Date: 4/5/2025
Trip leader: Bruce Stafford
Party: April, Ellen, Felix, Fredo, Jinghan, John, Jordan, Kristina, Leesa, Sylvia, Tianxiang, Xinxian, Yiran, Yiwen, Zhiqi C, Zhiqi Z.
Katoomba to Leura via Prince Henry Cliff track. Sunday 4/5 (“May the Fourth be with you!”).
The travel arrangements for this walk were different to a “normal” Blue Mountains walk, as trackwork required Blue Mountains trains to start at Blacktown Station. This needed the group to catch suburban trains to Blacktown, with a 20 minute wait for the train to Katoomba. Some people turned up even earlier to take advantage of having extra time at Blacktown to go to Maccas (Macdonalds) in the arcade above the platforms.
The train arrived at Katoomba less than a minute late which gave us time to catch the 11.23am bus to Katoomba Falls Kiosk where the walk would start. Yet just as we got within 35 metres of the bus stop, the bus pulled out early (driver in a hurry to go somewhere??). This was very annoyong as although the next bus was 10 minutes later, it followed a different route to the Kiosk via Narrow Neck Road and Scenic World which took longer, so the time lost by us was almost 20 minutes. Not only that, the next bus was very crowded as a result, and its driver was not happy. The bus ride around the tight bends and steep ascending and descending gradients of the route would have been quite uncomfortable for our standees.
So we eventually reached Katoomba Falls Kiosk where two people needed a toiet break, then after a group photo we set off along the Prince Henry Cliff walk. Between here and Echo Point there are lots of tourists so the path is paved most of the way to Echo Point. On the way were great views of “Orphan Rock” (which is a similar rock “tower” to The Three Sisters) the view point of which is reached on a 5 minute walk to “Reid’s Plateau. Soon after, we had a view of Katoomba Falls, and then the path continues to Katoomba Cascades. Here there were a lot of toursists including some who couldn’t understand the importance of walking single file along the narrow paths. From there the path goes up and passes the east “station” of the Scenic World’s “Skyway” cable car ($54 for the company’s three different rides – more about that below). then the track winds around to eventually reach Echo Point and lots more tourists. Here there was a toilet break.
Echo Point is the main, and probably only, viewpoint over the Jamison Valley and Mount Solitary for tourists, but I advised our group that there were several more viewpoints just as good and with few tourists further along before Gordon Falls. So we set off along the Prince Henry Walk, and the numbers of tourists dropped off a lot once we had passed the Three Sisters side track. From here on it is no longer a concrete path either, just plain dirt with a few muddy sections further out. There are several lookouts along the way and John encouraged us to look at quite a few. The lookout where I had planned to have lunch wasn’t for a while yet, so on we went. There is one point where the track accesses Cliff Drive for about 100 metres on a footpath then goes down dome steep (and slippery) steps. This is where I gave advice to the group not to follow the person in front too closely, as a slip and fall by either would bring both people down. The wisdom of this advice would very soon be demonstrated.
Eventually we came to the Bridal View Lookout (not to be confused with “Bridal Falls Lookout” on the other side of the canyon) which is where we had lunch. I showed some my sandwich with Davidson Plum jam on it, but I and a bit reluctant to share any since this native Australian fruit can have different affects on people’s digestive system, shall we say, if you are not used to it (I am). Maybe on a trip someone can volunteer to be a guinea pig to give the taste a go. Davidson Plum is a tree native to lowland subtropical rainforests of New South Wales. It is considered an endangered species in the wild but also cultivated in gardens (which I do). I make jam from my own tree’s fruit.
After lunch we set off again for Leura Cascades. On the way is a lookout just above the top of Bridal Veil Falls. As we descended the metal steps to it, someone slipped and fell right at the bottom step (fortunately with no injury), thus demonstrating how important it is not to get too close to the person in front (she had no one directly in front of her). I know it can be a cultural norm to walk close to other people but best to keep that bushwalking guide in mind on steps.
