Jacky Barkers campsite - Nowendoc National Park NSW

Nowendoc National Park is located near Walcha on the NSW Tablelands & contains around 14,000 hectares of the declared Curracabundi Wilderness Area. The deep V-shaped gorge is formed by the Myall Creek which runs through the middle of the park.

Jacky Barkers campsite is on a creek of the same name & next to the rustic Wrights Hut, the oldest surviving structure in the park. It was built in the early 1960’s from materials recycled from the older Watts & Schultz’s slab huts located nearby.

Hams homestead now in ruins was built in the late 1920’s using a timber slab walls & corrugated iron roof construction. A corrugated iron shed used for processing potatoes was also built during this period adjacent to the hut. The hut and shed are still standing but a large poplar tree has destroyed the homestead.

Both subtropical & dry rainforest are confined to the narrow sheltered gullies dominated by figs, giant stinging trees, river oaks, myrtles, Sydney Blue Gum & Rough-barked Apple, while New England Blackbutt cover the higher ridges.  

Fauna surveys conducted in Nowendoc National Park have recorded 7 species of frog, 14 species of reptile, 78 native species of bird, 19 native mammals and 14 species of bat. Of these species 18 were identified as threatened species.

There is a 1.8 kilometre mountain bike or bushwalking loop that passes the old Watts Homestead ruins.

The trail into the campsite is steep as it drops into the river valley with several large conservation humps which are best negotiated by 4wd having high ground clearance. A 4wd may also be handy getting back out after rain if the track turns slippery.