Hanging Rock

Hanging Rock is a block of rock located in the Grose Valley of the Blue Mountains National Park.

Is a large sandstone formation that appears to hang off the side of a cliff.

Getting to it

If you are driving from Sydney go past Blackheath and hang a right off the Great Western Highway onto Ridgewell Rd.

Once on Ridgewell Rd it is only a short drive to the Hanging Rock car park.

Alternatively put your mountain bike on the train from Sydney and cycle from Blackheath Station.

If you are walking from the car park a solid trek along a fire trail awaits you. It took our group around 2hrs 30 minutes to do the return walk (10kms).

At the end of your trek or bike ride you will make your way upwards via a track and stairs to Baltzer lookout.

Allow maybe 20-30 minutes or more to suck up the moment at Hanging Rock and Balzter Lookout, so a reasonable time allocation is 3 hours.

Enjoy the view!

From the Baltzer lookout you will see Hanging Rock and the steep walk down takes only a few minutes.

And remember you are only few metres from a dramatic unfenced drop to the valley below.

Arrival

Once nearing Hanging Rock you will have sandstone walls on either side as you look at the distant Grose Valley and a nearby cliff face (see 2nd photograph).

When you are close to the rock its detachment is apparent as a three feet jump is required to reach it.

The rock itself is at an angle (maybe 60 to 80 degrees) to the cliff face and as a consequence it protrudes into the Grose Valley.

The protrusion is greatest at the top of the rock as hanging rock tapers in as you look down it.

How was it created

Two books on the Blue Mountains have identified* the event which brought about Hanging Rock, namely a landslide in the late 1930s.

The landslide is likely to have been preceded by a long period of weathering and erosion of joints in the sandstone plateau and underlying claystone. When claystone is no longer strong enough to support the sandstone above a collapse occurs.

Its all about the photo

Whilst at Hanging Rock several visitors hopped onto the rock and made their way to the end point of the rock.

At the pointy end of Hanging Rock is a rock that is one metre or more in length that has broken away from the rock before it.

Another little feature to add to the edginess of a photo!

Just watching the ‘no fear brigade’ is suspenseful in itself as the drop from Hanging Rock to the Grose Valley can only be described as formidable, at least 120 plus metres (maybe more).

I would not want to be on that rock on a windy day!

We enjoyed our visit to Hanging Rock but only consider it if you are comfortable with heights.

*page 153 of The Blue Mountains, Exploring landscapes shaped by the underlying rocks, uplift and erosion, Peter Hatherly & Ian Brown; page 708 Blue Mountains Geographical Encyclopaedia, Brian Fox, Michael Keats OAM and John Fox, Released: February 2018, Updated: July 2023

Bald Hill is the area of low bush on the area located on the opposite cliff, with Mount Banks in the distance

Looking between Hanging rock on the left and the rock supporting Baltzer lookout on the right

Up close - on the top of Hanging Rock is a rock that has broken away from the rock before it

the gap between hanging rock and the cliff reduces in size as you look downward

not a place to have a picnic

another look at the gap that exists between hanging rock and the cliff

if only my mother could see me now!

Further down from Hanging Rock is yet another rock that visitors may be drawn to

Glow worms

Glow worms are the larvae of a small fly (fungal gnat). The larvae is bioluminescent, meaning the larvae can naturally produce light from an organ in their body.

The attractive light of the glow worm draws in insects such as midges, mosquitoes and flies for the purpose of capturing those insects in nearby mucus lined silk webs.

Attract, trap and eat!

The blue green glow of the larvae is created through a chemical reaction between an enzyme and chemicals in the larvae and oxygen.

The light is emitted through the transparent skin in the abdomens of the larvae.

The journey

The Blue Mountains glow worm tunnel takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to drive to from Mt Victoria, possibly longer depending upon your vehicle.

The road is bumpy and a four wheel drive will reduce the drive time. If you do the odd pullover to see things allow for up to 1hr 15 minutes.

On the way in you will drive through a one way tunnel – glad there were no cars heading the other way.

Once in the car park it takes around 15-20 minutes to walk to the tunnel entrance.

In the tunnel

We were initially greeted by pitch darkness and little signs of glow worms.

We stopped and waited and as our eyes adjusted we began to see a few small glowing dots.

As the number of people walking through the tunnel dropped off we began to see a lot more glow worms.

Both times I have been to the tunnel the best result has been achieved by quietly standing next to the wall and forgetting about time.

