Dunns Swamp
Dunns Swamp in the Wollemi National Park is a beautiful lake rather than a swamp and is a great place to camp, bush walk or go swimming. Located only 30 minutes from Kandos, it is a great getaway for a day trip or overnight stay. Created by the Kandos Weir, the lake is full of bird life and surrounded by reeds and trees, making it a really beautiful place.
Campsites are available for overnight stays as well as plenty of day visitor parking. The camp site has covered eating areas and toilets available for use.
Pagoda Lookout
As well as the lake, bush walking is available around the area. We chose to walk to the long cave, while looking at the Kandos Weir and pagoda lookout on the way. The turn off to pagoda lookout is about 1km from the camp ground. This short 150m Walk is marked for experienced bush walkers only, so be careful if you decide to do it. The difficulty is because of the steep rock faces, narrow paths and lack of barriers at the cliff faces. The view from the top is great and you are able to see some of the weathered rock formations that look like pagoda temples.
Kandos Weir
The walk then continues along the Cudgegong River, which gives you some excellent views of the surrounding bush land. Several sections of steep stairways need to be negotiated, with two sections also having handrails and chains to assist going up and down. The Kandos Weir is a concrete dam wall and spillway. Unfortunately access onto the dam wall is prohibited, but you can walk to the base of the downstream face of the dam. From here it is possible to take some great pictures,
Long Cave
The long cave is only a few hundred metres from the weir, along a flat access road. The cave is really a rock overhang that has the base eroded by the river when it floods. So don’t expect to see a cave. It is still an interesting spot to investigate and take pictures.
Dunns Swamp is a great place to visit either for a day trip or a camping expedition. There are other walks in the area besides those we did that would keep you entertained.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.