Things to do in Kwiambal National Park, NSW.

Macintyre Falls

There are so many things to see and do in Kwiambal National Park that we are surprised it isn't more widely known. 

The Junction Walk: Grade 4, 7 km return.
This walk starts from Lemon Tree Campground. 

An early morning start on the Junction Walk.

The Dungeon Lookout used to be a precarious cliff-top view but is now fully enclosed.

The Dungeon Lookout

View from the Dungeon Lookout

View from the Dungeon Lookout

The descent to the Junction

The junction of the Severn and Macintyre Rivers.

Macintyre Falls Picnic Area:

Macintyre Falls Picnic Shelter

There is a large parking area at the picnic area and several walks leave from here. Facilities include: toilets, tables and a picnic shelter with a table and BBQ.

Rufous Whistler at Mackintyre Picnic Area

Macintyre Falls Lookout: Grade 2, 200 m return.

Macintyre Falls Lookout

View from Macintyre Falls Lookout

Rock Pool Walking Track: Grade 3.
A very rewarding walk with good access to the large pool that the Macintyre Falls flows into.

The Beach Lookout

View from the Beach Lookout

View from the Beach Lookout

The track down to the rook pool has quite a few steps.

Steps on The Rock Pool Track

The Rock Pool at Macintyre Falls

Slippery Rock Walking Track: Grade 4, 4 km return.
The track is fairly unformed and gradually descends to the river. We saw quite a few Eastern Water Dragons near the pools and a variety of birds along the track; mostly Noisy Friarbirds, White-faced Honeyeaters and quite a few Speckled Warblers.

Slippery Rock

Speckled Warbler on the Slippery Rock Walking Track.

Limestone Caves: Grade 3, 600 m return.
It is about 200 meters to the picnic area from the car park and then a short walk to the caves. There is also a dedicated disabled car park 80 meters on from the main car park. This cave system has been mined extensively in the past for guano and phosphate rock. Due to the threatened species of microbats living in the caves the public is asked to only enter the caves from September-October and March-April.

Entrance to the Limestone Caves

Bird nests in the entry to the Limestone Caves.

Interior of the Limestone Caves.

There are a few exits in the caves that the bats probably utilise.

We saw four emus at the creek near the limestone cave car park. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were attracted to the flowering gum trees near the picnic area.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Swimming and Fishing:
The Macintyre Falls rook pool and spots along the Severn River are popular for swimming. Fishing is allowed in the park with a NSW Recreational Fishing Licence.

Camping and Accommodation:
Lemon Tree Flat and Kookabitta Campground are both excellent campgrounds that have self-registration on arrival. Lemon Tree Flat is the campground recommended for caravans. NSW National Parks also has accommodation for rent in Kwiambal National Park that needs to be booked online: Lavendale Cottage has three bedrooms and sleeps up to nine people. Lavendale Homestead has six bedrooms and sleeps up to twenty people. 

Kookabitta Campground, Kwiambal National Park, NSW.

Kookabitta Campground looking towards the new camp kitchen shelter.

There are two campgrounds at Kwiambal National Park. Our understanding was that Kookabitta Campground was closed for refurbishment so we drove straight to Lemon Tree Flat Campground and set up. Later, we realised that Kookabitta Campground was open so we went in and had a look. The new kitchen shelter is excellent and overlooks the campground through to the Severn River.

Kookabitta Campground looking towards the Severn River.

There are tables throughout the campground and the fire pits are a bit different as they are concreted holes in the paved platforms.

National Parks New South Wales often supply great camp cooking facilities.

We had heard that Emus come down to the opposite riverbank to drink so we kept an eye open for them. We didn't see any there but overall we saw four in Kwiambal National Park. We did see goats come down for a drink and some Peaceful Doves foraging along the river stones.

Goat coming down for a drink in the Severn River.

Peaceful Doves

In the campground, Brown Treecreepers and White-plumed Honeyeaters were quite active and inquisitive. There were lots of Superb Fairy-wrens and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are common throughout Kwiambal National Park.

White-plumed Honeyeater

Brown Treecreeper

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Superb Fairy-wren; male in eclipse.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos were peacefully grazing in the campground.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

After walking around the campground we realised that we were covered in grass ticks. We don't know if we came in contact with the ticks at the campground or on the walks we had done that morning. Grass ticks are very small and typically there are lots of them. We do carry a fully stocked first aid kit with us on our travels so we were able to get rid of them but it takes up a bit of time to locate them all.

