A cold weekend up the mountains. An icy wind was blowing from the south west. It was chilling! I had travelled up to the Blue Mountains with John, Chuin Nee and their baby, Jasper. I had convinced them that Hanging Rock on Burramoko Head at Blackheath would be a great place to take photographs. The light would be best at dusk and at dawn – so it would be necessary to camp at the nearby Baltzer Lookout.
On the way up, on saturday morning, we stopped of at Leura to visit Gordon Falls and the Pool of Siloam. The lookout above Gordon Falls offers very fine views of the Jamison Valley. The falls were less spectacular – as the flow of water was quite small. This would be a good place to return to in high water!
Jasper, enjoys the view
Not far down the track is the Pool of Siloam. Its a nice spot, but again could benefit with more water going over the waterfall that provides water to the shallow pool. Worse was that some individual had decided to use the ledge behind the waterfall as a toilet! Unpleasant indeed!!
While we were at the Pool, a number of runners sauntered past – competitors in a mountain fun run.
Then, we drove to Ridgewell Road at Blackheath. Not far along is a barrier and at that point you have to walk to continue (or mountain bike). The walk to Burramoko Head took us about an hour and is not too unpleasant. It was pleasant to walk with the bracing wind behind our backs.
Once at the road terminus, it is a short walk to Baltzer Lookout, and then we scoute around to find a place to camp. There are some campsites at the lookout – but they are a bit exposed. I ended up camping in a more sheltered spot on the track.
A short way along the cliffs to the west lies the aptly named Hanging Rock. It is a spectacular place to photograph. We had arrived there a about 4pm – about the start of the “Golden Hour” when the light is good for photography. The trouble is – there are many photographic opportunities – and it is impossible for any one person to capture all the great scenes.
Once the sun had set, it was time to return to the lookout and set up our tents and tarps. We warmed ourselves by a small fire and then enjoyed a long, spread out dinner.
Hanging Rock at night
Chuin Nee and myself, later wandered back down to Hanging Rock to try some night photography. A half-moon provided a bit of light. A powerful torch was used to provide additional lighting to highlight hanging Rock.
My alarm went off at dawn – and we again returned to Hanging Rock for another series of photos. Nice. Warm, soft sunlight lit up Hanging Rock and the nearby cliffs. Magic!
Then it was time to pack up and head back to Blackheath. Chuin Nee had arranged to meet up with Su Li and Steffy for a day of climbing. After coffee, they headed off to Heathcliff, while John, Jasper and myself set off for a bushwalk at Mt Victoria.
Our walk was down the Little Zig Zag track, a fine example of dry stone wall construction, which led us into a nice patch of woodland and then rainforest below the cliffs. Our path almost took us to the Mt Piddington climbing area, before we headed up Rienits Pass and then along the cliff top to Pulpit Rock near the start of our walk.
A cold but very pleasant weekend in the mountains.
More photographs can be seen on these pages – Gordon Falls and the Pool of Siloam, Hanging Rock, and the Little Zig Zag – Rienits Pass.