Date: 3+4/11/2024
Trip leader: Terry
Party: Chenghan, Marion, Trevor, Yoon Hee
Several people are free over the weekend and thought it’d be a good idea to do a camping trip. A rough plan of going somewhere around the Capertee area on the Castlereagh Hwy was devised, and an Expression of Interest was published yet with no solid plan. It was when my friend came to my place for laundry that I asked him to plan the trip for me in exchange for free laundry. Putting together some places that he considers good a plan for a 2-day trip came forward. That area is one of my favourites and also his favourite, giving this trip a few cool spots to visit.
Crossing the Blue Mountains to Lithgow we join the Castlereagh Hwy to the north. It’s a much more scenic drive with less traffic than the Great Western Hwy to Bathurst, but the traffic flow of that day has been fairly slow for some reason averaging much lower than the speed limit. A freight train idles at Ben Bullen Station- a small place with just a small train station shed and a few hundred residents. Ben Bullen sounds Scottish but is an Aboriginal name meaning high, quiet place. Much of the settlements along this highway are small and quiet, though not the most picturesque with fairly basic buildings, as the highway climbs in elevation up to Capertee. British accent guides you to pronounce Car-par-tee but apparently in the local pub, it’s pronounced Cae-per-tee.
Shortly two cars reached the start of Valley of Dinosaurs track. The first section was a fairly steep climb up a fire trail gaining a few hundred meters in elevation. Warm weather and loose gravel on the fire trail added difficulty to the seemingly easy hillclimb, with us appearing to slide backwards every step we took. Reaching the top of the plateau everything became slightly easier. We continued down the fire trail and branched off to a small walking track towards the ultimate slot, a dry canyon which constricts to a narrow point barely passable by a person. It got cooler as we headed deeper into the canyon giving much-needed relief from the hot summer day. Ferns and tall trees add to this very scenic canyon.
The narrow crack of the ultimate slot leads to a decent-sized room where we had a short break. One who came along only bought a Coles sandwich for this trip and realised her package was damaged. Pulling out her phone from a Kmart sleeping bag stuff sack improvised as a backpack saw a lot of debris over the camera lens. Initially thinking her lens was cooked, it then looked like those cutesy phone cases from Parramatta Rd handcraft shops and then realised it was egg from her Coles sandwich. She then decided to dispose of the sandwich leaving no food for the rest of the day.
Getting back to the fire trail we continued down trying to search for a track that leads onto the ridge top. At the point where that track is supposed to start all was seen is overgrown bush and a dry creek that resembles a waterway more than a track. We turned back, finishing the day with the Valley itself. The fire trail walk was more scenic than expected with ferns scattering on both sides. We had lunch midway on the fire trail where I finished up some instant noodles in my cupboard.
Going off the fire trail again on the way to Valley of the Dinosaurs. We lost the track shortly after and decided to bash a way straight to the valley. The track on my map goes around a rock which I thought would be much quicker to scramble up and cut across. Pagoda country are particularly easy for beginners to rock scramble with the abundance of ledges to step on. Once across we went straight towards the gully bashing through bush and down at the gully we were joined by the track once again. Bush bashing was pleasant for beginners, unlike Kanangra which we went to a few weeks ago.
The valley is certainly one of the best things to do around Sydney- a sea of ferns coupled with a few tall trees squishing their way out of a canyon, with irregular rock walls resembling pagodas and perhaps dinosaurs. It’s decently challenging and the scenery is rewarding. Few tracks transverse across the bush leading to various clear spots formed within clusters of shorter trees. They remind me of my rural clinical placement in Bundaberg where I spend my weekend sunbathing on the riverbank by those trees looking like a meeting point. We took a spur to the left where the canyon starts constricting as it goes upwards. Exactly what we wanted to reach the top where the canyon exit is. The bush got denser as we headed up but a clear track is still visible.
The track soon leads to a rock scramble. While fairly easy for most of us it is nowhere beginner-friendly. We had a short discussion, being a bit concerned of the beginner and decided to go for it. I headed up first relying on the walls towards the side and a steady tree branch on top to scramble through. The beginner went soon having people from the bottom and the top to support her through. She made it nice and quick with a bit of support yet worst case a bit of a push from those beneath makes a big difference. Most people are fine scrambling with very minimal guidance and this is often what makes a trip enjoyable.
