The Dreamtime Story

Gulaga is our mother mountain, our sacred mountain. It's about her two sons Najanuga and Barranguba. Barranguba is Montague Island, that's what the white people call it. Barranguba is the older son of Gulaga and the story goes that Gulaga, she had two sons, Barranguba and Najanuga and Barranguba was the oldest.

Barranguba wants to move away and ask his mother if he could move away for a bit and so he goes out into the sea to watch the actions of the fishes and whales. The little brother Najanuga, seeing his big brother going out also want to go and watch the fish and the whales. Gulaga, mother replies ‘no, son. You are too little. If I let you go out there, Gadu (the sea) will swallow you.’ Instead Gulaga lets Najanuga at her feet, so that she could watch both him and his big brother. Najanuga is often referred to as ‘mummy’s little boy’.

Source: Indigenous Australia - Dreaming Stories: Gulaga

Above Wallaga Lake and Tilba Tilba, and dominating the skyline of the Bermagui-Tilba region is Gulaga (Mount Dromedary). Gulaga has great spiritual significance to the local Aboriginals, it is the sacred mountain of the Yuin people. The mountain features huge granite rock formations, some of which seem to be balancing. Local guided tours are available, with some walks taking about 5 hours. The summit offers expansive views right down the coast.

Najanuga is the name of Little Dromedary and Montague Island is known as Barranguba. Gulaga means ‘ghost’, although it is also a women’s mountain, cathedral, teacher, healer and according to the indigenous lore, the source of all life. Gulaga is the ‘mother’.

The mountain was named Mount Dromedary by Captain Cook because it looked like the shape of a camel with its bumps, it is today part of the 4,600 ha Gulaga National Park, which has been handed back to the Aboriginal custodians. The indigenous Aboriginal people tell you to look at Gulaga from two different angles and you can see a man and a women. Near the summit of Gulaga there are spectacular granite tors, where Aboriginal people were taught the lore. Each of the dozens of tors has a story associated with it.

Access: 10 km north of Bermagui along the Wallaga Lake Road. You can enter the park on foot from the Princes Highway but the lake areas are best accessed by boat. Hire boats from Regatta Point or Beauty Point.

Source: Gulaga National Park, NSW National Parks & Wildlife

The former Wallaga Lake National Park and Goura Nature Reserve were absorbed into Gulaga National Park.

In addition to our listed online travel guide information, contact the local tourism visitor centre for your destination for more attractions, tours, local maps and other information.