Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens west of Kurrajong

 

Kurrajong (including Kurrajong Heights)
Interesting area with spectacular views over the Sydney Basin.
Kurrajong is located 76 km Sydney in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. The road from Sydney passes through Richmond and crosses the Nepean River at North Richmond. The bridge, although it seems so far above the level of the river has, in recent times, been flooded and damaged by logs and snags. Beyond the bridge the road rises to the small township of North Richmond and then begins the long ascent through Kurmond to Kurrajong Heights.

This is an area like no other in the Blue Mountains. The land has been cleared leaving gently undulating foothills. The people who have moved into the area have grown European cold climate trees and bushes, and commercial fruit crops - apples, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, walnuts and cherries - fill the roadside stalls with cheap, high quality produce which makes any trip a fruit-shopping bonanza.

The first European into the area was Captain Watkin Tench who, with his party, seems to have reached Knights Hill. Certainly in his diary he recorded that he explored to "the elevation which bounded our research we gave the name of Knight Hill, in honour of the trusty serjeant who had been the faithful and indefatigable companion of all our travels."

Governor Lachlan Macquarie, responsible for so much of the settlement in this area, wrote in his Journal of a Tour of Governor Macquarie's First Inspection of the Interior of the Colony about his visit to this area: 'We rode through a fine open forest and hilly country for about 5 miles to the foot of the Curry Jung Hill, which is very long and steep to ascend, arriving on the summit of it at 12 o'clock, and from whence we had a very grand noble prospect of the low grounds on both banks of the River Hawkesbury and as far as the Green Hills.'

Archibald Bell, Jr was only nineteen when he passed through the area and crossed the mountains along what was to become Bell's Line of Road in 1823. This was not a solitary achievement. Sensibly he used the knowledge of the local Aborigines who had been crossing the mountains for tens of thousands of years. Although the mountains has been crossed at Katoomba a decade earlier, there was still no satisfactory route through the mountains from Richmond at this time. Bell reached Mount Tomah on his first attempt but could not find a way across the mountains. On his second attempt he followed the ridge across to the present site of Bell and from there made his way down into Hartley Vale where he joined up with Cox's road.

Things to see:  

Exploring Kurrajong Village
Kurrajong, a small village on the Old Bells Line of Road which has been by-passed by the modern road, is worth a visit. The guesthouses, antique shops, hand craft shops and tea rooms are designed to attract visitors. Of historic interest are St Gregory's Roman Catholic Church (1904) and the renovated Goldfinders Home (1851), an old inn which was opened to cash in on the miners travelling across the mountains to the Turon goldfields. It fell into disrepair but has recently been renovated for private use.

 

Views across the Sydney Basin
Return to Bell's Line of Road and continue to Kurrajong Heights pausing, at every opportunity, to look back across the Sydney basin. No wonder this route has been a popular drive for Sydneysiders. From various points on the road, on a clear day, you can see across Sydney. It is possible to make out the outline of the major buildings in the central business district. Some people even claim they have seen Sydney Harbour Bridge.

 

Kurrajong Heights and Knights Hill
Kurrajong Heights village is a mixture of the historic and the tourist-tempting. There are art galleries, antique shops and gift shops as well as St James Church of England (a fine building dating from 1889), St David's Presbyterian Church (1886) and the Post Office which is a rarity having been prefabricated in England and shipped out to Australia.

Lochiel House, one of the oldest buildings in the district, is now used as a craft shop. It was built by Joseph Douglass who was granted the land at Kurrajong in 1825. He possibly built this interesting building - with its hand-hewn hardwood and sandstone floor - a few years later. Like so many early buildings it has changed its usage over the years. In the early days Douglass used it as a residence. By the 1850s it was a popular accommodation spot known as 'Ivy Lodge' and offering meals and 'stabling and fodder for a horse'. When it was purchased by the Cameron brothers they changed its name to Lochiel House. It subsequently became a post office before becoming a craft shop.

The top of the hill at Kurrajong is called Knights Hill. It offers the best views of Sydney from Kurrajong Hill.

 

Wollemi National Park
Wollemi National Park is the second-largest national park in New South Wales, covering 487 500 hectares. It is the home of the Wollemi Pine. This 'living fossil', first discovered in 1994, is the closest surviving relative of species which date back 150 million years.

As the park is situated on a soft sandstone base, erosion has created substantial valleys and precipitous escarpments. The terrain is rugged and there are few access points or trails, so access can be problematic but, for those willing to make the effort, this remote wilderness offers substantial rewards. The variety of land formations gives rise to a range of flora types, including swamp, heath, woodland and patches of rainforest. The fauna includes wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, koalas and rare species such as the glossy black cockatoo and the broad-headed snake.

The park offers abseiling, canyoning or treking to numerous mountain peaks. Limited access is available to 4WD vehicles. Vehice-based camping is available in the eastern part of the park at Wheeny Creek which offers swimming and basic camping, picnicking and barbecue facilities. From this base it is quite a short drive to join up with Bob Turner's Track, the T3 Track and the Mailes Ridge Walking Track. Bob Turner's is a well-graded track which starts 3 km from Putty Rd and it offers ready access to the Colo River. T3 is a 3-km trail which offers excellent views of Colo Gorge and descends to the confluence of the Colo River and Tootie Creek.

 

 

 

 

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Kurrajong