After the scramble, the valley smoothens up towards the fire trail. Going down the fire trail leads to Genowlan trig point where we proceeded to more bushbashing for a scenic lookout. Genowlan is pronounced very similar to Jenolan (as in Jenolan Caves)- very different in locations but probably Aboriginal names meaning the same thing- high place. Everyone went forward to the lookout despite me suggesting that they could wait at the trig point if they wished.
The lookout gave clear views to Pantoneys Crown- a true jewel standing out of all the surrounding hills. A slightly different face of the mountain from the lookout on main highway yet equally impressive. The Capertee Canyon seen over here is the second largest canyon in the world, which not everyone agrees it’s a canyon. Back to the fire trail we went down to another scenic spot before calling it a day. Scrambled up a rock for some cool views of the pagoda and soon the beginner joined in fearing FOMO. There are pagodas on one side and round-shaped rocks on the other, looking like bald men scattering across the mountain. On the fire trail down we spotted a snake which ran away before he could take a picture.
Back on the car we went back to the main highway and proceeded down to Kandos via Bylong Valley Way. The beginner had no food left after losing the Coles sandwich and going to IGA in Kandos will be a great way to stock up. The road down to Kandos is fairly scenic crossing through open fields and cattle farms. Kandos- once a mining town it’s now a dead place with mines closing and job opportunities dwindling. Prices in IGA are fairly reasonable where we got some fresh meat for dinner. While the IGA is nowhere dodgy the town feels fairly scary for some, as one saw an apparently intoxicated person step out of IGA and drive away in his car. My friend who planned the trip calls it scenic- true for the drive but unfortunately most regional NSW towns look exactly like this. Dead streets, abandoned buildings and random people roaming around.
Out of Kandos was an open valley full of cattle- sheep, cows etc. The sealed road extends to a rocky gorge leading towards Dunns Swamp campground. The river at the campground looks swampy where only a few spots have clear unobstructed access to the water. We went on a short swim before sunset. Swimming in remote rivers feels really refreshing with rocky shores over the backdrop.
Using some firewood from the campground we gathered around and made our dinner. A lot of possums reside around the campground which became problematic campground animals feeding on human leftovers. The possums have gotten so used to humans coming close without fear. Gradually I figured out a way to traumatise the possums- chasing them over to their trees and as they escape kicking hard onto the trees scaring them further. The possums never came back for the rest of the night and we could enjoy our food in peace. We had some mountain culture beer while the beginner got some bogan beer from IGA. Still, the possums took some food- ate some chips and leftovers of tomato sauce. A few of us went on a night walk along the river bank as we walked 10 minutes down to Platypus Point. It was a cloudy night and not much could be seen over the skies. As we went back we were told that the traumatised possums came down as soon as I left. After a bit of re-traumatisation, our campsite went possum-free for the rest of the night, as they hid in the trees.
Waking up the next day I did a quick scramble up to the rocks at the back of the campground. A very short walking track goes around doable in 5 minutes but was advertised to be a 15 minute walk. A few elderly people walked along who probably would need 15 minutes to complete the walk. The full group went along the river and scrambled up to a lookout on top of a few pagodas. Great scenery of the river, swamp and nearby wilderness. It was a cloudy day and the power line was a bit of an eyesore yet it’s something we’ve never seen before.
The beginner decided to rest and wait for us to come back and the rest of us continued down the walk. There’s a decent-looking dam and a long cave which looks pretty long. We continued with a swim at Platypus Point while the beginner left early needing to be back for work. The river was decently wide at probably 60m between the two banks. Swimming alongside currents took more energy than an indoor pool but it’s still a unique experience having such massive bodies of water to swim in. Few laps on the river, envying kayakers staying fresh and dry and started our drive home.
A short detour around Glen Alice Rd before heading back to the main highway back home. A few scenic views on the road as the canyon shows its full height towards Glen Davis. At Lithgow, we took a break at Mcdonald’s and I got a grimace shake meal- apparently it’s for big kids which sounds like a good fit. The drive home isn’t long but it’s always good to stick to the one break every 2 hours rule. The folk from Xi’an (city in China known for its ancient culture and heritage) was driving us and I finally got a chance to share the cringe camel show and people trying to sell gloves at the base of a mountain.
