Newnes hiking and overnight

We watched the sun set and then turned round and watched the moon rise. It was sublime.

Blue Mountains with Yogi

A wonderful weekend away.  Highlights was Hanging Rock, Newnes and the amazing small arms museum in Lithgow.  Lowlight was returning to the camp site in the pouring rain to discover Yogi had a river running through his tent!!  

Introducing Yogi to Hanging Rock

The person on the right is Yogi!!  

Camping at Wallarawang

Stop off to explore the camp site at Newnes

Lunch at Wallarawang

A delicious lunch in a converted train station.

Small arms museum (Lithgow)

This was amazing.  Every kind of gun imaginable on display from the tiniest handguns to enormous bazookas and even rocket launches.

Newnes Forest Glen

 I love ferns and none more so than the ones in the glen at Newnes where the glow worm tunnel starts.

Weekend in Newnes

I went to Newnes this weekend and was blown away by this amazing place.  About three hours drive north west of Sydney, Newnes is set in the beautiful Wolgan valley, bordered by towering sandstone cliffs. It used to be the site of a major shale mine which was abandoned in 1932 and has since become a dilapidated ghost town, reclaimed my nature. 

Highlights of the weekend included:

• Driving down on Friday evening with Srini, arriving after 10 pm when everyone else was fast asleep in their tents.
• Exploring the abandoned mine early on Saturday morning. I absolutely love old, crumbling places overtaken by nature like this; reminds me of of the impermanence of all things.  The mine reminded me of my adventure in the Glen Davis shale mine.
• A steep climb up the Pipe Track to enjoy the spectacular view from Echo Point over the Wolgan Valley.
• A refreshing swim in the Wolgan River after our climb back down into the valley.
• Camping next to the old hotel, the last remaining intact building from the mining period.  Actually, it was more "glamping" than camping with showers and an outside kitchen.  We're not used to such luxuries!
• A delicious spread of food on Saturday night.
• Beautiful kangaroos coming down to graze at dusk.
• Srini and Elna doing yoga pose-offs and surprising them with my ability to do a headstand!
• A plank-off between Elna, Srini and me.  Elna won without even putting on a sweat.
• Jonno's excruciatingly drawn out joke around the camp site that made us all groan a bit!
• On Sunday, a lovely walk to the famous glow worm tunnel.  The tunnel was 400 metres long and very dark in the middle, with a spectacular display of thousands upon thousands of glow worms, looking like constellations of stars in the dark.  
• A lovely swim in the river to cool down, before driving back to Sydney.
• Howard and Srini setting up some really fun photos.
• Howard posing for the camera in many different settings, doing his famous "pondering pose."

The old hotel

We camped next to the old hotel.  The hotel is the last remaining building from the mining period. It was moved to its present site after flooding in 1986. It is now de-licensed, but still trades as a kiosk at weekends.  

Walk to the abandoned shale mine

Rahima crossing the river.

Coke ovens that were used in the mining.

On the left, a huge retaining wall that was very impressive indeed.

An old building, reclaimed by nature.

Here's how the mine used to look. It was an enormous complex.

Hike to Echo Point

Crazy Srini at it again

Flowers along the way

What a stunning view from Echo Point!

Doing our usual leaps.

The perfect spot for lunch.

Rahima, Kirsten, Jonno, Srini, me.  Thanks for the photo, Elna

Back down on the valley floor.  Me, Elna, Kirsten, Rahima.  Thanks for the photo, Elna

Having a refreshing swim after the hike.

Camping life

Elna and Srini doing yoga pose-offs 

Ha ha!  Both Srini and Elna, the two yoga masters, struggled to do a handstand.  Then I surprised them by doing one myself.  Some things you learn in childhood never leave you.

Gorgeous wallabies at dusk

More wildlife around the camp site.

Hike to the glow worm tunnel

Gorgeously coloured sandstone cliffs.

Having a well earned break on our way up the valley.

A gorgeous fern glen near the entrance of The Glow Worm Tunnel. More photos here.

Scenes from inside the The Glow Worm Tunnel.  The tunnel is 400 metres in length, curving through almost 180 degrees and is consequently very dark. It is home to thousands of glow worms. These worms are the larval stage of a fly which develops from eggs planted on the cave wall. The larvae drop sticky threads that trap small insects drawn by the light which the worms create.

Here are some photos of the railway that was built to create the glow-worm tunnel.  It was built in 1906-07 as part of the 50-km railway line joining the works at Newnes to the outside world. 

A lake on the other end of the tunnell.

Samira and Howard posing by the lake.

Having a fun swim after the hike.  Srini's famous Mexican hat came out, as you can see.

Stopping off for a view and some fun on the steep drive out of the valley.

Pondering Howard

Howard has a famous pondering pose and it was fun capturing it on camera.