Turn your phone light or torch off and be quiet.

The melodic sound of water created a sense of peacefulness and we enjoyed our time in this strange world of darkness.

After being in the tunnel for around 15-20 minutes we headed back to the car park, glowing!

Returning

We left in the middle of the afternoon and were delighted to see two Australian wood ducks in the grass off the road and wallabies in the bush on three occasions. They took off fairly quickly so sorry no photos – next time.

The glow worm tunnel is definitely worth a visit and provides a nice contrast to many of the other spectacular features of the blue mountains. You will also see some nice stone pagodas on the way in.

pagodas near the glow worm tunnel

more sandstone formations

a one way road has to be navigated near the tunnel car park

leaving the tunnel

Australian wood ducks

thar she glows

A zig and a zag

The Zig Zag Railway provides an entertaining and fun day out.

The action is a trip into the past with a ride on a heritage train hauled by a steam locomotive.

Sydney Nimble took a group of five on the steam train, including a two and half year old.

The atmosphere was cheerful amongst the many passengers as the train moved away from Clarence.

We were rewarded with a unique experience and could not have been more impressed with the staff.

They are all volunteers, doing it for the love.  The men on the train from the driver to the rest of the crew were dressed in authentic overalls (or something close to) from the era, and some with caps!

It just added to the charm. Happy train workers waived us in as we arrived at several stops and when entering the station passengers were greeted by enthusiastic staff who provided old fashioned tickets.

At different stages of the journey we went through tunnels and crossed sandstone viaducts which were built on the back of hard labour in the mid 19th century.

Zig Zag opened in 1869 and operated until 1910.

Well done Zig Zag, we appreciated your efforts and recommend a visit to anyone who wants to do something fun and different.

Choo choo!

Postscript

Availability

Plan this one carefully as the Zig Zag railway only operates for around 6 days a month and the trip takes 90 minutes in total from Clarence.

And yes if you are doing a Blue Mountains Tour with Sydney Nimble Tours on one of these days it can be included!

Name

So why is the railway called Zig Zag?

A zig zag track design using reversible ramps makes a steep gradient more manageable although the train will have to travel a greater distance.

all aboard

dressed to impress

sandstone viaduct

leg stretch

groovy artwork

happy campers

We often stop at the spectacular Grose Valley on our Blue Mountains tour which showcases canyons, ravines, plateaus, creeks, waterfalls, massive cliff faces and the Grose River. Three of the best lookout spots are: Evans Lookout, Govetts Leap and Walls Lookout.

Access to Evans Lookout and Govetts Leap can be obtained by driving to the nearby car park whilst Walls Lookout requires a bushwalk.

The magnificent geology of the Grose Valley was created by uplift and erosion. The valley is covered by dense Eucalyptus Forest.

A recent feature of the Grose Valley, which was created in March 2021, is a carve out in the sandstone cliff face below Lockleys Pylon.

The ‘rock carving’ resulted from a rockfall which was greatly assisted by intense rainfall running off the plateau above.

The rain dump on the Blue Mountains and Sydney generally in 2021 and 2022 has been attributable to the La Nina weather phenomena.

What makes the shape created by the rockfall so noticeable is that it has the appearance of a fish, but not one you would commonly think of.

It looks like a seahorse and yes seahorses are categorised as fish!

The Grose Valley is a place of exceptional beauty and the addition of a seahorse rock carving is yet another reason (not that one is needed) to drop by.

so big!

Bridal Veil Waterfall

Four happy souls at nearby Jamison Valley

It’s time we had a conversation about Epicormic growth and lignotubers!

Sydney Nimble Tours visited the Blue Mountains to enjoy a bush walk and see how the bush is recovering from the January fires.

And the news is we have a compelling recovery story. The new growth is vigorous and brilliant to see.

Lush ferns have come back in a small gully we visited, whilst the remarkably fire resistant grass trees look like they were never touched by fire.

Many of the Eucalypt trees are bursting with fresh pockets of growth.

Some of the Eucalypts have within a few months completely shed their burnt bark revealing a new layer of bark underneath (see first photo below).

More detail - a bit technical

The Australian bush is a fire prone ecosystem. It is a tough place. Two ways in which Eucalypt trees may regenerate is through epicormic growth and lignotubers.

Epicormic buds are dormant growth buds located deep beneath the bark of gum trees. Their positioning under the bark provides insulation from fire.

