The Caves of Narrow Neck

In the literature, both in books and online, a lot has been written on the many passes of Narrow Neck. I was wondering how many know about the caves found on the Plateau? Narrow Neck is a peninsula shaped plateau jutting south from Katoomba that separates the Jamison and Megalong Valleys. For many years it has been a natural avenue for bushwalkers who want to venture south into the Wild Dog Mountains and Coxs River country. It is called Narrow Neck because it has a narrow isthmus near the start that connects it to the main Katoomba Plateau and another thin section about half way along – the so called “Second Neck”.

Mt Solitary from The Second Neck of Narrow Neck

The history of Narrow Neck is rich. I have not heard of any aboriginal artefacts, art sites or sharpening grooves along it – but would be surprised if there are none. Probably the first Europeans to visit it were miners. There are quite a few old miners passes amongst those visited by bushwalkers today. Bushwalkers started visiting Narrow Neck as soon as the sport started and passes were pushed off Clear Hill and Carlons Head. A bushwalkers track formed. Campsites were established at Coral Swamp and Glen Raphael Swamp.

Narrow Neck changed for the worse in the early 1960’s when a fire road was bulldozed out to Clear Hill, the furthest point south. What was a nice bush walk became a road bash. One walker, Roger Lembit commented “Narrow Neck is good for the soul, but not for the soles”. Nevertheless, bushwalkers still walk Narrow Neck. Frequently on a Friday night or back on a Sunday afternoon. Indeed, some bushwalkers don’t regard someone as being an “experienced bushwalker” unless they had have completed at least 30 Neck bashes.

So what about the caves of Narrow Neck? A good way to check them out is via mountain bike, which is what Albert and myself recently did.

The first cave I know of is the renowned “Psyn Cave”. This name of unusual origin is pronounced “sin”. It is also referred to by some as the “Upper Psyn Cave” or the “SUBW Overhang”. It can be found on the western side, not far past the Climbers carpark (that leads to the old Waterboard Ladders). About 100m past the carpark, after a saddle (in fact the lowest point in the early part of the road), the road rises again and there is a short section of fence on the right (as you go south). At the end of this fence, look out for faint tracks heading west through thick scrub. Follow the best lead you can, over a rocky area and then down to a small cliff. This is about 60m from the road. Find a faint gully going through the cliff line and look for the track. At the bottom, head back left (south) and the cave can be found 20m or so around. It is level, can sleep about 10 people and has a waterfall at the far end. The cave is in quite a sheltered little nook. Now the name. In SUBW (Sydney University Bush Walkers) folklore, certain past members of the club would entertain young fresherettes in the cave, on a Friday night, on walks to Mt Solitary or the Wild Dog Mountains. And it wouldn’t do to have “Sin Cave” on the club walks program, especially if it was looked at by concerned mothers.

The Psyn Cave

The Psyn Cave

At Corral Swamp, can be found the next cave. Corral Swamp is an old campsite used when the track went along the Neck. For those who couldn’t be bothered putting up their tents there was a convenient cave nearby. It is only small, sleeping about 4 people, but is very sheltered. It is on the eastern side – opposite the Corral Swamp turn off. It is very close to the road, perhaps 30m or so, again down a slope, but through a lot of fallen bark and branches with no track now. Head down and look for a small bluff on the right, the first one you come to. The cave is in that bluff.

Coral Swamp Cave

The other two caves I know of that are close to the road, are the one at the Second Neck. It is an overhang under on of the large boulders reached as you climb up from the lowest part of the Second Neck. It is not much of a cave, but does offer some shelter from wind and rain. Next is the cave at the end of the Neck, close to Clear Hill. It lies on the descent route to Tarros Ladders. It can be found about 20m past the steel ladder that goes down a defile at the start of the route. The cave is fairly small, can sleep about 4 or 5 and is exposed to the westerly wind.

The cave half way along – on the Second Neck

The cave near Tarros Ladders

 

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16 Responses to The Caves of Narrow Neck

  1. Sarah Truscott says:

    nice photos Dave! Great moody atmosphere 🙂

  2. Owain Williams says:

    There’s another cave close to the road just north of Glenraphael Falls. Old fireplace there, but I can’t remember how many people it can fit – maybe 3 or 4 if my memory’s not too far wrong.

    And great pics.

  3. Lisa Smith says:

    Hi Dave! We are from Brisbane and we are heading down to the Blue Mountains to do some mountain biking in September. We want to try and fit in as many trails as we can (love your posts by the way) and we were wondering where the best place to stay would be as a base – having somewhere to return to after a day of riding would be good. In other words, where do many of the bike rides begin?

