Zig Zag to Newnes

If there’s one way to see the amazing landscape that is Australia, it’s off road. Our convoy took a 4x4 weekend wandering from the old Zig Zag railway to Newnes. Zig Zag (at Clarence) is a heritage railway that climbs the face of the Blue Mountains. We have done this via the old steam train many moons ago. Glad to have done it when we did as it has been closed since 2013 due to damage from bushfire.

From Zig Zag, we headed right and followed the State Mine Gully Rd out to Bungleboori then followed the Glow Worm Tunnel Rd to (funny enough) the Glow Worm Tunnel. From the car park it’s a 2km easy grade return walk. The Glow Worm Tunnel is best experienced in a small quiet group (or alone) in the dark. It can get quite noisy when other groups pass through. The Glow Worms look like stars in the night sky.

From the Glow Worm Tunnel we headed back to Bungleboori and turned right onto Blackfellows Hand Rd to try and find the Lost City. This is where it got tricky…they don’t call it Lost City for nothing. No sign posts but plenty of puddles after a bit of rain. There are so many tracks out here, you could end up anywhere. (Future reference: Blackfellows Hand Rd, immediate (L), at powerlines keep straight and cross the lines, (L) at fork, (L) at fork and (L) again - should get you there).

The Lost City is an amazing sight. The rock formations look like ancient buildings and you could easily imagine being in Machu Picchu…if you scrunched your face and looked sideways. You can hear water through the valley and from the top of the rock (down track, to the left) you can see the small dam way down below. Keep an eye out for Mountain Dragons. These teeny weeny lizards are just adorable – as small a 7cm up to 20cm. The kids loved them.

We still had plenty of daylight so decided to head out to Blackfellows Hand Rock. As the road states it takes you directly there. We did this trip a long time ago and I didn’t remember it being as rough at it was. The area has eroded over the years. This land is of the Wiradjuri people and the cave art shows the spiritual connection place of other tribes would meet. From the carpark it’s a small uphill walk. I felt a little intimidated walking up to the overhanging cliff face and seeing all the cracked sandstone…balancing…waiting to squish me like an ant. Instead of back tracking, we decided to head to Lithgow and pit stop at Blast Furnace park.

A great day for off-road adventuring. Next trip is already planned.