Fantastic bush walks in the Blue Mountains, Bald Rock, and camping at the Warrumbungle.

Blue Mountains NP

The Blue Mountains are in New South Wales. They are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The mountains offer a mix of natural beauty, outdoor adventure, and history. This makes them a must-see for nature lovers and adventurers.

The Blue Mountains NP was the first place we explored after moving to Australia. We loved it and often returned to hike all the fantastic trails, especially the Grand Canyon. Even though we can no longer handle challenging hikes, we still visit and enjoy the beautiful scenery by playing golf in Blackheath.

We stayed in the charming town of Blackheath most of the time, and a trip to the Govetts Leap lookout is a must. The lookout offers a view of the Grose Valley. The lookout is 3 km away from Blackheath, but it’s easy to get there—take a short drive by car, walk through gorgeous bushland, or hike the moderately difficult Popes Glen trail.

Govetts Leap to Pierces Pass is a fantastic 7-8-hour wilderness hike, a 4. grade, with a few challenging sections. The first task is to descend the enormous cliff, which seems impossible but is not.

Once in the valley, there are some river crossings.

When arriving in the valley you have to cross the river a couple of times.

The majestic Blue Gum Forest is the halfway point. Many hikers take a tent with them and enjoy a night in the Blue Mountains NP. We just brought food and water and enjoyed a lovely lunch under the trees while listening to the fantastic sound of the cicadas. Then, we walked another 4 hours, the last part uphill, and we were very thirsty because we ran out of water.

Another great place in Blue Mountains NP is Evans the Lookout, which is located 6 km from Blackheath and offers an incredible view of the Grose Valley. From Evans Lookout, you can easily explore nearby hiking tracks. The grade 3 Grand Canyon Trail takes around 5 hours to complete, and the 3.5-hour Cliff Top Trek to Govetts Leap are excellent hikes.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon track is one of the most popular walks in the Blue Mountains NP. A fantastic challenging hike down the sandstone walls that have been carved over millions of years. The grade 3 hike takes about 3 -4 hours to finish. However, when taking photos of the stunning waterfalls, ferns and breathtaking views it will take longer.

We started from Neates Glen car park to get down into the Blue Mountains NP, Grand Canyon, and out at Evans Lookout. We did it in both directions but prefer going down from Neates Glen and up to Evans Lookout.

The Grand Canyon hike passes nice waterfalls and lush vegetation, and it also provides places to rest in the shade.

Some water crossings and sections of the track can be slippery.

Furthermore, you must cross Greaves Creek at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a large, colourful crayfish. Climbing then up to Evans Lookout.

There are some other nice hiking tracks in the Blue Mountains NP. Walk the Federation Pass.

Option 1: Walk from the scenic world to the echo point. Then, down the giant stairs, 998 steps, and walk the Federation Pass to the cable car station.

Option 2: Descend to the beautiful Leura Forest by walking past Echo Point. Although it is a longer route, it is considerably easier on your knees.

The Leura Forest is an excellent spot to take a break before making the final 2.5-hour hike to the base of the Scenic Railway.

the steepest railway in the world is in Blue Mountains NP

Finally, enjoy the ride up to the starting point of the walk on the steepest railway in the world.

Warrumbungle National Park

Warrumbungle National Park is in New South Wales. It is known for its stunning volcanic landscapes, rich wildlife, and stargazing. The main volcanic points are the Breadknife, Belougery Spire, and Bluff. The Park was declared as Australia’s first Dark Sky Park in 2016, for its exceptional night skies free from light pollution.

One of our first camping trips after arriving in Australia was in the Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran in NSW. We stayed in a remote area halfway up the mountains. It was very quiet; there was just another camper. There were facilities, a wood fire pit, and toilets. For a shower, we walked down 45 minutes to another campsite.

We enjoyed beautiful walks and scenery but didn’t have a digital camera. So we don’t have as many photos as today.

We did a couple of hikes there, the Breadknife and Grand High Tops Walk, but was challenging—about 5 hours for the 13 km. Beautiful panorama, and we were lucky to spot two Koalas

The Warrumbungle is a wonderful place to spot native wildlife, including kangaroos, emus, and koalas. It can be risky to look for koalas by walking and looking into the trees rather than the ground.

Bald Rock National Park

Bald Rock National Park is in New South Wales, Australia. It’s close to the border with Queensland. Bald Rock is the largest exposed granite rock in Australia. It’s a great site for hiking, climbing, and camping. You can also enjoy the peace of the Australian bush.

Then, on the way back from hiking in Lamington National Park, we stayed at a cute cabin for a couple of days. This is part of the 650-acre Spanish Hacienda near Bald Rock National Park.

Climbing up Bald Rock Summit is a short but hard Grade 5 hike. At 1277 metres above sea level, this granite monolith is the largest in Australia.

After climbing the summit, we walked to the Trig lookout, from which we had wonderful panoramic views.

We hiked through a granite wonderland and a diverse range of flora. There are Red Stringybark, Banksias, Grevilleas, and the rock surfaces are covered with diverse lichen and moss. Also, we spotted many beautiful Rock Orchids.

Bald Rock National Park there are large, free-standing rock outcrops. These Granite Tors have been sculpted by weathering and erosion. They come in interesting shapes as arches or bridges

During our hikes in Bald Rock National Park, we spotted beautiful Rock Orchids sometimes called Rock Lilies. Rock Orchids are incredibly adaptable in challenging rocky environments, like Bald Rock. The large clusters of creamy white to yellow flowers are stunning.

We made a quick halt at the Crawney Pass National Park, close to Nundle, before ending our amazing trip, and we took a picture of the magnificent grass trees.