We made 3 stops over an all-too-brief week on the route from Urunga to Moss Vale.
We left the coast for some different scenery – the hills and forests of the Great Dividing Range. The most direct route to Gloucester (gateway to Barrington Tops NP) is via the Bucketts Way, a picturesque route through undulating pastureland, but it seemed to us to be the roughest paved road in NSW. Our plan to spend a day hiking around the Gloucester Tops was foiled by a forest fire that closed the access road so we went with another option, the Barrington Tops. Our first stop in the foothills was the Hidden Treasure Track at Copeland Tops Conservation Area. The trail was in a ravine where a few old gold mines once existed and remnants of these days were still evident. Also evident was another reptile….this one poised to strike, right in front of me! How I managed to back off in time still astounds me…and it retreated into the bush. I didn’t recover fast enough to get a decent photo so he could be identified by a snakologist though. Oodles of googles later we decided it was probably a green tree snake, not dangerous. Still, I’m beginning to question my urge to walk in this state. Several more walks on this day were interesting for their contrast: a swamp, a fir forest, a fern forest, and a stretch of road that was alive with a brilliant yellow weed, the Scotch broom, a much despised plant in our US hometown, Tiburon.
The view towards the Gloucester Tops from the Barrington Tops, an area of declared wilderness.The fern forest goes amok.Here’s an example of a heavy vehicle alternative to the one-lane bridge on the right in Barrington NP. It didn’t seem all that different to me.At Goucester District CP we had one of the prettiest spots where there were only a handful of other caravans.
A couple hours south (northwest of Sydney) is the acclaimed Hunter Valley wine country. We planned to be here for Thanksgiving because we assumed we would have no trouble getting a good meal to celebrate this American holiday. Of course there would be no traditional turkey with all the fixings.
Okay, so when this dessert was first placed before me I couldn’t even remember what I ordered. Turns out it was a decadent over-the-top waffle with fruit and ice cream and who knows what else. But the message saved it.
Although the Hunter is no Napa or Sonoma, we did have an good experience when we were invited to park Silver at a horse farm and stay a few days. Our hosts were caravan park owners that couldn’t accommodate us at their CP for more than one night.
The “farm” is impeccably operated by a 40-something couple that happens to have a yen for the American quarter horse and owns 50 of them. It seemed they had kilometres & kilometres of fencing.Poking around the property the next morning we discovered this serene lake scene.Wine country here is an understated version of California’s. It seemed to us the Hunter Valley Gardens has the only retail therapy in Pokolbin, the center of the Valley.Bistro Moline at the Tallavera Grove Vineyard was a fine place to spend an afternoon enjoying a long lunch.Baked figs filled with gorgonzola & wrapped in prosciutto.Salad of sea scallops, prawns & yabbies (the petite lobster-like morsel).
We managed to avoid the Sydney traffic snarl by taking winding Putty Road from the Hunter Valley to the Blue Mountains. It weren’t sure how Silver would fare on this route but there were “no worries” and it was a beautiful alternative. We got super lucky booking (on the day) a caravan site at Katoomba Falls CP for a couple nights. Once parked we never had to drive – the town was close enough to walk despite a steep uphill climb, and the spectacular walking trails around here seemed never-ending. I didn’t research much before we arrived. We had one day to see the area and sometimes I get a little tired of planning every step of the way. All we did in the morning was hop on a trail and follow it down a lot of steps as it turned out, and then back up them (much easier on our knees these days).
