462 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

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7.8 Pagodas south of Angus Place Trail

MAPS, ETC.Department of Lands topographic mapCullen Bullen, 8931-3N, 1:25000, secondedition. Department of Lands. GPSsetting WGS 84.

WALK DESCRIPTIONAND ROUTEPark one vehicle at the junction of theAngus Place and Beecroft Firetrails and

another at approximately GR 313 052 onthe Angus Place Trail. Return to vehicle1 and commence walking down a creekto the north west, staying on thenorthern side of it. Explore the cliff linetops between GR 315 044 and GR 315088, head out walking the southernedge of the peninsula to GR 308 046;then cross to the north of the peninsulaand explore the cliff edge and deep intothe pagodas at the headwaters around

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Brian Fox and Michael Keats above one of the deep slots in this area. Photo: Daryl Watson

GR 313 048. Proceed west and follow acliff line topped with pagodas to GR 305049 before descending the cliffs andexploring the deep ravine gully on theway back to the vehicle on the AngusPlace Trail. About 10km.

GEAR ISSUESHave clothes to change into in the carfor afterwards. 2 litres of water. GPS,PLB, appropriate head and footwear,electrolytes, maps, compass, tape(leader).

COMMENTSScrambling, exposure.

Date walked 30th May 2014.

THE WEATHERAfter the warmest May on record,autumn finally arrived. The sky wascloudy 8/8th cover with fleeting,intermittent, small patches of blue. Inexposed positions, variable light windwas quite chilling. The mercury hoveredbetween 9 and 12 degrees C.

BACKGROUND NOTESThe area explored is subject to anapplication by Centennial Coal for anextension of underground long wallmining at the Angus Place Colliery thatwill impact on 1,860 hectares of NewnesPlateau forest in Stage Two of theGardens of Stone National Park reserveproposal. The proposed mining will

464 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

unacceptably affect cliffs, pagodas, 41nationally endangered swamps,including 11 shrub swamps and theheadwater catchments of three creeks,causing reduced stream flows and waterpollution.¹⁴⁹

This area was visited by a party ofbushwalkers on 11th April 2014 anddocumented in track notes. Thepagodas and associated features wereso impressive that the area wasearmarked for urgent re-walking anddocumentation of significant featuresand vegetation, as, if the miningapplication is successful, NSW standsto lose some of its most significant geoheritage.¹⁵⁰

During the walk, a delightful example ofa brilliant turquoise green fungus was

observed. This was a Chlorociboria, agenus of fungi within the subphylumPezizomycetes. The genus includes 17species. Two common temperate zonespecies, Chlorociboria aeruginascensand Chlorociboria aeruginosa, can onlyreliably be distinguished by microscopicexamination. Chlorociboria aeruginosahas larger spores (9-15 µm × 1.5-2.5µm) and the worm-like cells of the outersurface are rough, unlike the commonerC. aeruginascens that has the spores of6-10 µm × 1.5-2 µm. The hyphae andfruiting bodies of all species makexylindein, a secondary metabolite thatstains the substrate wood blue-green,with "green oak" being a valuedcommodity in woodworking. The blue-green pigmented wood is featured in"Tunbridge Ware".

Deeply incised country. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

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Perched on the ledge for morning tea. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

TRACK NOTESDuring the course of the drive, Yurishared with the writer thoughts to focusthe walk on maximising our time in thethreatened pagoda country byeliminating unnecessary walking in lessinteresting terrain. As a result, thevehicles were parked at GR 319 046 onthe Angus Place Trail, at 0840.

Under a threatening sky, the walk wasunderway at 0846 across open forestthat had been logged over 50 yearsago. There were dramatic splashes ofyellow as numerous specimens of theWattle, Acacia terminalis, lit the bushwith vivid colour. Whilst this species hasa long flowering season, it is unusually

early for Newnes Plateau above 1100m.

A bike track was encountered at GR 318044. This proved handy, as about 10minutes into the walk I realised I waswithout my pack. Accompanied by Ian, Iquickly retraced our steps to find that Ihad left the pack alongside the vehicle.No wonder there was a spring in mystep as we strode along. At 0854, thegroup assembled on a cliff edge and wehad our first of many sightings of thebrilliant lipstick pink Styphelia tubiflora. Itlooks similar to Epacris reclinata,however this species does not floweruntil August.

Although our plans called for us toexplore the high cliff line, we also

466 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

wanted to investigate the complexconvolutions of the creek systemsandwiched between the Angus PlaceTrail and the Beecroft Firetrail thatcrosses several creek junctions beforeexiting through towering portals. Theterrain of this creek system is asuccession of great pagodas, secretslots, hidden caves and glorious shortrock tumbles encrusted in ferns andmosses. It is also one of those locationsthat entice the explorer to look aroundjust one more bend, to see what isrevealed.

