Goobang National Park

The view from Caloma lookout

Goobang National Park is a national park in the Central West of New South Wales about 30 minutes south from Dubbo.

Understand

History

The area where the park is now was named Herveys Range by John Oxley in 1817, the area was reserved in 1897 as state forest because of its importance as a timber resource. The park was designated a national park in 1995 as it protects the largest remnant forest and woodland in the central west region of the state, where interior and coastal New South Wales flora and fauna species overlap.

Landscape

The park is mostly flat on the outside, but the Herveys Range runs through the center of the park.

Flora and fauna

There are 459 species of flora recorded in the park, several that are threatened. Some of the most prominent are eucalyptus trees, as this park protects one of the last remnants of them in the central part of the state.

There are also 31 species of reptiles, 14 species of frogs and 31 species of mammals recorded in the park including echidnas, wallaby, kangaroos, possums and bats. Unfortunately, pests such as rabbits, cats, foxes, goats, sheep and dogs are also found in the park.

Climate

Goobang National Park hasa temperate to semi-arid climate with hot summers and cool winters with temperatures ranging from 4 to 15 °C during winter and 17 to 32 °C (63 to 90 °F) during summer.

Rainfall is generally rare, and the heaviest rainfall happens during summer and can range from 645 mm (25.4 in) on the east side of the range to 564 mm (22.2 in) west of the ranges.

Visitor information

• Park website
• Park office, 203-209 Russell Street, Bathurst, ☏ +61 2 6332 7640, npws.centralwest@environment.nsw.gov.au. M–F 8:30AM–4:30PM. (updated May 2022)

Get in

From both Dubbo or Parkes, head south (from Dubbo) or north (from Parkes) for 48 km (30 mi) (from Dubbo) or 70 km (43 mi) on the A39 Newell Highway, a good national highway where you could easily go 110 km/h (68 mph). Then head east/southeast on Gundong Road for 16 km. After 16 km, turn right onto the unpaved Nickos Trail, and you'd have entered the park.

Fees and permits

Goobang National Park is not a fee collecting park, meaning you can enter for free!

Get around

Pretty much every single road in the park is not paved, but driving yet remains the easiest way to get around the park. There is one main trail running north-south, and is the primary trail linking most of the park's points of interest, but you may have to deviate a few kilometers to reach the lookout and the campground in the northeast of the park.

See

• 1 Caloma lookout, Caloma Walking Track, Peak Hill. The park's only lookout overlooking some of the most scenic views of the Central West, and only requires a short 50-meter walk. The lookout is also a great place to go birdwatching, with wedge-tailed eagles, brown goshawks, and brown falcons all a common sight. (updated May 2022)

Do

There is only one thing to do in this park, and that is to walk the Burrabadine walking track – it's only a 4 km (2.5 mi) bushwalk (round-trip), but the walk is rated as Grade 4 and takes at least 1.5 hours to do as you're walking up a peak. The walk starts just a few hundred meters south of Greenbah campground, and from there, you'll be heading west and up slowly towards the peak.

Once you're up the peak, there are some great views of what rural NSW is like, that is not in the midst of the desert. You'll also see a good range of vegetation, as the park itself was protected only because of its good mix of coastal and inland vegetation.

Buy, eat and drink

There are no shops, cafes, kiosks, bars, restaurants, pubs or anything in Goobang National Park.

Sleep

Lodging

There is no lodging in Goobang National Park.

Camping

• 1 Greenbah campground, Sawpit Gully Trail, Baldry. A small campground with only 6 campsites but as the campground is in the center of the park, it is a perfect campground to use as a base for exploring the surrounds, including the climb up the peak. If you're lucky enough, you might even see a wallaby or a kangaroo! $6 booking fee. (updated May 2022)
• 2 Wanda Wandong campground (Wanda Wandong Camp Ground), Tanyas Trail, Obley. A medium-sized campground with 10 campsites, but is located in the northeast of the park, and is further away from all the park's point of interests. There are short, unnamed bushwalking trails around the campground, and if you like the smell of eucalyptus, then there's plenty of it here! $6 booking fee. (updated May 2022)

Backcountry

Like with all other NSW national parks, camping is only really possible in designated campgrounds.

Stay safe

There isn't anything to be concerned about in Goobang National Park, except that snakes are common like in pretty much every other national park in the state.

Go next

You'll need to first head back to the Newell Highway (A39), and you can either go up north to Dubbo, or south towards Parkes.