Woolpack Rocks

Walking into Cathedral Rocks National Park

Over the June Long Weekend we revisited Cathedral Rocks National Park. Our last trip was December 2014, which being a couple years I only had a vague memory of enjoying. There are essentially two walks in the park: the walk from the southern end to and/or the subsequent loop around Cathedral Rocks, and the walk from the northern edge of the park to Woolpack Rocks, and then the trail in the middle which connects the two. Our first visit was of course to the namesake of the park, so this time we wanted to check out the trail to Woolpack Rocks.

It was a cool and cloudy day and the ground was still damp from rain the day before. A couple different kind of banksias were in flower (or in bloom, if that is the correct terminology—“flower” does not seem like exactly the right description of the cones) and we took notice of some different interesting native plants, some of which we are trying to grow in our own garden. The walk winds through scrub and eucalypt forest, then through green, humid fern gullies, huge boulders placed here and there in the landscape all the way. We walked moderately briskly, because it was cold, but stopped a bit to take photos and to enjoy the serenity of the forest. 

 

Banksia flower

Last year or last season's banksia cones

Shortly into the walk, our destination visible in the distance

After a bit of googling I wonder if it might be a White Mountain Banksia cone (Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola).
We saw many fallen on the path on our way through the forest.

A shrub of unbelievably tiny white flowers

Lively green of new growth

At about the 90 minute mark we reached the fork in the trail to Woolpack Rocks; it was perhaps another fifteen or twenty up and through the pile of massive granite boulders to the top. My memory of the climb up Cathedral Rocks is a bit fuzzy, but my recollection was that there were a couple enormous rocks, but the Woolpacks Rock pile was much bigger in comparison. That seems to be about right: looking back at photos, and looking at aerial photos of the park on Google maps upon our return. Up on Woolpacks Rocks, we billygoated around a bit, sat down out of the wind for some lunch, climbed around some more and admired the views.

 

On the way up you have to climb between two boulders on a wooden plank (left) and later on up a wooden ladder.

Crocodile rock.

Coming back down the trail to the fork, we headed up the trail to Cathedral Rocks for a little way, not ready to turn back to the carpark just yet—even though we had no intention to walk all the way to Cathedral Rocks (it would likely be another hour or ninety minutes or so and we weren’t feeling that ambitious—especially since it was starting to look like afternoon rain.) We probably walked for another half hour before we came upon a little glen, mossy boulders beneath enormous trees. This felt like the real Cathedral Rocks: a very quiet, serene green gully in the middle of tall eucalypt forest. With that, souls rejuvenated after some quiet contemplation, we headed back.

Quite unlike our last visit where we saw several bands of kangaroos, we did not see any marsupials on this walk. Only birds: the small gray and brown song birds you can hear but almost never see, and the mournful cry of the black cockatoo.

Overall, my feeling of Cathedral Rocks National Park is very good. Both trails very enjoyable, meandering through different New England ecosystems, and of course the rocks are very impressive! I am definitely looking forward to making a trip back to do the first walk from the southern end up to Cathedral Rocks. We are lucky to live nearby—if only we lived a little closer, I think we would try to head out there a lot more often.

Rocks and more rocks and New England Banksia (Banksia neoanglica)