In normal times they are not active due to the hormones of buds above them. However after a fire or other stressful event these buds are activated.

Once activated the epicormic buds allow the tree to resprout with new growth in different places on the trunk and branches of the tree.

Lignotubers provide another way for some Eucalypt species to survive a bushfire.

Although a Eucalyptus tree may not survive an intense fire this form of regrowth occurs via large underground roots which remain alive.

New growth will sprout from these roots which are close to the fire damaged tree.

Can you see the two types of growth in the photos?

remaining patch of burnt bark

lush growth

rugged mountain types

grass trees are programmed to survive a fire

stream tranquility

Sydney Nimble Tours took two travellers on a personalised tour of the Blue Mountains a few days back.

It was our first tour since the recent fires and we did so with some trepidation.

The bush has been badly burnt in some parts whilst in others it has been left untouched.

The beauty of the Blue Mountains still remains and it was pleasing to see new growth on many eucalyptus trees.

Due to recent rains there was plenty of cascading water at the Bridal Veil waterfall.

A few photos from our recent trip.

Bridal Veil Waterfall

green Jamison valley can be seen from Lincoln rock

a hard job but somebody has to hold this rock up

The Mt Tomah Botanic Garden is located in the Blue Mountains and is a cool climate garden. It can be found on the Bells Line of Road.

It is the first stop on one of our Blue Mountains itineraries.

Mt Tomah is one of three Botanic Gardens located in Sydney and surrounds.

The other two exist at Mt Annan and just near the city, the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The Botanic Gardens website for the Blue Mountains advises that the indigenous meaning of the word ‘Tomah’ is reputed to be tree fern.

Mt Tomah is more than alive with tree ferns. It has spectacular flowers and colour. Although they are of a high standard year round, Spring is the best season to visit these gardens.

The waratahs are sensational, whilst the proteas are also brilliant when in flower. In our opinion Mt Tomah is a must do inclusion in any Blue Mountains tour during Spring.

This blog is deliberately short as it is best to let the flowers do the talking. Enjoy the magic.

Protea perfection

proud and yellow

majestic

the viewing platform

wave after wave of waratahs came at us

Bells Line of Road

The majority of people visiting the Blue Mountains from Sydney will travel on the Great Western Highway. The road less travelled to the Blue Mountains is the Bells Line of Road. This name was derived from the efforts of Archibald Bell jnr, who in 1823, with the help of local Aboriginal guides marked out the route of this road.

The Bells Line of Road provides access to some great lookouts, walks and gardens.

The Royal Botanic Garden Mt Tomah

One of these gardens is the Royal Botanic Garden at Mt Tomah, which sits 1000 metres above sea level and features over 5000 species of cool climate plants. Cool climate vegetation from Africa, South America, Asia and Europe can be found here.

The Mt Tomah garden has one of the best collections of advanced Wollemi pines, which is not unexpected as these trees were found (1994) in the nearby Wollemi National Park.

Another much smaller garden, Windyridge Garden, is located further west in the historic village of Mt Wilson, and has many wonderful trees, shrubs, ponds, waterfalls and sculptures. Full credit to the owners, Wai and Rodger Davidson.

The amount of work maintaining a garden of this nature is not to be underestimated. The garden is not only beautiful but has a calming tranquillity. It is one of the highlights of the day.

The lookouts

There are many lookouts on the drive along Bells Line of Road. Some are marked, while some are not so well marked, or not marked at all. Walls lookout is very impressive and the walking time is around 30 minutes each way.

Our Sydney Blue Mountains Tour takes the Bells Line of Road and we visit the gardens and lookouts mentioned plus a fair bit more.

Scribbly Gum trees

On the way to a lookout you may come across a Scribbly Gum. Scribbly Gums are a variety of Australian Eucalyptus trees which play host to the larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth.

Scribbly Gum Moths lay their eggs in Autumn and the larvae develop in the bark throughout winter. The scribble patterns are caused by the boring and eating process. Initially the larvae bore through the bark creating irregular loop tunnels, followed by zig zag loops.

Scar tissue forms and the tunnel is filled with highly nutritious thin walled cells. The larvae then eats its way back along the same path it created. When it leaves the bark cracks off leaving the scribble patterns underneath.

A fascinating process!

Protea perfection in Mt Tomah Botanical Garden

no key required for this Windyridge pond

primary school vandals?

Would you like a lichen covered chair with your coffee?