Mount Exmouth is located in the Warrumbungle National Park which is around a 6 hour drive north west of Sydney. The nearest town is Coonabarabran to the east. The area is also part of a dark sky park with Siding Spring Observatory located just outside the eastern boundary to the National Park.
An ascent of Mount Exmouth is a splendid walk to the highest point of the Warrumbungles. Mount Exmouth is also the highest point of an ancient and very eroded shield volcano. Bluff Mountain which lies to the south east of Mount Exmouth is almost as high, being just three metres lower. We tackled this in February 2024.
Our climb provided brilliant views together with wildlife and plants galore – plenty of good stuff for the effort involved.
A forest road takes you much of the distance, and a clear path is followed through scattered trees where you leave the road at Danu Gap. We started from Split Rock picnic area, though a start via the track through Burbie Canyon a little to the west is also feasible. The two routes join after a short while.
The way is marked and obvious. I uploaded a GPS track of our climb to Peakbagger.com which is here. Apologies for the couple of spots where I forgot to resume the track on the descent! The information board at the Split Rock car park confirms the detail.
Our route started by passing below the impressive Belougery Split Rock. Some kangaroos were surprised at seeing us pass by so early. We had started by 8.15am having come from just west of Coonabarabran.
We gained height but then we lost most of it until the track turned south where the Burbie Canyon track joined.
We continued up the track. Soon, a park ranger on an ATV passed us with a wave. The track ascended in a series of short sharp rises. The air was becoming hotter. We had a first brief stop for water 200m short of the Burbie Camp, a large level primitive campsite, after about an hour and a quarter.
On we then went. Mount Exmouth had reared up ahead of us.
After an hour and 50 minutes we reached Danu Gap where there is also a spot to camp (though this did not look so good as it was small and on a slope). Here the ATV was parked, but with no sign of the ranger.
The Gap is at a saddle and there is a crossroads of tracks here. Straight on and in another 8kms you reach Gunneermooroo campground; turn left and there is a trail to the Breadknife and Grand Tops trail (including Cathedral Arch); turn right and you are on the trail to Mount Exmouth.
After further refreshment, we turned right. You are now on a foot trail. It is all pleasant and straightforward as first there are a couple of long zig zags and then a more level section through the trees. The trail then takes a rising traverse beneath Mount Exmouth’s south facing broken cliffs. In a couple of places it is a bit narrow with a drop to your left, but nothing too taxing.
It was sweaty work as we were in the lee of any breeze. At one point there was a break in the trees, and we were treated to one of the great views that we would also experience from the summit.
As you approach the summit ridge you come across this post. It seems unnecessary as the trail is clear. But you are now only around 500m from the summit, though there is still a bit of ascent and zig zagging to manage.
But once on the ridge you largely break above the trees and there are all round views. To your left is a subsidiary summit. Turn right and continue over or around the rocky pavement.
And in 15 minutes or less you are at the top with cairn and trig point.
The views are absolutely stunning over the rest of the Park, and to the west over the plains.
As there were annoying flies around the summit area, we walked 60 metres back down the ridge to find a more pleasant spot to have our lunch. We spent an hour on the summit taking in those views. In the far distance I could see a couple of wedge-tailed eagles circling far below. Then, suddenly, within 10 metres of us, another eagle floated by. We could appreciate just how large these birds are. We reckoned it was a mature female. She turned her head to look at us, decided we were no threat and carried on without a single beat of the wing. It was one of those occasions when I wished that I had had my camera ready. What a sight! We learned later that these eagles are relatively common in this area.
We had to tear ourselves away. And we reversed our upwards route. I was stung by an unseen insect on the initial descent to the vehicle track. We met the cheery ranger back with his ATV at Danu Gap and had a 10 minute chat with him before he rode off. And then we had the 1 hour 20 minute walk back to the start in the increasingly hot conditions.
Summer may not be the best time of year to climb Exmouth. Whilst we started quite early to benefit from some coolness, we were soon toiling in 30C heat. There is little shade on the road once the sun is well up. Take lots of water.
Back at the trailhead we opened the car doors to reduce the temperature and re-hydrated before we set off again.
On our way out of the Park, we stopped by the White Gum Lookout. This was worth the diversion for the further panoramic views you get of the mountains and for the information boards that explain how this remarkable volcanic landscape was formed.
Note that there is a National Park fee to enter the Park ($8 per car per day at the time of writing). If the Park visitor centre is not open, then there is a facility for payment by the visitor centre entrance if, like us, you are after an early start. But this is cash only. You need to display the vehicle permit in your windscreen.
Finally, you can find blogs on my other Australian climbs on this trip via these links:
Tenison Woods Mountain, Mount Mumdjin and Bithongabel – here
Mount Superbus – here
Mount Maroon – here
and Mount Canobolas – here
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