Welcome to the Peel Catchment Safari. This document provides a complete self-guided tour of the Upper Peel
subcatchment, from Swamp Creek Reserve (near the top of the subcatchment) down to Tamworth. Even if you have little
experience and knowledge of rivers, this document and the associated materials provide all the information you need to
take a group of students on the safari.
Contents
Introduction___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2
Acknowledgements_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6
Preparing for the safari___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7
The safari_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11
Reflections from the safari____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25
Appendix 1 – Background information__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26
Appendix 2 – Work sheets____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 30
Appendix 3 – Links to syllabus______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 38
Appendix 4 – Approximate timing of the safari and summary_______________________________________________________________ 40
Acknowledgements
Further Assistance
Namoi Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is
grateful for the guidance from the New South Wales
Department of Education and Communities, and
for their assistance at key points of the project. In
particular, we greatly appreciate guidance from Steve
Auld, Rosemary Clifton, and Judi Thoms.
If you require assistance in running your Peel
Catchment Safari with equipment, training or editing
of materials contact please Namoi CMA. To continue
to improve the Peel Catchment Safari we welcome
all feedback. For any of these matters please contact
Namoi CMA, tel: 02 6764 5907.
1
Aim and target group
The aim of the safari is to help students to learn how
rivers function, and how various factors (including
people) can affect rivers and the quality of water they
carry.
your group. You can also adapt the materials to suit
your group; for example, you can scale the activities up
by adding other information, or scale them down by
removing sections.
The safari, which is suitable for Years 5–11, is flexible
– you can choose do as much or as little as you want,
depending on the size, capability and motivation of
The key learnings of the safari have been mapped
to the new school syllabus. Details can be found in
Appendix 3.
2
Activities
The safari involves a mix of activities, all of which can
be completed in a single school day:
Note that all of the areas accessed on the tour are on
public land.
•
Before the safari itself, you can prepare your students
by working with them in class. For example, you could
run activities about water and its behaviour, and what
this means for water quality and the way we manage
our catchment. Pre-tour activities are covered in the
following sections:
Sampling sites. At three sites, all within an hour
of Tamworth, students can leave the bus to collect
water samples; observe particular features of the
landscape; and collate, analyse and interpret their
data. The three sites – Swamp Creek, Woolomin and
Jewry Street, Tamworth – represent the top, midpoint
and lower part of the subcatchment, respectively.
• Pull-off chat points. At six points along the way,
there are opportunities for the bus to pull off the
road so that students can observe the landscape
and discuss particular features.
•
The Upper Peel subcatchment– a description of the
subcatchment in terms of the landscape, land use
and major issues.
• Riverine structures – information on how water
behaves and the factors that affect the behaviour of
rivers and the quality of water they carry.
• Peel Catchment Safari students work sheet – a set of
questions that students can work through (with
answers supplied for teachers).
Discussion. As they travel on the bus, students can
make observations and discuss various issues related
to the catchment (i.e. the land that drains into the
river) and water quality. Back in the classroom they
can graph data, continue to analyse results, draw
conclusions and record their findings.
Some of the activities include advanced steps – these
are optional activities that you can chose to include
where appropriate.
Outcomes
By the end of the tour, students will have:
function, and of the factors that affect river function
and water quality; for example, students can
compare observations about changes in land use
with water-quality data they collect from different
•
•
used sample techniques and scientific equipment
followed the scientific method for investigation and
analysis, and used mathematics, technology and
interpretation
• gathered a set of water-quality data that they can
work with later
• gained a better understanding of how rivers
parts of the subcatchment.
3
Getting prepared
Before your visit, you can become familiar with the
route of the Peel Catchment Safari using Google Earth
or Google Maps on any devices that can connect to the
internet. To do this, simply download a file from this
hyperlink: Safari maps and site information.
Namoi CMA staff cannot accompany you on the safari,
but they can loan water-quality monitoring equipment
and provide instructions for its use. If you would like to
use the equipment, make sure you ask for it in plenty of
time – details of how to do this are given below.
Structure of the document
The main part of this document provides information
on preparing for the safari, going on the safari and
reflecting on it afterwards. In addition, a set of
appendixes provides:
•
background information on the subcatchment and
riverine structures (Appendix 1)
•
work sheets for students, with answers for teachers
(Appendix 2)
4
•
a summary of how the learnings from the safari
map to the new school syllabus (Appendix 3)
•
a summary of the times for arriving at each point
on the safari, and a summary of what to do at each
point (Appendix 4).
Preparing for the safari
Equipment
Smart devices
To test water quality, students will need a Waterwatch
Community Water Monitoring Kit; many schools have
such a kit. Although Namoi CMA staff are not available
to facilitate the day, the organisation is happy to loan
kits and extra equipment and also extra training for
your safari. Contact Namoi CMA on 6764 5907 for
more information (but do not leave this until the last
minute). The instruction manual for the Waterwatch kit
is a useful resource, and it is a good idea to download it
before taking the safari.
It is a good idea to use internet-enabled smart devices
(eg tablets and phones) in class, in preparation for
the trip, and to download the Safari maps and site
information mentioned above. Students can then
follow the journey on Google Earth or a similar
program. They can use the latitude and longitude
of the different locations (eg the sampling sites and
pull‑off chat points) and the photos given in The safari
to follow the route.
REMEMBER TO DOWNLOAD THE MAPS AND SITE
INFORMATION BEFORE YOU START!
Student numbers
If possible, enable ‘Your Location‘ on the internetenabled devices before the trip. Some areas of the trip
may not provide mobile reception; however, any lack of
reception will only be temporary.
The number of students attending is limited only by
the staff and equipment available. A single standard
Waterwatch kit is suitable for five people. If your group
has more than five students, you will require extra kits
or supplementary equipment.
Checklists
This section provides some checklists. Complete these
checklists to ensure that you and your students are fully
prepared for the trip.
5
Prepare yourself
Done
Print a set of student record sheets.
Secure sufficient equipment for the group. Make sure that all your Waterwatch kits are fully functioning,
and that all teachers accompanying the group know how to operate the equipment (download the
instruction manual mentioned above).
Check weather reports for the day.
