Bush Club walk Greater Blue Mountains National Park – Blue Mountains National Park- Warrimoo Lookouts Warrimoo -Monday 29 th July 2019- Track Notes The view from Warrimoo Lookout. Bunyan lookout is left of centre and White Cross Lookout right of centre. Photo: Kelvin Knox Short title Warrimoo Lookouts Date Monday 29 th July 2019 Leader John Fox Maps, etc. Department of Lands topographic map, 1:25000, Springwood, 9030-4S, third edition. GPS setting WGS 84. Walk descrip tion and route Access via Green Road Warrimoo. Three lookouts on two ridges with views of Glenbrook Creek. About 6km, +&- 50m Rating 2 with grade 4 sections. Gear issues First aid kit. 1 litre of water, GPS, PLB, appropriate head and footwear, electrolytes, maps, compass. Change of gear for afterwards. Numbers 8 Meeting point 0630 Pymble, 0715 at Blaxland or 0830 at the end of the sealed section of Greens Road. Transpo rt Club cars Comment s All on track but a seldom visited area. Close ASAP 1
Transcript
Bush Club walkGreater Blue Mountains National Park – Blue Mountains
National Park- Warrimoo Lookouts Warrimoo -Monday 29th July 2019- Track Notes
The view from Warrimoo Lookout. Bunyan lookout is left of centre and White Cross Lookout right of centre. Photo: Kelvin Knox
Short title Warrimoo LookoutsDate Monday 29th July 2019Leader John FoxMaps, etc. Department of Lands topographic map, 1:25000, Springwood, 9030-4S,
third edition. GPS setting WGS 84.Walk description and route
Access via Green Road Warrimoo. Three lookouts on two ridges with views of Glenbrook Creek. About 6km, +&- 50m
Rating 2 with grade 4 sections.Gear issues First aid kit. 1 litre of water, GPS, PLB, appropriate head and footwear,
electrolytes, maps, compass. Change of gear for afterwards.Numbers 8Meeting point
0630 Pymble, 0715 at Blaxland or 0830 at the end of the sealed section of Greens Road.
Transport Club carsComments All on track but a seldom visited area. Close of Bookings
Plot of the walk overlaid on a topographical map. Recorded and prepared by Harold Thompson.
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Local Place Names
Bunyan Lookout is located on the top of the cliff line on the Kings Link Track overlooking the southern side of Glenbrook Creek, Springwood. Walking access is via Farm Road and Martins Lookout. Named after George Keith Bunyan (1904-1990), who formed the Glenbrook Voluntary Fire Brigade in 1942 and held the position as Fire Captain until he retired in 1968. The name was initiated by Max Hatherly, secretary of the local, Parks and Reserves Trust Committee to Blue Mountains City Council in the mid-1960s. George Ernest Bunyan (1879-1967) and his son George Keith Bunyan were both keen bushwalkers and recorded aboriginal sites in the Lower Blue Mountains. Bunyan senior initiated the scientific investigation of Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook in 1924. He was also the Secretary of the Nepean District Historical Society. Ref: Geographical Names Board Minutes, 26 February 1969. Personal communication from Joan Peard, daughter of George Keith Bunyan, 22 July 2005. S 757 638.
Kel, Berenice and John exploring the “Spider Cave” high above Glenbrook Creek. Photo: Harold Thompson
Kings Link Track was constructed by John Sydney Pennington King b.1928, to link the tracks off Saint Helena Ridge with the track on Glenbrook Creek. King commenced the work in 1988 and completed it on 21 July 1991. This track gives access to Bunyan Lookout and Lost World Lookout and can be accessed via Martins Lookout via Springwood. Ref: Blue Mountains Gazette, 17 July 1991. Cameron, Bruce. A History of the Blue Labyrinth, 2014, p. 254. Correspondence with John King, 19 March 2017. S 757 643 to 751 635.
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Relaxed in the Spider Cave. Left to right, Kel, Michael, Berenice and Harold. Photo: John Fox
Glenbrook Creek rises on the eastern side of the junction of the Blue Mountains Range and Woodford Range, Woodford. This perennial creek flows for 17km generally east and south east into the Nepean River, north east of Mount Portal. Named by Sir John Jamison (1776-1844), 15 November 1818 as Glen Brook, as he assumed incorrectly the brook originated from the Glen (Prince Regents Glen). Ref: Survey Plan E5.788, dated 5 April 1833 records, “Glen Brook.” Andrews, Alan. Major Mitchell’s Map 1834 The Saga of the Survey of the Nineteen Counties, 1992, p. 204 records, Assistant Surveyor Rusden’s entry, 1831 as, “Glen brook.” Maps and plans after these dates show the creek name as Glenbrook Creek. K 674 644 to P 816 597.
Green Point Lookout is at the southern end of the fire trail which extends from Greens Road to the cliff line above Glenbrook Creek, Warrimoo. Views of Glenbrook Creek below can be seen. Named in 1960. Ref: Sloss, Robert. Glenbrook to Lawson, 2008, pp. 18-19. Also known as Warrimoo Lookout. S 761 641.
