Guided nature weekend in Orange
Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area
Overview
Reconnect with nature and embrace your creative side on The Orange Wild Weekend with Lokale Blumen. Go wine tasting, forage for mushrooms and learn about the local plants and animals in majestic Mount Canabolas.
- When
Contact Lokale Blumen for a tour schedule.
- Accessibility
- No wheelchair access
- Grade
- Medium. A moderate level of fitness is required for the activities on this tour.
- Price
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Contact Lokale Blumen for pricing.
- Bookings
- Bookings required. Book online or email or call Lokale Blumen on 0411 144 224. Bookings available on request.
Immerse yourself in the sub-alpine surrounds of Orange and Mount Canobolas on The Orange Wild Weekend, a unique travel experience designed by Lokale Blumen.
Created with nature in mind, you’ll spend 3 days exploring the all this region has to offer. Ali, your host, will take you through a range of activities with the area’s talented producers, foragers, conservationists and chefs.
Spot native plants and animals on a bushwalk with a local botanist and learn about the impact of bushfires on the Mount Canobolas landscape. Discover how to forage for wild mushrooms and try your hand at making your own tablescape.
After you’ve worked up an appetite, dine on locally foraged produce at the top of Borrodell Vineyard and sample high-altitude wines at the Strawhouse. All the while, you’ll connect with like-minded people while getting back to nature.
Lokale Blumen is a licensed commercial tour operator with a Parks Eco Pass.
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/guided-nature-weekend-orange/local-alerts
Operated by
Park info
- in Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area in the Country NSW region
Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Guided nature weekend in Orange.
Getting there and parking
Get driving directions
Contact Lokale Blumen for directions.
Parking
Contact Lokale Blumen for information on parking.
Maps and downloads
Accessibility
Disability access level - no wheelchair access
Learn more
Guided nature weekend in Orange is in Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
An Australian menagerie
Mount Canobolas has an abundance of native animals which thrive in this special environment. Around 950 species of plants and animals have been recorded in the park, including several species that exist nowhere else in the world. Thornbills, treecreepers, flame robins, wrens and honeyeaters, as well as good old magpies, currawongs, rosellas, kangaroos and wallabies call Mount Canobolas home. Threatened and endangered species like the antechinus marsupial mouse and silver-leaf candlebark can also be found in the area. When the sun goes down, grab your torch to spot the many possums and wombats, all the while being serenaded by the southern boobook owl.
- Guided nature weekend in Orange Reconnect with nature and embrace your creative side on The Orange Wild Weekend with Lokale Blumen. Go wine tasting, forage for mushrooms and learn about the local plants and animals in majestic Mount Canabolas.
- Snowgum walking track Snowgum walking track is short and easy, it starts from the summit of Mount Canobolas or from Federal Falls campground. It’s a great way to work up a hunger for a barbecue lunch.
- Spring Glade walking track Spring Glade walking track provides easy access to the summit of Mount Canobolas via a pleasant easy walk through grassy woodland, offering birdwatching and picnic opportunities.
Ancient connections
Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area incorporates the traditional land of the Wiradjuri People. The name Canobolas comes from the Wiradjuri words Gaahna Bulla meaning two shoulders, referring to the two main peaks, Old Man Canobolas and Young Man Canobolas. The area has a strong Aboriginal connection as an important place for male initiation ceremonies and stone tool making, as well as being a rich source of food and medicines. Find out more about this area's Aboriginal heritage at Federal Falls campground.
- Summit lookout Summit lookout in Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area is the highest peak in central-west NSW and offers stunning views. Just 18km from Orange and easy to get to, it’s ideal for a quick trip.
Outstanding landscapes
Now extinct and with a violent past, Mount Canobolas was an active and aggressive volcano responsible for creating the landscape between 11 and 13 million years ago. The result? Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area boasts vents, dykes, peaks and plugs which all can be seen here and the large rocky outcrops are home to rare lichens, towering basalt cliff lines and impressive waterfalls. The high altitude, cool climate and moist environment make this fertile ground for more than 300 plant species in the region. Large areas of snow gum subalpine woodland, grassy woodland and rocky outcrops covered with a variety of mosses and lichens make this a great place to visit. It’s hard to say what is most beautiful here, but certainly the heaths in spring which burst with purple, white, yellow and red flowers are a sight to behold.
- Mount Towac walking track This short walk will take you to Towac Peak where you can enjoy panoramic views of Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area and the scenic countryside of Orange.
Rising from the ashes
Mount Canobolas is recovering strongly from devastating fires that burned nearly 70% of the state conservation area in 2018. NPWS staff is working with the Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society to monitor, audit, and survey plant vegetation communities, insect and animal species, and Aboriginal sites. The park’s after-fire monitoring and conservation program has increased the number of known plant and animal species in the park, including discovery of 2 new ground orchid species new to science and rediscovery of 2 orchids unseen for over 20 years. As animals return, trees sprout new growth and plants come back there’s hope for the recovery of our native plants and animals.
Plants and animals protected in this park
Animals
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Superb fairy wren (Malurus cyaneus)
The striking blue and black plumage of the adult male superb fairy wren makes for colourful bird watching across south-eastern Australia. The sociable superb fairy wrens, or blue wrens, are Australian birds living in groups consisting of a dominant male, mouse-brown female ‘jenny wrens’ and several tawny-brown juveniles.
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Common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus)
Commonly found in forests, woodlands and leafy gardens across eastern NSW, the Australian ringtail possum is a tree-dwelling marsupial. With a powerful tail perfectly adapted to grasp objects, it forages in trees for eucalypt leaves, flowers and fruit.