Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group Volume 21 Issue 5 May 2011

GOOCHS CRATER-THE STORY CONCLUDES. KATOOMBA FALLS, GIANT STAIRWAY, LEURA FOREST AND FURBER STEPS TOPIC a huge wind sculpted cave. We OUR MARCH head right to a long rock overhang where the floor WALK cont’d carries huge blocks of stone which have dropped from the roof of the overhang many GOOCHS CRATER on the years ago. A short distance on NEWNES PLATEAU there is a smaller moister cave th Friday 18 March 2011 surrounded by ferns where there is a deep red stalactite and You will recall dear reader that corresponding stalagmite the group was left hanging by a forming while nearby there is a thread when lack of space Autumn in the Bush large column of the same prevented this story being material. The material is quite completed last month. In true soft and silky to feel, probably matinee serial fashion did good iron oxide mixed with the prevail over evil? And what of that dark earthy substances which form ochre, leaching serpent and the forceful femme? Read on, all through the sandstone; an intriguing sight. will be revealed. It is then a gentle bush bash around the base of With the rope firmly anchored, looped around a high bluff, a climb up through a thick ground a conveniently placed tree for a change in cover of ferns between some huge boulders direction and with people stationed at strategic and a cliff face draped in thick moss and small points to assist, the descent began. One by one filigree ferns, in order to enter the crater we sidle across the slippery rock face then proper. As we make our way around toward drop straight down to the gully below. True to our lunch spot we pass the track we will be Saturday arvo tradition the cliff-hanger was following after lunch. Right beside this track resolved without serious incident, everyone lay a coiled Black Snake, its head resting atop handling this descent very well and all arriving its dark glossy body, it watches with beady safely at the base of the cliff; a great team little eyes apparently unperturbed as we pass. effort. Its rather large girth and relaxed self-satisfied demeanour may indicate it has partaken of the We are now standing in an amphitheatre ‘eat all you can’ smorgasbord of frogs on offer looking out onto an array of tall trees in the lagoon. marching down the slope. To our left there is a vertical moss-covered wall and the aperture Seated under a large rock overhang looking through which we had peered is visible high in out over the lagoon we settle in for lunch, or most of us settle. Let me warn you, and don’t 2 Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group be fooled by her svelte form, never stand the efforts of Jim Mckay, was opened with between Victoria and a can of food when she great fanfare in October 1932 and officially is feeling peckish. Attempting to open the can named ------The Giant Stairway; a peculiar she rips the ring pull completely off the lid set of values indeed. with Amazonian gusto; a forceful femme As part of our walk today, with little sovereign indeed! assistance but greatly reliant on the efforts of We then head back toward the dark serpent. McKay and Botting, we would descend this Will it block the track? Will it strike? No, it stairway to paradise – the delights of Leura decides to take the easy option and slithers Forest and the Jamison Valley. slowly off the track allowing us to pass. It was a calm sunny morning as twenty-three We make our way around the edge of the gathered at the picnic area near Katoomba lagoon across the spongy sphagnum moss, Cascades to commence this walk. We climb through thick brush and return to the welcomed Peter Wholohan’s brother Mick cars. On the way back to Clarence we call in who joined us today and welcomed back Bob to Bald Trig Point to gain a panoramic view Bearup who has not walked with us for some over the area from whence we have just come; time. a fitting way to end a very special walk. Our first stop was at the Cliff View Lookout John C for our first glimpse of Katoomba Falls and as the name implies, spectacular views of the OUR APRIL WALK cliff face below Malaita Point and Narrow Neck. Through a gap in the rainforest canopy KATOOMBA FALLS, ECHO POINT, red carriages of the Scenic Railway stood out, THE GIANT STAIRWAY, already transporting tourists from all corners DARDANELLES PASS, LEURA FOREST, of the world into this beautiful valley. FEDERAL PASS and FURBER STEPS Through a patch of Dwarf She Oak th Friday 15 April 2011 (Allocasuarina nana) we reach Wollumai We really are a peculiar society. Prince Henry Lookout, (Wollumai is Aboriginal for lookout