Category Archives: Blue Mountains

Lindeman Pass

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Small waterfall on Gladstone Creek

Ever since reading Jim Smith’s wonderful book about the Lindeman Pass I’ve been captivated by this historic walking track that links Roberts Pass at Wentworth Falls with the Federal Pass at Leura. This track has suffered from a series of unfortunate events which have meant that it’s never become a popular tourist track, despite its obvious beauty and the convenience of joining with other well-established tracks. On previous forays I had walked the eastern section between Gladstone Pass and Roberts Pass and the western section from Copeland Pass to Leura Falls, but I was Continue Reading →

Early morning at Mount Banks

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View from top of Mt Banks

I woke with a start, thinking I had overslept.The room already seemed quite light so I quickly got ready, then glanced at my watch and realised it was only just after 4am! Oops. I’d intended to make an early start, but with sunrise still three hours away I decided to go back to bed for a little while. After dozing briefly, I rolled out of bed at a slightly more respectable hour. It was still very dark when I arrived at the Mt Banks carpark at 6am, with the temperature hovering Continue Reading →

Terrace Falls

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Terrace Falls walking track

I had previously accessed the beautiful Terrace Falls Reserve from Valley Road, via a short, steep fire trail. We tried to walk down this way once when Clare was young but the rough, rocky ground was too much for her, and after a nasty fall we had to turn back without ever reaching our destination. It’s such a shame as the walking tracks within the reserve are quite gentle and child-friendly but the poor access makes them rather difficult for little ones. Today I decided to instead try the access from Lake Road, Continue Reading →

Bushrangers Cave revisited

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Fungi on Reinits Pass

It was only last week that I explored Little Zig Zag and Reinits Pass for the first time, but I was keen to come back with the kids to show them the Bushrangers Cave. In the spirit of adventure, we invited some other young friends to join our little expedition. We lunched in sunshine at Pulpit Rock before setting off down the zig-zagging track below. After an odd encounter with a group of clients from a local guiding company who had somehow lost their leader, we reached the cavernous entrance to the cave, donned headtorches, Continue Reading →

Little Zig Zig and Reinits Pass

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Jo Stewart on Pulpit Rock

After a very rare and fabulous night out celebrating a friend’s 40th, I felt like I needed a recovery stroll, and this short walk seemed to fit the bill. The tourist tracks around Mt Victoria seem to be used mostly by climbers, and from what I can tell are otherwise not very well known outside the small Mt Vic community. I don’t get up that way very often, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the tracks I’ve discovered so far, and this one was no exception. The low cloud hanging in the valley quickly burnt off as we headed Continue Reading →

Gladstone Pass

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Buttressed tree roots

It was a perfect Autumn day as I headed off from the Fairmont Resort. The resort was particularly busy with the North Face 100km race passing through today so there were runners everywhere. I could also hear helicopters overhead, but the noise and bustle quickly faded away as I descended into the beautiful fernery of Gladstone Pass. The track follows along beside a small creek and is very muddy in places. There are a few fallen trees and small, slippery scrambles to negotiate, but it is still a fairly well-defined route. At the Continue Reading →

National Pass

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Valley of the Waters

I love walking alone, but I also love being able to share beautiful places with others. And today I was super excited to share one of my favourite walks with my son, Alex. I have rarely had the opportunity to walk with him alone, so it was a lovely treat to venture out together, just the two of us. We started from the Wentworth Falls Picnic Area and decided to head across to the Conservation Hut first ‘to get the boring bit out of the way’, but even before we’d reached Continue Reading →

Views of Arethusa and visit to Darks Cave

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Govetts Creek and Carne Wall

It was a wet and misty Sunday and I was keen to explore out along Mount Hay Road. Having recently walked some of the tracks that drop in to Govetts Creek around the Henson Glen area, I was keen to go a bit further north and check out the ridge that forms the junction between Arethusa and Alpheus canyons. This was more ‘off track’ than I usually go on my own, but there was still a reasonable footpad all the way and a well-defined ridgeline made navigation very straight-forward. Part of my Continue Reading →