Newnes NP D Grade Reccie

[Dru]

WHERE: Newnes National Park
WHEN: Sat 4th July
MEET: Richmond Macdonalds
TIME: 7:30 am we'd really like to be underway by 7:45 so get in early if you want Breakfast. :smile-new:
GRADE: D

REQUIREMENTS: Radio and Jeep, that's it. Lunch, walking shoes. Recovery really shouldn't be an issue.

Bring maps and Nav/mapping tools if you've got them. Bring questions. If we can't answer we will follow up later.

Edit: Bring a torch if you want to walk the glow worm tunnel. Walk will take about an hour there and back, easy walking suitable for kids.

The idea for this trip is to help everyone who wants to assist Jamboree - but is not yet familiar with the trails. We will talk about where we are and what is around us. How to get from A to B. We will drop by ZigZag on the way up, the usual entry point from Sydney, but we'll keep on going to Lidsdale which is the start point during Jamboree.

We'll show you a sneaky short cut into Newnes NP from Lidcome, and then the usual entry to Blackfellows hand. And how to get out via ZigZag.

Let us know what you want: Maiyngu Marragu Rock (Black fellow's hand), Lost City, Glow Worm Tunnel, and Garden of Stones, are all possibilities. Maybe poke our nose in to the start of Spanish Steps too. Time may not let us do it all, so prioritise and we'll tick what is important to you.

Numbers are flexible depending on interest.

ATTENDING:
1: Dru and Kerry, dru, JK
2: Dan, DanD
3: Dennis, jk_menace, JKU
4: Rich, RichHenning, JKU
5: Bee + kids, TBC
6: Dushan, TBV
7: Steve, SteveT
8:


cheers

Dru

[DanD]

Gday Dru, that sounds like a pretty cool day out, please put me down - I'm in lower blue mountains though so will meet up with you at Lithgow - any suggestions on where to wait for the convoy on the day?

[Dru]

Catch us at the ZigZag railway car park. I'll check times but we'd be there at 9:00.

Great at to have you on board.

[uncaged123]

Dru sounds good. Like to say I'm in as I haven't done that area before. I need to check the date of a previously arranged appointment date before I can commit.

Have you considered doing 2 or 3 separate trips to cover all those locations you've mentioned?

Cheers Rob

[Dru]

Rob, I'm an impatient man.
:smile-new:

I'd be happy to do a repeat for the bits that get missed.

It's not quite as busy as it seems though. We are simply looking to the main graded trails through the area - the central hub in, out and through Newnes NP. To get your bearings, sometimes an "overview trip" is a good place to start.

I'd be happy to repeat, but let's see how we go on this one.

[Edit - JPeg added] Hopefully this is legible. Another edit - JPEG moved to the Jamboree section.


Rob, The idea is to drive past Zig Zag, Lithgow, the short cut. Fill up Lidsdale. Off the bitumen at Blackfellow's Hand, to Glow Worm, then exit by Old Coach onto the bitumen. It really is only an extra hour compared to just doing Glow Worm.

[jk_menace]

Hi Dru, sounds great put us down please. I'm not familiar with the area so the more experience I get the better prepared I'll be come Jambo. I'll be traveling from Sydney Great Western Hwy, where is the best place to meet up and time.
Cheers mate
Dennis

[DanD]

Hi Dru, sounds great put us down please. I'm not familiar with the area so the more experience I get the better prepared I'll be come Jambo. I'll be traveling from Sydney Great Western Hwy, where is the best place to meet up and time.
Cheers mate
Dennis

Zig Zag car park for 9am

[uncaged123]

Dennis, use the Bell crossover road at or near Mt Victoria, then turn left at Bell toward Lithgow. The Ziczac parking area isn't that far down the road.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it, cheers Rob

[jk_menace]

Dennis, use the Bell crossover road at or near Mt Victoria, then turn left at Bell toward Lithgow. The Ziczac parking area isn't that far down the road.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it, cheers Rob
Thanks Rob, Get better soon hope to see you there.
cheers Dennis

[Dru]

Denis, as per Rob and Dan, ZigZag is the spot. I'll see if I can insert a google earth pic - not tonight though.

[jk_menace]

Denis, as per Rob and Dan, ZigZag is the spot. I'll see if I can insert a google earth pic - not tonight though.
Thanks Dru,
Got it on Google maps.
cheers
Dennis

[belinda.collings]

Hey Dru,
Just wondering, if you'll be stopping at the glow worm caves, so the kids can have a look? Not 100% if we can come yet, need to see if I can do some shuffling.
Bee [emoji106]🏼


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dru]

B, happy to stop there. It needs an hour to walk, look etc.

[DanD]

Don't forget to bring torches so you don't trip over in the tunnel itself hehe

[AV8]

I used a night vision monocular bought from Aldi and that was really cool.

