Finch's Line & Devine's Hill, The Convict Trail - March 2024

  The Great North Road, the Convict Trail, was built in the early 19th century. It stretches for approximately 240 kilometers from the Sydney area to the Hunter Valley region. The road was constructed by convicts between 1826 and 1836 and is considered one of the most important public works projects completed during the period of convict transportation in Australia. Finch's Line was the original proposed route up the steep cliffs after the Hawksbury River. Finch's Line construction was started but not completed as the route was considered too steep and tortuous, construction switched to the less steep Devine's Hill a little west Finch's Line. I cycled another Great North Road section further north of here in December 2020.

Entry to Devine's Hill

Hangmans Rock

A sample work gang

Convict Stone Work

A Preserved Culvert

Wiseman's Ferry & Webbs Creek Ferry in the far ground

From Finch"s Line

distance: 10.9Km  

moving time: 1hr, 37min 

elevation: 268metre    

 

Mount Portal - February 2024

I had hoped to be able to do an anticlockwise loop from Glenbrook to the Portal Lookout, and then climb down the face of the Portal Lookout, and back through the streets to my car via Lapstone. Many years ago I had climbed the Portal face. I started this time with the though I could opt out if I thought it was too hard, indeed it was too scary for this old fella. I chose to get back to Glenbrook via the park, but a different route.

The tramway pictured below was used to convey workers, materials and equipment for the construction of the main railway line and tunnel through the Glenbrook Gorge.

The Jelly Bean Pool, a popular swimming hole

Glenbrook Creek crossing

Glenbrook Creek from Tunnel Lookout

Eastern entrance to the train tunnel over there

The Creek crossing in the slot

Glenbook Creek joins the Nepean, Penrith in far ground

Lyre bird near the National Park entrance

Old tramway route through Darks Common Reserve

Stats, 

distance: 15.8Km  

moving time: 2hr, 28min 

elevation: 539metre      

Cunninghams Gap to Bare Rock & return - January 2024

Cunninghams Gap is only an hour or so west of Brisbane on the busy Cunningham Highway. Several spectacular walks can be accessed here. It can be difficult to find a park, the spot is so popular with walkers. And so it was today, a short wait for a park. I encountered lots day walkers on the shorter walks, after about four km I was virtually on my own. I noticed a tiny brown snake disappear off the track on my way back.

Mt Mitchell & the Cunningham Hwy

The Scenic Rim North of Bare Rock

A Spring on the Mountain

South from Bare Rock

Mt Cordeaux

A Goldless Gold Mine

Stats, 

distance: 13.3Km  

moving time: 1hr, 47min 

elevation: 510metre 

Grose Head South via The Blue Gum Swamp - December 2023

Today's run was to Grose Head South from the west. The last time was from the East. I did that in July 2022, here is the link to that blog entry:  Grose Head South From Yarramundi

I drove home via Mitchell Pass, crossing the heritage listed Lennox Bridge. This bridge is the oldest stone bridge in mainland Australia, and Mitchell Pass is the first road to be constructed on the Eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains.

Here is a link to a 3D view of the route I ran: Fatmap I am not sure that it will work correctly, in any case there is a Google Maps view at the bottom of this post.

 

Memorial to Firemen

 

 

Blue Gum Swamp

I think it might be a brown snake

A rock slide on Grose Head South

Purple Snake Flower (Scaevola ramosissima)

Trig on Grose Head South

Lennox Bridge

Plaque at the Lennox Bridge

Stats, 

distance: 16.7Km  

moving time: 2hr, 47min 

elevation: 525metre 

Bowen Mountain to Bulcamatta Falls & Return - August 2023

 I started at Bowen Mountain. Bowen Mountain is perched on top of a section the Lapstone Monocline the east most edge of the Blue Mountains. After passing the Crago Oberservatory  and a few ups and downs along nicely maintained four wheel drive roads I arrived at the National Parks basic Burralow Creek Picnic and Camp site. Bulcamatta Falls is a further one and a half kilometres along an easy walking track from the picnic ground. I returned via an unmaintained steep and eroded goat track and then onto the easy four wheel drive roads.

Astronomical Society of NSW Observatory

 

Unsure what this old structure is

Bucamatta Falls

Burralow Campground & Mt Tomah

Stats, 

distance: 14.3Km  

moving time: 2hr, 19min  

elevation: 417metre

Dombarton Tunnel, the tunnel to nowwhere - July 2023

The partially built Maldon Dombarton railway line was to transport coal from near Camden to Port at Wollongong.  Construction started 1983, work stopped 1988.

 The tunnel was to allow trains to negotiate the Illawarra escarpment, work stopped with the tunnel less than one hundred metres into the rock, when completed, it was to be the longest rail tunnel in Australia at approximately four kilometres. An operating rail line passes beside the eastern tunnel portal, this line brings coal from further south into Wollongong, the Maldon line was to be parallel to the working line from the tunnel to Wollongong. The Maldon Dombarton line easement is visible on Google Earth satellite images.  

 

Mount Kembla

The Tunnel is directly above the green mound

Lake Illawarra from track side

Track side vegetation

Eastern Tunnel Portal

Looking out

 

Stats, 

distance: 14Km  

moving time: 2hr, 08min  

elevation: 281metre

The Hidden Castle of Calabash - June 2023

There are various stories regarding the origin of these ruins, some suggest it was a hotel, others dispute this. Most agree it was completed in 1900, and habitable for twenty or so years when it was abandoned. Some of the graffiti on the walls is marked 1931. The site can be accessed by water and then scrambling up steep track, or walking down a sometimes steep and rough fire trail. National Parks have installed a gate at the entrance to the fire trail, blocking vehicular access.

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An extremely steep & rough section of track

A rusting Falcon at the bottom of the above section of track

Red Five-Corners (styphelia tubiflora)

Berowra Creek

 

The Ruins

Another view

On the Berowra Waters car ferry

Stats, 

distance: 7.7Km  

moving time: 2hr, 07min  

elevation: 176metre