Hiking Archives - Page 6 of 15 - Destination's Journey

15 June 202310 June 2023

Palona Cave Walk

Located in the Royal National Park, near Sydney the Palona Cave Walk is a short and easy bush walk. It takes you through beautiful temperate rainforest to a large limestone cave and a cascading waterfall.

Getting There

We drove to Royal National Park, arriving just after sunrise, so that we could catch the sunrise. Parking at the intersection of Lady Carrington Drive and Sir Bertram Stevens Drive was easy as only two other cars were there. On our return though, it was full, and many cars were parked along the road. Access to the National Park is charged per vehicle and you can pay at the entrance gate or main office. If you plan to visit several parks during the year, an annual pass is available from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The Track

Starting at the car park the historic Lady Carrington Drive trail leads into the forest. This is a wide and well-maintained dirt trail that follows the course of the Hacking River. Originally a road, it was closed and is now a dedicated bike and hiking trail. The trail takes you through temperate rain forest and our early morning start meant that it was quiet and peaceful.

After about 750 m, we reached the junction with the Forest Path, which is another scenic walk in the park. From here we continued along Lady Carrington Drive to Palona Cave track.

Toadstools and moss growing in an old tree stump — Sunrise at the start of the track

Palona Cave

After another 1 km, a sign for Limestone Cave on the left side of the track points off to the right. Unfortunately, a tree now obscures it, so keep a look out as the path to the cave is easy to miss, being very narrow. If you reach the Palona Brook crossing, you have gone too far. From here you leave the main trail and follow a narrow bush track that leads uphill to Palona Cave. The track is rough and rocky in places, so watch your step. When we visited it was also very overgrown and disappeared in several spots.

Palona Cave is a large overhang with stalactites and stalagmites formed by water dripping through the limestone rock. You can explore the cave and see the different shapes and colours of the formations. There is also a small stream that flows next to the cave and forms a waterfall. We were lucky it had rained recently because this creek is often dry.

This was a great walk with the reward of a waterfall and cave at the end. Remember to wear good boots as the second part of the track is rough. At around 5.3km return, it took us around two and a half hours, with plenty of stops for photos and cave exploring.

Sign to the cave track. Hidden behind the tree.

A fallen tree on the walk Palona Cave Walk — Sign to the cave track. Hidden behind the tree.

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

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24 November 202220 November 2022

Flat Rock Gully Walking Track

Flat Rock Gully Walking Track

Located in the Sydney council of Willoughby, Flat Rock Gully Walking Track is a 4km return trip through bushland bordering a small creek. Utilised for the disposal of domestic and industrial waste until 1985, the area became overgrown with weeds. Following the closing of the tip and associated incinerator, the area has been landscaped and bush land regenerated. The result is a beautiful walk, through trees and ferns in the centre of Sydney.

Parking

Parking is available near the start of the track at Small Street where a gated entrance leads to parking spots. Additional parking at the netball courts, near the old incinerator is a five-minute walk away.

Flat Rock Gully Walking Track

Starting off with bitumen and a section of boardwalk, the track appears an easy hike. However, this soon gives way to rougher sections of rock and dirt track. Sections have steppingstones added to aid walking in wet conditions and in going up and down the slopes. In wet and rainy weather, these areas become very slippery, so good hiking boots are needed, as well as being careful.

Council Bush Regenerators, contractors and volunteers have done an amazing job reducing the weeds present along the track. As a result, you can now walk through remnant Australian bush while in the centre of Sydney.

Easy start to the Flat Rock Gully Walking Track — Easy start to the Walking Track

Small section of boardwalk — Easy start to the Walking Track

Flat Rock Creek

The creek crossing is a series of steppingstones, which will be slippery when wet and during high rainfall may be submerged. At the crossing, a stone embankment prevents erosion of the creek banks and has become overgrown in moss. This makes the area look old and overgrown, but also extremely slippery.

Flat Rock Creek with moss covered retaining wall — Stepping stones over Flat Rock Creek

Long Gully Bridge

Crossing the gully at the end of the walk is Long Gully Bridge. Built to access a housing development at Northbridge in the 1890s, the false crenellated turreted towers make it look very medieval. Under the bridge, a large, landscaped area was once the council tip. The 30 metres of fill has been rehabilitated into playing fields, where we saw a game of cricket being played.