Ensure that you are familiar with the sites and locations that you plan to visit on the trip. This may
require a reconnaissance trip.
Complete a safety analysis for the trip. This should include making sure that you:
have a first-aid kit and extra water
are able to communicate via mobile phone (noting that some areas of the park are out of mobile
range)
are aware of any allergies and disabilities among your students
are aware of all the potential hazards of the sites you plan to visit (bearing in mind that river
conditions and sites change over time).
Read this document, including the background information, which may be useful in class work that
you undertake to prepare for the trip.
Prepare your students
Done
Go through the Peel Catchment Safari students work sheet and the pre-exursion activities with the
students, and make sure that students know how to operate the equipment.
Instruct students to bring their own clip board, pens, lunch and water.
Let students know that toilets are available at several stops along the way (but not at every stop).
Ask students to wear sturdy closed-in shoes and appropriate outdoor clothing for the expected
weather conditions (e.g. hats, sunscreen, raincoats and jumpers).
6
Class work before the safari
Method
Compare water quality by testing three distinct sites; at
the top, middle and lower parts of the subcatchment.
The Waterwatch kit includes tests for salinity, turbidity,
temperature and pH. The Peel Catchment Safari students’
work sheet also includes observation questions and
a Stream condition assessment procedure. Other
estimates to complete are:
• water depth
• water flow rate (slow, medium, fast)
• description of whether the river or creek bed sits on
bedrock or alluvium ((i.e. loose soil or sediment).
As explained above, you can use Google Earth to
become familiar with the route of the Peel Catchment
Safari, and with riverine features such as meanders
(bends), erosion and deposition. Activities that you
might undertake with students include:
•
looking for riverine features and structures by
zooming in and out on the smart device
• running a lesson on the Upper Peel subcatchment
and riverine structures, and asking students to
answer the comprehension questions from these
sections
• coaching students on the use of the Water Watch
equipment.
Other relevant activities that could be included if time
allows are a water-bug survey, a river-reach plan and
cross-sectional sketches.
Report
Before the excursion, students should start to prepare a
report in the form of a scientific experiment, using the
following headings: Date of trip, Aim, Hypotheses and
Method. Later, they can add Results and Observations,
Discussion and Conclusion. The rest of this section
provides suggestions on what some of these sections
might cover.
Results
By the end of the day, students will have a complete set
of data and a range of field observations. It is useful to
interpret the data by comparing it to field observation, to
draw conclusions. Graphing data will help the students
to see trends, as illustrated in Image 1.
Aim
To learn about the ways rivers function, what factors
affect water quality in rivers, and how best to manage
rivers.
Hypotheses
•
Water quality declines between the top of a
subcatchment and the lower parts.
• Groundcover and other factors affect water quality.
• The Upper Peel subcatchment is in good condition.
7
students may see some bare paddocks near the river.
Recent rain events may have washed soil from these
paddocks into the river, causing an increase in turbidity.
A conclusion they could draw from these findings is that
insufficient groundcover may be causing erosion and
thus leading to increased water turbidity in the Upper
Peel subcatchment. To make sense of their data, students
Turbidity (NTU)
16
14
12
10
8
Turbidity (NTU)
6
4
2
0
1
2
3
Image 1: Turbidity at three sampling sites
should graph the raw data for each sampling site. They
can use the interpretive information in the sections on
The Upper Peel Subcatchment and Riverine structures.
This image shows turbidity increasing between each
of the sampling sites, from the top of the catchment to
the bottom; this is a common finding. During the day,
8
The safari
•
•
•
•
•
•
This section provides details about how to get to each
site on the safari, and what you should be looking for
at each location. Appendix 4 provides an approximate
timing for the safari, and a summary of the information
given in this section.
There will be opportunities along the way to discuss
various aspects of the safari. The six pull-off chat points
are:
Nemingha Cement Plant
Piallamore, where a prior stream is marked by trees
Mullock Piles, above Chaffey Lake
Swamp Creek (accessed from Sampling site 1)
Chaffey Dam Lookout
Wallamore Anabranch (near Sampling site 3).
As you travel, ask students to count the number of
different types of irrigation systems they see on the safari.
Image 2. Tour map.
9
Starting out
Directions: From Tamworth, head to Nemingha,
taking the Nemingha Bridge across Cockburn River.
Set the odometer for 47 km for your first stop (about 1
hour).
•
Ask students to follow the journey on the smart
devices. Also ask them to combine what they can see
of land use and river structures from the bus window –
such as meander bends, point bars, crop paddocks and
quarries – with observations on their smart devices.
Finally, ask them to locate the six pull-off chat locations
and the three sampling sites.
Discussion points: On the way to your first chat
point, discuss topics such as the effects of:
•
•
urbanisation of Tamworth
•
•
litter from streets
•
sedimentation and turbidity (mudiness)
Nemingha industrial area, including some areas
once used to extract sand and gravel for the
manufacture of concrete.
stormwater and nutrient loads from parks and
gardens
Directions: From Tamworth, travel towards Chaffey
Dam. Beyond Chaffey, do not turn right over the
bridge to Nundle; instead, continue straight ahead.
excessive watering, which contributes to increased
salinity through leaching
10
Pull-off chat 1:
Nemingha Cement Plant
Location: Look to the right when driving on
Nemingha Road from Tamworth to Nemingha
helps to protect the riverbank against the effects of
major events, such as floods and erosion.
Discussion points: Until the mid-1990s, gravel could
be extracted from this quarry for concrete production,
under a licence from the New South Wales (NSW)
Government. The concrete industry has changed
dramatically since then, and gravel is no longer taken
from the river. However, the river bank is still affected by
the gravel extraction that happened in the past.
Is this cropping land at risk of significant erosion?
How would you manage this area?
Rivers are dynamic; for example, grains of sand and
other sediment move within the river. If you dig a hole
in a river channel, it will be filled with sediment from
upstream. However, that sediment will often come
from the base of a river bank, and the loss of sediment
puts that bank at risk of collapsing and being washed
downstream; if this happens, it causes more turbidity
and further sedimentation. The Riverine Structures
section provides more detail on these effects.
