August 2011
Eight of us, on a morning that threatened rain, drove up to Budderoo National Park just past Belmore Falls.
Opposite Yarrawa State Forest is Wallaby Hill Road, at the end of which is a gate and access to the National Park along the Yarrawa Track.
Walking here is usually easy, but the wild winds of the week before had left much debris and many fallen trees over the track.
Also the very pretty bush had, in many places, been burnt out during the large fires that threatened Belmore Falls not so long ago. Still, this did not deter us and we really wanted to see the wonderful view over Kangaroo Valley from the Les Lambert Lookout at the very edge of the escarpment.
So we clambered over logs along Hindmarsh Ridge, braved the showers and kept walking.
We reached the rocky ledge in time for an early lunch, looked out and saw nothing but mist.
All the expanse of the Valley, that had thrilled Fran and I the week before when we did the recce, was completely covered.
All that we could see was Maynard Falls and the very top of the Cambewarra Mountain.
It was still very pretty, as Tony Barnett’s photo shows, but it was not the spectacular end we had promised to the fairly mundane walk.
Bushwalkers are however resilient and so we drove back to show our newcomers Belmore Falls.
There, we were told by a visiting family, that just two minutes before they had been visible in all their glory but now they were also covered in that ubiquitous mist.
At least we were able to show our group the photos on the family’s cameras and mobile phone!
What else was there to do but drive on to Robertson and sit in front of a fire and drink hot chocolate and console ourselves with cake.
If the truth be told, it was this promise that had kept us going during the earlier rain.
We would recommend this as a great walk to do in summer or on a day when the mist is at bay.
Lee Sharam