From The Cricket Fields Looking up at the Bridge

The Bridge from below — From The Cricket Fields Looking up at the Bridge

Flat Rock Drive Pedestrian Underpass Indigenous Art Work

Pedestrian access from the track to the baseball diamond and netball courts is via an underpass under Flat Rock Drive. If you park at the netball courts, this is the best way to get to the track.

Decorated with large indigenous murals unlike many underpasses left in dull concrete. Not far from here is the Henry Lawson Cave, where the poet would sleep off a drinking session at the local tavern.

Indigenous art work on the Flat Rock Drive underpass

What Did We Think?

This was a really fun track to walk. Moderately difficult and a little slippery in the wet, the walk through remnant forest and along a creek was fun. Looking at the underside of the bridge and the decorated underpass were added bonuses.

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

12 November 202212 February 2023

Prince Henry Cliff Walk

Prince Henry Cliff Walk in the Blue Mountains

One of the best walks to take in the views of the Blue Mountains, the Prince Henry Cliff Walk is accessible at several points and can be undertaken in stages. This is great because at 7kms one-way, it may be seen as a little too long. During our visit several sections were closed because of severe storms over previous months. Fortunately, most of the lookouts were accessible, so we could still see the amazing views of the Blue Mountains.

Running from Katoomba to Leura, the walk passes Katoomba Falls, Echo Point and the Three Sisters as well as the Leura Cascades. Additionally, there are over 20 lookouts along the way, each providing outstanding views of the Jamison Valley.

Parking

Parking is available at Katoomba Cascades, Echo Point lookout, or Gordon Falls near Leura. However, during busy times it is difficult to find a park with most streets also being paid parking. We chose to start early in the morning for the first part of the walk, so parking at Katoomba Cascades was available.

We accessed the second section from Cliff Drive to Leura Cascades near Kiah Lookout, which was only a short walk from our accommodation.

During our visit, the section from Echo Point to Katoomba Falls was closed for repairs.

Katoomba Cascades

This section also forms part of the Night Walk, with the pathway lit and floodlights illuminating sites along the way. We chose to walk it during the day, because we wanted to see the larger views over the valley.

Located only a short walk from the carpark, the Cascades were flowing well after recent rain. The well-maintained steps down to the base of the cascade make this an easy walk. At the bottom, you are able to walk close to the falls, there are also several places to sit in the shade and enjoy the view.

The cascades are very easy to get to because of the well maintained track as long as you can walk up and down the initial steps. The Blue Mountains had lots of rain, prior to us visiting, which made the walk and waterfalls a great experience.

Katoomba Falls

From the cascades, the path leads to a series of lookouts, for spectacular views over the valley. One of the best is the view of Katoomba Falls. Created from the flow of the Kedumba River, it flows over the escarpment, this is the same river that creates the Cascades. Several of the lookouts give different perspectives of the falls.

At one point, the Scenic World Skyway Cale Car made its trip across the valley, which was interesting to see. This is another great way to get a view of the falls. The cable car runs from Scenic World across the gorge, where passengers can disembark and walk to Echo Point (currently closed in 2022).

The path from the cascades is relatively flat, making the walk to Katoomba Falls lookout not too difficult. There are plenty of places to rest and admire the views along the way, so there is no need to be too energetic. The view of the falls is amazing, which makes the short walk worth the effort.

The Katoomba Cascades Prince Henry Cliff Walk — The Katoomba Cascades

Kedumba River just before it goes over the escarpment — The Katoomba Cascades

Leura Cascades on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk

We chose to walk to the Leura Cascades from our accommodation because it was so close. Access to the Prince Henry Walking Track from Kiah Lookout was only a five-minute walk away. However parking is limited, so if you wish to drive it might be better to start at the Leura Cascades Picnic Area.

The upper section of the track was easy to walk, with a well-maintained track and a gentle downward grade, however as the track became steeper, the track deteriorated, becoming narrower and damaged by water run-off. There are also a large number of steps, as you descend towards the falls, which all have to be climbed again when returning. We took our time and enjoyed the many great views from the lookouts along the way.

Keep a lookout for native wildlife as you walk. We saw a lyre bird but were not quick enough to take a photo.

This section of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk was great fun, taking us around 40 minutes return despite all the steps. This included time for photos, admiring the views and a side track to Copelands Lookout.