    • Dave Noble says:

      Depends where you want to ride. There are some good places close to Sydney for riding – e.g. Manly Dam, Wisemans Ferry, Appin, Mt Annan etc and some good places in the Blue Mts. If you want to do Blue Mts rides then a good base may be at Katoomba – where there is a wide range of accommodation and good rides close by.

  4. Doric says:

    Nice post Dave. As I’m sure you know, there is a large overhang adjacent to Red Ledge Pass, on the western side of Narrow Neck about 1 km or so from the locked gate/carpark. It is a big open overhang, so not much wind shelter but reasonable rain protection, and has large cliffs below, so care should be taken. I assume it is used mostly by climbers, as there are bolts in the rock immediately above. There’s a stream right next to it, with waterfall and swimming hole, and access to the Megalong valley/six foot track below via Red Ledge pass.

    Doric

    Doric

  5. Tim Vollmer says:

    Dave,
    Have you ever heard of Phantom Cave on Narrowneck?
    I was just reading the latest Blue Mountains Conservation Society newsletter and saw the following walk: Narrowneck to Castle Head, Phantom Cave and return via Diamond Falls.
    The leader says the whole walk is only 6-7 km, so the cave can’t be too far out.
    Tim

    • Dave Noble says:

      No – haven’t heard of that cave. It could be a BMCS name? I’m sure there are plenty more caves on the neck than just the well known ones.

  6. Col Gibson says:

    The cave at Coral Swamp in days of yore used to be known as “Gibson’s Grotto” after Jack Gibson (no relation) of the Warrigal Club.

  7. Jonno Downes says:

    My 5yo son and I went looking for Psyn cave this afternoon, following the instructions on this site (Thanks David.) We found the track with no issues, got to a big flat rocky area with a cliff dropping westward, went north 10 metres and descended down a little slot that involved some drops of over a metre between levels, which was a bit dicey for me to carry my son down.

    After lunch at the cave, we explored the lower section a bit further and worked out there was a much easier access about 20 metres further north than where we had ascended. So I will use that way next time 🙂

  8. Jonno Downes says:

    My son and I went and explored “pumping station cave” this afternoon using directions from http://www.climb.org.au/print.php?action=area&uid=410

    The walk from the climbers carpark was very short and would be a fair bit easier to get to in the dark than psyn cave but the cave itself isn’t very impressive.

  9. Mark Skinner says:

    We used to camp at a cave in the eighties that was accessed via the waterboard ladders at the bottom of the climbing area at narrowneck. It was a huge cave with a waterfall nearby and could fit a lot of climbers. I suppose now that the ladders are not used that the camping cave hardly gets used either. Do you know of the cave and if the cave had a name?
    I don’t climb these days but do some canyoning when time permits. I suppose the narrowneck climbing area sees a lot less use these days.
    I have often used tarros ladders pass to access the wild dogs or coming from Kanangra. Have descended down castle head, but never down Carlons head despite talking about doing it. Will need to get out there again. Don’t like the road bash down narrowneck. Kills the feet. Mountain bikes seems the go.

    • Kevin West says:

      Mark.
      The cave you describe was known as Lower Psyn Cave – being underneath the Upper Psyn Cave. It used to have a flat floor that could sleep 30 people. Somehow the floor has now eroded and is steeply sloping down into the valley. You would be pushed to sleep 5 people now on a level surface. It’s still a nice snug cave in the rain however.

  10. Tenielle says:

    This was awesome Dave!
    This has been the most information ive been able to gather on Psyn cave!!
    I was just wondering if it is legal to sleep at the Psyn cave and is this on a cliff at all or have any drops around the cave?

    • Dave Noble says:

      Yes – legal to sleep in the cave as far as I know. Nobody would bother you anyway. And no big cliffs close to the cave – so safe from falling out.

  11. Sam May says:

    Hi Dave,

    The other week I walked down to the “waterfall cave”, an old climber’s hangout, at the far northern end of the main Narrowneck climbing area. The waterfall is the one made by the head of Devil’s Hole Creek. It’s a beautiful sheltered spot behind the waterfall, and the name is helpfully painted on the wall in white paint, as the old climbers liked to do, so you definitely know when you’ve found it. Like the Lower Psyn cave, it would have been a lot more convenient when Dixon’s Ladders were still useable.

    There is also a shelter on top of the plateau, on the walk in to “Cave Climb”, a hundred meters or so south of the upper Psyn Cave. It has been built up with a rock wall but is still pretty exposed, it would be an option if the Psyn Cave is full, or you prefer a view!

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