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Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group Volume 19 Issue 8 August 2009 LEURA CASCADES TO GORDON FALLS glistened as they tumbled over the many rock terraces and dropped into the sandy- OUR JULY bottomed pool at our feet. After taking our fill of this tranquil WALK scene we retraced our steps up the creek line, noting along the LEURA CASCADES to way the remnants of path lights GORDON FALLS, POOL OF remaining from the days when SILOAM, LYREBIRD DELL the cascades were floodlit. th We turned onto the regally Friday 17 July 2009 titled Prince Henry Cliff Walk which was opened in two Winter in the Bush This promised to be a many stages; the Katoomba end in faceted walk; features we would 1934 and the Gordon Falls end encounter today allude to royalty, in 1936. Henry, Duke of biblical tales, treachery, murder, warfare, Gloucester was a son of King George V and tribal culture, botanical mysteries and more. became Governor General of Australia in Throw in some touches of kitsch, imposing 1945. He did however have an earlier intimate views, abundant natural beauty and a good day association with the Blue Mountains, visiting seemed assured. Katoomba in 1934; the scheduled ten minute Twenty walkers set off, with Libby back stop at the railway station extending to a full leading the group and Beth, her daughter, to twenty minutes. According to The Katoomba join us later in the day. We moved past the Daily of the time “…. a very gay crowd, with mock rock arch and the fake stone toilet. pulses beating fast in anticipation …. united to These and similar imitation stone structures, form an atmosphere of brightness and situated at several locations in the mountains, cordiality which could not have been evoke for me a sense of the recreational excelled.” activities in the area of early last century. They We made our way along the eastern cliffline may well fall into the kitsch category yet I do above the creek. Passing a towering Cedar hope they will continue to be protected. Wattle (Acacia elata) we entered a bower of (Banksia spinulosa) We made our way down the path beside Leura arching Hairpin Banksia Falls Creek and gathered below the rock then skirted around some rock shelters and overhang which affords a great view back up made our way past the area known as Flying the course of the Leura Cascades. On this Fox Lookout. This spot is so named because sunny day the copious waters from recent rain material was once lowered from this point by 2 Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group flying fox to the now defunct sewerage plant Rock and gained a reputation as being a great below. place from which to dispatch traitors. How a Soon we divert to the right onto a narrow track rock outcrop in the Australian bush, on the that delivers us to Bridal Veil Lookout. This other side of the world, came to take on the narrow vantage point perched on the cliff edge name I’m unsure, nor am I sure whether any gives a stunning view of the falls; a narrow virgins have been thrown from this point to ribbon of water plunges down the left hand test its effectiveness; the view however is side of the cliff face while to the right a veil of fantastic. water spreads thinly across the broad sloping The imposing form of Mount Solitary rock face. In the foreground, clinging to the dominates the centre of this view, its cliff below us, are several Grass Trees impressive cliff faces dropping vertically to (Xanthorrhoea sp) their dark scapes thrusting the talus slopes below. Kings Tableland, skyward from tufts of long elegantly sitting atop the Kedumba Walls, stretches into cascading leaves. the distance at the left of the scene leading the The area beside the track just above this eye to the distant forms of Mount Jellore and lookout appeared an ideal place to indulge in Mount Gibraltar (The Gib) in the Southern morning tea. We sat surrounded by a plethora Highlands. Below Castle Head the craggy of native vegetation. Red Five-corners parapets of the Ruined Castle nestle on the (Styphelia tubiflora) display a smattering of ridgeline which sweeps across to the right of tubular flowers with their projecting stamens, Mount Solitary. Conesticks (Petrophile pulchella) carry many Cedar Valley lies between this ridge and the ovate cones clinging to their stems, clusters of cliffs of Narrow Neck Plateau. The young white flowers sit atop the stems of the English backpacker, Jamie Neale, had spent Woollsia (Woollsia pungens) . Many Old Man eleven nights lost in this wild area undetected Banksia (Banksia serrata) , Mountain Devils by the many people who gave so much of their (Lambertia formosa) and several varieties of time searching for him. Thankfully, only a few Tea-tree including the