Held in reserve

The Narran Lakes Nature Reserve in north-western NSW is open to the public for just 2 days each year.

Story + Photos Mandy McKeesick

In a cypress-ringed clearing on the edge of a brimming freshwater lake, where lignum swamps support a RAMSAR-listed wetland, people have gathered. Curling smoke welcomes them. There are scientists from the city, Yuwaalayaay Traditional Custodians, enthusiastic twitchers, government staff, miners from nearby opal claims, and curious locals from Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina and Walgett. They have gathered to learn about this country from 2 different perspectives: from the timeless knowledge of Traditional Custodians and from the data-driven research of modern science.

The Narran Lakes (traditionally known as Dharriwaa) Nature Reserve is a wetland system of lakes and swamps at the terminus of the Narran River. Only in the biggest of floods does the water continue downstream to join the Barwon River and continue through the Murray–Darling Basin. Administered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), nature reserves – unlike national parks – are generally closed to the public. “Nature reserves protect land with outstanding natural and cultural values, and as well as high cultural values, Narran Lake Nature Reserve’s merit is the large size of its wetlands and the mosaic of habitat – from swampy lagoons with lignum shrubs and river cooba trees to open lakes,” NPWS ecologist Joanne Ocock says.