing.. is very very wonderfull
The rock formation is beautiful. I have never seen anything like that.
Hi I’am Ahmad. I like your foto that captured Mt. Kaptura. Awesome! LOL
Wow. The photos are beautiful! I love most of them – the skies, the rock formations. Cool! I hope you enjoyed the trip too.
Greetings from Utah, USA! I’ve always dreamed of going Down Under. Thanks for sharing your adventures and photos. It may be as close as I ever get. The sawn rocks were of particular interest because they look so much like our tabernacle organ pipes. Very cool! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! Happy trails, MoSop
Wonderful shots, thanks for sharing your adventure. I wish to be there physically…for now I’ll just settle with these photos.
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Reblogged this on Anything Interesting on WordPress and commented:
Bird road sign shows that this is the beginning bird reserve zone, you might came across a bird on the way during driving – so be careful and take care of ongoing animals.
beautiful pics…admire ur adventurous streak!
Amei as fotografias, embora não consegui ler o texto, parabéns.
Absolutely beautiful, thank you for sharing. I hope you had a wonderful time, the pictures are just stunning.
Looks very cool.
Thanks for sharing these photos. Let me chime in on a geological detail (I’m a structural geologist): the columnar jointing (or “organ piping”) at Sawn Rocks is not the dividing of the rock into individual crystals, but instead the separation of massive, very-finely-grained rock (basalt) into columns by fracturing that results from a loss of volume as hot (but solid) rock cools. It’s like a mud puddle drying up (and losing volume due to evaporation of water), causing a series of Y-shaped fracture intersections to develop, and the mud to be divided up into a series of polygons. It’s the same basic thing with cooling volcanic rock like basalt, but the lava is deeper than a mud puddle, so the polygon shapes are enlarged through downward migration of the fractures.
Thanks again for sharing the images – hope the geolesson isn’t out of line…
Thanks Callen, appreciate your detailed explanation.
I loved the geolesson. Tell me, is there a geological similarity between sawn rock and the Giant’s causeway in Ireland? If u haven’t seen it, it’s here: http://journeyphotographic.com/2010/08/07/giants-causeway-northern-ireland/#comment-9562
I definitely have to visit.
Rudybrown.wordpress.con
I’m from Brazil. In 2001, during a long trip by car, I meet a couple like you. Friendly people who told me very much about Australia. Enjoy your trip and congratulations for your blog.
Wow…Sawn Rocks looks just like Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland! Beautiful photos!
Beautiful!
Thank you for sharing these photos! Some close friends recently moved to Australia from the USA, and I will visit them early next year. I want to see the interior of the country, if I have time.
I love your verticle hold photographs of the cliffs. God’s scul;tptures! Well captured! Thank you johndwmacdonald.com
This is a sweet blog. My stomach growled when you mentioned cake.
Wow. Thank you for sharing your photos.
Your photos are beautiful – and your trek around Australia must be wonderful. My husband and I are doing something similar in northern California, in the U.S. We too are retired, and traveling, and checking in with two wonderful grandchildren (the reason I started my blog). We too are fond of coffee houses and cafes but not spending $100 a week (ha, ha). Have a wonderful journey and stay warm – aren’t you heading into winter down there?
Nice Pictures..**
Wow…Nature at its ‘natural’ best!
Great post
Hermosas imagenes…
This is such lovely land. Wish I could come to visit someday.
Oh wow, I love the photography. Great job!
Greetings from New York! Wonderful photos, Australia is such a wonderful place, so rich in history and culture. I wish you both a wonderful journey. Love the blog, I’ll be coming back!
nice article
Coffie stops bump up the budjet, google, gypsy life, for a similar blog.
Wonderful post and great photos! Thank you for sharing!
♥ Love and light ♥
~ Jennifer
I love your photos and your travels. I retired a year ago; instead of traveling I moved across country (Indiana USA to Portland Oregon) which is its own kind of adventure. I still have some travel left in me and would like to go to Australia, among other road trips. Most immediate planned trip is to Sooke in British Columbia. My passport is in order.
Wow looks like awesome trip! the bird sign made me laugh because that is something I would do, stop the car just to take a picture of a bird sign lol. I have never see a sign warn you about birds on the open roads. love the pictures they are really amazing.
Beautiful and fascinating blog…
A cool post right there mate . Thank you for that .