28 Feb: Albury to Cowra
Not much caught our attention in the guide books between Albury
and the
Blue
Mountains,
so we
decided to
head to
the
mountains
as
quickly
as
possible.
Today was
the first
leg; we
covered
350 km at
an
average
speed
of
79
km/h.
We
stopped
off
at
lunchtime
at the
botanic
gardens in
Wagga
Wagga, New
South
Wales'
largest
inland
city.
There's a
free zoo
with red
and grey
kangaroos,
swamp
wallabies,
donkeys,
emus,
goats,
lots of
birds
(parrots,
cockatoos,
budgies,
corellas
and
lorikeets)
and a
friendly
little
lamb to
stroke.
The girls
also
enjoyed
playing in
Kidsville,
a well
equipped
playground
in the
gardens.
It wasn't
easy
dragging
them away
to
continue
our
journey...!
We'd spotted a free camp spot in a reserve on the riverside a 30
minute
drive SE
of Cowra,
but as we
didn't
arrive in
Cowra
until
17h30,
we
decided
to
take
the
easy
option and
booked
into the
town's
campsite
on the
river.
After a
refreshing
dip in the
river and
an
aperitif
on the
riverbank,
we headed
back to
our
campervan
to do the
girls'
homework
and
barbeque
some
marinated
pork chops
for
dinner.
It
must be
said
that
the
toilets,
be them
public or
campsite,
are
delightfully
clean in
Australia.
France has
a lot to
learn...
1 Mar: Cowra to The Blue Mountains
We didn't see anyone wearing daffodils today, despite it being St
David's
Day! Then
again, it
would be
impossible
to find
daffodils
at
the end
of
the
summer
in
this
dry,
hot
climate!
We left the campground, direction Blackheath in the Blue
Mountains.
At 11 am
we stopped
off at
Bathurst
at the
Australian
Fossil and
Mineral
Museum,
where
there's an
impressive
and very
colourful
collection
of
crystals
and minerals,
including opal
fossilised
shells and
bones;
quite
extraordinary.
There's
even a
skeleton
of a
tyrannosaurus
rex
towering
above the
fossil
collection.
It was
good fun
for all
the
family!
After a
barbeque
lunch in a
park on
the
outskirts
of the
town, we
continued
our drive
to
Blackheath.
After collecting loads of information on nearby walking tracks
and park
camps at
the
National
Park
Visitors
Centre in
Blackheath,
we set off
for our
first walk
in the
Blue
Mountains
from
Govett's
Leap
Lookout,
along the
cliff top
to Evans
Lookout.
This
walk
passes
though
rainforest,
up and
down
steps,
over
waterfalls
and has
beautiful
soaring
views across
the
valley. We
met a
Giant
Dragonfly,
lots of
butterflies
and a huge
sort of
pheasant
along
the
way.
It
took us
2
hours to
complete
the walk
which was
advertised
to take 3;
the girls
are
champion
walkers!
We then drove to Perrys Lookdown, down a secluded dirt track, to
camp the
night. The
sky is
covered
with grey,
menacing
clouds;
the
first
we've seen
in a long
time.
Fingers
crossed they'll
clear
up
before tomorrow.
 |
 |
 |
| Preparing a
BBQ
lunch
in
a
park
in
Bathurst |
The view
across
the
valley
on
the
Govett's
Leap
to
Evans Lookout
walk |
A family shot
at
Evans Lookout |
2 Mar: The Blue Mountains
We drove to Echo Point in Katoomba and dropped in at the visitors
centre for
some
information
on the
local
walks. It
was the
first
time
we'd
had
to pay
for
the
privilege
to park
and at $4
an hour it
isn't
cheap...
We decided
to do a
circuit
from the
Three
Sisters,
down
the
Giant
Stairway,
along
Federal
Pass, up
Furber
Steps and
back
along
the
cliff
top
on
the Prince
Henry
Cliff
Walk.
There are
over
900
steps
down
the
Giant
Stairway
around the
3 pinnacle
rock
formations,
named the
Three
Sisters;
it's
an
impressive
steep
descent
into the
valley.
Gaelle
found it
difficult
hanging on
to the
handrails
in places
with her
left arm,
but
both
girls
walked
like
troopers
down the
steep
steps!
Then a
walk
through
the
rainforest
and ferns
before
reaching
the huge
Katoomba
Falls. The
Furber Steps
climb up
along side
the
waterfall,
with
lovely
views of
the
cascading
waters and
valley.
We ate
our picnic
lunch at
Vera's
Grotto, on
the way
back
up. The
walk took
us two and
a half
hours, but
the steps
had tired
the
girls
out,
so
our
plans
to
do a
second
walk in
the
afternoon
had to be
moderated.
We drove
to Leura
Cascades,
where the
girls
recuperated
on the
swings,
before we
set out
for a 20
minute
walk to
see the
falls.
We asked about camping possibilities at the tourist office and
were
discretely
advised
that the
picnic
area at
Wentworth
Falls Lake
is a nice
unofficial
spot to
spend the
night. It
is a
lovely
spot,
but
unfortunately
it is
written at
every
parking
spot that
camping
and
sleeping
in
vehicles
is
forbidden,
subject to
a maximum
fine of
$500!
As
we feel
uncomfortable
camping
where it's
explicitly
forbidden,
we decided
to head to
one of the
National
Park
campsites
called
Ingar,
about 20km
away. The
last 10km
of the
journey
are via
a
dirt
track,
which is
in such
poor
condition
that there
was no way
that we
could
drive the
campervan
there. So
we ended
up parking
in a
small
clearing
on the
edge of
the dirt
track,
after
struggling
to
turn
the
campervan
around...!
Sticking
to the
rules
doesn't
always
pay
off!
 |
 |
 |
| Katoomba
Falls |
The Three
Sisters |
Leura
Cascades |
3 Mar: The Blue Mountains
We got off to an early start and headed to the Conservation Hut
at
Wentworth
Falls. We
had been
recommended
to do the
Valley of
the
Waters
and
the
National
Pass
walking
track.
This walk
is really
beautiful.
The Valley
of the
Waters
walk has
several
lovely
lookouts
and
waterfalls
which you
walk by
and
sometimes
cross
over. The
National
Pass
walking
track was
built in
1908 and
is on a
ledge
halfway
down the
sheer
cliff
face. Some
of the
path has
been
carved
out
of the
rock,
other
parts are
suspended
walkways.
The views
are
stunning.
We ate our
picnic beside
the
majestic
Wentworth
Falls,
where we
found
many
crayfish
in the
rock
pools.
Then
we
climbed
the
steep
and
high
steps
carved out
of the
rock
face
that
lead
back
up to
the
cliff
top.
Poor
Sophie
had
to
resort
to
all
fours
in
order
to
clamber
up
the
high
steps!
Again,
the
views
are
amazing.
This is
probably
the best
of the
walks in
the
Blue
Mountains.
Then, we took to the road, direction the east coast, to Newcastle
just north
of
Sydney. We
stopped
for a dip
in the sea
next to
Ocean
Baths and
the girls
played on
the beach,
building
sandcastles
and
chasing
seagulls. We
then moved
the
campervan
to a
car park
/ picnic
area at
Nobbies
beach,
where we
prepared a
barbeque
dinner and
settled down
for the
night.
 |
 |
 |
| Falls down
Valley
of
the
Waters |
Along the
National
Pass |
The sheer
cliffs
between
the
Valley
of
the
Waters
and
Wentworth Falls
(The
National
Pass follows
the
cliffs half
way
down
the
cliff
face) |
BACK
| 