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Track junction, 768 650. The track to the left is a service track to the 132kV power line. Photo: Kelvin Knox
Stress pleating in an Angophora costata near the Spider Cave. Photo: Harold Thompson
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Lost World Lookout is located on the top of the escarpment and above the southern side of Glenbrook Creek between Bunyan Lookout and Western Creek, Springwood. Named after the Lost World Trig Station which was constructed here in the early 1930s. Walking access is via Farm Road, Martins Lookout, Glenbrook Creek, Kings Link Track and Bunyan Lookout, Springwood. A white cross at this lookout reads, "In memory of Rev Br G E Raymer 25-7-53." Graham Eric Raymer (1926-1953) joined the Christian Brothers in 1948. Raymer was a teacher at St Patrick's College, Strathfield. Hiking in the Blue Mountains was one of his favorite activities. During a school football carnival at Wollongong, he lost his life while rescuing two of the boys who were surfing after the match. Ref: The Blue Mountain Daily 24 March 1939, p. 4 records, “Lost World Trig.” Geographical Names Board, field report for 18 June 1969 records, the lookout. Correspondence with bushwalker and track maker John King, 19 March 2017, recorded that he, along with ranger Perc Thomas replaced the wooden cross with an aluminium one c.1990. S 752 640.
Chemical weathering in sandstone, near Warrimoo Lookout. Photo: Harold Thompson
Psalm Rock is located below Martins Lookout and downstream of Glenbrook Creek, Springwood. The text of the 23 Psalm has been carved into a large upright sandstone rock surface. Possibly carved and inscribed in the early 1900s. Ref: Correspondence, Cameron Hill, 18 May 2004 re dating. Rev James Tierney, 1 May 2004, first noted the Psalm mid- 1960s. The inscription has been touched up several times, the most recent in 2002. A special spot to be treated with respect. S 757 644.
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A mystifying structure at 767 660. Photo: Kelvin Knox.
Warrimoo Lookout is at the southern end of the fire trail that extends from Greens Road to the cliff line above Glenbrook Creek, Warrimoo. The lookout has views of Glenbrook Creek below, and on a clear day the skyline of Sydney is clearly visible. Named by John Geoffrey Fox on 1 May 1989, who recalls that when he first walked this area Greens Road was unsealed with only a few houses. Also known as Greens Point Lookout. S 761 641.
Track Notes
At 0825 the group assembled at the end of the sealed section of Greens Road Warrimoo, 766 660. John provided a quick brief on the walk and the past history of challenging access to the national park. Today the only challenge was from two confined dogs who barked for a few minutes.
An unnamed lookout point at 767 657 was reached at 0836. The immediate view is of Bunyan and Lost World Lookouts across the deep ravine of Glenbrook Creek and tributaries. We noted the view and it continued to expand as we pushed further south. Descending a steep section of the track we came across a level area complete with a structure, 767 650 that defies explanation for reason or purpose. (see image above).
Beyond this point the track climbs and then levels out generally following the crest of the ridge. An assembly of stones was observed but did not appear to be significant. Pushing on the track forked at 768 650. The left -hand track appears to be a service track to the 132kV power line above Flora Bella Creek.
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Bunyan Lookout and Lost World Lookout as seen from the Spider Cave. Photo: John Fox
By 0923 we had arrived at another viewing point, 762 645. From here we could plot the route of the Kings Link Track from the crossing point on Glenbrook Creek to Bunyan Lookout. Also, from this point it was possible to look down int Glenbrook Creek and see water and also the location of Psalm Rock at the junction of an unnamed creek.
Minutes later the end of the track happened on a rock platform. The cliff edge provided yet another opportunity to appreciate Glenbrook Creek and the forested gorge. A couple of deep gorges supporting semi rain forest were noted. This location is Warrimoo Lookout, named by John Fox in 1989. It is a stunning location and appropriate for morning tea and a photo or two.
After morning tea, we went off track although evidence of former but uncaring visitors was by an unsightly trail of small but noticeable fragments of broken glass. John did say that over the years he has removed a lot of it.
The highlight point of the walk was the Spider Cave and the lookout above it. From the top, the vista is all the way to Glenbrook Gorge and the ugly smudge of pollution that is Sydney. Quite a lot of time was spent here before moving on to view other local features of interest. Perhaps the most quirky feature is a semi overhang with a centrally disposed four tier cairn flanked by a chinaware bowl dated 1988. It looked ritualistic., 762 692. Nearby are two other large chemically eroded hollowed out boulders with openings in the top.
The walk back was completed by 1136. Total distance 5.98km total ascents 100m.
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View south west across Glenbrook Creek 768 654. Photo: Kelvin Knox.
How Spider Cave was named. Photo: Kelvin Knox
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Joh Fox on the lookout point above the Spider Cave. Photo: Kelvin Knox
Our morning tea spot, 762 641 left to right Doug, Michael, Harold, Berenice and JohnPhoto: Kelvin Knox
Rickard Road Warrimoo
As it was early three of us, John Harold and the writer) relocated to the end of Rickard Road Warrimoo to search for an Aboriginal art site at the back of the oval (Warrimoo Playing fields). We parked at 790 665 at 1149 and explored along and under a 10m cliff line
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stretching from 789 667 to 790 668. The area endures heavy traffic and unwanted attention from irresponsible people with time on their hands. A high overhang at 8988 6685 appears to have some charcoal images but these are now crowded with graffiti. Hopefully the images we want to find are more difficult to reach and maybe in good condition. Michael KeatsBushexplorers30th July 2019