Details for Lemon Tree Flat Campground:
Where: In Kwiambal National Park. 160 km north-west of Glen Innes via Inverall and Ashford. From Ashford travel along Limestone Road. Turn right into Kookabitta Trail a couple of kilometers before Lemon Tree Flat Campground.
Access: 2WD roads, can become boggy when wet. Approximately 25 km of unsealed roads before arriving at the campground.
Booking & Fees: No bookings, self-register on arrival, $6 per adult, $3.50 per child.
Sites: There is an enclosed grassy area, with separate parking bays, suitable for tent camping. There appeared to be only one site at the end of the campground that would be suitable for a motorhome or a camper trailer. The campground is beside the Severn River.
Facilities: Fire places, wood supplied, tables, non-flushing toilets, large camp kitchen shelter with free gas/electric BBQs, rainwater tank (empty when we were there). Fishing is allowed with a permit.
Prohibitions: No noise after 8 pm, no pets, no smoking.
Caution: Grass ticks.
Managed by: National Parks NSW, Tenterfield Office Ph 02 6736 4298

Lemon Tree Flat Campground, Kwiambal National Park, NSW.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground is in a peaceful setting next to the Severn River. The river is popular for both swimming and fishing.There was a man fishing while we were there and he was apparently catch and releasing one to two Murray Cod a day. A permit is required for fishing in NSW. 

The "Beach" at Lemon Tree Flat Campground.

When we were not out walking and exploring the area we enjoyed watching the wildlife in the campground. Several resident goannas patrol the area; one regular has the Bells Phase variant of skin patterns. 

Bell's Phase Lace Monitor

Eastern Grey Kangaroos graze in the campground alongside Red-necked Wallabies.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos

Red-necked Wallaby with Joey.

Feral goats could also be seen grazing in the quieter areas.

One of many different coloured goats.

Never camp under Gum Trees. There are a number of large Gum Trees along the river bank so we set up further back. While we were there, an area near the information and self-registration shelter had been roped off due to a gum tree dropping a very large limb which was dangling precariously where it was tangled up in other trees. On the bright side, the gum trees attracted Red-winged Parrots and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.

Red-winged Parrot, male.

Lemon Tree Flat Campground has a a couple of large open grassy areas suitable for driving straight in with a caravan or camper trailer. There is also a large tent camping area surrounded by bollards and there are a number of small parking areas for the tent campers to park their cars next to the bollards. Strangely, when we arrived every car park in the bollarded area was taken up by people with caravans so we ended up putting our tent in an open area so that we could park our ute next to it. 

Lemon Tree Flat Campground

The caravaners appeared to be travelling together and had a sausage sizzle that night. The next day they all left. That afternoon more caravaners arrived and we got a few funny looks from them. They must have been wondering why we were taking up a prime caravan spot instead of setting up in the now empty tent area. Although that situation is a little bit amusing we were not laughing when we went to use the toilet after the first lot of vans had left. Somebody had dumped all their rubbish, including plastic bags and meat trays, down the toilet!


Details for Lemon Tree Flat Campground:
Where: In Kwiambal National Park. 160 km north-west of Glen Innes via Inverall and Ashford. From Ashford travel along Limestone Road. After entering the national park follow signs to the campground.
Access: 2WD roads, can become boggy when wet. Approximately 26 km of unsealed roads before arriving at the campground.
Booking & Fees: No bookings, self-register on arrival, $6 per adult, $3.50 per child.
Sites: Suitable for tents, camping beside vehicle, camper trailer, caravan and motorhome. There are open grassy area suitable for all rig types and an enclosed grassy area, with separate parking, suitable for tent camping. The campground is beside the Severn River, there is access to the river but it is mostly not visible from the campsites.
Facilities: fire places, wood supplied, tables, non-flushing toilets, camp kitchen shelter with free gas/electric BBQ, 1 non-potable water tap near the camp kitchen. Fishing is allowed with a permit. Swimming. Walks. 
Day Use: Share campground facilities. It is best to drive to the end of the campground near the camp shelter. Behind the shelter is access to the river.
Prohibitions: No generators, no pets, no smoking.
Caution: Never camp under Gum Trees.
Managed by: National Parks NSW, Tenterfield Office Ph 02 6736 4298

Wildlife List: Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Eastern Wallaroo, Euro, Squirrel Glider, Lace Monitor including Bell's Phase, Eastern Water Dragon, Feral Goats. Butterflies: Common Brown, Lesser Wanderer, Orchard Swallowtail. Birds: Apostlebird, Whistling Kite, White-winged Chough, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Little Pied Cormorant, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Spangled Drongo, Emu, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Diamond Firetail, Restless Flycatcher, Noisy Friarbird, White-faced Heron, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Sacred Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Noisy Miner, Olive-backed Oriole, Red-winged Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Crested Pigeon, Common Bronzewing, Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale-headed Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella x  Crimson Rosella, Speckled Warbler, White-browed Scrubwren, Welcome Swallow, Dusky Moorhen, Brown Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.