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| Farmland near Walcha |
Route: Hanging Rock, Walcha, Apsley Falls.
Distance: 115km
Day three is a long cycle, the first quarter through state forest the rest through farmland on the tablelands.
From the main junction at Hanging Rock, the day's cycle begins along Nundle Forest Way, a major unsealed forestry road that follows the apex of the Great Dividing Range. There are several points of interest along the way: the Hanging Rock cemetery (surveyed 1869; 200m from the junction), a picnic area (including a dam, fireplace and picnic tables; 9km from the junction) and the Ponderosa Forest Park camping area (12km from the junction).
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| Hanging Rock cemetery | Picnic area on Nundle Forest Way |
Some 27km from Hanging Rock, the Nundle Forest Way emerges from forest into open pasture country on the lower New England tablelands. The cyclist here is met with a sudden decline in the road quality, which lasts for 6km until the next major junction (Nowendoc Road and Topdale Road). From this junction there are two options: (a) head to Walcha via Niangala (see also here) (55km along back roads, including 13km of unsealed road) or (b) head to Walcha via Thunderbolt's Way (60km, including 11km of unsealed road). On the day I chose to cycle along Thunderbolt's Way (taking the Quarry Rd shortcut prior to reaching Thunderbolt's way). The scenery consists predominantly of rolling hills with scattered trees. There are no services (not even picnic areas) along the way. However, the road surface is very good, traffic is light, and if accompanied by a southerly wind it provides a quick way to reach Walcha. Judging from the map and other sources, the road through Niangala seems to provide a little more variety in scenery as well as a place to stop halfway. If returning to the area I would definitely choose option (a).
Walcha (see also here) is a the main centre of the district and has a population of about 1600. The shopping centre is small, has no bike shop, but is more than adequate for food and groceries. Cyclists should stock up here for the next two days, as there are very few services between Walcha and Wingham.
From Walcha, head east along the Oxley Highway. The highway takes light to moderate traffic near Walcha and has a reasonable shoulder. After 19km, turn left at the Apsley Falls turnoff and head to the camping area (or day use picnic area if not camping over night) 1km from the highway. Camping costs $5 per person per night and is payable to the National Parks and Wildlife Service via an honesty system (bring exact change). Facilities include flush toilets, water, wood BBQs and picnic tables. In winter it can get cold over night and taps can freeze (as it did in my trip where it reached -8 degrees Celsius) so fill up water bottles at night.
The camping ground itself is situated on the edge of the spectacular Apsley Gorge. Several walking tracks take you to various vantage points, including lookouts where Apsley Falls (first and second drops) can be viewed. Unfortunately I did not take a good photograph of the falls, but others are available on the net.
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| Apsley Falls | Apsley Gorge |
Further information on camping and walking at Apsley Falls can be obtained by locating the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park page at the NSW government's ever-changing Department of Environment and Climate Change (formerly National Parks and Wildlife Service) website.
© 2008 Robert Taggart. Last updated 13 November 2008.