Look at the satellite picture of the quarry, and compare
this site to the farm blocks to the right. Although there
is a considerable strip of vegetation (known as a buffer)
between the industrial area and the river, there is no
such strip for the farmland to the right of the quarry
– crops have been sown right up to the bank, on an
outside edge to the channel, where erosion is most
likely to happen. A buffer is an area where groundcover
or remnant vegetation (i.e. native trees) is growing. It
Image 3. Nemingha cement factory from the road.
What effect might large-scale sediment removal by
the cement plant have had on the river over a long
period?
Image 4. Cement factory and surrounds on Google Earth
Latitude, longitude:
–31.1172165954775, 150.964236147842
11
Nemingha to Woolomin
Directions: Drive 29 km from Nemingha to
Woolomin. Look at the river structures and the use of
agricultural land use.
How might land use have affected water quality
and the river itself?
Look at the floodplain as you travel up the
subcatchment. The floodplain at times extends up
valleys on both sides of the road. Why is it so large in
these areas?
Discussion points: Some of the topics you could
discuss on this part of the journey are:
•
land use on floodplains (irrigated areas are used
mainly to grow feed, such as lucerne)
12
•
the wisdom of growing lucerne, a thirsty crop, in
a valley where agricultural water is a a valuable
commodity
•
the effects of growing floodplain crops up to the
river bank, with no buffer
•
•
what is best practice for grazing near rivers
•
the cost effectiveness of buying hay when feed is
low, and the alternatives to doing this
•
how nutrient leached from paddocks to waterways
might affect water quality.
the value of native perennial pastures in relation to
agricultural profits and biodiversity benefits
Pull-off chat 2:
Piallamore, prior stream
Latitude, longitude:
–31.1710414057888, 151.066194037116
Location: View to the right when travelling up the
valley towards Woolomin near Piallamore.
Discussion point: Stream channels can change
dramatically on a floodplain. The trees (shown in image
right) mark the bank of a stream that once flowed
through this area. Trees in the distance mark the current
channel. See Riverine Structures for a summary of how
rivers function.
Views: Near Piallamore
Image 5. Prior stream marked by row of trees
Location: A range of land-use issues are visible from
the window upstream from Piallamore.
Discussion points: As you drive beyond Piallamore,
look for areas where floodplains (and crops) have been
eroded in the past. Where there are no vegetated
buffer zones, or the buffers are inadequate (as shown in
image right), there is a risk of soil erosion during heavy
rain events. Erosion increases the turbidity and salinity
of river water, and may show up in water-quality tests.
Image 6. Irrigation of fodder crops
Do you think that irrigation for fodder crops such as
lucerne is the best use of water, or would that water be
better used for growing food or fibre?
Image 7. River bank exposed by lack of buffer zone from
bare ground
13
Pull-off chat 3:
Mullock piles
Location: Between Chaffey Dam and Swamp Creek
Reserve (do not take the Nundle turn-off after Chaffey
Dam Lake)
the rocks, little grew on these piles. In addition, when the
miners sluiced, finer particles of soil were returned to the
river, increasing the turbidity of water.
Discussion points: Between Chaffey Dam and
The discovery of gold created an economic boom
Swamp Creek Reserve, the landscape starts to change.
The valley narrows and the width of the floodplain is
dramatically reduced.
(the ‘gold rush’), and thousands of people lived and
mined here. Some people still prospect for gold in the
area today, but only on a recreational level – a process
known as ‘fossicking’. Nundle is famous for its ‘Go for
Gold’ Chinese Cultural Festival, which celebrates the
town’s heritage.
Mullock piles are heaps of rocks covered with brambles
and other weeds. These piles date from the 1850s, when
gold was first discovered in the area. Early gold miners
sluiced and panned most of the banks and river bed.
They stacked unwanted rocks, cleaned of soil or dirt, in
mullock piles. Because the soil had been removed from
Describe the effect large-scale prospecting might have
had on the Peel and its environment back in the 1850s.
Image 8. Mullock piles – waste from 1850s gold mining
Latitude, longitude: –31.3960260199675, 151.14018294043
14
Pull-off chat 4:
Point bar
Location: Upstream from mullock piles on the way to
Sampling site 1, Swamp Creek.
Latitude, longitude:
–31.4096942218313, 151.142807901046
Discussion points: The river is constricted at this
point and has deposited a coarse alluvium (i.e. loose
soil or sediment). As the river meanders or bends,
alluvium is deposited on the inside bend or shorter
edge of the stream, forming ‘depositional point bars’.
In looking at the river here, you can clearly see the
point bars and the meandering of the river. The Riverine
structures section has more information about these
features.
Being dynamic, rivers change shape as part of a
natural process. However, human actions that affect
the flow of water can speed up this natural process.
For example, people may protect a road by building
expensive structures such as retaining walls (see
image opposite). A retaining wall will stop a river from
changing shape and thus stop its banks eroding. In this
area, gold mining may have accelerated the natural
movement of the river, leading to a need for retaining
walls.
Image 9. The view upstream, river meanders
Image 10. The view downstream, retaining wall
15
Sampling site 1:
Swamp Creek Reserve
Latitude, longitude: –31.43645, 151.14264
Access directions: Turn right into the gate before
the bridge; the gate is unlocked and you should drive
right in off the road.
This is the first sampling site, so get off the bus and get
ready to take samples. If the bus driver is not getting
off here, the driver can turn the bus around while the
group is sampling, to be ready to set off for the next
stop. One toilet is available at this site.
To reach the sampling point, walk perpendicular to the
road toward the river. You will see a small track that
leads down to the river.
Discussion points: Swamp Creek Reserve is
surrounded by steep hills featuring some timbered
country but also grasslands suitable for low-pressure
grazing. In this location, the Peel River is set on bed
rock. Swamp Creek is a small tributary that enters here
and cuts through recent coarse-grained sediments.
Image 11. Entry point to Sampling site 1, Swamp Creek.
Groundwater is moisture in the ground; it moves
slowly downhill in bands or aquifers of various
depths. Recharge zones are porous areas where
moisture enters the ground and thus recharges
the groundwater. Discharge zones are less porous
areas where groundwater is discharged. Sometimes,
miniature aquifers can be seen on Swamp Creek; they
are active over just a few metres, between zones of
recharge to zones of discharge. Look for these aquifers
when you are at the river.
