Things to do

Enjoy the short walk to the caves.

Photo credit: Gary Featonby, Queensland Government.

Look for water monitors around Nowranie Waterhole.

Photo credit: Tamara Vallance

Relax beside Nowranie Waterhole.

Photo credit: Jason Vaughan, Queensland Government.

Camping and accommodation

Camping

Camping is not permitted at Wiliyan-ngurru National Park.

Other accommodation

The township of Camooweal has a caravan park and a hotel. Holiday accommodation in Mount Isa includes a selection of tourist parks, hotels and motels. For more information see the tourism information links.

Walking

There are two short walks in Wiliyan-ngurru National Park.

Little Nowranie Cave walking track (Grade: easy)

Distance: 70 m return
Time: allow about 10 mins walking time
Details: from the southern end of the Nowranie Caves car park, take this short track to the Little Nowranie Cave entrance. Access inside the cave is not allowed. Take care on the unstable rocks around the sinkhole entrance.

Great Nowranie Cave walking track (Grade: easy)

Distance: 220 m return
Time: allow about 30 mins walking time
Details: walk to Great Nowranie Cave from the eastern end of the car park. Access inside the cave is not allowed. The sinkhole entrance is unstable and has steep cliff edges—stay behind the safety rails of the viewing area.

Mountain biking

Mountain bike through Wiliyan-ngurru National Park on the internal roads and firebreaks. The roads are rough and the surfaces uneven and covered with rocks. Expect to share the roads with pedestrians, motorbikes, vehicles and other cyclists.

Mountain bikes are not permitted on the walking tracks.

For more information, see cycling.

Trail-bike riding and four-wheel driving

Ride trail-bikes and drive four-wheel-drives through Wiliyan-ngurru National Park on the internal roads and firebreaks. The roads are rough and the surfaces uneven and covered with rocks. Riders and drivers must be licensed and trail-bikes and vehicles must be fully registered. Expect to share the roads with pedestrians, motorbikes, cyclists and other vehicles.

Stay on formed roads—trail-bikes and vehicles are not permitted off-road, including on walking tracks.

For more information, see trail-bike riding and four-wheel driving.

Picnic and day use areas

Picnic tables are provided at Nowranie Waterhole day-use area.

Viewing wildlife

Most animals in the park rest during the day to avoid the heat, making dawn and dusk the best times to look for wildlife. Ridge-tailed monitors can be seen amongst the rocky outcrops where they feed on insects and small lizards.

The seasonal waterhole attracts waterbirds including spoonbills, cormorants, herons and ducks. Look for water monitors basking on logs beside the water. A variety of woodland bird species can also be spotted.

Other animals are nocturnal. Within the protection of the caves, ghost bats and other insect-eating bats roost, emerging after dark. Owls also roost in these caves, feeding on small nocturnal mammals like long-haired rats.