Walkabout
Father and sons resting on what we dubbed Whale Rock as we straddled the Capertee-Wolgan Divide
The three of us stood on a high narrow ridge that spectacularly divided two deep valleys. On our left we looked down into the vast Capertee Valley, stretching as far as the eye could see, bounded by dramatic cliff walls with majestic Pantoneys Crown acting as an island in a sea of green gum forest. On our right lay the Wolgan Valley, our second home, with the Wolgan River flowing peacefully through its centre and the familiar Donkey Mountain perched in the middle of the valley’s floor. This was a scene for the ages, breathtaking beauty all around us and a reminder of how small we really are. And best of all I was able to share it with my two sons.
Dawn at our property created some beautiful colours and brought the kangaroos into close range
Will, Zach and I had set out early that day from our property in the Wolgan Valley with an ambitious plan to climb to the top of the escarpment and then follow the ridge many kilometres through thick bush until we were able to look down on the Capertee Valley. We knew the way up to the top of the cliff line but after that we were relying on our GPS, our determination and a bit of luck to reach our objective.
The thick unmarked bush is a beautiful and peaceful place to explore
Some of the country we passed through was almost impassable such was the dramatic rock formations and steep lines
Hats off to the three of us who made our primary objective of standing on the edge of the Capertee Valley
We got a little off-track a couple of times but by using animal tracks and staying high on the ridge we made good time so that by lunch we stood on the narrow neck of the Capertee-Wolgan Divide and were able to see both magnificent valleys stretching out below us with a simple turn of the head. It honestly doesn’t get any better than that.
Yeah, the views were stunning, just don’t get too close to the edge
We found shade in the Starlight Tunnel deep in the bottom of McLean’s Pass
We followed the ridge a bit further and it seemed each turn uncovered more beautiful surprises, an ancient weather-formed rock sculpture, a deep crevasse that needed careful negotiation, a spectacular view of a 100 metre cliff, a distant horizon marked by the rugged Blue Mountains bush. It was a day that just kept giving.
As we retraced our steps to get back to camp, completing an exhausting nine hour hike up and down the mountains and sometimes through thick bush, we plotted our next attack on this divide between valleys. We want to explore more, go further, see the valleys from new angles. Yes, we’ll be back.
Sections of the walk involved following a ledge at the base of the upper cliffs
Capertee Valley with Pantoney’s Crown taking centre stage
Definitely worth the effort!
We’ve been fortunate to spend quite a bit of time in the bush lately and its been great to explore new areas with family and friends. On the recent October long weekend we had a good sized clan of family members and 11 of us decided to tackle the vertical hike up to the top of Mystery Mountain.
All the gang taking in the panoramic views from the lookout soon to be named Flying Hat Point
The track up to the top of the escarpment involved 300 metres of up up up
This walk started with some serious up, in fact climbing 300 vertical metres up a switchback track, sometimes a bit exposed on the steep cliff line, and stopping for numerous gasps of air and photos of the view. Eventually we made the top and walked out onto a rocky outcrop to enjoy the panoramic views of the lower Wolgan Valley with the camping area and old pub of Newnes sitting peacefully far below us. And with an unexpected gust of wind poor Juliet’s new Akubra hat went flying off into the void far below us, the lookout immediately earning the new name Flying Hat Point.
Our efforts to get to the top were rewarded with dramatic views all around
Lunch on a pagoda was a chance to refuel and revise our plans for the afternoon
We bush-bashed our way along the southern ridge of this dramatic escarpment, taking in the great views looking up the Wolgan Valley and exploring rarely seen terrain. We eventually came to a deep non-negotiable crevasse in the mountain, probably 40 metres deep and ten metres wide, dramatically stopping our forward progress. Time for lunch and to formulate a new plan.
The small team who pushed all the way through the deep crevasse that cut off Mystery Mountain from the rest of the plateau
We decided to follow the northern ridge to see if we could find a way down onto the ledge – carefully – so that we could climb down into that deep gully that had stopped us. So with a bit of exploring, and a few trials and errors, we eventually found a steep cut in the cliffs where we could clamber down and follow the escarpment back around into this deep cut. And yes, with some serious scrambling over huge fallen logs, slippery rocks and thick bush six of us made it into the deep narrow cut, which was only a couple metres wide at its base, and walked through it to the end. Not easy stuff this but a huge prize for us and a great place to turn around before our long walk back down the same way.
Dad with Anna and Will at the bottom of this deep narrow gully – now we just need to get home
There is something special about starting a bush walk in remote country without any knowledge of what we might find, where we might go and how we’ll get back. Yes, we have maps and GPS, that’s a given, but sometimes its just a matter of tracking on a line, going around obstacles, discovering new places and enjoying the experience. And we definitely earned that beer at the end of the day.
This big old dead tree had to go but who was going to win this battle?
Does that tree in the background look nervous?
On this same weekend I decided that a large dead tree that was blocking some of our view at our camping spot on our property had to go. It defiantly survived a couple of false starts but after 15 minutes of a fair battle I eventually taught him a lesson he won’t soon forget.
If you want to watch a short video of this spectacle try this: https://youtu.be/R2SPb3jiLQU.