Image 12. Peel River sampling location, near Swamp
Creek Reserve
Can you see recent erosion from fossicking?
Once you reach the Peel River, collect your first set
of data on water quality and riparian (river bank)
condition, record it on the student work sheet.
16
How might this erosion affect water quality?
View of Swamp Creek at
Sampling site 1
Directions: From the Peel River at Sampling site 1,
explore the local tributary, Swamp Creek.
Discussion points: This creek contains a range of
fine sediments and larger cobbles, suggesting that it
receives intermittent flows. A strong flow will push the
larger stones around; during low flows, fine grains will
fill in the gaps. Deposits of sediment have cut down
the flow through the creek.
Image 13. Swamp Creek cutting at Sampling site 1,
looking up from the Peel River
Advanced step (optional)
When collecting your data, you might like to sample
both Peel River and Swamp Creek. You can then
compare the results from the two locations, and
discuss any differences.
What level of water quality did your results show?
Features to note include:
Discuss factors that may influence water quality
here.
After completing Sampling site 1, you can either stop
here for morning tea, or have it on the bus as you
travel to the next location.
•bedrock
• the size of sediment grains (cobbles)
• pool and riffles
• point bars
• aquifers (these are not always evident)
• bank re-enforcing that has been carried out to
Directions: Depart no later than 11:15. Drive back
down the valley, stopping for five minutes at the
Chaffey Dam Lookout.
secure the road (look upstream on the Peel River).
17
Pull-off chat 5:
Chaffey Dam Lookout
Location: On the return from Sampling site 1
Latitude, longitude: –31.34942 151.1383
Discussion points: Chaffey Dam construction
began in 1976 and completed in 1979; it has a capacity
of 62,000 megalitres (ML), equivalent to 62 gigalitres
(GL). Its main wall is 54 m high and it has a catchment
area of 42,000 hectares. The dam has two main
purposes: regulating the flow of the Peel River and
augmenting the water supply of Tamworth.
Things to discuss while you are at the Chaffey Dam
Lookout, or once you are back on the bus, include:
•
the dam wall upgrade – this is a major project that
aims to:
Image 14. Chaffey Dam, looking onto the Morning Glory
Spillway
improve the ability of the dam to withstand
extreme floods
on the Morning Glory Spillway. Overall, the works will
increase the dam’s capacity from 62 GL to 100 GL, and
will ensure it can withstand the maximum possible
flood.
improve environmental outcomes
secure the water supply for Tamworth
•
the Morning Glory Spillway – this is like a large
cement funnel; in high water, it prevents water from
spilling over the dam wall, and instead directs water
into a spillway
•
the effects on water quality of water being taken off
at multiple levels
•
blue-green algae – why it might be here, and how
to spot it.
Chaffey Dam can release water for days at a time,
saturating the river banks. When the banks are
saturated they lose their strength; hence, when the
water level drops, the river banks are sometimes
unable to hold up and they collapse into the river. In
turn, this increases water turbidity and nutrient and salt
concentrations.
To the left of the dam wall, look for the first stage of
the upgrade – construction of a 35m auxiliary spillway
with a release plug. In a later stage of the project, the
dam wall will be raised by 8 metres, with related work
18
How might the collapse of river banks affect water?
Latitude, longitude:
–31.3048291532614, 151.148417657382
Blue-green algae can often be seen from the lookout.
Look for something that resembles a green oil slick
in a downwind corner of the lake. Blue-green algal
blooms happen when still, warm water is combined
with a nutrient load (e.g. sediment, and nitrogen or
phosphorus in runoff from farms). Infected water
is toxic to drink, and even just coming into contact
with it can irritate the skin. By damming rivers and
using inadequate farm-management systems, we
have allowed sediments and nutrients to enter our
waterways. These factors, combined with the natural
cycles of drought and the seasons, lead to more
frequent and extensive algal blooms.
Image 15. Approaching the bridge (turn left here);
Many landholders maintain vegetation buffers where
their land adjoins creeks and rivers. Also, many have
changed their grazing and farm-management systems,
introducing strategies that reduce the risk of causing
harm to rivers and creeks. Waterways are now regularly
monitored for algal blooms.
Image 16. Pull up by the river
Sampling site 2:
Woolomin access
Directions: From Chaffey Dam, drive through
Woolomin and over Duncan’s Creek Bridge, turn left
after the shop and left again after 100m, before you
reach the bridge.
Image 17. Privet – noxious in much of North West NSW
19
Sampling site 2:
Woolomin
Access directions: Get off the bus. You will see a
gap in the vegetation. Be careful! This entry is steep
and narrow. Assess your students’ capacity and
numbers. If it is too difficult to go down with the whole
group, go down with just two or three able students
to collect samples, make assessments and take
photographs.
compare the results from the three points, and discuss
any differences between them.
How might the tributary, Duncan’s Creek and the
Chaffey Dam have affected this site?
After you have completed this site, drive to the
park (one minute away) for lunch.
Collect a set of data on water quality and riparian
condition, record it on the student work sheet and
discuss how your findings compare to those for
Sampling site 1.
Directions: To reach the park, drive back to the
road, keeping the bridge on your left. You will see the
park ahead of you; it has a covered area and toilets. To
ensure that you can complete the tour in a reasonable
time, spend no more than 30 minutes on lunch, then
continue on to Sampling site 3, which is in Tamworth.
Advanced step (optional)
When taking water samples, you might like to sample
the Peel River water at a couple of points (one above
and one below the Duncan’s Creek inlet); you could
also sample water in Duncan’s Creek. You can then
Image 18. Panoramic view up and downstream from the entry of
Duncan’s Creek visible on the left to the bridge on the right.
Latitude, longitude:
–31.3048291532614, 151.148417657382
20
Sampling site 3:
Jewry Street Weir, Tamworth
Directions: The Jewry Street Weir is located on
Munro Street. Drive along Peel Street , turn left onto
Jewry Street, cross the bridge and, well before the
round-about, turn right into Munro Street.
At first glance, how does this site compare with the
previous two sampling sites?
