Katoomba to Kanangra

Jan 6th 2007
Had Planned to walk this with Honor over three days but she was unwell so I went alone. This is a magnificent hike through the Kanangra Boyd Wilderness. I started at the Golden Stairs at Katoomba on Saturday at 7am. The track takes you down Narrowneck and into the Coxs River Valley via Tarros Stairs. The track is mountainous. It is one big walk down into the Cox's River and then a big walk up the other side to Kanangra Walls. 45km in total.

Tarros Stairs at Narrowneck

I arrived at Coxs River at 2.30pm and was stuffed. The heat was extreme, so I lay down on the bank and slept for three hours.

Coxs River below Mt Strongleg

Then I hiked up Mt Strongleg (well named) and camped on the summit. I had porridge for dinner cooked on my new Trangia stove (thanks Michele) and went to turn in for the night when 1000 flying ants rose up from the ground and landed on me. It was as if they had received the "Scramble" command from Ant HQ. Aerogard didn't seem to make any difference to the little buggers. When they landed on me they detached their wing like paratroopers making an Airborne assault and crawled up every orifice they could find. Fortunately they didn't bite. So I jumped into my sleeping bag and wiggled around till I had squashed them all. Then I lay still.

Then Ant Command sent in their second wave, the heavy bombers. A Group of orange wasp sized Flying Ants lifted off from a rocky outcrop about 4 metres away and landed en masse about 1M from my head. I was already snuggled up and was too stuffed to move so I sprayed some extra Aerogard over myself and went to sleep. Fortunately they never came closer.
I slept till 6am, waking up occasionally to see many small bats circling overhead in the moonlight.

After a hearty breakfast of porridge I set out for Mt Cloudmaker via Dex Creek at 7am. I got a little lost at Dex creek and had to backtrack but eventually I found a beautiful clearing with lovely water. I reached Cloudmaker at 11am. I boiled the billy here and had the last of my porridge. There is a log book here which made for interesting reading.

The track from Cloudmaker to Kanangra runs along a spectacular ridge which is a little hairy at times. The rocks on the ridge are loose and come almost to a knife edge so caution is needed

Typical Ridge Walk between Cloudmaker and Kanangra

especially when you are on your own. I eventually made it onto the Kanangra Plateau at 2.30 and ran the last 4km to try and make the agreed 3pm meeting time with Michele, Honor and Serena.

Over every ridge and around every corner of this hike were breathtaking scenes which make you contemplate the contrast between this ancient wilderness and the plastic and glass world just 50km away.

This is the first time I have hiked a significant distance alone and it has its advantages. I saw much more wildlife than usual and got much closer to it. No doubt because there was no talking, there were less footsteps and I was less distracted. Amongst the wildlife I saw were lyrebirds, bush turkeys, numerous wallabies, black snakes, goannas, black cockatoos, native pigeons, many different types of lizards. Another bonus is that I saw no other human until I got to Kanangra.

One of Several Black Snakes

As there had been two recent bushwalking deaths in this area I went well prepared with an EPIRB, GPS, compass, first aid kit, torch, plenty of food and water, maps, spares and clothing. I highly recommend this walk but suggest it be made over three or even four days for the average party. There are good campsites at Mobbs Swamp, Coxs river, Dex Creek.

After Michele picked me up we had a great meal at the Italian restaurant in Blackheath.

Looking at Kanangra Walls From near Mt Cloudmaker