[Dru]

Yes torch required. Just remember to stop half and turn it off for five mins. Your eyes need to adjust yo night vision to see the glow worms.

[richhenning]

Hi Dru, Myself and the family would like to join you please. We've never been to the glow worm tunnels so looking forward to that. We are making a weekend of it, staying over in Oberon on Saturday night and visiting scenic world on the way home on Sunday. See you at Richmond maccas. cheers.

[Dru]

Cheers Rich, it'll be great to catch up again.

[Easy77]

Dru, I'm a keen "maybe" at this stage. Will likely meet at ZigZag carpark (Clarence). I'd be keen to learn about entry/exit points and shortcuts between the various trails in the area.

Dushan

[uncaged123]

Unfortunately I'll have to give this trip a mis. I can rearrange my appointment but this virus I currently have will not let go. I don't want to ruin others day on the trail by having to stop regularly due to my illness.

I hope to be on the trail and in that area soon.

Cheers RobS

[Dru]

Dushan, welcome, hope you can make it. Finding our way around is what the day is all about.

Rob, I was wondering how you bug was going. All the best.

[stevet]

Hoping to attend.............. Will met you at Richmond Macca's.........

[Dru]

Cheers Steve. See ya there!

[jk_menace]

Hi guys, we are out, one of our boys was in a car accident at around midnight, nothing serious however I'll need to be home to sort things out. Bummer we were looking so forward to it..
cheers Dennis

[Dru]

All the best Dennis. Situations that test a family, trusting it is all good,

[DanD]

Hope everything worked out ok Dennis!

Thank you for organising today Dru & Kerry! That's a great run for a day trip (and will be using it in the future hehe) Thank you to all that came also!

I'll grab the gps out of the jk soon(ish) and "remember" how to put todays track onto google earth and then onto dropbox - good run for 33" tyres at 30 psi and sway bar connected!

[DanD]

The (very few) pics that I took today:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YHgx0_RyF2umA8Qhl6qRB2pKVOlQ8BzSb_ApaFu31YWs=w290-h218-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3Wf0yNZO2K9mXQmKpc4sy8PEcztsyGdx7_dbEa8nX_8i=w290-h218-no (View from the lookout that Steve T suggested - awesome view!)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/srD7Sw-xUp3N41PAtdBVVJPnPW5dO9yzxIFNBrPLThx9=w290-h218-no (Same lookout, but with extra son of Richard H)

[richhenning]

Thanks very much for the day Dru and Kerry. We had a great day, got a better feel for the area and enjoyed the company of everyone. Cheers. Rich, Val and James.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Easy77]

Hi guys, we are out, one of our boys was in a car accident at around midnight, nothing serious
cheers Dennis

Sorry to hear that Dennis; "Den-Den" was certainly missed today. We'll go there again so we can catch up next time. Hope all is good at home. Dushan.

[Easy77]

Thanks to all that went up to zig zag today. We had a long but pleasant day.
It was a great guided tour - I'm looking at the "area guide" handout and only just realised it has several "difficulty" layers, good work Dru & Kerry. I also have a few pics that I'll eventually post here.

Dushan

[jk_menace]

Hey guys sounds like you all had a great day. We are all good, however Eleni's Subaru looks a bit sore and sorry. We were looking forward to today's trip. Hope to be able to get out there soon for a run.
Cheers Dennis

[DanD]

Sorry to hear re the Subi Dennis - so long as everyone is ok though! I have the track in my gps (and head) and uploaded it to drop box (on page 3) if you want to do it on your own - I'll definitely be doing this run again at some point if you're in need of a tag along

[stevet]

Thank's Dru & Kerry for the day..... Thank's to all you folks who attended making it a very good run to get back and wheel around a little again........

[jk_menace]

Sorry to hear re the Subi Dennis - so long as everyone is ok though! I have the track in my gps (and head) and uploaded it to drop box (on page 3) if you want to do it on your own - I'll definitely be doing this run again at some point if you're in need of a tag along
Thanks Dan, no fun on my own lol. I'm happy to do a day that suites you and possibly others that missed out today.
Cheers mate.

[Hamma]

Hey All. I'm keeping my eye on this one too - just couldn't make it yesterday.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Dru]

We'll be happy to run this again. Our little bit towards the Jamboree.

Thanks heaps to Steve, firstly because it's always good to have experience at hand, but also for filling in the gaps. That let us link in locations at the Zig Zag end. "Ranger Bob", "Little Bob", "Pipeline", "Powerlines" etc. It's been a while since Kerry and I have wheeled those tracks.

Zig Zag is one of the typical entry points to Newnes NP and just a little bit down Bell's Line Of Rd from Lithgow.

Steve led us out to "Lost Cities". My claim to "D grade" being a touch in danger of having to fend off questions of false advertising. :smile-new::hypnotysed::smile-new: Lost cities is big rock formations. They lit these up in WWII to look like a city to confuse bombers. Like most good plans, it wasn't needed.