William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester, so I guess this is Lookout Lookout). Here the Son of King George V fleetingly visits views down into Pitts Amphitheatre and out Katoomba Railway Station in 1934, spends across Jamison Valley become more twenty minutes on the platform, just a tad expansive and on a day such as this are longer than it would take to introduce him sublime. The track then drops down past a with his full title, and we name a classic nine rocky outcrop now known as Bellbird kilometre walking track, the Prince Henry Lookout. Across a little gully we arrive at Cliff Walk, after him. In 1911 track ranger Jim Allambie Lookout (Aboriginal for quiet place McKay conceives the idea of connecting Echo or place of meditation). Here a rock bench seat Point with the Federal Pass more than three below an overhang provides an ideal spot to hundred metres below. He and his assistants sit awhile and contemplate the world around cut more than three hundred and seventy steps, you or perhaps just indulge in a little navel- working with hand tools only, from 1916 until gazing. work was stopped in 1918 due to council Continuing on we pass some Black Wattle concerns at the cost. Council subsequently (Callicoma serratifolia) in the now more agreed to complete the project in 1932. Jim moist environment, cross a trickle of water McKay with assistant Walter Botting spent and move through a copse of tall Blue many more months, at times suspended from Mountains Ash (Eucalyptus oreades) , walk cliffs on ropes, finishing the job commenced through a moist area below a large overhang sixteen years earlier. This magnificent and climb up to Lady Darleys Lookout. (Lady creation, conceived and largely constructed by and Sir Frederick Darley built the nearby 3 Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group Lillianfels House in 1899 and had extensive Enough reflection, time to move on. We cross land holdings in this area.) Here we pause to the first of the nine hundred and eleven steps take in the magnificence laid out before us. to begin our descent of the Giant Stairway; The monolithic Mount Solitary floating above pick marks in the sheer rock walls along the a sea of eucalypt forest, the ramparts of the way are lasting evidence of the enormous Ruined Castle sitting atop the ridge below energy expended by McKay and his helpers. Castle Head, distant peaks disappearing into An equivocal sign at about the halfway point the characteristic blue haze; all this framed by of the track declares ‘Walkers Beneath’. the sandstone walls below Narrow Neck Observing the pained looks of exhaustion on a Plateau and Kings Tableland. couple of people laboriously ascending in this Soon we arrive at Echo Point and pause for a area my twisted imagination conjured visions while at Queen Elizabeth Lookout; originally of walkers interred where they fell. known, by the more descriptive name, as the Dragons Tail (Dracophyllum secundum) , Rock Projecting Platform. Views of the iconic Three Sprengelia (Sprengelia monticola) , Epacris Sisters are on offer here along with a cross reclinata and other cliff-dwellers decorate the section of different nationalities of the world upper sections of the stairway and as we delivered by the tourist buses; lucky tourists descend we enter woodland containing Sydney indeed to be here in such wonderful weather Peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita) , Smooth- conditions. We retreat to the park above the barked Apple (Angophora costata) and Old lookout area to pause for morning tea. Man Banksia (Banksia serrata) . Rising up The name Echo Point of course derives from from the valley below is the tinkling call of the the aural echo reflecting off the surrounding Bellbirds. cliffs. Sitting at this elevated point looking out At the base of the stairway we turn left and (as one does at a lookout) at the vast panorama follow the Dardanelles Pass. A giant before us, one ponders echoes of a different Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera) , one of kind. The echoes of geological time involved many in this area, grows beside the track, a tall in forming this magnificent landscape; the narrow triangular opening reveals its dark uplifting and subsequent erosion to form these hollowed base. Soon the canopy begins to majestic cliffs and picturesque valleys. The close as the track leads us into rainforest. echoes through time of the Aboriginal people Filigree fronds of tree ferns catch the light, who once inhabited this land; roaming these their soft green contrasting with the darker plateaux and valleys hunting and gathering tones of nearby