I heard a whisper about a place called Galong Creek back in 2008. It was from an old-timer, a very experienced bushwalker (one of my elders) and her enthusiasm and obvious passion for this humble little waterway got me curious.
If you’re a regular visitor to the gorgeous Megalong Valley, you’ll be familiar with some of the landmarks along the way. That great feeling you get as the road winds down the escarpment from Blackheath, through a section of rainforest and then explodes you into the openness of the Megalong Valley. The cliff faces of Medlow Bath rise up steeply to the left, with the Hydro Majestic Hotel standing watch over you, whilst green rolling fields and farm lands spread out before you.
As you keep driving down the Megalong Valley Road, you pass the Megalong Valley Tea Rooms, (where you need to check the opening hours and keep your pace up throughout the day on the track to ensure you get back before they close!), past the Old Ford Reserve campground, the road changes from bitumen to dirt just after the famous Six Foot Track crosses the road.
But the valley doesn’t finish where the bitumen does. The investment of driving this road (OK for 2WD) all the way to the end pays massive dividends in views and adventures, as it’s the main access route for walks in the Coxs River, Megalong Valley and Wild Dogs area of the Blue Mountains National Park.
So what was amazing, was the realisation that the ricketty old bridge between the former Carlon Family Packsaddlers horseriding property and the campground, which I’d driven over many times, is actually Galong Creek – full of hidden mysteries and wonders… and a solid number of black snakes!
The notes and a mud-map for this trip (and many more) can be found in the great book, Day Walks in Therabulat Country by my mate Michael Keats. If you think that was a blatant plug… you’re right!
This isn’t a trip for beginners or if you’ve never done off-track walking, navigation and importantly, rock scrambling or used hand-lines before. Phew, just as well my group had loads of experience in all those, plus a good sense of humour and adventure!
We headed off along the firetrail and then took the single track up towards Ironpot Mountain. If you’ve got a keen eye and know where to look, you can find the lovely aboriginal water pots in the stone on top. It’s here that we checked navigation, before turning off the track and headed straight down the ridge towards Tinpot Hill and onto the junction of the Coxs River and Galong Creek. Like I said, you won’t find any tracks on any maps, so you need to know how to read a topographic map (Jenolan 1:25,000 3rd Edition) and navigate with map and compass.
This is a great route down to the river with the last 150m or so being very steep loose scree, weeeeeee! This is where we hit Galong Creek and began our ascent.
Along the way, we were welcomed by about 5 snakes (yes, all of them killers – I love my country!) and were thankful to be wearing gaiters.
It’s about 2 km upstream that the creek started to get really interesting. The sides began to close in and beautiful granite platforms started to form steps… big steps… waterfall steps.
Step after step revealed wonderful waterfalls and swimming holes, but not all of them were easy to get to… we needed to work at it. Route finding and rock scrambling was needed as we weaved and climbed our way up and up, moving ever onwards through the canyon as it starts to twist and turn.
The rocks are super slippery in sections (beware the wet, black ones!) and a few of us took some entertaining tumbles. Like I said, a good sense of humour helps!
The other key thing was a 20 metre handline. The only time we really needed to bring this out, was towards the end where there was a tumbling, cascade of water through a narrow slot. There was no-where to scramble around the sides, so off I went as the leader, armed with trusty hand-line to secure it to a tree at the top – making it easier (and safer) for the rest of my buddies. Oh and speaking of safer, this is definitely the type of trip that needs a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon)… simply pick one up for free from Katoomba Police on your way past!
After the box canyon section (around 1 km in length) the creek opens up again and you begin to feel like you’re back in farming country, as opposed to the middle of the wilderness. Out of respect to the property owners, it’s probably a good idea to exit the creek to one of the ridges to the south and join back up to the Ironpot Ridge firetrail. Not only that, anyone wishing to do this trip should seek permission from the land owners before hand.
After we hit the firetrail again, it was just back to the cars for a change into dry clothes. Oh, did I not mention that? You WILL get wet on this trip, however if you do it in Summer or in warmer weather, you won’t need a wetsuit.
All up, a sensational day with great Sydney Bushwalkers Club members. Now… for the next spot on my wishlist!
