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Tag: Bush Walking

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Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park West Head Beach

West Head Beach Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

The West Head area of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park has some wonderful bush walks with fantastic views over the surrounding waterways.

Driving into the park you get to see lots of natural scenery, whilst on a good sealed road. The road has a lot of hills – with poor visibility at times, this mainly refers to the huge amount of cyclists (there were groups and dozens of single riders on the road).  We had to  drive slowly as it was not always safe to pass then.

We chose to do the Red Hands Track and Resolute Track to West Head Beach. There is plenty of parking available in a well sign posted car park. For us the first track was a little disappointing, with uninspiring bush land and badly damaged aboriginal hand stencils. The second walk however made  up for it, being a challenging  grade 4 walk. We liked it because is provided a different challenge to the ordinary tracks,with more unpredictable laid out paths and natural rock formations that we needed to navigate to continue on the walk. At the same time it was still easy to find your way through. At the beginning of the tracks, there are maps with details of each walk. On the tracks, you will be rewarded with an amazing views, beaches, wildlife, and Australian bush scenery.

Red Hands Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Red Hands

West Head Lookout

The walk commenced at the West Head Lookout, which has great views.  Take a look at the picture below! We spent some time here enjoying the views over Broken Bay before, planning our walk on the Resolute Track.

View From West Head Lookout Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
View From West Head Lookout

Resolute Track to West Head Beach

The Resolute Track took us through great bush scenery, climbing over rocks, enjoying varied stops to look out at the different views as we descended to the bottom towards West Head Beach. The track continues past the beach, but we turned here to walk down and enjoy all this little beach offered. 
The steps down and back up are steep, but the reward is a lovely little remote beach, with scenic inlet views and yacht watching.  If the weather is good, you could take your bathers and have a swim.  The walk is very hilly so wear good waking shoes, to protect your feet.  You can take your shoes off to walk in the water.

Walking around the beach we found some amazing weathered rocks looking like honeycombs as well as some great views over the water. We were the only ones there on our visit,  We sat on the rocks and had a bite to eat, it was very peaceful.

The return walk to the lookout was very steep, but we stopped regularly to enjoy the natural surroundings and take some photos.

  • Steps Going Down Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
    Steps Going Down
  • Steps Going Up Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
    Steps Going Up
  • West Head Beach Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
    West Head Beach
  • Honey Comb Rock West Head Beach Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
    Honey Comb Rock

The Resolute Track and West Head Beach were beautiful and we really enjoyed the opportunity to spend the morning walking, savouring the great scenery and the amazing  views in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park

Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park

Dunns Swamp

Dunns Swamp in the  Wollemi National Park is a beautiful lake rather than a swamp and is a great place to camp, bush walk or go swimming. Located only 30 minutes from Kandos, it is a great getaway for a day trip or overnight stay. Created by the Kandos Weir, the lake is full of bird life and surrounded by reeds and trees, making it a really beautiful place.

Campsites are available for overnight stays as well as plenty of day visitor parking. The camp site has covered eating areas and toilets available for use.

  • Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Dunns Swamp
  • Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Dunns Swamp
  • Walking Track Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Walking Track

Pagoda Lookout

As well as the lake, bush walking is available around the area. We chose to walk to the long cave, while looking at the Kandos Weir and pagoda lookout on the way. The turn off to pagoda lookout is about 1km from the camp ground. This short 150m Walk is marked for experienced bush walkers only, so be careful if you decide to do it. The difficulty is because of the steep rock faces, narrow paths and lack of barriers at the cliff faces. The view from the top is great and you are able to see some of the weathered rock formations that look like pagoda temples.

  • Pagoda Lookout Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Pagoda Lookout
  • View From Pagoda Lookout Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    View From Pagoda Lookout

Kandos Weir

The walk then continues along the Cudgegong River, which gives you some excellent views of the surrounding bush land. Several sections of steep stairways need to be negotiated, with two sections also having handrails and chains to assist going up and down. The Kandos Weir is a concrete dam wall and spillway. Unfortunately access onto the dam wall is prohibited, but you can walk to the base of the downstream face of the dam. From here it is possible to take some great pictures,

  • Kandos Weir Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Kandos Weir
  • Kandos Weir Spillway Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    The Spillway at Kandos Weir
  • Kandos Weir Down Stream Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Kandos Weir Down Stream

Long Cave

The long cave is only a few hundred metres from the weir, along a flat access road. The cave is really a rock overhang that has the base eroded by the river when it floods. So don’t expect to see a cave. It is still an interesting spot to investigate and take pictures.

  • Long Cave Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Long Cave Dunns Swamp
  • Long Cave Track Dunns Swamp Wollemi National Park
    Track to Long Cave

Dunns Swamp is a great place to visit either for a day trip or a camping expedition. There are other walks in the area besides those we did that would keep you entertained.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park

Entrance to Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park

Glow Worm Tunnel

The Glow Worm Tunnel is located in the Wollemi National Park. There are several ways to get to the tunnel, but we chose the one from Lithgow and via the Glow Worm Tunnel Road. This option was an hour’s drive from Lithgow with a 20-minute walk.

The tunnel is a disused rail tunnel originally built to access the Newness industrial area. With a realignment of the rail line it was never used. Instead it has been colonised by glow worms and become a tourist attraction.

Getting There

The road in is all dirt and when we used it was in need of maintenance because of the numerous pot holes. At times it is very narrow, and you must stop to let other vehicles pass coming from the other way. The road is passable by two-wheel drive vehicles, but you will need to be careful. On the drive in you pass through some old cuttings not much wider than the road, giving a great additional experience to the drive. You also have to drive through an old tunnel which is even more fun.

  • Road into Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Road into Glow Worm Tunnel
  • Old Rail Tunnel Before Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Road Through Old Rail Tunnel

The Glow Worm Tunnel Road takes you all the way to a car park, where the road ends and the walking track begins. This car park is very small, with limited spaces. We arrived very early and were the first there. When we left, the car park was full, and cars were parking on the access road in, further narrowing the road. One person brought a camper trailer in and had great difficulty turning it around.

Walking Track

The walk to the tunnel is fairly easy, but with several sets of steps to negotiate. Being a National Parks and Wildlife responsibility, it is well maintained. Walking in provides some great photo opportunities as the walkways and surrounding bush look amazing.

  • Steps to Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Steps to Glow Worm Tunnel

The Glow Worm Tunnel

The tunnel is stated as 400m long and horseshoe shaped, although it didn’t seem that long to us. Maybe it meant 400m return. We walked through the tunnel without spotting any glow worms, possibly because of the noise made by some people. The advice given about the tunnel, is to be quiet so as not to scare them. The far side of the tunnel was very pretty with a small creek and ferns. After looking around for a while we retraced our steps and stopped half way in. With torches off and after a short wait, the glow worms came out and we were treated to a great sight.

  • Entrance to Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Entrance to Glow Worm Tunnel
  • Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
  • Far Side of Glow Worm Tunnel Wollemi National Park
    Far Side of Glow Worm Tunnel

What Did We Think?

We had been worried about missing out on the glow worms but were more than happy with what we saw. Remember to take a torch, be careful on the road and try and be quiet in the tunnel.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.