Flaky-barked Tea-tree days prior to this walk, he emerged from the (Leptospermum trinervium) crowd the usually unforgiving bush near Medlow Gap at understorey beneath a low canopy containing the far end of Narrow Neck Plateau; a very Cliff Mallee Ash (Eucalyptus cunninghamii) . lucky and apparently resourceful individual At ground level the sun glints off the indeed. convoluted glossy green stems of the Old Continuing on we pass rock shelters on our Mans Whiskers or Curly Sedge (Caustis left housing rather forlorn looking old seats flexuosa) ; what a fine place this is to relax while off to the right glimpses of the distant awhile. views can be seen through gaps in the Our next diversion takes us to Tarpeian Rock vegetation. Closer at hand the pure white Lookout. The rock platform here is decorated terminal flower heads of the Slender Rice with an amazing pattern of raised swirls of Flowers (Pimelia linifolia) are beginning to ironstone standing above the weathered emerge while an occasional Epacris reclinata sandstone. clings to the rock ledges displaying tiny Now picture this; a young vestal virgin betrays tubular red flowers. In more open areas the the ancient Romans to a hostile tribe from deep gold blossom of the Sunshine Wattle (Acacia terminalis) central Italy, the Sabines. Understandably, the decorates the setting. Romans are not particularly overjoyed by this As I looked back to the now distant Tarpeian and take the girl to a high rock outcrop and it’s Rock Lookout a lone figure stood there not to show her the view - they toss her to her waving, returning the courtesy I continued death. The young girl’s name was Tarpeia, along the track. It transpired that the waving thus the outcrop became known as Tarpeian figure was Libby’s daughter Beth and my 3 Mt Wilson Mt Irvine Bushwalking Group myopic view of the scene failed to discern it We continue on past Elysian Rock (named was her, let alone that her hand signals after a place of perfect happiness in Greek indicated she intended to stop there for a quick mythology) through open forest and heath and drink and would catch up to us shortly. around Inspiration Point. A shady stretch of We move into a more sheltered area where track containing many Soft Tree-ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) moisture seeps from the hanging swamps delivers us to the turn above. Passing an impressive stand of Blue off to Gordon Falls Lookout; despite its name Mountains Ash (Eucalyptus oreades) we reach this lookout has only very limited views of the Fernery Cave nestling in a small pocket of falls but offers a fantastic panorama of the rainforest. Here Coachwood (Ceratopetalum Jamison Valley. apetalum) and Black Wattle (Callicoma Beside more examples of those kitsch mock serratifolia) thrive in the moist environment rock structures we stopped for lunch in while a wide variety of ferns crowd below the Gordon Falls Park. rock overhang. After lunch we follow the path down toward Presently we arrived at Olympian Rock Gordon Creek. This track initially passes Lookout, named after the home of the gods of through a grove of magnificent Heath Banksia ancient Greece. The sun god Apollo must have (Banksia ericifolia) and as we drop deeper into been home today, we spent quite some time the moist gully the track is lined with Dragons here soaking up his gifts though Zephyrus Tails (Dracophyllum secundum) and Fishbone added a little west wind. Beth caught up with Water-fern (Blechnum nudum) . Beside a us at this point and we lingered here awhile towering cliff face aerial roots from trees high taking in the glorious scene before us. This above hang dripping wet in the moist point offered a quite different perspective of environment. the Three Sisters and meandering creases in Soon we arrived at the Pool of Siloam, named the thick canopy of the forest below traced the after a biblical reference to a pool in Jerusalem courses of Gordon and Leura Falls Creeks. where sight was bestowed upon the blind. This Leaving the home of the gods we proceed spot certainly opened one’s eyes to the beauty through some heath, round a point where the of nature. A silver band of water tumbled rock face above contains some extraordinary down a dark rock face and splashed into a patterns and presently arrive at Buttenshaw clear sand-rimmed pool. The rock beside the Bridge. This bridge, which crosses a deep fall was clothed in lush green moss; King ravine, is named after E.A. Buttenshaw who, Ferns (Todea barbara) overarched the stream as Minister for Lands, opened this section of leading from the pool. the Prince Henry Cliff Walk in 1936. The We then headed upstream to the large rock views from this bridge, both down into the shelters at Lyrebird Dell.

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