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Appropriately called
the Breadknife, this natural wonder is a jagged blade of rock
that slices up through the eucalyptus forests of
the Warrumbungles mountains (meaning crooked
mountains) in New South Wales, Australia. The
Breadknife reaches skywards to a height of
ninety meters although its summit is only about
one meter thick and it is located in the
Warrumbungle National Park which is about 350
kilometers northwest of Sydney. The Warrumbungle
Mountain Range seen here is a region of past
volcanic activity with strange lava formations.
 It is the most
spectacular landforms located in the thickly
forested Warrumbungles. The best way to see this
lovely surroundings is by air whereby the
magnificent view will simply take your breath
away. What you will see here
are rocky columns and spires that rise
unexpectedly from the surrounding plains
which tower above domes and ridges dissected by
deep gorges. The origins of the Breadknife, one
of the most astonishing natural wonder seen in
this region, go
back to volcanic upheavals that were at their
peak almost seventeen million years ago. Cracks
in the earth's surface was filled with lava
which subsequently form walls of solidified lava
embedded in rock when they cool off. The rocks
have seen been eroded as the years go by but the
more solidified lava walls proved to be more
resistant to the weather. The Breadknife is the
evidence of such occurrence which now stands as
a remnant of one of these walls, stripped of the
rock in which it was embedded.
Photo: Breadknife
The picturesque
Warrumbungles are often known as the place where
east meets west, because of the different
climates on the opposite sides of the mountains.
The mountains slope down to hot and dry plains
in the northern and western side while to the
south and east, the area is cooler and wetter.
Shrubby trees such as the quandong are seen on
the drier slopes while eucalyptus trees and
flowering shrubs dominated the cooler section.
Ferns, orchids, sundews and wonga vines with
tubular, purple throated flowers are seen in
damp spots in the forests among the many scenic
bushwalks found here.
Different species of
colorful birds such as lorikeets, pink and grey
galahs, red-rumped parrots and rosellas can be
seen flying around the forests while the
flightless emu breed in the quiet northern
grassland. Other native animals such as the grey
kangaroos, koalas and the brush-tailed possums
can also be found here. The Warrumbungles were
part of the territory of the Kamilaroi people
who lived in the neighboring plains and they
came here to gather berries, roots and wild
bees' honey and also to hunt kangaroos, emus and
wildfowl. The Aborigines moved on when the
Europeans settlers came here. The only evidence
that tell the presence of the Aborigines here
was that of a cave located high on a hillside
which contains boulders with grooves created by
axe-grinding whereby a rock shelter nearby held
remains of organic material which showed that
macrozamia seeds, a staple part of the
Aborigines' diet, had been prepared there.
Macrozamia is from a group of plants called
cycads in which their orange-red seeds are rich
in starch but are poisonous when eaten raw.
Warrumbungles, covering an area of 320 square
kilometers, was declared a national park in
1967 and its sight is magnificent since the
forests stand out from a sea of heavily
cultivated plains like a green island with
famous features such as the Bluff Mountain,
Mount Exmouth, Split Rock and Fans Horizon.
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