A family walk in the woods
It’s a bit cold and windy on the top of the escarpment but the views are stunning
The Gardens of Stone National Park is a seldom-visited track of preserved land covering part of the Great Dividing Range northwest of Sydney which now forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area. The park gets its name from the beautiful pagoda rock formations, limestone outcrops and other exposed rock sculptures that are unique to this area. And from our property it is smack-dab in our back yard, a perfect place to explore by 4WD and by foot over a recent long weekend.
Our brave steads rest during a lunch break on top of a ridge
Our mission for the weekend was to explore a couple of remote spots where good four wheel driving and a hearty approach to bush-bashing through the scrub and over rough rocky terrain was required. With perseverance and a heavy dependence on Will’s GPS app we were never too lost and always generally heading in the right direction. And the payoff was that we were able to explore some magnificent country that very few people ever get to see.
One of our targets for the weekend – to find the hidden Wolgan Falls, seen here from behind the top of it.
Father and son in front of one of the many amazing pagoda rock formations that marks this area
The Wolgan River carves an amazing zig-zag path through the limestone, leaving behind vertical cliffs more than 100 metres high
The pagoda rock formations take many amazing shapes but nothing as good as this perfect boot standing sentinel on a high ridge
It wasn’t all hard work bashing our way through the scratchy bush – we occasionally stopped for snacks or lunch
This is why we do it – spectacular views of the escarpment that surrounds Capertee Valley
The Capertee Valley with its landmark butte – Pantoney’s Crown. Julie and I climbed it a couple of months ago.
Another lunch spot with inspirational views
You don’t get this sort of stuff back home
The team (plus Will the photographer) – rugged up against the cold winter breeze
Beautiful blue skies and World Heritage views were the standard of our long weekend in the Gardens of Stone National Park
Perfect reflections on our large dam back at our property where we enjoyed a hot fire and cold beer each night