Mutawintji Gorge is magnificent, with towering red walls and a true outback vibe that is every bit as special as the ones we fell in love with in the NT. To find it right here in NSW left us in awe. Even the journey to reach the start of the easy walking trail is a delight, with endless red dirt roads and wide open plains dotted with emus and kangaroos.
The walk to reach the gorge is fantastic and there’s even the chance to take a dip in the deep pool at the end of the trail.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Mutawintji Gorge walk.
The Mutawintji Gorge Walk
The stats
Distance: 6.5km return
Elevation gain: 30m
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Mutawintji Gorge Day Use Area
Summary: The Mutawintji Gorge walk is almost entirely flat, though the terrain along the second half of the track is uneven.
You’ll have to walk along sand and sometimes over rocks and boulders, but it’s never steep and perfectly grippy when dry.
The final few hundred metres are spent walking across red rock up to the pool, but again, when dry it’s all perfectly grippy.
Starting the trail
The walk begins by briefly crossing a dried up sandy creek bed and then onto a flat red dirt path through open plains.
You are fully exposed to the sun and wind, but it’s a very easy trail and the red dirt gives you real outback vibes from the off.
After 850m the dirt path does have a few stones and small rocks, but it’s still very easy.
After just over 1km there’s a short bushy section and we were lucky enough to see a group of colourful Mallee Ringneck parrots which was a real delight.
The flat track continues and a couple of hundred metres after leaving the bush the path bends right and is more exposed again.
The path is predominantly smooth, though you will encounter the odd stony section over the next few hundred metres.
Along the sandy creek bed
Just over 2km into the track you’ll see a small pink ribbon tied to a tree and keep right here to follow the most straightforward route.
The path becomes sandy, but it’s not so deep as to be overly taxing to walk on. You’ll be following the dry creek bed but you’re not yet surrounded by the gorge walls.
There’s a bit of shade along most of this next section, first from the trees lining the sandy wash and then from the gorge walls themselves, which begin around 2.5km into the track.
At the 2.6km mark look to your left and you will see an obvious overhang (it’s obvious when you know to look for it, but could be missed otherwise).
Walk up the rocks for less than a minute and you can easily reach it, the rocks are grippy when dry and getting up is straightforward. On the underside of the overhang you will see around ten very clear hand stencils.
Though the site is not marked, I imagine they were made by the Pantjikali, Wanyuparlku, Wilyakali or Malyangapa people, the traditional custodians of the land.
Just 50m beyond this (2.7km into the trail), closer to ground level, there is another much larger rock art site, with many well preserved hand stencils and one other painting we weren’t able to identify.
This is the easier of the two sites to spot and the most impressive, so if you don’t spot the first overhang you haven’t missed out if you make sure you look out for this one.
It’s always special to see Aboriginal art sites, but especially when you spot them without any signage or markings, it really added to the mystique of this incredible walk.
Through the gorge
From here the walk becomes spectacular. You’ll make your way through the gorge with towering red cliffs on either side of you.
Though the cliffs start small they become bigger and more grand the further you go. You can make your own path through the gorge, though there are intermittent markers pointing out the easiest route.
It’s a mix of walking on sand and across some rocks, but it’s still almost entirely flat.
The scenery is awe inspiring and you’re unlikely to share it with anyone else. The occasional bleat of a goat echoes through the otherwise silent landscape and the effect is total immersion in your surroundings.
It’s majestic and one of our all time favourite walks in NSW.
Speaking of goats you’ll spot many skulls dotted along the gorge giving this part of the walk a wild west feel. A couple had even been placed in nooks inside the gorge walls which almost looked ornamental.
In terms of live goats, there were one or two, but far less than we’d seen on other walks in the area so I assume culling takes place.
After around 150m picking your way through the gorge you’ll need to do a very small jump, or slightly awkward step down and up again to get from one rocky plateau to another.
It’s easy enough though and from here you’ll walk along the grippy red rock all the way to the pool, which is 150m away, or 3.05km into the trail.
The Mutawintji Gorge pool
The view at the end of the track is simply specular, red rock walls enclose a small pool with plenty of space surrounding it to sit and relax.
I climbed a little up the rock to the right of the pool which has wide ledges where you can sit and take in the stunning view.
The waterhole itself is big and deep enough for a swim, but the water quality is questionable. The main pool you can see had what felt like decent clean water and I had a great time swimming there, but if you swim through the incredible slot canyon beyond, it gets really murky and I wouldn’t recommend it.
It may be that the water is better at other times of year, or after some good rain, but as utterly beautiful as the slot was, I’d say it’s not really suitable for swimming sadly.
If you did get lucky and it looks clean and clear then you’re in for a treat because it felt like I’d been transported to Utah, it was just phenomenal.
When you’re ready to leave you simply retrace your steps back along the same path. If you’re exiting the park close to sunset watch out for kangaroos and emus on the road.
There were dozens of both and you have to drive very slowly to overcome their kamikaze antics!
Getting to the Mutawintji Gorge Track and local facilities
The Mutawintji Gorge Track is located in Mutawintji National Park, around 135km and 1 hour 30 - 45 drive from Broken Hill. Around 60km of the road into the park are unsealed and only recommended to be driven in dry conditions.
Check the roads are open, but we took the route that headed north out of Broken Hill along the Silver City Highway (which is fully sealed). After 55km, turn right onto the Mutawintji Road (it has a brown sign for Mutawintji National Park).
After a short time the road turns to dirt. After another 60km you’ll reach Waterbag Road which leads into the national park.
Once past the visitor centre, take the right fork which will lead you to the Mutawintji Gorge Day Use Area (there’s a couple of patches of softer sand on the road, but nothing to worry about).
At the time of our visit the road to the trailhead was suitable for any vehicle; it had a few minor corrugations, but nothing challenging.
However, roads like this can deteriorate overtime and after extreme weather events, so if you don’t have a 4WD please check with the national parks service ahead of time to see if it’s suitable for your car.
There is a decent sized car park at the trailhead so you shouldn’t have any trouble parking, it was extremely quiet even during the Easter school holidays.
There aren’t any facilities at the trailhead, but to reach the car park you’ll pass a toilet block where you’ll also find picnic benches, BBQs and some info boards about the park.
There’s also a campground which looked nice and can be reserved here.
Outback safety
There is little to no phone signal around the national park and it is very remote. Make sure you’re carrying some extra food and water incase of emergencies. We personally take a PLB with us on any outback road trip just to have that extra bit of security.
Before heading to Mutawintji, we recommend filling up your car with a full tank of petrol as it’s a long round trip and there’s no petrol stations by the national park.
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