After a photostop there we continued on past the Leura Cascades (access partly closed so best view not possible) and we followed Leura Falls Creek upstream until reaching the juntion with the track to Leura Cascades Picnic Area. That track is presently closed with a new bridge and a lot of track rebuilding going on. Prince Henry Walk then continues on uphill to a ridge and a side track to Tarpeian Rock where there was another brief photostop. What is noticeable is how the view over the valley and Mount Solitary changes as the afternoon goes on, with the sandstone cliffs gradually changing colour. In the far distance are the peaks of the southern Blue Mountains, and I said that I call these “The Oldies Ranges” because certain SUBW members would do what is called “The Three Peaks Challlenge”, to get to them from Katoomba and back in just under 48 hours (or less) along a rough course with no tracks (and currently very overgrown after the past few years of above-average rainfall).
From Tarpeian Rock we continued along to Olympian Rock lookout and then to Gordon Falls Lookout, crossing the bridge I call the “Dangerous Rabbit” bridge. This is an amalgam of two scenes in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” but in it the “Bridge of Death” is guarded by Tim the Enchanter, and the dangerous rabbit guards a cave. A pleasant surprise was that the track from Elysian Rock to Gordon Falls has just reopened after being closed for repairs for about 3 years. There is a brand new section of track, steps and a short elevated section now in place. This eliminates the previous need to detour along the street at Olympian Parade.
So we arrived at Gordon Falls Lookout for yet another photostop, and then up to Gordon Falls Reserve where a “Coffee Cart van was parked. Time was 4pm by then and the Coffee Cart was about to close but the owner was probably glad to take several coffee orders from us. It saved us from needing to go to cafes at Leura Mall which would have taken a lot longer. After a 10 minute break we set off on the final section of the walk to Leura Station. We did this by walking a short distance along Lone Pine Avenue to Gordon Road and then a dirt track around Leura Oval to reach the “Great War” Memorial gates. More photos including standing next to a tree with autumn colours on its leaves, and then to Leura Mall. Near the station there was a flock of Cockies (White Cockatoos) raiding a rubbish bin.
We only needed to wait six minutes for the train back to Blacktown. It was an uneventful trip although I did explain that time was running out to travel on the comfortable reversible seats on the V sets used on the Blue Mountains Line as probably starting July they will begin to be replaced by the “D” sets with their unpopular non-reversible seats which also too often don’t line up well ith a proper view from windows (this is also an issue with U.K. trains designed the same way). As the train passed through St Marys Station I told a couple of the guys that there was once a branch line from St Marys to a place called Dunheved and Ropes Creek, and you needed a secret police permit to ride on that line (actually it was a military police permit needed, but military police, secret police…whatever). Felix was rather sceptical of this, but I explained that the reason for security was that trains took workers there to a munitions factory which operated from WW2 up to 1995 (the passenger train service itself closed in 1986).
At Blacktown the V set train terminated and there was only a few minutres wait for the suburban train to Sydney. It was a “Tangara” set, and Leesa tried to reverse her seat into the direction of travel; she was annoyed to find that, yes, most Tangaras also don’t have reversible seats, like the new D intercity sets.. I got off at Strathfield while most of the group continued on to Central.
Everyone seemed to have a good time. The wather was perfect, not too warm, not too cold, and the first weekend for a while with clear skies and no rain. There were, however THREE “no shows”; two have not made any contact with me. As a result a couple of keen people were denied a place which otherwise they caould have taken. Not though the “keen” person who sent me a TEXT (not an email) at 1.49am requesting a place even after the website aid that the waitlist was full. Be advised: sending a text to a mobile phone in the early hours of a morning will ensure you don’t get a place on a walk!
I will probably run another Mercury-watching walk on Friday afternoon of 4th July. Keep an eye out for that.
Hopefully there should be more walks coming up soon, as it is forecast that we will have less rain over the winter months (which is normal for NSW).
Links ; Davidson Plum: https://www.sgaonline.org.au/davidsons-plum/
“Three Peaks Challenge’: https://ashleyeylenburg.com/3Peaks/index.htm
Scenic World’s prices (up from $48 a few years ago, be aware that it’s a flat fee, so if you only wanted to use the 3 minute ride Scenic Railway to get out of the Jamison Valley instead of climbing Furbers Steps after a bushwalk, you are still paying $54 for that!): https://www.scenicworld.com.au?
Bruce Stafford
