Lost World

Faulconbridge to Blaxland via Lost World Lookout

There is little in life better than grabbing your partner and disappearing into the bush for 2 days. No phones. No responsibilities. Pure disconnect. For this hike we ventured into the lower Blue Mountains trekking from Faulconbridge to Blaxland. The hike is medium grade with some pretty steep climbs (approx. 500m gain) and scrambles, but nothing overly tough. Day 1 involved a descent into the valley down to Glenbrook Creek, crossing Sassafras Creek on the way and Clarinda Falls (trickle!), a good place for a stop to eat. Walking along the Glenbrook Creek reveals a number of swim spots, which we didn’t get to enjoy because it was the middle of winter! I imagine this track would be great on a hot day for all the canopy cover and water. We passed a beautiful campsite at Perch Ponds, which looks amazing. However we continued on for another 30 mins or so to an equally nice spot further along the river and close to where the climb up on Day 2 starts. There is ample space for at least 5 tents along the spot we were at with some fire pits there too. Day 2 starts with a river crossing and a steep ascent up to Bunyan Lookout. A bit further along a flat trail you reach the Lost World Lookout, which is magnificent. The rest of the hike is relatively flat, besides a steep climb out of the valley. We came across some amazing mountain ambo rescue people on the way to treat an injured walker (helicopter was called out eventually). All in all a great 2 day hike!

Pindar Cave

Patonga to Wondabyne via Pindar Cave

This is fairly well documented easy (nothing too technical) to medium (distance is pretty long at 30km) level track. We had planned to do it as an overnighter, but due to poor planning ended up spending two nights in the bush, not a bad thing! Some of the highlights include a great swim spot at Kariong Falls, campsite on Mount Wondabyne, the vast Pindar Cave and Falls nearby and Wondabyne train station, the only (single platform!) train station with no road access. The only downsides to this track to be aware of is a fair amount is on fire trail not bush and you pass the not so glamorous Woy Woy rubbish tip (which only lasts about 30 minutes of walking as you can view it in the distance). Day 1 involved walking from Patonga to Mount Wondabyne, great views from the top (and camping spots up high too). Day 2 we passes through the magnificent Kariong Falls, so after a great swim we continued to Pindar Cave. The route to Pindar Cave involved some fairly thick bush, so navigation definitely needed for this part (the rest was pretty clear going). The plan was to see the cave and get to Wondabyne Station to catch the train back to our car. However, we only reached the cave at 4pm, so ended up staying an extra night in the cave, which was amazing. Worth noting whilst the waterfalls are only 10 mins walk way, we nearly got lost in the overgrowth. Day 3 involved a relatively short walk (3 hours ish) to Wondabyne Station, where we swam in the lake before catching the (hourly) train. The station is worth the trip alone, but all in all this was a very scenic and fun track.