JOURNAL
JOURNAL
WILD BLUE MOUNTAINS
Murphy’s Glen To Ingar 1 February 2024 As I am planning a navigation exercise in the area, this walk was the perfect excuse to check the vegetation. I am not usually keen on fire trails but this walk turned out to be quite nice: eucalyptus forest, rainforest, huge rocks and Blue Mountains ash trees, a creek crossing and a waterfall …. The grey misty weather lifted the colours of the bush. We eventually arrived at Ingar where a National Parks […]
In Wonderland – TO DO 24 January 2024 I joined Tracy for a “Connecting to Nature” walk near the Hydro Majestic in Medlow Bath. A gentle track took us to the Sunbath and the views on the Megalong Valley. I could imagine the bath filled with sand and ladies taking in the views and socialising (there were different times allocated for men and women). We continued to the top of the ladders: the views were magnificent. We could see the […]
K-Town 24 January 2024 I had some time to kill so I drove to Katoomba to take some photographs. I went to the Kingsford-Smith Memorial Park as I had never been there. The Council considers it “to be of high Local Significance” but there is little evidence of it: littered with trash, unkempt and home to weeds of National Significance. It is a pity because it has some interesting features: the park is nestled in a gully with some native […]
A Navigation Day 18 January 2024 I had wanted to check the permanent orienteering courses in Canberra for a while: today was the day! I had my sights on Weston Park. To get there I had to walk a few kilometres. The day before I had checked the excellent ACT orienteering website and found that one of the virtual bush courses was on my way to Weston Park. I downloaded and printed the maps that I would need. On the […]
An Heroic Journey 13 January 2024 When I heard Waterfall Creek, I just said Yes! I can’t resist a creek and a waterfall… A look at the map: it is going to be a long day: eight hours should do it! We were soon at Bowens Creek after descending through the Gobsmacker exit. The water level was higher than usual: we decided to continue. We soon were at the point of no return: a jump and we were committed! Bowens […]
Hairdresser Ridge – TO DO 7 January 2024 There is no Hairdresser Ridge in the Blue Mountains. This is what Bill called it when he learnt that the last time I walked there, we turned around 800 m from the end because one of the party had a hairdresser appointment! So today was the day to complete the walk. As far as ridges are concerned, this one did not have many views: we spent our time walking in a forest […]
Suboir Canyon 6 January 2024 This creek was first visited by the Sydney University Bushwalkers (SUBW) on 30 March 1962 and became known as Suboir Canyon in the 1990s. It also goes by the name of Dumbano Tunnels or Dumbano Dungeons. I last visited after the 2019-2020 fires and the area was burnt extensively. When the club put it on the program, I put my hand up. Getting there required a high-clearance 4WD… Soon we were on our way and […]
Tessellated Pavements 31 December 2023 It was a grey and drizzly morning! Plan A , a canyon, was out; Plan B, a bushwalk, was in. Six water-resistant souls set off to misty Mount Irvine. The track to Tesselate Hill (with one L) is well-defined suggesting that the area is getting popular!As we moved along the track, we soaked up the rainwater from the foliage and soon we were drenched.We climbed Tesselate Hill and were on the Tessellated Pavements (with two […]
A Nice Creek 30 December 2023 It was a grey day perfect for photography! Six brave souls set out along the bed of a creek. I dutifully gave a blood offering to the canyoning gods: I don’t think I can do a canyon without falling at least once!Everything was slippery: the leaves, the ground, the rocks… but it was nice being there. I had walked there before and had been stopped by a drop! So I was looking forward to […]
A WATERFALL 18 December 2023 Getting to the bottom of these falls was on my to-do list. I had been close three years earlier but had to retreat as rain was threatening. The vegetation was dense then and it still was! We set out on a muggy day and followed the creek upstream. After some huffing and a lot of puffing we eventually arrived to the bottom of the falls. We spent some time taking pictures and had morning tea. […]
