The Fossickers Way Visitor Guide Volume 1 | Page 15

Warialda
Did
you

know?

The Legend of Cranky Rock
suggests the popular nature reserve
is so named because a ‘cranky’
Chinese man who was accused
of murder was chased by the
police and evaded capture
by leaping to his death
from the rock

C

onsidered the oldest
town on the Northwest
Slopes and one of the
oldest settled anywhere west
of the Great Dividing Range,
Warialda was established in
earnest in the 1830s. It’s an
attractive, historic town with
interesting architecture and
a scenic location perched on
Warialda Creek.
Warialda is known for
its relaxed pace of life and
its warm country welcome.
It has a long rural history
and also enjoys some pretty
fabulous geological wonders,
including the breathtaking
Cranky Rock Nature Reserve.
Known as the place where
‘the birds of the east meet the
birds of the west’, Warialda

also boasts a fabulous variety
of birdlife, making it a popular
destination for birdwatchers.
Cunningham’s Rest marks
the spot where the Fossickers
Way turns right onto the
Gwydir Highway, and the
region has a few key fossicking
sites where prospectors can
dig for opalised wood, jasper,
quartz and more.

fast

facts
• What You Might Find: Petrified
wood, jasper, chert, agate, quartz,
amethyst and chalcedony
• Equipment Needed: Gold pans, fine
sieves, pick and hammer, shovel

WHERE TO FOSSICK
Tigers Gap, opalised and petrified wood

Head 5km east of town on the
Gwydir Highway

Old Gravel Quaries, ironised and other
woods, jasper quartz and chert agate

Fossick in the old gravel
quarries either side of the road
leading to the airstrip road.

CRANKY ROCK
NATURE RESERVE
Just 8km east of town, Warialda’s
foremost geological wonder, Cranky
Rock Nature Reserve, contains a
cluster of boulders that have settled
into interesting and beautiful
arrangements beside Reedy Creek. A
millennia of weathering and gravity
has crafted this natural work of art,
and several walks are available
(including over a suspension bridge)
to take in this natural wonderland.
Camping is available.

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