Abercrombie Caves

Abercrombie Caves, located only a short 50 minute drive from Bathurst through Trunkey Creek, brings back a lot of memories of camping with my family as a child. 

Having been some 25 years since my last visit, thought it would be a great opportunity to go and visit the caves and camping grounds. 

Abercrombie Caves is a fantastic camping area with level grounds, fresh water, showers bbq areas and fantastic surroundings. But, if there is one thing which is perhaps disappointing, it doesn't seem to be as popular as it use to be.

Arriving at 9.50am on Saturday morning, I was surprised to see that the only people there was my wife and I, and the ranger. After a quick chat with the ranger, he mentioned that it is unpredictable for visitors, except in summer and long weekends, where the area is quite popular.

After purchasing our token for the self-guided tour of the Archway, we headed off.

When you first arrive, you notice the tranquil Grove Creek running through the park, with its near clear water and shady surrounds. 

A short walk from the front office to the Archway, you come to a small weir and bridge walkway. The water was slow moving and with the morning light, provided a nice reflective picture. As much as I tried to capture the colours and mirror like surface, the photo just didn't do it justice.

Only within a few metres of the bridge, the large limestone cliffs were lapped by the clear creek water. The red, white and grey colours  looked amazing within the greenish brown water.

To access the cave, you have to walk to the rear of the mountain, and a steep decent into the valley. This shot is taken on the downward decent.

As you reach the river bed you are greeted the large cavern opening and small creek crossing. The sparrows flying overhead break the silence of the trickling creek.

It wasn't until I returned home and looked at my photos when I noticed the highlighted interior of this cave. If I wasn't so enthralled by my surroundings, I would have liked to have taken more of this shot.

This is a panoramic shot taken from the bridge before crossing inside the cavern. The automatic lights provide excellent lighting and there are quite a few formations worth taking photos of.

A close up shot of the cave formations near the end of the Archway cave. I kick myself now for not having taken the time to obtain more shots within the cave system. Next visit perhaps...

This is near the exit of the Archway and upon a wooden stage in the cavern. Apparently this was used for dances many years ago. Every time I look at this, it seems to have a "moon landing" look about it.

Located just outside the Archway at the exit the stark contrast of light to the cavern entrance makes it quite difficult to get a good shot however am happy with this end result.

This shot was a little of muck around with the camera and my tripod. The image is made up of six shots, with two layers levels, providing a panoramic shot which encompasses the eye level and roof level. I was very happy with the end result and would like to try this for the entire centre of the Archway.

A short walk back to the camping / parking area, a suspension bridge is located over the river. Considering the size of the large gum trees in the creek bed on our walk to the Archway, I could imagine the large volumes of water and debris that would be pumping down the channel and the need for this bridge. 

These two shots are taken from on top of the suspension bridge. Considering the shots were taken with the spring of the bridge moving up and down, they turned out reasonably nice. I won't tell you how many didn't...

 

The following shots are random ones from the walk to the Archway and around the park areas. The above image is the large rock formation located on the way to the Archway. The colours of grey against the brown reddish rock looks nearly like paint, and the immense structure looks formidable as you walk past it.

This is just near the exit of the Archway and I thought this quick panorama would give a nice idea to the size of the trees which appear in and against the banks of the creek.

When we decided to sit for lunch, we drove up to the camping ground furthest down river. Located at our spot was this little part of the creek area...nearly good enough to hop in except for the 12 degree day.

 

One thing that amazed me was the wildlife. When we first arrived, kangaroos were seen laying in the sun near the creek banks, and when we sat for lunch, were inundated by magpies, a kookaburra and parrots. I wasn't overly impressed by the magpies but the others I was. They flew down and came within a metre of our picnic blanket. Unfortunately, the magpies weren't impressed and tried to scare the kookaburra and parrot off. The above photo is one of those encounters and I am sure it would have been the best photo ever if this didn't happen ... 

So, I had to contend in taking shots of the birds as they sat in the gum tree above us. Considering the activity on the ground from the six magpies, the shots aren't too bad.

The next three shots are down by the creek where, due to the large number of trees, limited light from the steep mountains, moss grows nearly everywhere. The next three shots are a few of my finds. 