•
evidence of urban stormwater, and of the effects of
this water
•
•
•
the effect of the weir
the condition of the river structure
how land use may be affecting water quality in
different ways.
Once you have completed the sampling at Sampling
site 3, travel to Wallamore Anabranch.
Collect a set of data on water quality and riparian
condition, recording it on the student work sheet.
Discussion points: Discuss your findings in relation
to earlier sites and other observations from the day.
Consider:
Image 19. Tamworth Weir (Sampling site 3)
Latitude, longitude:
–31.0816422058559, 150.917539643264
21
Pull-off chat 6:
Wallamore Anabranch
Directions: From Sampling site 3, continue along
Jewry Street, and turn right onto Britten Road at the
round-about. Find a good viewing point.
Latitude, longitude: –31.0823, 150.9077
The bottom right-hand corner of Image 21 shows the
river diverging (i.e. the anabranch). The red dot is Jewry
Street Weir, where you took the third set of samples.
There is some distance before the anabranch again
joins the main channel, as shown in the upper lefthand corner of Image 21. Use information from Google
Earth to identify features such as the breakout point of
the anabranch.
Image 20. The view on the left Britten Road (near
Tamworth Jockey Club);
From your viewing point, can you see the breakout
point in the distance? The anabranch causes
damage, and there have been several attempts to
stop it; for example, by installing a steel structure.
Discuss causes of the Wallamore Anabranch, its
effects and how it might be managed.
From your knowledge of river systems, what would
you do about this problem?
Image 21. View of Wallamore Anabranch area on Google
Earth
22
Reflections from the safari
Water complies with a set of laws of physics, resulting
in structures such as meanders and point bars, which
you have seen on the trip. Graph, manipulate and
discuss the water quality data you have collected
in relation to field observations you have made on
riverine structures, land use and land management.
on the safari included gold mining from the 1850s,
present day fossicking, and the presence of fallow
paddocks on a floodplain immediately adjacent to
the river (i.e. with no buffer zone).
• Urban stormwater drains introducing nutrients, salt
and silt.
Review of the experimental hypotheses
• Changing river shape (Wallamore Anabranch is a
good example).
Hypothesis 1 – Water quality declines from the top to
lower parts of a subcatchment.
• Tributaries introducing water that has been affected
by the above factors in its own subcatchment.
Graph your data to evaluate this hypothesis. It is quite
normal, even for the most pristine stream, for water
quality to decline as water moves downstream. Water
at the top of our study site has travelled less distance
than water lower down the study site. The further that
water travels down the catchment, the more chance
there is for it to be disturbed and thus to be of lower
quality. However, it is not just the absolute values
that matter in relation to water quality; the extent of
changes is also important, as discussed below.
Hypothesis 3 – The Upper Peel subcatchment is in
good condition.
When discussing the condition of the Upper Peel
subcatchment, think about the figures in your results.
For example, consider how your data compare to
the ANZECC Guideline Standards; also consider how
much the results changed from one site to another.
The Upper Peel subcatchment is at the very top of the
Murray Darling Basin. You will see that, as you travel
down the catchment, changes in land use create
Hypothesis 2 – Groundcover and other factors affect
water quality.
conditions that reduce water quality and riverine
structure. If there are large changes in your results
(e.g. if values double between the first site and the
third), even if the actual amounts are small, this is of
major concern to other communities lower down the
catchment in the Murray Darling Basin.
Compare your graphed data to your observations,
paying attention to the different areas (urban, rural
and low-intensity). Factors contributing to a decline in
water quality include the following:
• Disturbance of the ground and of groundcover
on the river bank, or even in the catchment. This
introduces nutrients, salt and silt to the system.
Examples of disturbances that you would have seen
23
Appendix 1
Background information
Issues within the subcatchment include soil
erosion, biodiversity loss, urban encroachment, and
management of water quantity and quality.
The Upper Peel subcatchment
The Upper Peel subcatchment covers an area of 347 km2,
and lies between the subcatchments of Chaffey, Duncan’s
and Dungowan Creek, and the city of Tamworth. The
subcatchment has a steep slope as it travels through this
area. Elevations within the subcatchment range from
950 m to 400 m above sea level.
Chaffey Dam supplies town, irrigation and industrial
water to the area below the dam. It is also part of a
flood mitigation plan for the region. Currently, the
dam is being upgraded to improve its flood mitigation
capacity.
The Upper Peel subcatchment is at the very top of the
Namoi Catchment and the Murray Darling Basin. This
means that most of the water here has fallen as rain in
the area; it has not flowed from upstream. In contrast,
at Gunnedah, most of water in the Namoi River has
flowed in from tributaries above. Landscapes within
the subcatchment range from alluvial floodplains to
hill slopes and rugged ranges. The mid to lower slopes
are dominated by deep red-brown earths, whereas the
upper slopes are dominated by deep stony red clays.
A massive blue-green algae bloom in 1991–92 affected
the length of the Murray Darling System. Blooms
establish in still, warm water containing a significant
nutrient load. In high concentrations, blue-green algal
blooms cause skin irritations on contact and can be
toxic when consumed. The 1991–92 bloom had the
capacity to cripple communities on the Murray Darling.
Chaffey Dam still suffers from these algal blooms. Since
then a range of strategies have been implemented to
minimise the risk of such blooms; these include:
Vegetation types range from grasslands through
to riparian red gum woodlands and open box gum
woodlands with patches of cypress pine on the mid
slopes, through to forests on the ranges.
The steeper uplands and slopes are used mainly for
sheep and cattle production, with some small areas
set aside for biodiversity conservation. The lower
slopes and floodplains have mostly been cleared
for agriculture. They are used to produce lucerne
and fodder, some as dryland production and some
irrigated.
24
•
•
changes to the way the dam is operated
•
landholders changing their grazing and farmmanagement systems, to reduce the risk of causing
harm to rivers and creeks
•
regular monitoring of waterways for algal blooms.
landholders maintaining vegetation buffers between their farmlands and adjoining creeks and
rivers
outside of river bends. Where a faster moving riffle slows
to a pool, sediments are deposited. Such zones are
known as point bars, scroll bars, or ridges and swales.
