2014 11 (21) 22-25: Blue Mtns - Upper Grose Valley & Newnes Plateau

Post date: Sep 06, 2014 11:6:51 PM

Saturday AM: Goochs Crater, Upper Wollangambe River, BMNP (S/E) Spend a half day exploring the crater’s pagodas, caves, and wetlands. All on track

Saturday PM: Zig Zag Railway / Lithgow Valley Reserve (S/M 7km & 150m climb). Visit the famous sandstone arches of the No 1-3 viaducts and the No. 1 tunnel. We’ll do a loop along the escarpment through open heath and exotic rock formations to get a good view of the arches, and will return via the zig zag rail line. Mostly on track, short car shuttle required

Sunday AM: Birrabang Canyon, Upper Grose Valley, BMNP, (S/M ) A great introductory canyon with no abseils required – no swims with scrambling you need only get wet to your navel. A nice canyon and a spectacular gorge.

Sunday PM: Monkey Creek Gorge, Dargan (S/R/X 2km-270m climb) Short exploratory scramble through an untouched rainforest featuring an over story of mature tree ferns and coachwood trees. All off track

Monday: Upper Grose Valley and The Rim, BMNP (M/M 10km & 600m climb) Starting near The Pinnacles, we’ll walk to Lockley Pylon, descend via Dufaur Head to the Blue Gum Forest and exit via Perrys Lookdown. All on track, car shuttle required.

Tuesday: The Engineers Track, Surveyors Creek, Upper Grose Valley, BMNP (S/M 9km & 200m climb) This 1860’s survey track aimed to identify an alternative rail route through the Blue Mountains, which would see trains travelling along the Grose Valley and then under the Darling Causeway. All on bush track.

Maps: Wollangambe 8931-2, Lithgow 8931-3S, Mount Wilson 8930-1-N, Katoomba 8930-1S

Scanned extracts of the above maps are available at: Blue Mtns: Upper Grose & Newnes Plateau Nov 2014

GPS Tracks: GPS tracks of most of the trips are attached below.