Several slots leading up to the cliff topswere noted, and after deciding on theone that would be our route, packswere left and we went exploringsuccessive seductive places until wecould see the portals into the valley.This point is where the creek system

drops about 20m. It is also a place thatwe walked underneath on 11th April2014 and looked up and wonderedwhat treasure lay beyond. After takingphotos, we returned to our packs andcommenced an interesting climb up aslot that was more watercourse thanslot. The lower sections were covered inmoss and slippery, making it hard tofind footholds.

On top, GR 317 045, we beganexploring pagodas that form a knottedcomplex of unbelievable beauty withviews downstream to the cleared landof the property, Rocky Acres. Theprospect that all these delicateformations become a rubble as a resultof underground long wall mining ishorrific. We had the cameras busytaking picture after picture. The complexof pagodas we were on is a short deep

Michael Keats and Monica Eckert below a carved cliff line. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

7.8 Pagodas south of Angus Place Trail | 467

Nature in all its glory. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

ravine back from the main cliff edge,where the views are totally captivating.

Coming down into this ravine revealedmore complex formations and a mightydescent, GR 316 043. The traverse ofthis ravine led us out onto minorplatforms with even more eye candyrevelations. This country is totally magic.Scrambling around the pagodas atdifferent levels, we could enjoyconstantly changing micro landscapes. Ifound myself covering only a fewmetres in distance before I just had tostop and take another picture. By 0932,I had covered less than hundred metresbut taken 20 photos, GR 314 044.

The cliff edge was now before and

above me, GR 313 043. I found a slotthat just might lead to the top and sowent up it, pushing away deadvegetation and using ironstoneprojections as hand and footholds. Atthe top, I was both excited anddisappointed - excited by the stunningview deep into a pagoda filled ravine;disappointed by the fact that there wasno way forward. Back tracking anddescending about 4m, there wasanother precarious way of route to thesouth that worked, GR 314 044.

Using this route we all (but one) made itup to the crest of a small pagoda ridgethat had just enough room for thegroup to spread out and have morning

468 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

tea. Being exposed, every breath ofwind was chilling, so it was hard shellsor jackets to survive as we had morningtea in a place where few others haveventured, GR 313 045. Afterrefreshments, it was time to head northand keep exploring. The first objectivewas to climb a major pagoda face. Tenminutes of climbing, and then we couldlook down on the morning tea site withpagodas so special and so free ofvegetation that they command respectas do monuments in ancientMesopotamia. We were enchanted, raptand awed - all at once.

The next two hundred metres was acontinuous viewing of pagodas and thecliffs to the north west that containedthe amazing Window to Oblivion. As Irecorded on 11th April 2014,

"We had only been walking a fewminutes when a recently used bike trackwas encountered, GR 315 050. For whileas it served our purpose, this track wasfollowed. It was not for long, as at GR314 049, we came across the first ofmany jaw dropping views of pagodas,cliffs and 'WOW' panoramas. Thetopographic map gives no indication asto the wealth of fine geomorphology,

which we spent mostof the next hourexploring andphotographing. At0916, GR 313 048, Imade a simple entryin the field notebook,'great pagodas'.What anunderstatement! Thisterrain is hypnotic,and there is just somuch of it. Why hasit taken so long for itto be discovered?

We climbed andclamberedeverywhere. At GR313 047, a naturalbalcony overlooks a50m vertical drop.This is no ordinarybalcony. It also sportsa natural rock eaveprotecting the

Clare Jackson amazed at the tenacity of the green moss.Photo: Brian Fox

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Michael Keats on the rock face at the end of Window to Oblivion. Photo: Brian Fox

470 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

Looking back to the Window to Oblivion. Photo: Brian Fox

7.8 Pagodas south of Angus Place Trail | 471

southern side and commanding viewsover the valley walls to the south east,that are pocked with caves andoverhangs. Also in our line of sight to thesouth west, were several moreoutstanding orphan rocks that wesuccessively went to explore. We hadmany 'kids in a candy shop' experiencesthat took us close to delirium. What aplace! The balcony window viewvertically below was named by DarylWatson the 'Window to Oblivion'.Isolated pagodas at GR 312 041 and GR311 086 made for magic photos."

