Its been a tradition for 40 years now for the SUBW president to lead a party of bushwalkers to the beautiful and wild Kowmung River on the October Long Weekend.
Three days is a good time to spend on the river and October is a good time of the year to be there. The three day time period allows for one to walk in and one day to walk out and then the middle day to be spent walking along the river. And October? Often (but not always) good weather, often the weather is warm enough for swimming in the river, and post winter – the grassy banks are at their finest.
We spread out and broke into smaller groups for the walk down to the river. This year’s trip went down the Bullhead Range and Cambage Spire to the junction of the Kowmung and Christies Creek. There is a nice grassy campsite at the junction. On an earlier PBT, I can remember seeing a platypus in the Kowmung near the campsite. I didn’t see one this trip – but two others in the party did.
On the second day, we walked downstream through the Bulga Denis Canyon. This is mostly easy walking. Frequent crossings of the river are needed to avoid scrub and bluffs. At one point we climbed over a low saddle to shorten the walk.
On the way we saw lots of wildlife – particularly goannas and snakes. Some of the party saw three large pythons coiled together in a pocket of rainforest.
This is magical walking. Deep clear pools in the river. Bluffs towering above and often punctuated with masses of orchids in flower. Sparkling rapids. Shoals of cobblestones. A special place.
In the mid afternoon, we arrived at our next campsite at Orange Bluff. This is surely one of the most attractive campsites on the Kowmung. A beautiful grassy flat, crystal clear swimming holes in the river. The orange blaze on the quartzite cliffs of the bluff. The gentle rapids of the Kowmung River. Perfect!
Our walk out was via Brumby Ridge which leaves straight behind the campsite. This takes you up to First Top on Gingra Range. And from there it is not too far back to our starting point – Kanangra Walls.
More photos can be found on my website starting from this page.
Special thanks to SUBW President Emma for leading the walk and to Tom for his organising and to the great people who came along on the walk.