Search This Blog

Tuesday 26 February 2013

CRANKY ROCK & REEDY CREEK via WARIALDA NSW

 
Cranky Rock

 



What a wonderful place! If I had  not heard about it before I left home I would have missed it. Off a side road 80 odd kilometres West of Inverell and 8k East of the tiny Town of Warialda. This time the road in was 3k of rough, corrugated, potholed, stuff and in the rain too. It shook hell out of the Van but nothing broke and it handled the going OK, I am pleased.
The Cranky Rock nature Reserve is where the Campground is situated, I have stayed 2 nights (25th & 26th February) as it was wet yesterday and I couldn't explore. Today though its overcast with little top no rain, warm and steamy though.
The campsite is great with 4 Powered sites and plenty of non Powered. There is Phone (2 - 3 bars) and Internet but posting takes ages. There is a Caretaker, small Kiosk, Flushing Toilet and Fresh Water Tank, Free gas BBQs (that don't work), Picnic Tables and Shelters. Again except for the Birds not a sound. There are 2 other Vans here, I had a chat with One Bloke, very friendly. They are well set up with a large Motorhome and a trailer with a Rav4 on it. Only to dream!
Cranky Rock is an impressive Natural Formation, balanced it seems without support, there are other similar but smaller Boulders nearby. It looks like they where shot out of a Volcano and just landed there. A track leads from the campsite over a small Suspension Footbridge, one fork to the left leads through virgin bush to Ccranky Rock and another to the right to Reedy Creek at the base of the Formation. The creek in really nice, so calm sitting there on my own. I half expected a couple of Abo,s to come down to the water to hunt. Other than some wild Emus on the track I didn't see any animals, a few brightly coloured Birds where around but were to fast to photograph. (keep an I the blog for an update if I can get some shots tomorrow).
Tomorrow I intend to look at Warialda (more Buildings I expect) then 80Ks to Moree.
 
The Campground and Camp Bird Life
 
 
 

 





 
The Footbridge and Track to Cranky Rock
Memorial Stone just before Footbridge


 


 
Cranky Rock
 










 
THE LEGEND of CRANKY ROCK
 
"Legend has it that a Chinaman being pursued by and angry Mob, lept to his death from Cranky Rock to avoid capture. According to the Vide Police Gazette of 1875, the events recorded where " In December 1875, Warialdra resident, Eliza Goldthorpe died from the wounds inflicted by one Charlie Young, a Chinaman" The following verdict was returned at an inquest held at Gragin near Warialdra before the District Coroner, touching on the death of a Chinaman found drowned: - "That the deceased was found dead in a creek at Gragin but how he came there, there is no evidence to show" (he was identified as Charley Young). The Maitland Mercury correspondent describing events after the murder reported: "A tracker was at once procured..on some rocky bare ridges all tracks were lost..almost every male in Warialdra turned out...scoured the bush..it is doubtful whether he (Young) would have seen a court of justice, as a very general opinion of lynch law existed among them".
BUT IS IT FACT OR FICTION?."
 
The Track to Reedy Creek at the bottom of Cranky Rock
 



 
Reedy Creek 'Oh the Serenity....'
 









 


Finished at last! now I am up to date, it took hours to put up the last two posts with this slow Internet.
 
 


5 comments:

  1. Steve, can a caravan negotiate the road in?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the interesting story and photos

    ReplyDelete
  3. We just went through Warialda and would have loved to have camped at Cranky Rock only we are in a Winnebago and were not game enough to chance it and after reading your blog we are glad we didn't tempt it.
    Your blog on Cranky Rock was very interesting .

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for your kind comment

    ReplyDelete
  5. We stayed here in February 2015. The road in wasn't too bad and we were in a motorhome. There was a 4WD and caravan there also and another motorhome came in after dark. It also rained whilst we were there but cleared long enough for us to do the walks. There is now a disabled toilet and shower facility with electricity and hot water. (We had been to Lightning Ridge a couple days before hand). Concession cost was $7.50 for the two of us. Have been reading your blog as we have been or are going to places you've mentioned.

    ReplyDelete