We would revisit this site shortly. In themeantime, we made our way to thehead of the gully, GR 315 047. On thenorth western side of the gully, thereare several overhangs that are almostcaves. As is our habit, the cave wallswere inspected for signs of Aboriginalart and/or graffiti. We were in luck, withone set of clear initials, 'AM', executedin charcoal. After the walk, Brianresearched these and advised,

"The cave we investigated with theinitials A. M. I wondered if they were theMason family. Masons Lane connects tothe property Rock Acres, which wasbelow us in the valley. The Mason familywas very active in this area. The LithgowCemetery website lists an Arnold Masonand an Archie Mason, both buried in theWallerawang Cemetery."

The chances are that that this graffitiwas done by one of the two Masonfamily males.

Climbing the north western side of theravine was via a rather easy slot and

made even easier by the bike trail nearthe top, GR 314 048. It was now time toshow those in the party who had notbeen here before just how fantastic wasthe Window to Oblivion with itsvertiginous vertical drop. It was also aplace to take lots of memorablephotographs.

Ten minutes elapsed before we couldprise people away from the spot andpoint out some not so nice aspects ofthis place. The most confrontingdamage is a huge fracture caused bysubsurface mining that is visible in bothvertical and horizontal surfaces. Themain fracture is over 500m in lengthand, when collapse occurs, the damagewill be disastrous and disfiguring to thelandscape. The main location forviewing the fracture is at GR 312 046.

We moved on along the cliff edge toanother viewing platform characterisedby a level rock surface that has a 50mplus drop. This is at GR 310 045. Thishas been named the Window to Infinity.The similarity to an infinity pool is mostpronounced. More time was then spentexploring the cliff edge pagodas to thesouth west. Stops were made at 1201,GR 308 045 and at 1206, at GR 309 048.From this last location, the view to thenorth east is of an almost endlesssuccession of the most decorativepagodas to the top end of theMikkelsen Gully.

At 1220, we climbed a massive pagoda,GR 310 048, and declared it perfect forlunch. Descending after lunch, the aimwas to explore each of the pagodas to

472 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

Bushwalkers cannot believe this is not a national park. Photo: Brian Fox

Suzanne Aubrun peers over the edge of the Window to Oblivion. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

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Set of perfect pagodas south of Angus Place Trail. Photo: Brian Fox

Checking out the length of the subsidence crack caused by underground mining.Photo: Yuri Bolotin

474 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

the head of the ravine. We had notprogressed more than 100m whenbelow was a yawning void. Lookingdown, giant tree ferns appeared as tinystars of green, GR 311 049. An inkydarkness was the background. Ofcourse, immediately the latest plan wasmodified to see whether we could getdown into this challenging andmysterious place. First, however, wewanted to visit a very large pagodacomplex at the head of Mikkelsen Gully.

At 1311, GR 311 050, we stood on top ofthe highest point in this group ofexceptional pagodas. Upon reachingthis pinnacle of wonder, we lookeddown into even more amazing ravinesand dark places. Nearly half an hour just'disappeared' while this beauteous areawas explored and photographed.

All efforts to descend any one of ahandful of slots were thwarted by largeunfriendly drops. In the end, we had todescend the north face of thenorthernmost pagoda and then circlearound anticlockwise underneath this

towering mass. As we went deeper intothe ravines, microclimates became thenorm. It was within one of these verydamp places that we found the brilliantturquoise green Chlorociboria sp.fungus. The intensity of the colourmakes it stand out. This was at 1339, GR312 050. Several other relatively unusualfungi were also photographed in thisarea.

Given that effective daylight time wasrapidly running out, we pushed along,seeking the entrance to the deep ravineobserved from near our lunch spot. Onthe way, we entered a largeamphitheatre like overhang that extendsfrom GR 310 049 to GR 310 048, makingit a significant size. In addition, it hasbands of red shale that havedecomposed into ochre like material.This is not altogether unexpected givenour proximity to known Aboriginal artsites 2 to 3 kilometres to the north inthe cliffs above Lambs and KangarooCreeks.

At 1405, we were at GR 310 048 andvery close to the slot observed fromnear the lunch spot. In fact, we hadbeen to this slot on 11th April 2014. Onthat occasion, we were descending. Thisis what is recorded:

"By 1018, we started an initial descent,GR 310 048, and at GR 310 068 a furtherdescent was made down a watercoursethat included several inconvenient logs,leading to a large undercut bowl withseveral centimetres of water in the basinbottom, where either very long legs or ajump was required. It is an irreversibledescent, but a very attractive one."

