Date: 24/7/2025
Trip leader: Xinyi (Emma) Zhang
Party: Ngiak Kang, Umer, Matthew, Xianxian, Jasmine, Lorrin, Chuncheng
The Six Foot Track, as the name suggests, spans approximately 46 km from Katoomba to Banda Bush Camp in the Blue Mountains. Our group chose to walk a 12 km out-and-back section from Megalong Cemetery to Bowtells Swing Bridge above Cox’s River.
Most of the group members met up at Central Station, arriving on time for the 8:55 am train. After a two-hour journey, we arrived at Katoomba Station at 11 am and decided to wait for one group member who had driven but was caught in traffic. While waiting, we explored the shops around the station before ordering two Ubers for the half-hour drive into the Megalong Valley. We regrouped at Megalong Cemetery, met up with the driving member, and started the hike at 12 pm.
The track began along an unsealed road leading past a vineyard before turning off at Guyver Bridge. From there, we followed rolling pathways along barbed-wire fences as the landscape gradually shifted from open farmland into shaded bushland.
Not long after, we heard the rushing sounds of Cox’s River near our trail. After twenty more minutes, we arrived at Bowtells Swing Bridge around 2 pm. The group enjoyed a well-earned lunch beside the Cox’s River running underneath the metallic bridge. Some climbed back up the hill to explore the swing bridge, which only allowed five people at a time, while a few of us wandered along the riverbanks for a quick dip upstream.
On the return journey, the group spotted the cow we had seen earlier, now only a few feet away from us, contentedly chewing its lunch on top of a hill.
As we tracked back through farmland, we found groups of sheep grazing lazily beside our path, unstartled by our presence. The group slowed down to take photos of the scenery as the falling sun tinted the swaying grass with a golden hue, while the cliffs of the Blue Mountains glowed orange in the backdrop.
We were very fortunate to find one Uber to pick some people up from the cemetery (apparently one of only two drivers in the area), and Jasmine kindly dropped the remaining members at Katoomba Station. With the sun setting behind us, the group shared dinner at a local Thai place before catching the 6:15 pm train. Exhausted, many napped on the ride back, and by 8 pm we were at Central, saying our goodbyes to one another.
A big thank you to all the lovely members for your participation and cooperation. It was truly a memorable trip.
