Exploring Sawn Rocks, Narrabri NSW was really something else. We felt like tiny creatures walking around the bottom of what felt like a giants world.
Hidden in the Mount Kaputar National Park is the mind blowing rock formation, infamously known as Sawn Rocks, Narrabri NSW. We were in absolute awe at this natural phenomenon as we walked around the base of the rock face amongst the giant broken pieces.
Many people compare the structure to organ piping, because it really does look like a massive wall of giant organ pipes. But I likened the broken pieces on the ground to humungous bits of honey comb.
Accessing Sawn Rocks is a via a 30-minute drive from Narrabri or a 50-minute drive from Bingara in rural New South Wales, Australia.
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Sawn Rocks Narrabri
What the Heck are Sawn Rocks?
What we know today as the Sawn Rocks formation are pentagonal basalt pipes, which are the sheered off remains of a basalt lava flow. This lava came from a 21 million year old volcano called Nandewar.
The pipes, that are a whopping 40 metres high, are the result of the slow and even cooling of molten rock. Possibly the most fascinating outcome is how perfectly the individual crystals lock in with each other.
You’ll feel like you’re in the ancient ruins of a lost city!
As you walk about in the Bobbiwaa Creek below the cliff face, you will literally walk around the giant slabs that have fallen into the creek bed over thousands of years.
If you look down, you’ll notice that there are more fractures in the rocks underneath your feet, that match the shapes on the cliff face. It’s believed that these octagonal shapes go down into the earth for up to 60 metres!
Walking to the Rocks
Getting to the rocks is an easy walk alongside a shady creek bed, filled with eucalyptus trees, figs and wattles. Unfortunately a fire had come through not long before we arrived, so it was pretty sparse, but we could easily imagine how beautiful and green it usually is.
The walk from the carpark is 750m one way and takes about 10 minutes. The whole track is wheelchair-friendly, which leads you right down to a viewing platform, looking over to the Sawn Rock Narrabri formations.
If you follow the path along a little further, there’s a staircase that leads you right down into the riverbed where you can fully explore the broken shards that scatter the base of the Sawn Rocks.
Best Time to Visit Sawn Rocks
Although the rock formations are incredible anytime, the best time for photos is after midday. That way the sun will be shining directly onto the rock face and you won’t have to contend with shadows.
- AUTUMN – Offers the best temperatures with the days averaging around 25℃;
- WINTER – Cold but beautiful and misty with the chance of snow. Expect temperatures to be 10℃ cooler than Narrabri, just down the road, around 7 – 18℃;
- SPRING – Enjoy the flowering plants and abundance of birds with temperatures in the mid to high 20’s;
- SUMMER – You can expect the days to be around 25 – 35℃, so pack a water bottle, hat and suncream.
Onsite Facilities
🚽 Drop toilets
🌯 Picnic shelters with tables & chairs
♨️ Gas BBQ (FREE)
🚙 Car park (accessible with any vehicle)
♿️ Wheel chair access (all the way down to the viewing platform)
🚶🏻 Walking track
Sawn Rocks Location
You’ll find the carpark for the Sawn Rocks formation in Mount Kaputar National Park, just 29 minutes (38.7km) from Narrabri in rural NSW. See map below.
You can also visit Sawn Rocks from Bingara, which is where we were camping. The drive takes about 50 minutes.
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The Sawn Rock Formation looks so awesome and intriguing. These natural rock formations have such a wild kind of beauty and seem to clutch so many untold stories to their bosoms. We love spending time in these kinds of rocky terrain. This place promises a wonderful experience.
If the walls could talk hey.
I saw something very similar to that on the south coast of Iceland some years ago. They looked pentagonal, or maybe hexagonal (I didn’t count the sides) as well, as if someone quite deliberately formed them, so it indeed must be a natural phenomenon. It also looked so planned.
This seems like a better site though, as you can walk around ground formations. Plus, it’s probably warmer, and I’m sure the beer is cheaper. I must admit I know little about Australia, and its attractions, but it certainly seems like natural attractions are near the top of the list.
Yeah there do seem to be a few of these types of formations spotted around the planet. They’re most definitely a natural formation. I just love how ‘perfect’ they are, which does make us think it’s manmade. But nature is more perfect than we could ever be. Haha I don’t know about cheap beer, I hear we’re an expensive country to travel to!
They are seriously amazing. The sheer scale of them is certainly something to behold. I can see why you would think you were a “Giant’s World.” Funnily enough, there are the exact same type of rock formations at Fingal Head on the far north New South Wales coast that get called “The Giant’s Causeway.” If you ever get up that way, be sure to check it out.
Thanks so much, I hadn’t heard of the ‘Giant’s Causeway,’ but will have to check them out.
I’m obsessed with these types of rock formations! Interesting to know they go even deeper underground too! We have similar ones here in NZ, called the Organ Pipe rocks! Have you been to Fingal Head on the NSW/QLD border? It’s just like the Giant’s Causeway.
They really are like organ pipes, aren’t they. Definitely need to get to Fingal to see the ‘Giant’s Causeway.’
I’m always fascinated y these basalt rock formations ! This reminds me of the ones I saw in Iceland ! Reynishverfi and Svartifoss ! Some others on my list to check out are the Giant Causeway in Ireland, and Fingal’s cave is Scotland ! Will be adding Sawn rock to my list ! Thanks for sharing =)
How interesting that there’s a ‘Giant’s Causeway’ in Ireland as well as one here in Australia. Such a cool natural phenomenon.