Green Fungus, Chlorocibora sp.Photo: Michael Keats

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Daryl Watson in a sea of pagodas. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

Five ladies on the go. Photo: Brian Fox

476 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

Beauty and the Beast. Sunlit pagodas vs the belching cooling stacks of Mount Piper PowerStation Photo: Emanuel Conomos

Red Five-Corner, Styphelia tubiflora.Photo: Yuri Bolotin

A coral lichen, Cladonia sp. comes aliveafter the rain. Photo: Brian Fox

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Bushwalkers add a splash of colour to athrough slot walk. Photo: Brian Fox

Viewing outwards from one of the overhangs. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

Ian Starkey and Michael Keats in one ofthe short sharp defiles. Photo: Brian Fox

478 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

Time Location Grid Ref

0840 Park vehicles on AngusPlace Trail 319 046

0850 Motor bike track 318 044

0854 Viewing spot 317 045

0904 In gully 316 043

0926 Exploring pagodas 315 043

0932 Exploring in ravine 314 044

0940 Above drop in ravine 315 043

0945 Climb up watercourseto cliff top 314 044

1015Morning tea on highexposed pagoda, 10minutes

313 045

1035 Climbed to top ofhigher pagoda 313 045

1051 Head of ravine, graffitiin old cave 315 047

1105 Climbing slot to cliffedge 314 048

1114 At the Window toOblivion 313 047

TABLE OF TIMES, LOCATIONS AND GRID REFERENCESTime Location Grid Ref

1132 Major fracture 312 046

1141 The Window to Infinity 310 045

1201 Exploring cliff tops 308 045

1206 Exploring cliff tops 309 048

1220 Big pagoda and lunch,20 minutes 310 048

1246 View into deep slotravine/canyon 311 049

1311 On very large pagodacomplex 311 050

1339 Fungus find,Chlorociboria sp. 312 050

1349 Big overhang (northend) 310 049

1357 Big overhang (southend) 310 048

1405 Climb slot seen fromlunch spot 310 048

1411 On Motor bike track 311 047

1439 At vehicles 319 046

149 Colong Foundation for Wilderness, submission to NSWDepartment of Planning & Infrastructure - SpringvaleMine Extension (SSD 12_5594), dated 26th May 2014.

150 Track Notes by Michael Keats, published on 11th April2014.

NOTES

Today there was no water, and helpinghands ensured that we all made it up tothe top of the cliff line. Minutes later, wepicked up the motor bike track, GR 311

047, and followed this back to thevehicles. Total distance walked 9.02km,total ascents 550m.

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END NOTEThe walk done on 11th April 2014involved quite a lot of time spent in theravine below the Window to Oblivion.There were some discoveries that areincluded here for completeness.

"As a team, we have become adept atdiscovery. This applies to everythingfrom Aboriginal art sites to graffiti toindustrial archaeological sites. On thiswalk, we added two unexpected items.The first was a ladder. This was at GR309 045. This ladder is made from cutsections of a tree about 70 to 80mmdiameter, with two long pieces as thesupports and four shorter sections as therungs. The rungs are joined to thesupports with plastic strapping, using apatent fastening system. The ladder is inplace against a rock face with a naturalcave about two metres further up thecliff. The structure is possibly up to 20years old. Questions immediatelycrowded our brains about this artefact.

There was only one thing for it. Brianneeded to get up there and see whatwas so significant to make such aconstruction necessary. The short answerwas, 'nothing observable.' Why then wassuch effort expended to build the ladder?The cave did not even have a flat floor!There was no evidence of it being used.There was also no evidence of a track ofany kind to reach the spot. The locationis more or less the epicentre of cliffcollapse.

We moved on. At 1138, GR 312 046, wecame across a very large area of old rockface collapse. This was near to being

vertically below our morning tea site,and therefore we had arrived at'Oblivion'. The view looking up was notnearly as awesome as the view lookingdown, although it was good to knowthat we had been able to actually reachthe site. We continued up the valley toGR 314 047, where there was aninteresting dry but otherwiseunremarkable cave. It was also notedthat if after morning tea we had retracedour steps a short distance, we couldhave descended the valley fromapproximately GR 315 048 by usingwatercourses and slides between thepagodas plus a bit of rock hopping.

As the valley had now narrowed to lessthan 100m, we decided to search forcaves and explore under a cliff line thatformed a semi-circular wall about 300mlong and up to 40m high between twoarms of the creek, roughly at GR 314 047and GR 316 044 respectively. Only 50minto our journey, there were two fineoverhangs; again, they were nothingremarkable. At GR 314 046, we entered alarge cave 15m deep, 10m high and 25mwide. This cave was devoid of art orgraffiti, but it contained a worked pieceof bark about 1.5m long and 300mmwide that had regular scalloped sectionscut from its edges. This was the work ofsome people with time on their handsand a sophisticated tool. There was nohearth in the cave, yet it would havemade an acceptable campsite as thereas a small waterfall and enoughprotected level space to lie down."