West Gondwanaland

Mount Warning dominates this part of New South Wales and Queensland. It was the central plug of a volcano that existed when Gondwana was intact, that some say is the largest terrestrial volcano in the world. It extended from Tenterfield to the coast, and is responsible for the extensive rock formations around here. Also, the soil formed from the volcano was very fertile and caused the Gondwanaland World Heritage areas to become a highly diverse part of the world (note that biodiverse hotspots are terms for significant environments that are under threat, which is why Australia has no hotspots, even though we have a number of significant biodiverse places).

Today I went towards Tenterfield to see the more westerly World Heritage parts. These are "dry rainforests" and include the Richmond Ranges National Park. Access to this is via a dry weather road running along a ridge to the park itself. Unfortunately as soon as I reached the walking tracks, the sky's opened, and a violent thunderstorm erupted. So, I beat a hasty retreat, before the road absorbed the moisture and became impassable.

However, a bit later on I came across the Bean Creek Waterfall. On my way out, another was coming down the very overgrown path, asking whether there was any water - they had evidently been several times, and it had always been dry.