Riverine structures
All rivers behave according to physical laws that
govern the behaviour of water and its substrate. For
example, all water meanders, whether it be a river, a
tiny creek or even water running down a pipe. Given
the right conditions, waterways will, over time, build
up sediments in a predictable way.
Think about the physical functioning of rivers:
What happens to water, floodplains and sediments
when it rains or floods?
What effect will a dam structure have on river
geography?
As water meanders, it creates shallow areas known as
riffles, which are separated by pools, with the distance
varying according to the width of the stream. Because
riffles are shallow there is less space for a given volume
of water, and the water therefore moves faster. In
contrast, because pools tend to be deep, there is more
space for a given volume of water, and the water
therefore moves more slowly. Pools are found on the
What happens when sediment is taken away?
Stylised plan of riverine
structures
The way that a river flows depends on the
characteristics of the land that drains into it; as
Image 22. Stylised plan of riverine structures and cross
sections.
25
mentioned above, this land is the river’s catchment. A
catchment’s rainfall, slope, soil type and groundcover
all combine to shape the river. When one of these
things changes, the nature of the river also changes.
Groundcover is usually the variable that changes most
in the landscape, often as the result of a combination
of drought or floods and human activity. Groundcover
What do you think we have done to stop water
coming onto the floodplain?
How might this have changed the river itself?
Increased water velocity increases the movement of
sediment. Sometimes, increased velocity results in a
bank failing creating a second channel. This is known
as an anabranch. In turn, the anabranch increases the
channel length, so water velocity declines. Wallamore
Anabranch is an example of this effect. An anabranch
results in unstable ground, erosion and deposition in
times of high flood or flow. Due to the dynamic nature
of the anabranch, it is difficult to manage this land.
describes what is literally covering the ground.
It includes things such as forests, grasses, crops, bare
earth, roads and pavement.
Different groundcovers affect the amount of rain
that can enter the soil and drain into our rivers
through the ground. The more rain that can enter our
rivers by moving through the soil as groundwater, the
more stable the river will be.
How large an area is affected by Wallamore
Anabranch?
When a large amount of water runs off the surface of the
ground into gullies and drains, the water moves much
more quickly than it would do if it was moving through
the soil. As a result, it is likely to cause erosion. Long
grass will slow water down, allowing it to soak into the
ground, to later ooze into rivers as groundwater.
Floodplains are an important part of healthy rivers.
In the Namoi, our rivers have evolved to have low
banks; thus, when there is a lot of rain, the river comes
over the top of the bank and spreads out across the
floodplain. This means that water is shallow and slow
moving, and hence less likely to cause erosion.
SLOW + SHALLOW = STABLE
FAST + DEEP = DANGEROUS
Because people like to live and farm on floodplains,
we have made changes to prevent rivers from flooding
houses and farms.
26
The first human response to the anabranch
had been to stop the anabranch with the use of
engineering structures. Is this a good response, and
if not, how can anabranches be best managed?
does the stream’s capacity to move sediments.
Sediments
Match the photos shown in Images 21–24 with the
locations listed in the table below.
A fast flowing stream has the energy to move largesized boulders. As the energy or speed drops, so too
Photo description
Image number
Sampling site 1: Top of catchment, Peel River near Swamp Creek
Point at which the Peel flows into the lake above Chaffey Dam
Sampling site 2: Woolomin
Sampling site 3: Jewry Street Weir, Tamworth
Images 23-26. Sediments photographed at different
points along the Peel River study area
27
Appendix 2
Work sheets
Peel Catchment Safari students’ work sheet
Record all field data in the Field results section, below:
1.
Name the river you are on?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Name the catchment?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Name the basin?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Give three reasons why water quality is so important? __________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Give three benefits that areas of remnant vegetation bring, especially those along the river’s edge?__________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6.
Name some of the natural and human-induced catchment factors that might influence the salinity of a water
body?
Natural: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Human-induced: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Turbidity measures light penetration through water; the more turbid water is, the less clear it is. What
substances affect turbidity?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Why is water clarity important for biological processes in a river ecosystem?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9.
Use the Stream condition assessment survey to evaluate the condition of the riparian zone at each site, and
record your results in the Field results section.
28
10.
In the table below, list any issues you see that are related to land use, noting possible effects on water quality
and where you saw the issue.
Issue
11.
Possible effects
Location(s)
How do you think the health of the river could be improved? And which people and organisations could help
to achieve this? In the table below, list two issues, your recommendations for resolving them, and the people
and organisations that could help.
Issue
Recommendations
29
People and organisations
Stream condition assessment
30
Field results
Test
Position in catchment
Salinity
Turbidity
Temperature
pH
Riparian condition assessment
Water depth
Flow rate
Bed description
Other influencing factors
Units
Swamp Creek
Reserve
Woolomin
Jewry St Weir,
Tamworth
NTU
NTU, nephelometric turbidity unit
Interpretation of water-quality results
Increased turbidity can affect the working of the gills
of fish and other animals (the gills become clogged by
the mud and silt).
Variation in pH can cause loss of native plants and
animals.
Temperature can affect the amount of oxygen
dissolved in water; the colder the water, the more
oxygen can dissolve in it.
Salinity is measured by electrical conductivity. Increases
in water salinity affect plant growth and can make
water nonpotable (i.e. not drinkable) for animals.
Upland rivers
Turbidity (in NTU), muddiness
Electrical conductivity, salinity (in µS/cm or micro-siemens/cm)
pH, acidity 1–14
ANZECC standards
Healthy
Fair
<10
10–25
<300
300–800
6.5–8.0
N/A
Poor
>25
>800
<6.5 acid
>8.0 alkaline
Adapted from Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council (ANZECC) Guidelines 2000
These figures are an average for all waterways; they are not specific to a particular position in the catchment.
Upper limit for salt tolerance
People
Lettuce
Poultry
µS/cm
781
1404
5460
31
Peel Catchment Safari comprehension questions
Information for the following questions can be found in the Peel Catchment Safari document – The Upper Peel
subcatchment, Riverine structures and Sediments.
1.
2.
3.
