Lithgow and surrounds

From State Mine Gully Road

From State Mine Gully Road

The setting for Lithgow is rather lovely, in a small valley surrounded by Hills. 

 I needed to reorganise my plans for the day so I considered what the information centre guy had told me and what the lady the caravan park told me, rejected the information centre guys suggestion of a bit of a drive which was going to take nearly 4 hours. Instead, I chose a few closer attractions 

I started with 'Lithgow Castle' aka the ruins of the old  iron smelting site which fed the steel works some distance away. 

Part of the Iron Smelters

There were plenty of walkways around the area and interpretation signs explaining the ruins but I must admit it didn't fascinate me enormously 

Though there was one photo of the works as it appeared in 1913 which was a little more interesting.

The Smelters in 1913

Lithgow was the birthplace of the of Australia's iron and Steel industry. So from that industrial perspective, I guess it's interesting. In fact, Lithgow was a real industrial centre and one interpretation sign tells me by 1900, the once beautiful valley was grimed with the smoke of collieries, copper smelters, coke ovens, brickworks as well as the iron and steel works.

I'm a little fascinated by the public toilets which are of the high-tech variety. The building, on first appearance, has a dilapidated look because it's illustrated with sepia images of the site. Everything is push button and automated flushing  happens when you wash your hands or exit the facility and even the toilet paper is dispensed by push button operation, quite generously. Piped music plays and welcomes one to the facility as the door closes.

High Tech Toilets

A lovely lady at blast furnace park who's helping to set up for walk for an event gives me information about where to look for orchids up near Hassan's lookout.  She also tells me Lithgow has about a squillion different species of wattle and I certainly did notice a lot of wattle as I was driving yesterday. 

I proceed towards Dobbs Drift, driving up State Mine Gully Road and pass through some most incredible rock formations on both sides of the road. 

Along State Mine Gully Road

If this is a taster of what the Garden of Stone National Park is, then I'm really sorry to miss those walks 

The parking area for Dodd's Drift unfortunately has the usual array of rubbish; one does wish that people would do the right thing. 

There's a deepish gully adjoining the car park and the rock formations on the other side are really quite impressive. 

As I walk along I paused to admire some colour variations in a small formation.

Colour variations

Peeping between the formations

I walk as far as I safely can and there is a large, quite impressive, rock pagoda formation at the end of the track, which I assume is what is marked as a rock pagoda on my hand drawn map. Other Rock Pagodas I have passed on the way are also rather impressive. 

Rock Pagoda

Rock Pagoda and  evidence of Homo boganensis

Unfortunately, there is also evidence of Homo boganensis activity in the form of remains of a fire, broken glass and crushed aluminium cans.

I missed the feature marked on my handdrawn map as Nature's Window, but find it on my return walk. It is rather more visible from that angle than the other.

Nature's Window

Wattle

I stopped briefly on State Mine Gully road on the way back down to take a photograph of the majestic rock formations on both sides of the road. The only way I can really capture them is with a couple of panoramic shots.

The view from Hassan's Walls lookout is stunning; amazingly panoramic and I have a fine day for it. Hassan's Walls was named as such by Governor Macquarie, as it resembled the area in which he saw active service in India.

From Hassan's WallsLookout

There's a bus trip of local senior citizens just coming back from the lookout and a lone guy sitting on the lookout; I think he was the inventor of conspiracy theories. He definitely lost me when he started talking about the ancient Egyptian pyramids that are in existence in Australia.

I divert down another path and there's the most amazing little cave in a rock. With two entrances one can get inside and look out over part of the amazing view that I've just seen from the official lookout.

At Hassan's Walls lookout

At Hassan's Walls lookout

I also investigate the area around the utilities enclosure for orchids but can see no evidence. 

I have been warned that the road to Hassan's lookout was rough. It wasn't too bad; there were one or two places where it was rutted due to heavy rains and runoff, but the road to Bracey's lookout was another matter. It's pretty much one lane and I navigated it very slowly in low gear taking it very gently through all the big potholes which were full of water and doing my best to avoid some of the deeper runnels down the middle of the road. 

From Bracey's Lookout

I need to find an identification

Bracey's look out overlooks the town of Lithgow but the vegetation has grown up so the view is a little obscured. These roads were all depression projects and certainly are of benefit to tourists now as well as clearly having benefited the residents of Lithgow in the 1930s, many of whom were suffering after the closure of various industrial facilities. 

I have a good look around the area near the lookout for orchids, as I'd been told there were all kinds there but found no evidence unfortunately.

My route down from the lookout takes me through Doctor's Gap. Another little valley and sandstone pagoda formations towering above the houses over to right.

Happy Wanderer

Capertee Valley

I drive up to the Pearson's Lookout with its views of the Capertee Valley, which are just stunning. At 30 km wide it's wider than the Grand Canyon although not quite as deep The views of the sandstone escapements across the valley are just stunning. But I don't feel the necessity to drive down into the valley and do the circuit that's going to take me another 2 or 3 hours.

Capertee Valley

It was a bit of a long climb to get to the lookout and Henry Lawson recorded this in 'Song of the Old Bullock Driver'

Then slowly we crawled by the trees that kept tally
       Of miles that were passed on the long journey down.
We saw the wild beauty of Capertee Valley,
       As slowly we rounded the base of the Crown.
But, ah! the poor bullocks were cruelly goaded
       While climbing the hills from the flats and the vales;
'Twas here that the teams were so often unloaded
       That all knew the meaning of ‘counting your bales.'

Driving back, I again notice the incredible amount of wattle in flower. It really is beautiful; less appealing are the two power stations, coal-fired, and the signposts to at least three collieries. The sooner coal mining is deemed not good for the environment, the better.

When I return to the caravan park, I decide to take the hand-drawn mapI've got of Dodd's Drift into reception to leave it with them. I have a chat with, presumably, the owner/manager. He is tantalising me with the fact that the start of the Lost City walk is only a few minutes drive from where I was at Dodd's Drift and it only takes a few minutes to be right in amongst the pagoda rocks. I am inordinately tempted to add that to tomorrow's itinerary but would have to get my act together to be away from here in very good time if I'm also going to also visit the Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens. 

Back in my cabin I can hear scampering across the roof. I assume it's a possum.