Return to Hanging Rock

Hanging Rock is one of the most visited places in the Blue Mountains, thanks largely to social media. Every backpacker wants to get out there, jump across the scary gap, and perch on the narrow nose for a while, with the event appropriately recorded and posted.. Some even do base jumps or tight rope acts (look up a few YouTube videos if you really want to scare yourself!)






I took the precaution of giving my group a severe (but totally superfluous!) talking to about the perils of such activities, as spelled out on the official sign.

Strangely, it's not so well known among traditional bushwalkers, such as the members of my bushwalking club. So I like to take groups out there now and again to show them what they're missing.

It's a fairly mundane five kilometre walk out to it along a fire trail. When you get to Burramoko Head and the Baltzer Lookout you get the most spectacular views across the Grose Valley, amazing cliffs all around. And to the left and below, there is Hanging Rock, halfway detached from the cliff, and with a gap of a metre or so separating them.







Last time I went there three of the party made it across the gap, and the other three got stuck at various points along the final descent. This time only two of us did the jump, one of us even sitting for a while on that narrow nose rock. One stayed at the very top, designating herself the official long-distance photographer.

(Black & white photography courtesy Molly Huang)






The chap in red isn't me, but the black & white one is!

Jinki & Jungaburra revisited

I joined the bushwalkers on Saturday for a return visit to Jinki Ridge and Jungaburra Brook in the Blue Mountains. I wrote about our first visit two years ago here: 2017 visit

It's a gloriously scenic area and provides a satisfactorily challenging bushwalking circuit.

Here's the view across to the southern side of the Grose Valley. The pointy peak is Burramoko Head, and down to the right a bit is the infamous Hanging Rock. That's where I'll be taking a group in a couple of weeks time. Here's a piece on last year's Hanging Rock visit: 2018 Hanging Rock visit

On this trip we encountered people who were indeed hanging off rocks. There's a rock-climbing location called the Bell Supercrag. A couple of rock climbers were super-climbing up the crag, above Jungaburra Brook. There was a horrific scream at one stage. We couldn't see what had happened, but the occasional rock-climber within our party pronounced that it was indeed the sound of someone who'd had a fall. We also had a senior intensive-care specialist within our group (we're like that - a skilled and diversified bunch of bushwalkers). She decided it wasn't quite the sound of a serious injury. When we got close enough to talk to the climbers, now perched on a ledge above us, they cheerily told us everything was OK. So I think one had indeed fallen, got to dangle on his rope for a while, and then recovered and got down again.

We had a minor injury in our party. No rock-climbing involved here. Just a scrape against a protruding boulder.





One of most fun bits was climbing up out of the gorge via the ropes and steel rungs. Much easier this way though than what the rock climbers do.

Hanging Rock: picnics, poseurs, and panic

My Thursday adventure bushwalking group has been talking about Hanging Rock for quite a while. It's a smallish bushwalk, but quite high in the adventure stakes. Some people just can't bring themselves to jump over THAT GAP. And as for that narrow little pointy platform at the end.......

We finally made it last week, and gee it was worth it. The views over the Grose Valley are magnificent, and the buzz you get from conquering the thing! Specially when half the party chicken out and stop well short.

Let's be honest, the jump across 'that gap' is pretty easy. Nobody falls down it. People have died though, doing slack rope walks and base jumps. It's really easy to spook yourself in these situations though. Best just to walk up to the gap and jump without looking down. You can do that afterwards.

There are lots of excellent videos of people's Hanging Rock exploits. Do a quick search of 'Hanging Rock Blue Mountains', and you'll see all the crazy scary stuff first. I like the slightly less scary ones myself, like the 'training videos' I forgot to show my fellow walkers before our expedition. Here's a nice one, almost designed to put you off:

Click here: Scaredy-cats video

There's also a very unbushwalkerly looking lady, Melinda, who's produced a whole stack of  'bushwalker training videos'. She's busy selling make-up and lipstick, I notice, but she's doing a great job promoting our sport too! 

Click here: Melinda's visit

Photo credits: Paul (4th photo), Fiona (5th photo)