This is what you get 90 minutes west of Sydney…the Blue Mountains! What took us so long to come here?Katoomba Cascades are across the street from the CP and so easy to reach.Then there’s the walk down to the actual Katoomba Falls which isn’t flowing much right now.The Prince Henry Cliff Walk is a dramatic path that leads from Katoomba Cascades to the Echo Point viewing platform to the Three Sisters, each about 900 metres high. The path is actually easy to negotiate and only about two km long.We’ve been hoping to spot the shy, native Lyrebird for a long time. According to my friend Wikipedia, they are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. The male is strikingly beautiful for its huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display. This is a female captured from a fair distance so she’s a bit indistinct.This suspended bridge to one of the sisters is not for acrophobics. We marveled as we ate our picnic lunch here, then couldn’t resist continuing along the cliff walk to the the Kiah Lookout, a couple more kilometres. Silly us, we decided to take the plunge and walk down several sets of some 1200 steps along Leura Falls to the Federal Pass trail which leads through the magnificent Leura Forest back to the base of Katoomba Falls. We saw so few people we sometimes wondered if we were on a real trail, especially because signage is either non-existent or confusing. And when we have no idea how far we have to go, we start thinking about bailout plans. Ours was to catch the scenic railway from the bottom of the cliff near Katoomba Falls. Only problem: we weren’t going to make it in time to catch the last train. Of course we had to climb back up to the top of the cliffs…only 990 steps (Joe & I took turns counting…he did 100, I did 100…).A few of many steps along our 20 km route.The skyway was one way to see the Blue Mountains, traversing the Katoomba falls ravine. There is also a skyrail that transports riders up to the top of the escarpment (or down, or both).I like to take pictures of the maps that are displayed along the trail. It would have come in very handy as the day wore on and we wore out, but the battery died on my camera so never mind.The oft-seen (blue) morning fog is where these mountains get their name.
Following the Blue Mountains, we stopped in Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands to leave Silver in storage while we went to Melbourne for 10 days.
6 thoughts on “NSW central mountains”
We loved the Blue Mountains as well. Sounds like quite a walk.
Gorgeous photos, as always, Mary. On the trailmap I noted what looks like a variation on the word “Katoomba” … “Kedumba.” Seems as if the pronunciation would be the same? (You know me, ever the wanna-be linguist!) 🙂
Loved the Hunter Valley pasture lands. I used to ride Quarter Horses competitively, so they’re near ‘n’ dear to my heart.
Take a break and enjoy the Holidays … Much Love and Merry-Merry from Don ‘n’ me!
Wow and wow! Such spectacular scenery everywhere you go. And you do a great job of capturing it. What an amazing country. Please do be careful of snakes and other critters though!
Love hearing so many wonderful details of these astounding trips!
Great post and awesome pictures!! Always love reading of your adventures.
Counting steps? Do you remember the tower in Penninsula State Park in Door County, that looked out over the bay of Green Bay? However many times I climb that tower, I still want to count how many steps there are. Did I think it was going to change? Anyway, the tower is now closed to climbing and they are trying to decide whether to reconstruct or tear it down. WHAT! You can’t tear down a Door County landmark! It is ‘so much’ a part of our past, I can’t believe they would just tear it down! Time will tell what decision they come to.
6 thoughts on “NSW central mountains”
We loved the Blue Mountains as well. Sounds like quite a walk.
You take such beautiful pictures, Mary!
Gorgeous photos, as always, Mary. On the trailmap I noted what looks like a variation on the word “Katoomba” … “Kedumba.” Seems as if the pronunciation would be the same? (You know me, ever the wanna-be linguist!) 🙂
Loved the Hunter Valley pasture lands. I used to ride Quarter Horses competitively, so they’re near ‘n’ dear to my heart.
Take a break and enjoy the Holidays … Much Love and Merry-Merry from Don ‘n’ me!
Wow and wow! Such spectacular scenery everywhere you go. And you do a great job of capturing it. What an amazing country. Please do be careful of snakes and other critters though!
Love hearing so many wonderful details of these astounding trips!
Love reading your blog. I feel like I am on the trails with you but so glad I didn’t have to climb all those steps. Go you guys!
Great post and awesome pictures!! Always love reading of your adventures.
Counting steps? Do you remember the tower in Penninsula State Park in Door County, that looked out over the bay of Green Bay? However many times I climb that tower, I still want to count how many steps there are. Did I think it was going to change? Anyway, the tower is now closed to climbing and they are trying to decide whether to reconstruct or tear it down. WHAT! You can’t tear down a Door County landmark! It is ‘so much’ a part of our past, I can’t believe they would just tear it down! Time will tell what decision they come to.