How many square kilometres does the Upper Peel subcatchment cover, and what subcatchments does it lie
between? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name three landscapes within the subcatchment? _______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What soil types dominate the upper slopes of the subcatchment? _________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Name four vegetation types within the subcatchment? ________________________________________________________________________________
?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What are the main types of agriculture on the lower slopes and floodplains? __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name four natural resource management issues within the subcatchment? ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What affected Chaffey Dam in 1991–92? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is an anabranch and what does it cause? ____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is a riffle and what are riffles separated by? __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10.
What is a river catchment and what combines to shape the river? __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
32
Peel Catchment Safari students work sheet –
teachers’ answers
1. Name the river you are on?
Peel River
2. Name the catchment?
Namoi
3. Name the basin?
Murray Darling Basin
4. Give three reasons why water quality is so important?
It affects us and everyone downstream.
Our health, ecosystems and industry relies on good water quality.
Good water quality provides a pleasant environment.
5.
Give three benefits that areas of remnant vegetation bring, especially along the river’s edge?
• Plants and their roots help to prevent bank erosion and stream sedimentation.
• The vegetation:
provides shade to cool water in summer
helps to slow down flood surges as they enter rivers
provides habitat for native wildlife, which in turn provide services to us
produces oxygen from carbon dioxide.
6. Name some of the natural and human-induced catchment factors that might influence the salinity of a
water body?
Natural: Amount of salt naturally found in soil and ground water, vegetation types in the area, climate, recent
rainfall.
Human-induced: Amount of disturbance, and vegetation removal close to the river and in the local area above
the catchment.
7. Turbidity measures light penetration through water; the more turbid water is, the less clear it is.
What substances affect turbidity?
Mud and silt.
8. Why is water clarity important for biological processes in the river ecosystem?
Clarity allows light to penetrate for photosynthesis.
The gills of fish and other animals will clog in muddy conditions.
9.
Use the Stream condition assessment survey on page 24 to evaluate riparian zone condition at each
site.
33
10.
11.
In the table below, list any issues you see that are related to land use, noting possible effects on water quality
and where you saw the issue.
Issue
Possible effects
Location(s)
Gold mining
Mullock piles, weeds, increased turbidity
Near Sampling site 1, Swamp Creek area
Chaffey Dam
Blue-green algae
Chaffey Dam
Overgrazing,
cropping too
close to river
Erosion and sedimentation, salinity, nutrient
leaching and increased flood surges
Near Pull-off chat points 1 and 2
Urban issues
Blue-green algae, salinity, stormwater, litter
Urban areas
Record suggestions of how could the river be improved. Also, think about people and organisations that could
help.
Issue
Recommendations
People and organisations
Gold mining
Education program; restrict river access for
miners
Department of Mines, Namoi CMA
Chaffey Dam
Monitor and report
State Water
Overgrazing,
cropping too
close to river
Education program; encourage installation
of buffer areas and good groundcover with
rotational grazing; consider crops with good
groundcover
Namoi CMA, Department of Primary
Industry, Landcare
Urban issues
Education program; minimise use of fertiliser
on lawns; minimise watering of lawns;
encourage campaigns against litter; install
trash racks at stormwater pipes
Tamworth Regional Council, Namoi CMA,
Tamworth Garden Clubs
34
Peel Catchment Safari comprehension
questions – teachers’ answers
Information for the following questions can be found in the The Upper Peel subcatchment, Riverine structures and
Sediments
1.
How many square kilometres does the Upper Peel subcatchment cover, and what subcatchments
does it lie between?
347 km2
The subcatchments of Chaffey, Duncan’s and Dungowan Creek, and the city of Tamworth.
2.
Name three landscapes within the subcatchment?
Alluvial floodplains, hill slopes and rugged ranges.
3. What soil types dominate the upper slopes of the subcatchment?
Deep stony red clays.
4.
Name four vegetation types within the subcatchment?
Grasslands, riparian red gum woodlands, open box gum woodlands, cypress pine and forests on the ranges.
5.
What are the main types of agriculture on the lower slopes and floodplains?
Lucerne (both dryland and irrigated), and fodder production.
6.
Name four natural resource management issues within the subcatchment?
Soil erosion, biodiversity loss, urban encroachment, and water quality and quantity management.
7.
What affected Chaffey Dam in 1991–92? Blue-green algae bloom.
8.
What is an anabranch and what does it cause?
An anabranch is a bank blow out. It results in unstable ground, erosion and deposition in times of high flow or flood.
9.
What is a riffle and what are riffles separated by?
A riffle is a shallow area of water in a creek or river; riffles are separated by pools, according to the width of the stream.
35
10. What is a river catchment and what combines to shape the river?
A river catchment is the land that drains into the river. A catchment’s rainfall, slope, soil type and groundcover all
combine to shape the river.
11.
Issue
Possible effects
Location(s)
Gold mining
Mullock piles, weeds, increased turbidity
Near Sampling site 1,
Swamp Creek area
Chaffey Dam
Blue-green algae
Chaffey Dam
Overgrazing,
cropping too
close to river
Urban issues
Erosion and sedimentation, salinity, nutrient leaching
and increased flood surges
Near Pull-off chat points 1 and
2
Blue-green algae, salinity, stormwater, litter
Urban areas
Record suggestions of how could the river be improved. Also, think about people and organisations that could
help.
Issue
Recommendations
People and organisations
Gold mining
Education program; restrict river access for miners
Department of Mines,
Namoi CMA
Chaffey Dam
Monitor and report
State Water
Overgrazing,
cropping too
close to river
Education program; encourage installation of buffer
areas and good groundcover with rotational grazing;
consider crops with good groundcover
Namoi CMA, Department of
Primary Industry, Landcare
Urban issues
Education program; minimise use of fertiliser on lawns; Tamworth Regional Council,
minimise watering of lawns; encourage campaigns
Namoi CMA, Tamworth Garden
against litter; install trash racks at stormwater pipes
Clubs
36
Appendix 3
Links to syllabus
The Board of Studies has released its new syllabus Science K – 10 Syllabus, Science and Technology K – 6. Familiarisation
is planned from 2014, with implementation in 2015. http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/ The Peel Catchment Safari
meets many of the requirements of the new and existing syllabus, as outlined in the table below.
