The Drip Walking Track, Mudgee
Location: Goulburn River National Park NSW
Distance: 2.8km return
Time: 2 hours with stops/swims
Terrain: Trail/rocks/river
As outdoor enthusiasts, many of you will relate to the joy in being able to share treasured wilderness with your young children. With little else to distract them, toddlers are the ultimate mindful walker. They look around, they listen, they stop and smell the sweet fragrance of crepe myrtles and admire their vibrant colour. They really notice things. It’s humbling, and refreshing, and it reminds us to slow down and do the same.
We’ve been on many coastal walks and hikes up mountains or into swimming holes, carrying all 15+ kilos of our son in a sturdy Osprey child pack. But now, he is able to walk alongside us. Which is why a short but visually stimulating track like The Drip gorge, just north of Mudgee in NSW, is suitable for curious walkers, young, and old.
This track is a 2.8km out and back trail, which takes you through the gorge to a 35-metre high overhanging cliff on the northern side of the Goulburn River. The track starts from The Drip carpark, located along Ulan Road, where there are drop toilets and picnic tables. The path takes you along a mostly flat, dirt track, with some steps, rises and dips, through surrounding forest along the sandbanks of the river gorge.
About a kilometre in you’ll arrive at a sandstone overhang where you can see what could be stencils and paintings made by the Wiradjuri people hundreds and thousands of years ago. These motifs are typical of the area around the large rock shelters, and you can understand why this fertile area was an appealing place to live.
The peaceful ambience here lulls you into a relaxed state. Not even the whines of a child can disrupt you. Pretend it’s an (unusual) birdsong and carry on. Signs along the way describe some of the natural features, plants and wildlife that can be found in this environment. Look out for Blakey’s red gums, cypress pines and scribbly gums, as well as rock warblers, sacred Kingfishers and as always in these dryer parts, snakes. We were lucky enough to spot a young red bellied black snake, but make sure to keep a good distance.
Water flows permanently through the gorge, fed by nearby underground coal mines, though the river is particularly low when we visit in February, just enough to submerge at various points along the river in small pools and rapids.
When you arrive at The Drip, a big wave of sandstone wall rises up and hangs over you, wet and constantly seeping from the cliff. You can walk right under and through it as it stretches for hundreds of metres. Or get a good vantage from a lookout point near where the curved rock wall begins (follow signs). As a moist environment, you can see ferns and blackberry growing right out of the wall and hanging down. Very little direct sun get into the crack of the overhang, but there’s plenty to be found over near the river bend. The formed track officially ends at The Drip, but more experience walkers can continue downstream into Corner Gorge, and return the same way.
After a splash in the shallows and some homemade cinnamon buns from our backpack for morning tea while sunning ourselves on the rocks to dry, we begin our return with plans to head back to Mudgee for lunch. The return journey feels much quicker. Maybe because we’re now carrying those curious but tired children on our shoulders, rather than stopping to look at every bug they see. Though we’re sure they could have made it themselves on foot, we think it’s important keep our comrades’ spirits high and memories positive for the next hike (tomorrow).
Nearby
Drink
Mudgee has a viticulture history dating back to the 1850s, built on big reds such as Shiraz and Cab Sav. But these days a lighter and fresher style in beginning to emerge, even from the more established vineyards. Gilberts Family Wines does some deliciously drinkable Pet-Nats, with good flavour and light fizz. Down the road Small Batch Brewery are making some exciting, taste-drive beers in small batches, stop in Fri to Sun to sample.
Stay
Budgee Budgee Farm is a property with four secluded cottages on 33 acres, just out of Mudgee town. The country-style dwellings include the Apple Tree Cottage, which sleeps 8 and works well two families, or the Ilkley House, which has 5 bedrooms and sleeps 12, and has a large fenced garden, a trampoline and basketball hoop. For couples, there are two smaller cabins on the property.
Swim
An hour west of Mudgee through the ex-boom town of Roylstone is Ganguddy (Dunns Swamp), on the west side of Wollemi National Park. Beehive shaped rocky pagodas and soaring sandstone escarpments mark the entry to the park, before revealing a tranquil stretch of the Cudgegong River. Swim, kayak (hire at the boat ramp) and fish here. Wade through the long weedy grass and glide like a Murray cod. Camping is idyllic.
***This story was first published in an issue of Walkers Journal in 2024.
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