Dust, Mud & 'Red Faced'!

LOTS of photos sorry!

I got up SUPER early this morning, for no apparent reason as well... Maybe something to do with the heat from yesterday and the Southerly that hit last night maybe? So I thought of going for a drive... Had breakfast, cereal, and eggs on toast, and it was still dark and not yet even 6am (told you it was early!). So I thought that both Mount Wilson and the Newnes State Forest (Glow Worm Tunnel & the Lost City) would be good.

So I was on the road by 6am, and headed west for the Bells Line Of Roads to make my way up the Blue Mountains. It was misty, and even the odd light shower, and I thought that it might make for some interesting photography. By the time I got to Mount Wilson (c. 1000m above sea level) it had pretty much lifted, but still overcast with some even higher clouds! Here are some of the better shots from Mount Wilson:

Mt Wilson Sign, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Mt Wilson Gates, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Mt Wislon Main Road, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Mt Wilson Rental House, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Mt Wilson Cyathias, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

I then headed further west to the top of the Zig Zag Railway at Clarance, turned into the Newnes State Forest and put my Grand Vitara into High 4WD for the dirt roads. The roads through here have become increasingly better since I was last here (thankfully) and I was well into the forest along the Glow Worm Tunnel Road. I soon got onto the section that was once, an old railway line into the Newnes Valley. Through cuttings, over culverts and finally, through a disused tunnel that takes you all the way through to the carpark about 1-2klm from the Glow Worms!

Newnes Tunnel Entrance, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Inside Tunnel, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Road Washout, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Road, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Rocks Formation, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Cliff Face, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes Carpark, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Newnes State Forest, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

After a short time here, I then headed back towards Black Fella Hands Road (NOT my wording, but a locals! I later found out that it leads to some Aboriginal drawings on a sandstone rock wall: - I think another trip when I get back from overseas...) towards The Lost City. Trouble is, I never made it thanks to a 'bog hole' that a) was much deeper than thought and b) I slid into (even though I had STOPPED) and got hung up on my diffs! It really was quite deep, up to my knees in it, and the inside of the car although dry from rising water, is wet from me getting in and out with wet and muddy feet! I also, slipped which landed me on my backside (yes, OUCH) and to make that a lot worse, I slid INTO the bog hole! I now have my white shirt soaking in Nappy San, and will hopefully get clean again!

Wet Muddy GV Front, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Wet Muddy GV Side, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Wet Muddy GV, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

All I have to do now, is WASH my clothes that are soaking!

Muddy Shorts Soaking, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

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