Location: Nightcap National Park – Whian Whian State Conservation Area
Event: Footprints, Grunting and Stick Formations
Date: Dec 2021 to 22-03-2022
Time: Various
Female Witnesses
I would like to start off by saying my partner and I aren’t the most experienced bushwalkers so most of these finds were either on the side of the path or not too far into the bush and off the track. We are always together during our finds and encounters and they all occurred during the day. All around Nightcap National Park area and surrounds.
30th Dec
1ST FIND
-Early into my exploring
-Wasn’t taking pictures or documenting
It was our first time walking this track and as we were walking down the track we started finding multiple branches and sticks stuck into the ground with force they had clearly been done with intention as they’re facing vertically and pushed pretty far into the ground, we also found 2 stick formations in the shape of antlers stabbed into the ground, we noticed them because they were actually very beautiful and symmetrical almost like artwork. (I drew a picture of the antlers its attached)
My partner and I noticed every one of the sticks and he was pulling them out as we walked along. We got to the falls near the end of the road and hungout there for about an hour just enjoying the rock pools and the view then began the walk back to the car and we were shocked to find new sticks forced into the ground and even one other antler formation! We were very observant and saw every one of the sticks on the way there and pulled them all out so to find new sticks had been placed within the hour while we were at the falls was super strange.
There’s no way there were people there we would have saw them/heard them.
2ND SIGNIFICANT EVENT ~ SAME DAY
Rummery Park Campgrounds
Again this was our first time visiting this area and walking this track. After walking the track we were about to leave and we were walking across the road to the car and I heard this strange grunting noise coming from the pine forest about 20m up the hill to my left and my instant rational thought was that it was a pig so i screamed “PIG” really loud then out of nowhere a pinecone came flying out of the pine forest past our heads and hit a tree across the road from us with force. We went running into the pine trees to find the said ‘pig’ but there was nothing there. We walked around for a while scratching our heads trying to figure out what it was but we couldn’t so we just went home.
19th Feb
POSSIBLE ENCOUNTER ~ TREE KNOCK REPLIES ~ SOMETHING BIG IN THE BUSHES
We found a new track around the rocky creek dam area (I forgot the name of the track) and immediately started finding stick formations; Tipis, crosses, triangles, not even 10m down the track just to the side of the path. My partner wanted to experiment with some tree knocking so he grabbed a stick and hit a big tree on the side of the track and sure enough we heard something else hitting a tree, pretty far in the distance but a definitive knock.
Our faces completely lit up with excitement, I was in shock and disbelief! Then he did another knock and got another reply and again, so all up we got 3 replies, we kept trying but it stopped after that.
Now this is the part that scared me.. so after the knocks we kept walking for a while just stopping to look at sticks and the scenery taking our time but we got another maybe 200m down the track and started to hear this massive crashing coming slowly through the bush towards us and it was big. I’ve seen Big Kangaroos before and heard them but whatever this was doubled that. It wasn’t trying to be sneaky it was ripping through thick scrub and smashing branches like a bulldozer, but not fast it was moving pretty slowly like it was just walking. My Boyfriend shit himself and hid behind me haha.
All the birds were flying from the trees and freaking out right above where we could see the scrub moving and then it got about 20m from us (neither of us actually saw it) and then it either disappeared or stood there in silence watching us for 10 minutes while we stood there frozen too scared to move, after it stopped moving we didn’t hear another sound, dead silence.
After a while we walked down the falls and then back to the car and didn’t hear or see anything else.
Another strange thing Id like to note was the strange feeling of being watched I kept having, every time this would happen the forest would go dead silent and all I could hear was the wind and water, the bush is significantly loud with all the crickets frogs and birds so you tend to notice when it goes silent and it puts the hairs on your neck on edge and you’re looking over your shoulder thinking somethings watching you. I kept getting this feeling but then out of nowhere the bush sounds would come back and i feel safe again and would just brush it off and forget about it. I didn’t even realise until after we left and spoke about it.
STICK TEE-PEES
16th March
We actually snuck into the National Park this day, its currently closed due to floods. We went in through Nightcap Range RD and did the boomerang falls walk. Again finding many significant structures along the walk mainly Tee-Pees and Crosses, and this is actually where I found my first pair of footprints!
Though they weren’t definitive enough to get a photo. It was off to the right side of the track the was a massive clearing in the scrub looking onto to the macadamia plantation next door, they were 2 massive footprints the length of my forearm and about 1m parallel to each other as if he was standing in the clearing looking out onto the macadamia plantation. We found so many tipis on this walk i lost count and we were actually indifferent to them towards the end and were more worried about the leeches. We came to a very steep downhill slope and the track got too hard for us to follow so we turned back.
I’ve also been leaving gifts in the form of peanut brittle and chocolate because who doesn’t love peanut brittle right??
We have found some really compelling evidence in this area and i think the Nightcap National Park, specifically the Rocky Creek Dam Water catchment area has been a real hotspot for us and of all the places we’ve been from Springbrook to Coffs Harbour we have found the largest amount of evidence here. I think you really need to come out and explore this mountain range because its incredible. I think also being a local and having the time to explore all the secluded/outdated tracks is a bonus and we’re bound to come across something sooner or later.
FOOTPRINTS
22-03-2022
My Partner and I found what we think to be a baby yowie footprint next to either a mother or father(footprint), the baby footprint was about the length of my index finger (maybe 8cm) and had 3 toes. The larger footprint was maybe around 26cm and had 5 toes. Whatever made these footprints was very heavy because I stomped the mud right next to it as hard as I could with boots and my footprint wasn’t nearly as deep.
We had walked halfway down the track and were very observant the whole way and we found these on our way BACK to the car, so these were made while we were walking the track and there were no people anywhere around, this national park is also closed to the public due to floods at the moment so there were no people except us on this day.
My phone was dead when we came across them so we had to run back to the car and get our phones to go back and get pictures. I got more pictures and a video but could only attach one I’ve sent the rest through email.
~ Lali
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