We we then tripped through the bottom section of Blackfellow's Hand to turn off to "Kerry's sneaky entry track". This is actually no secret. It's the quickest way from Lidsdale into Newnes NP but requires cutting over a private coal haul road. We simply stick to a short dirt track on the side of the haul road then cross over. The cutting down to the haul road is probable C Grade. We don't really need low range (even climbing up), but it's steep enough that many will prefer low.

Great entertainment, the bog holes on Kerrys sneaky entry were full of ice.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0351_zpsgenlljsz.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0351_zpsgenlljsz.jpg.html)

From there on the outskirts of Lidsdale we took to the bitumen up the Wolgan Rd (which goes to Newnes). We stopped on the bitumen at a look out to Wolgan Valley. Apparently the largest valley in the world after the Grand Canyon. Another thumbs up to Steve for pointing out this spot. Lunch. :smile-new:

You could keep driving the bitumen to the "Old Coach Rd" which is the quickest way to Glow Worm tunnel from there. Though we didn't get the chance to do this track, I'll call it a C grade.

Instead we turned back down the bitumen, maybe 1k, to the start of Blackfellow's Hand. On the other side of the bitumen is the start of "Baal Bone". I think "Baal Bone" then Capertee back to Rydal is the second part of these familiarisation trips.

The start of Blackfellow's Hand is the grotto which gives the trail it's name. There used to be cave paintings here, need to use some imagination these days. It's another good stop and walk point. But for brevity we kept on driving. Like Zig Zag, this is one of the most common entry points to the area.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMGP0588_zpsthn9ukwt.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMGP0588_zpsthn9ukwt.jpg.html)
At this part of the NP there is another D grade track, "Sunny Ridge Fire Trail" that runs parallel to Blackfellow's hand. Sunny Ridge doesn't go anywhere, but it's important because there is a little joining trail between them. This joining bit is the famous "Spanish Steps". Some conjecture on the trail rating for the steps, but I'm calling it B grade. Definitely not a D anyway.

We drove past the entry to Spanish Steps and continued through to "Glow Worm Tunnel Rd" think this is called "Newnes Rd" as well. It might be dirt, but it's a flat highway. The start of "Old Coach Rd" is just before the entry to Glow Worms.

This section of road is the old train track, complete with tunnels, for Shale Oil mining 100 years ago. There is a lovely walk (allow an hour there and back) at the end. Most of us got our trecking shoes out to check it out. The glow worms bit is a tunnel about 1k long that is a slight curve and utterly pitch black without a torch. Turn the torches off, let your eyes get their night vision, and you will start seeing the glow worms.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMGP0584_zpslh90zgcr.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMGP0584_zpslh90zgcr.jpg.html)
From there, we headed home. Half of the group heading out via Lithgow, the other half back to Zig Zag.

I suspect we may have bombarded the group with information overload, but hopefully it all made sense, and those who wanted to better know their way around, have found it useful.

Think I'll post my thumb nail sketches up in the Jamboree section for general info. When I get a chance I'll add some pics.

It's worth noting, BlackFellow's Hand Trail is in pretty poor condition. Still D grade but bumpy as. This does slow the trip down somewhat.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0352_zpsfesjm0sx.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0352_zpsfesjm0sx.jpg.html)

Note: a couple of the pics are from previous trips.

[uncaged123]

Good work Dru & Kerry, sorry I missed this outing. This virus is driving me crazy because it won't let go. I'll go on the next revisit trip when you arrange it, virus or no virus. I'll slog it out.

Cheers Rob

[Easy77]

Pictures from Saturday: https://goo.gl/photos/i3t3M6SV4NzcV6tbA

Clearly, it was coooldddd. I usually post a link to dropbox but I thought I'd give google photo sharing a try. Let me know if you have problems to view the pictures. Enjoy.

[Steve F]

Great pics all, I grabbed a lot of them for the Jambo facebook page :) Makes me want to get up there again soon....

Cheers
Steve

[richhenning]

Appreciate the effort Dru and Kerry, even down to printing colour hand out maps of the area for all of us!
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/05/ff3e010b850cd2d23aa842afafeab9f0.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/05/cbd7ce25e0048da0ec509775829fdec0.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/05/c80f9b78ea055ac5c00816ccb92a4a28.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/05/3c7f3c4fac5457a63d32076ef520c22c.jpg


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Steve F]

I moved the GPX files and maps etc out of this thread to the Jambo section, don't want to give too much away before Jambo :)

Cheers
Steve

[Dru]

I moved the GPX files and maps etc out of this thread to the Jambo section, don't want to give too much away before Jambo :)

Cheers
Steve

Cheers Steve - wasn't quite sure which was the right spot.

[Heidi]

Sounds like you all had a great trip!!!