Stage
3
Year
5–6
Subject
Section
HSIE
Environments
Mathematics
Data
Science and Technology
See below
HSIE
Environments
Mathematics
Data Collection and representation
See below
4
7–8
4&5
7–10
Science (and Science and Technology)
Stage
Year
Subject
Strand
Sub
strand
3
5–6
Science and
Technology
K–6
(Values & Attitudes)
N/A
ST3–1VA
ST3–2VA
ST3–3VA
(Skills)
Working Scientifically
(WS)
(Skills)
Working
Technologically (WT)
(Knowledge &
Understanding)
Natural Environment
(NE)
N/A
ST3–4WS
L
(Literacy)
ST3–4WT
N
(Numeracy)
37
N/A
Outcome
Learning across the
curriculum
CCT
(Critical & Creative Thinking)
PSC
(Personal & Social Capability)
Living
World
(LW)
ST3–11LW
Earth &
Space
(ES)
ST3–9ES
SE
(Sustainability)
Stage
Year
Subject
Strand
Sub
strand
4&5
7–10
Science 7–10
(Values & Attitudes)
N/A
(Skills)
N/A
Working Scientifically
(WS)
Outcome
ST4–1VA
ST5–1VA
ST4–2VA
ST5–2VA
ST4–3VA
ST5–3VA
ST4–4WS
ST5–4WS
ST4–5WS
ST5–5WS
ST4–6WS
ST5–6WS
ST4–7WS
ST5–7WS
ST4–8WS
ST5–8WS
(Skills)
Working
Technologically (WT)
N/A
ST4–9WT
ST5–9WT
(Knowledge &
Understanding)
Living
World
ST4–15LW
ST5–15LW
Natural Environment
(NE)
(LW)
Earth &
Space
(ES)
38
ST4–13ES
Learning across the
curriculum
CCT
(Critical & Creative Thinking)
L
(Literacy)
N
(Numeracy)
PSC
(Personal & Social Capability)
SE
(Sustainability)
WE
(Work & Enterprise)
Appendix 4
Approximate timing of the safari and summary
Approximate timing
09:00 Leave Tamworth. It will take at least an hour to reach Swamp Creek Reserve (65km).
Discuss the landscape as you go.
Stop for about 2 minutes at each of the following pull-off chat points:
1.
Nemingha Cement
2.
Piallamore prior stream
3.
Mullock piles near Bowling Alley
4.
Point bar site.
10:15 Stop at Sampling site 1: Swamp Creek Reserve. Collect data and discuss. (1 pit toilet available)
When data collection is complete, eat morning tea, either here or on the way to Chaffey Dam (14 km).
Depart no later than 11:15 am.
11:30
Stop for 5 minutes at Pull-off chat point 5. Chaffey Dam Lookout. No toilet.
12:00 Stop at Sampling site 2: Woolomin (5 km). Collect data and discuss. No toilet.
12:30
Eat cut lunch at Woolomin. Toilets available.
1:15
Leave Woolomin for Tamworth.
1:45
Arrive Jewry Street Weir, Tamworth (50 km). Collect data and discuss.
2:00 Have a final discussion of what the data means and how you can use the data and observations
collected. Depart for Wallamore Anabranch no later than 2:10 pm.
2:15 Stop for 5 minutes at Pull-off chat point 6. Wallamore Anabranch.
2:20 End.
39
Teachers summary
The table below outlines the key features of the Peel Catchment Safari.
Site
Sampling site
1 – Swamp Creek
Reserve
Chaffey Dam
Sampling site 2 –
Woolomin
Sampling site 3 –
Jewry Street Weir,
Tamworth
Position in
catchment
Uppermost site for
data collection
Directions
After Chaffey Dam
do not take the
Nundle Road; instead,
continue straight
ahead; travel through
the village and just
before a bridge on the
right you will come
to a small public park
area
Midway between Sites
1 and 2
Head back towards
Tamworth. Pull off at
the lookout.
Midway site for data
collection
Head back towards
Tamworth, passing
through Woolomin;
turn left onto Monaro
Road (after the shop),
then left off the road
before the bridge
Lowest site for data
collection
From Manilla Road,
Tamworth, turn eft
onto Jewry Street, go
over the bridge and
after about 100m turn
right onto the road to
the river
Travel time
1 hour 20 mins from
Tamworth
20 mins
30 mins
30 mins
Stay time
1 hour
5 mins
1.5 hours
30 mins
Safety
Go through the gate
and park the vehicle;
coaches may need
to stay outside; take
care crossing the road;
normal water safety
applies
If getting out be aware
of traffic
Access to the site is
through the trees
down a steep and
slippery track; ask
students to go slowly;
normal water safety
applies
Fallen logs by the
access point; water
flowing fast; normal
water safety applies;
bring samples away
from river for analysis
Expected
results
Near-pristine
conditions match
good water quality
No data collected
Intensive agriculture
will reduce water
quality
Water quality is a result
of the combination of
land uses seen
40
Site
Sampling site
1 – Swamp Creek
Reserve
Chaffey Dam
Sampling site 2 –
Woolomin
Discussion
points
Water quality high;
note low-impact land
use and bedrock in
river; observe local
aquifers, and look
out for recent gold
prospecting scars
Upgrade –purpose
and issues:
Change in water
Stream condition
assessment result varies quality – note
stormwater drain and
from Sampling site 1
weir; discuss cause of
• Effect of tributary
anabranch
• Effect of dam and
other factors
upstream
• blue-green algae,
• Morning Glory
spillway with multi
level off-take
Sampling site 3 –
Jewry Street Weir,
Tamworth
• Change in water
quality
Toilets
One toilet available
No toilet available
Toilets available at
lunch site
Description
Caravaners
occasionally use site
also
Lookout over Chaffey
Dam wall.
Sample collection
point is actually a small
point bar
Across the road from
where you have
parked is a covered
area for lunch and
toilets
Other notes The gate may be
closed but not locked;
access is free; if using a
coach, ask the driver to
drop off the students
then turn the bus
around in preparation
for the next stage of
the journey
41
No toilet available
If there is time, go to
Wallamore Anabranch
on Britten (Jockey
Club) Road