foliage. A huge vine, coiling and leaving their marks engraved and painted and curling as it reaches for the tree tops, on the ancient rocks. The echoes of early hangs across the track; it is impossible to pass European explorers and settlers who battled to without reaching up to touch. cross these mountains and establish a life in these unfamiliar and unforgiving surrounds. Presently we reach the Leura Forest. This is a The echoes, more recent, of holidaymakers magical place with moss-shrouded rocks and luxuriating in establishments of art deco boulders, many hosting a variety of tiny ferns, splendour, treading many of the paths we walk scattered across open ground deeply carpeted today, they too left marks in the ancient rocks; with leaf-litter from the towering trees messages of love and of hope, messages enclosing this space. Here the tinkling of the simply declaring their presence in these bellbirds is replaced by the equally pleasant magical mountains. And echoes of our own burbling and gurgling of the Banksia adventures in these captivating mountains, Streamlet which flows through this enchanting exploring ridges and valleys, clifftops and area. What better place to pause for lunch and canyons; gathering images which will echo in allow the sublime beauty of this forest to wash our memory for years to come. over us and seep into our souls. 4 Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group We now take the Federal Pass which runs John C parallel with Dardanelles Pass but at a position further away from the cliff line. This means OUR MAY WALK we are soon walking in more open woodland Friday 20 th May 2011 but the surrounds are no less impressive than A Basalt Capped Peak, Woodland and on our earlier path. Towering Blue Mountains Heath, Panoramic Views and Awe-inspiring Ash and Turpentine are interspersed with Cliffs Angophoras displaying recently revealed new bark in glowing colours of orange and gold. Mount Banks and Banks Wall. One example had a very knobby trunk while We last walked this circuit in June 2006. A nearby there was a perfectly smooth-trunked gentle climb to the summit of the mount, then tree; others carried many dimples in their through open woodland and heath to the edge trunks, such are the variations presented by the of the chasm which is Grose Gorge. Angophoras. Meet at the Mt Banks Picnic Ground off the Continuing along the track we now begin to Bells Line of Road about 4km east of the Mt meet other walkers in this more frequented Wilson turn off at 9.30am or at Merry area; great to see so many younger families Garth at 9.00am. exploring the bushland. A particularly beautiful little mushroom was spotted growing Bring morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. on the embankment. Sitting atop a slender Contact Libby Raines on 4756 2121 (after pure white stem the centre of the cap was a 7pm) or Helen and John Cardy on 9871 purple/mauve colour fading to white at the 3661 or on mobile 0418 646 487 if you need serrated edge; a delightful sight. to leave a message. We arrive at Cooks Crossing (named after Sir ______Joseph Cook, Prime Minister of Australia 1913-14). Here at the base of Katoomba Falls FUTURE WALKS (Tentative schedule) the headwaters of the Kedumba River cascade Friday 17 th June 2011 – Kanangra Walls between huge mossy boulders deposited here th as the cliffs above have collapsed over Friday 15 July 2011 – Govetts Leap to Evans thousands of years. Adjacent to the small Lookout and the Braeside Track bridge grows a tree uncommon in this district, the Black Sassafras or Southern Sassafras BUSH CARE (Atherosperma moschatum) . With the Bush Care is held on the second Friday of accompaniment of the water music we rest each month from 9am to Noon. Any help, here awhile before climbing the slope which even for a short time, would be appreciated delivers us to the base of the Furber Steps both by the other workers and by the native Track. Here some decide to glide effortlessly vegetation. out of the valley on the cable car while the th remainder of the group begin the climb. 13 May 2011 at Wynne Reserve - planting ferns The Furber Steps are named after Thomas th Furber, Government Surveyor who arranged a 10 June 2011 at Galwey Lane near grant for their cost. This track zig zags under Jalscene large rock overhangs and through enclosed 8th July 2011 at Galwey Lane near Rimon forest and affords wonderful views of the Three Sisters and the Katoomba Falls. Back at Contact Libby or Beth Raines on 4756 2121 our start point I overheard Allan Cupitt say to for details Libby: “How fortunate we are to have all this on our doorstep”. How fortunate indeed!