Cania Gorge – the Walks

  

 Cania Gorge National Park is a small national park with 8 walking tracks ranging from 1 to 22 km.  We hadn’t considered and actually couldn’t do the 22km walk as there was a controlled burn in the area during our stay.  So we selected (with the advice from park staff) the following walks (the descriptions are from the national park info):

 Our intrepid bushwalking twins

Dripping Rock and The Overhang

This pleasant walk starts at the southern end of the picnic area. After crossing the Three Moon Creek the track winds through eucalypt woodland and dry rainforest before leading to the base of Dripping Rock (2.2 km return). The track continues on to The Overhang, where water has eroded the base of the sandstone cliff.

This walk reminded us quite strongly of the Drip Gorge walk we did in Mudgee – the drip part didn’t compare to Mudgee, but the Overhang Section at the end was really lovely. The boys found a few rock towers there which they expanded on making, they said, a whole rock city (with pizza place, palace and gardens). The first two pictures are views from the picnic area, the rest are from the walk.

Fern Tree Pool and Giant's Chair circuit

The circuit begins from a carpark 900 m south of the picnic area and is best walked in an anti-clockwise direction. Crossing Doctors Gully several times, the track passes Fern Tree Pool (2.5 km) and continues at a moderate climb for another 2.2 km up a sandstone escarpment to the Giant's Chair lookout. The circuit returns 900 m to the car park down a steep track and steps.

Crossed Doctors Gully several times hmmm, more like over a dozen, but as there wasn’t a drop of water it was really easy. This was a diverse walk, and they weren’t wrong about the steep track and steps.

More rock towers – these things are everywhere

Two Storey Cave circuit

This scenic walk starts opposite the picnic area. Starting to the left, the circuit meanders upwards around isolated sandstone monoliths. A 20 m sidetrack leads to King Orchid Crevice, a parting of the cliff that has created an ideal haven for epiphytes. The top section of Two Storey Cave is important habitat for insectivorous bats. 

For us this was the best walk – the rocks were amazing the whole way.  It wasn’t particularly strenuous but it delivered some beautiful views which we have tried to convey in these photographs.