mulgowan (yapa) aboriginal rock art site

The art work here was well preserved and the walk was very pleasant. Just ensure you take water with you. It was very warm when we were here and proper shoes, water and a hat were definitely well used!The surrounding area was lovely. We came from the direction of Cobar, visited the art, and then drove to Yanda Campground within the park. It was near the river, and quite for this time of year. The scenery was beautiful, the river, although low, was full of fish (jumping out of the water) and in the afternoon the goats and roos came down for a drink.There are drop toilets and a BBQ area there too. I also got to see my first Red Roo - and he was HUGE! It was well worth the drive and the peace and quite and variety of beautiful birds made it a shame we could only stay one night.

This is an easy day trip from Bourke, well signposted walking trails in the park and very good rock art.Quite a few campers in the park. We didn't choose that option, having stayed beforehand at Trilby Station near Louth, an excellent farmstay on the river. Though had we thought it through a bit more we should have overnighted at one of the Gundabooka national park camps on our way up to Bourke, and doing our walks then. Well recommended.

This site is well worth the visit. Toilet and picnic area at car park & a short walk to the site. The Rock Art was beautiful to see and the pathway to the site is well designed and maintained. It's an easy walk that I enjoyed, as someone who doesn't like bushwalking.

Approx 1hr drive sth of Bourke along Kidman Highway. Well sign posted. Road in National park is dirt. Road not usable by car if wet.On arrival at parking area, a short 20min walk to rock art up gentle slope, beautiful scenery. Ensure you take drinking water. There are bush toilets at parking area. Art work is basic but still worth the effort.

It is an easy, pleasant walk to the art site and the track provides lovely views across the district. The artwork is in good condition, though the images are quite simple. They depict "shake leg" dance, food sources and tools as well as a few hand prints. There are also some older less clear artworks visible in a layered effect accumulated across the ages.The road in is dirt, but when we were there it was in good condition. Our late September visit after a good rain year was good timing for wildflowers throughout the park. The section of the Kidman Way that you drive down from Bourke to the national park was very pretty. The smell of the bushland was beautiful and very strong along the highway in the early part of the morning. There are toilets and tables in the picnic area where the track commences.

The Mulgowan Aboriginal rock art site or ‘Gundabooka paintings’ is located within the Gundabooka National Park, a healthy drive from the nearest outback town of Bourke NSW & easily accessible by reliable 2WD cars. The Gundabooka National Park is the land of the Ngemba & Paakantji people, the traditional owners of the land. The national park was created from the purchase of 4 former land leases which the government had purchased back from private holders. The actual site of the petro glyphs or ‘paintings’ is located at the end of a 15 min walk up a marked path by the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) that leads from a secluded grassy picnic & car park area to the base of a rocky incline where it leads you up into the monolithic-like rock & down into a dry creek bed that is the Mulareenya creek. The ledge where the art is located is just off the creek bed which was bone dry in December. The path to the site is inhabited by wild goats & small roos, all very harmless & unintimidating. The paintings themselves seem to resemble human forms but one could try & consider what the artist was trying to portray. The enormity of the rock paintings can be seen thru the view that this was from a culture that had no written language & so viewing such a rare piece of original indigenous art seems amazing to consider. There are images of several dancing figures carrying spears & boomerangs possibly at a corroboree or spiritual/seasonal event as dance plays a huge part in some Aboriginal tribes as a means of story telling & expression. Other images that I’m guessing at were an emu, possibly a waterhole & a few hand stencils which show surprisingly thick fingers. Some of the human images share a striking resemblance to some of the rock art images at the Mt Grenfell Historic Site a few hundred kms away, west of Cobar.The images are well preserved considering their age & the harsh unforgiving outback, possibly up to 40,000 yrs old. The site is accessible by a metal walkway which provides easy access right up to the paintings which are separated by a metal fence but affords close intimate observations of up to a few feet away.The Gundabooka Ranges where the art site is located rises lowly but significantly from its relatively flat surrounding. The rocky Gundabooka Range would have been a good place to escape the unforgiving sun in the NSW outback as the rock shelters offer a cool surface to regain strength & the waterhole providing life & sustenance to land-dwellers alike. The picnic area is quite small & basic but make a great base to view the rock art. There is also a pit toilet that is commonly found in Australian National Parks, it is bio-friendly & self-maintained by compost worms in the pit below. Within the National Park there is a camping facilities at Dry Tank Campground but we didn’t see this as it was in another direction. The dirt road leading into the national park is of fine red dust famous in the Australian outback but again if it is dry a reliable 2WD can navigate the 20kms from the Kidman Way highway. My Garmin GPS operated superbly & had no problems finding reception. Looking upon a 40,000 year old painting in the middle of the outback is a pretty wicked way to spend a weekend.