 

 Well worth the effort is a quick 5 minute drive from Abercrombie Caves where you will find Grove Creek Falls. This magnificent set of falls is only a 2 minute walk from the carpark. The unfortunate thing is that this is the closest you can get unless you take the falls walk from Abercrombe Caves, which takes you to near the top of the falls. There is no formal track from the lookout to the falls, or to the bottom of the falls where I think you could take some amazing shots.

So, with the limited perspective, I took the first shot to give an idea of what the falls do look like. The second, is with my 300mm lens, and put together as a panorama. Unlike normal panoramas where you pan from left to right and stitch together, this was formed by taking angular shots for the entire length of the falls, stitched together, then formatted in a spherical approach. The end result isn't amazing, but it provides a closer view of how these falls rung down the cliff face. My next plan is to get some topographic maps of this area and try to find my way down to the falls face.....

Evans Crown Reserve at Tarana

Located just east of the township of Tarana, NSW, lies a 425 hectare nature reserve named Evans Crown. 

A steep mountainous national park with large granite formations and outcrops, native animals and plants with spectacular views over the surrounding valleys.

Arriving shortly after 9.30am on Sunday, I made my way up the "goat track" to the top ridge of the reserve. From here, there are a number of bush tracks made over the years to varying parts of the park, but the crown pinnacle is just a few hundred metres to the south where 360 degrees views can be found.

This panorama is the first one I took when I made it to the top. The view is generally to the east, with the left viewing the northern aspect and the right, barely viewing the south.

This is one which I like but also frustrating. The view was amazing to the south, and moves to the west, towards Mount Tarana. The frustrating part was that I could see some eagles on the pinnacle, and thought it would be great to climb over to this next rocky outcrop. After climbing down, and moving through the bush, a few different rocky paths were taken, but couldn't find my way....next time....

A closer, shorter panorama in a southerly direction but showing the next rocky outcrop. I think the view is towards Oberon way.

A break down of the second panorama to provide a more balanced look.

A general view to the south-east but I liked the balance of the large boulder in front.

A different viewpoint of the crown as you walk towards the top. The white gums around the reserve provide a great burst of white. 

This photo wasn't for any other purpose but to give a balance of how large these boulders are. The gum tree next to this one would be close 40 metres high. This boulder is not the largest one in this reserve.

Located all throughout the reserve is a variety of dry and fresh moss of varying degrees of green. This one caught my attention due to the water droplets on the leaves. This is the advantage of RAW images for photography. I cropped the first image to the next one to show the water droplets. This kept the clarity of the image and much more pleasing result.

I noticed this little piece of moss and grasses in between two smaller rocks. To put it into perspective, the moss is the size of about a 50 cent piece. 

Located on a granite rock, I found this small feather. Though a simple shot generally, with winds increasing, it made the shot so much more difficult. I took 5 shots, and this is the only one that didn't blur from movement.

I found this wood worm tracks on the back of a small tree and thought the patterns were very interesting. 

I took this image because the patterns of moss on the granite were the same patterns and colours as the tree in front. With a quick colouring of the rock and black/white of the tree, I think the end result has possibilities.

I have a few more for the mountain, but am still going through the remaining images to work out which are keepers.

On the way back to Bathurst, I went via Flatrock, which is located on the Fish River. Along the way, I took the following shots....

Found a good vantage point of the Fish River by mistake. Looking at maps before I left, I realised when travelling along the back road from the reserve that the road which was meant to travel across the river actually ended up at the front door of a very unhappy farmer...oh well....nice place though.

Notice this shearing shed on top of a hill outside of Tarana. It seemed to be falling apart, with broken fences and sheets of iron falling away. Wanting to jump the fence to have a closer look, I noticed the farm house next door. It wasn't until I drove apart this later, I saw that no one has probably lived in the house for over 20 years....definitely have to fence jump this one another day.

On the Tarana side of Flat Rock and about 1 kilometre up river I took the following panoramic shots. I liked the second one with the slight exception of the ghosting of the tree on the opposite bank.

The next two images are of the old railway line which runs from Tarana to Oberon. There were stories a decade or so ago of reopening the line, but doesn't look like any progress yet.

The final shot is taken from a hill near Brewongle as I drove back to Bathurst. The panoramic shot provides a good view of the approaching storm, and views to the south and west.