Megalong Ledges

I'm often amazed at how many excellent classic walks there are in the Blue Mountains which were completely unknown to me beforehand, and not in the usual repertoire of my bushwalking club.  My more adventurous Thursday group have knowledge of many more places, and yesterday some of us checked out another one of these.

It's known as the 'Megalong Ledges', and you go from Medlow Bath to Katoomba along a series of ledges half way down the cliffs above the Megalong Valley. The ledges are mostly quite wide and safe, and there are usually trees around you, so it's not so scary.

Near the start is a fine little rock formation, called the 'Three Brothers', because of their uncanny resemblance to the larger Three Sisters at Katoomba. Here's 'Brother Harold', making it four.




A bit to the north and at the top, the historic Hydro Majestic Hotel.









The ledges proper now. Always scenic, often very colourful, and usually with excellent views of the valley below.

Needless to say, it's a rock-climbers' paradise around here. There are climbing bolts everywhere. Maybe in the next life I'll be able to get interested in that pursuit. Not now though. It's fun enough anyway around here even with your feet on (fairly) solid ground.

Brother Paul here isn't a rock climber either, but he's climbed more mountains than almost anyone else in the world. See his extremely informative blog here: http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/

Flying Carpet!

I know, this blog is supposed to be about exploring Sydney. As in the relatively unknown suburbs and odd little pockets and attractions in and around the city. And I will get back there, honestly. But I keep getting distracted by terrific bushwalking experiences, spectacular discoveries, plus the odd overseas journey.

This week's distraction was the amazing Flying Carpet, a fabulous, and to some, slightly terrifying, rocky outcrop in the Gardens of Stone National Park. It juts out of the cliff line above the Carne Creek valley, part of it is only a metre or so wide, and there are cliffs stretching hundreds of metres above and below you!

And it does indeed seem a bit like you're flying on a magic rocky carpet above the valley.

Six of us headed out very early in the morning, and drove out to a secret parking spot where the adventure begins. Such is the quality of this amazing wilderness experience that I'd like to do my bit to keep it relatively unknown, so I'm not going to divulge the exact location!

We consulted our various maps, track notes, and GPS devices (no two of which ever agree on much!) Then off through the bush, down an easy pass through the cliff line, and hugging the cliff bottom, we progressed along ledges, and past photogenic caves, canyons, and slots.

We came across an interesting little snake that none of us could immediately identify. Looked a bit like one of the (non venomous) pythons, but smaller and with somewhat unfamiliar patterns. It turned out to be a Broad-headed snake, Hoplocephalus bungaroides. According to one Sydney University site I consulted, it's Australia's most endangered snake, and there's some suggestion that venomous snakes such as this one evolve to mimic non-venomous ones, so they can surprise unsuspecting prey! (And I'd been unsuspecting at the time, confidently taking my photos until it ran away.)


Rounding one of the protrusions out of the cliff above, we looked up and identified our prime destination. Then it was a steep scramble up, aided by climbing tapes affixed first by two of our more assured freeform climbers, and onto the platform itself.

There's a slightly tricky bit as you walk out onto the thing, and some of the party members weren't too proud to accept a bit of help here. Some were fine with it all though, and one fellow couldn't resist hamming it up slightly for the camera, as evidenced below!

 (Some photos courtesy Saf Barbour)