Waratahs, Wollemi Pines, and the Illawarra Escarpment

It was the last Sunday in winter, and one of those glorious Sydney winter days. There were a ludicrous number of them this year. Where better to be than on the Illawarra Escarpment Walk, looking down on places like Stanwell Park, Colecliff, and Scarborough?

We were on the lookout for wild waratah flowers. Should have been some out by now, we thought, and we'd come across lots along here in the past. Our state's floral emblem can be a little unpredictable and elusive though.

We did come across one fine specimen, but it was in the garden of the cafe at Sublime Point, so maybe doesn't count.


One (somewhat unexpected) floral discovery was a Wollemi Pine tree. This is the 'dinosaur tree', not seen for 70 million years, since it went extinct in dinosaur times, or so they thought. It had been hiding from the dinosaurs in remote canyons in the Wollemi National Park until its rediscovery about 20 years ago. It has since come out of hiding, and managed to get itself widely propagated and dispersed around the joint, by the helpful modern humans. It doesn't plan to go extinct again any time soon.















Below: Looking south to Wollongong, Port Kembla, and beyond

Liverpool 2170

Cabramatta 2166

Our very own Grand Canyon

We've got our very own Grand Canyon in the Blue Mountains near Blackheath, I went back for a return visit last Sunday, and it was looking better than ever, thanks to recent track renovations and a bit of light rain earlier in the morning.

We started from Evans Head, then went out onto a very fine lookout above the Horse Track, where you can survey the much bigger canyons and valleys below. There's a more-than-sheer drop of several hundred metres below, but I somehow don't get scared when it's all good, safe, solid cliff. (It's a different matter when it's about loose and slippery surfaces, or hanging onto dubious handholds!)

Anyway, the main Grand Canyon Circuit is safe and solid, involves only about 200m in descents and then ascents, and takes three to four hours. We added a bit onto this with our side trips to the cliff top, and to the canyon floor proper (not on the signposted tourist track).

What our Grand Canyon lacks in sheer size, it does make up for in beauty! Beautiful waterfalls, rainforest vegetation, caves and cliff overhangs. It's an altogether nice place to visit.






 
A worthy little leg stretch, a positive experience for anyone of moderate fitness, much recommended.




















 

On the trail of North West Rail (Part 1)

Sydney's new train arrives in Cherrybrook. It's even got passengers. There they are below!

Alas, the North West Rail Link is a few years away still, and the happy passengers aren't actually riding on their single-deck, driverless, Metro train. They're two dimensional ones on a poster at the station construction site.

At least there is finally something happening to extend the suburban train network. Tunnels are being bored right now between Epping and Bella Vista, and the line will then go to Rouse Hill and beyond on an overhead section.

There are contentious issues around it all though. Such as that it will be deliberately incompatible with the current double-decker train system, and that it will be given to a private company to run. The shiny new Epping to Chatswood line, recently built by us taxpayers and running beautifully, will be given to the private operator too. Passengers from the north west, who will have been coaxed away from their current fast direct express bus services, will have to change trains at Chatswood, and then probably stand for the rest of their trip into the city. Passengers from the stations between Hornsby and Epping, who currently get direct services to the city, will probably have to change trains TWICE once this thing is going.

I thought it was time to do my tour of inspection of progress to date. Most of us have a soft spot for trains after all. I headed first to the Cherrybrook site, where I was able to peer in on the opening to a big hole, around which was lots of activity, a conveyor bringing up a steady stream of pulverised Sydney sandstone, and curved concrete sections which were clearly to become the tunnel lining.

The photo of said concrete sections had to be taken through a tiny accidental gap in the surrounding wall. There were serious looking signs forbidding unauthorised entry to the site, and there were none of the usual viewing holes that you get at so many building sites. It was almost like they aren't very proud of what they're doing.



It was the same story at the other  station sites I checked out. The Bella Vista Berlin Wall is pictured on the right.


Here's the project's official website, with maps and things:  http://nwrail.transport.nsw.gov.au/  (It's rather good actually - there are simulated train rides and things so you can join the other happy passengers already!)

Rennies Tunnel - 'inadvisable to enter'

My Thursday bushwalking group had another great little adventure the other day. We used to call

ourselves the 'Famous Five', but then became the 'Thursday surveyors'. Actually there were only three of us on this trip, and it was a Friday rather than a Thursday, but that just shows how flexible we can be.

We did the traverse of Rennies Tunnel - a relatively little known 400m long shortcut right through Katoomba's Narrowneck Peninsula. It used to be part of the route for shale oil rock being hauled out to Katoomba from the mines on the Megalong Valley side. The entrances were blocked off when the mines closed, but seem to have become (just) negotiable again, to slimmer bushwalkers at least.

And it's horrible. It's wet, muddy, and claustrophobic, the ceiling is very low in places, making it necessary to be physically very flexible, or to crawl through the slime and effectively bring to an end the useful life of the clothes you're wearing at the time. There have been partial collapses of the ceiling, and there's a bat colony (which we somehow missed). There's a half-hearted but somewhat sad official looking barrier at the start, and there have been pronouncements from sensible authorities that it is 'inadvisable to enter'.

We don't always take sensible advice. In fact, I have to admit that I'm a bit of a repeat offender, in that I did the thing once before, about 17 years ago in fact, and swore I'd never do it again, so uncomfortable was the experience.



Here we are, manoeuvring our way through the very restricted section just before the exit hole.




After emerging into the light, we spent some time enjoying the blissful relief, and adjusting our attire. The plastic shoes and plastic bags had done their job, sort of. Then it was off again, through the bush, around in circles for a while as we surveyed various alternative routes (for next time?!) to the Water Board ladders.

We knew well that the Water Board ladders were no longer the preferred option for ascending the cliffs and returning to where we started at the top. They had  been removed, all the signs said. In fact only the top and bottom bits had been removed, and I got the feeling that some of the rock-climbing adventurers who come here were still finding ways to use them. Not for us though - we'd had quite enough adventure for one day, and went up via the more conventional Devils Hole route.

So an excellent day out. Rennies Tunnel (or the Mt Rennie Tunnel, as it's also known) cuts straight through the peninsula below, at roughly its narrowest point. The big question now is will I be back in 17 years time to do it once more?


(Some pictures courtesy Paul)