Documenting the raw contrast of the Australian landscape—capturing the grit of the bush tracks and the energy of the urban sprawl. One of the iconic landscapes of inland Australia, Pilliga Forest (or sometimes called the Pilliga Scrub) is made up of Pilliga Nature Reserve, Timmallallie National Park, Pilliga West, and East State Conservation Areas. Close to the town of Baradine, Pilliga is a vast
forest that spans more than half a million hectares and features 2,000km of public access trails, so there’s a lot to explore either by walking or car touring. You can set up camp at the free Sculptures in the Scrub campground in Timmallallie National Park. Be sure to tke a guided Discovery tour of Sandstone Caves to find out about this important Aboriginal site and the Gamilaroi people’s connections to this ancient landscape. As you walk or drive, keep your eyes out for some of the park’s resident birds and wildlife, including rare barking owls and malleefowls. A particularly keen eye will spot the families of koalas who dine and recline on the many eucalypt trees which are found throughout this area. The State Forests of The Pilliga, commonly known as the Pilliga Scrub, constitute some 3,000 km2 of semi-arid woodland in temperate north-central New South Wales, Australia. The forest is located near the towns of Baradine and Narrabri and the villages of Pilliga and Gwabegar
Geology
The geology of the area is dominated by Pilliga sandstone, a coarse red to yellow Jurassic sandstone containing about 75% quartz, 15% plagioclase and 10% iron oxide, although local variations in soil type do occur. Sandstone outcrops with basalt-capped ridges are common in the south, while the Pilliga outwash areas in the north and west are dominated by alluvium from flooding creeks. Gilgais occur in some areas. In the west "sand monkeys" (abandoned creek beds) are common. In the east is a heavily eroded sandstone mountain range, visible in outcrops such as those around Gin's Leap between Baan Baa and Boggabri. The forest contains at least 900 plant species, including some now widely grown in cultivation as well as many threatened species. Some areas of the forest, particularly in the western Pilliga, are dominated by cypress-pine (Callitris spp.). However there are a variety of distinct plant communities in the forest, some of which do not include Callitris. Another prominent sub-canopy genus are the she-oaks, while eucalypts dominate the canopy throughout the forest. Fauna recorded from the Pilliga Nature Reserve include at least 40 native and nine introduced mammals, 50 reptiles and at least 15 frogs. Squirrel Gliders, Koalas, Rufous Bettongs and Pilliga Mice are present. A 4,909 km2 tract of land, including the forest and the nearby Warrumbungle National Park, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of Painted Honeyeaters and Diamond Firetails. It also experiences irregular occurrences of endangered Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters, and near threatened Bush Stone-curlews. Other declining woodland birds present in good numbers include Barking Owls, Glossy Black-Cockatoos, Grey-crowned Babblers, Speckled Warblers, Brown Treecreepers, Hooded Robins and Turquoise Parrots. Towns in the area include Narrabri, Pilliga, Gwabegar, Baradine, Coonabarabran, Boggabri and Baan Baa. There is an extensive network of roads throughout the scrub, many of which are former forestry roads. The forest once supported a large forestry industry in the surrounding towns (harvesting mostly cypress pine and ironbarks) however this has been greatly scaled back since 2005 when much of the forest was set aside for environmental conservation by the NSW government. There are many attractions in the forest, including:
Sculptures in the Scrub: A series of Sculptures along the beautiful Dandry Gorge
Salt caves: shallow sandstone caves in the middle of the Pilliga
Dandry Creek Gorge: sandstone cliff toward the south of the Pilliga
Pilliga Pottery: off the highway north of Coonabarabran
Bird-watching: many species of birds occur in the forest; the Baradine Visitor's Centre has information leaflets
