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| Capertee Valley near Glen Davis |
Brief Description: This tour explores the valleys lying on the western boundary of the Wollemi wilderness. If you love rugged escarpments, then this trip is as close as you will get to paradise. Three of the campsites are literally surrounded by sandstone cliffs, while another site, situated by the enchanting Dunn's swamp, is nestled amidst hundreds of curious rock formations known as pagodas. One segment of the route, known now as the Glow Worm Tunnel, actually tunnels through the escarpment to access a valley on the other side. There are very few towns along this route, and with some of the roads unsealed the cyclist must be well-equipped to do this tour. In terms of scenery, this is the best tour I have done in New South Wales and I would happily do it again.
Route: Bell, Glow Worm Tunnel, Newnes, Lidsdale, Cullen Bullen, Capertee, Glen Davis, Glen Alice, Dunn's Swamp, Rylstone, Growee Gulph, Bylong, Widden Valley, Sandy Hollow, Muswellbrook.
Online Maps: My original Google map of the tour includes track notes and route variations. My newer GPSies map, while only covering the main route, gives more accurate distance measurements and also has an altitude profile. For more information on using GPSies maps, click here.
Distance: 442km (though possibly 20km or 30km extra, depending on the location of Day 5 campsite) with a almost 4000 vertical metres of climbing. The distance can be shortened by adopting one of the variations discussed below.
Altitude Variation (rough guide only): Bell (1050m), Newnes Forest (1200m), Newnes (500m), top of Wolgan Valley (970m), Cullen Bullen (900m), Capertee (850m), Glen Davis (280m), saddle out of Capertee Valley (740m), Dunn's Swamp (680m), Rylstone (600m), top of Growee Gulph (750m), bottom of Growee Gulph (430m), Bylong (280m), Cox's Gap (370m), Goulburn River (180m), Widden Valley (200m), Sandy Hollow (150m), Muswellbrook (150m). For a detailed altitude profile of the main route, see my GPSies map.
Time Required: The tour as described here would take a minimum of 6 days. However, the tour could be made two days shorter. Day 1 could easily be omitted by starting at Lithgow and cycling through to Glen Davis (pick up this route from Day 2 with the Wolgan Valley section omitted). Another day can be saved by cycling the direct route from Dunn's Swamp to Widden; see the discussion of this alternate route here.
In 2009 Allan T. completed a three day variation: Capertee - Glen Davis - Rylstone - Bylong - Muswellbrook. With overnight stays at Rylstone and Bylong he had no need to carry tents or extra supplies. He got someone to drop him off at Capertee. The Countrylink coach service (see below) could also do this.
Traffic Conditions: There was very little traffic when I cycled the trip, with two exceptions: (1) the 50km section from Angus Colliery to Capertee (particularly for 10km along the highway between Lidsdale and the Wallerawang turn-off) and (2) the last 15km of the trip (near Muswellbrook). Both these sections are heavily used by mining personnel and coal trucks. I have sinced learned that the first section can be by-passed. See the alternate route discussed in the notes for Day 2.
Road Surface: When I did this tour there was about 140km of unsealed road. However, 17km of gravel road near Bylong is now sealed (thanks to Allan T. for this information) and, when I went through, the main road through the Capertee Valley had more sealed than maps indicated. (I do not know if they have plans to seal the whole Capertee Valley road.) On the whole, the gravel sections were of good quality. There is a 3km stretch of walking track around the Glow Worm Tunnel where I regularly had to dismount and walk my bicycle. See the discussion on Day 1 for details.
Climate Considerations: This route can be travelled all year round. In winter (and perhaps autumn or spring) one must be prepared for subzero temperatures overnight. The region surrounding Bell, Lithgow and the Newnes Plateau has a couple of snow days most winters, but snow does not settle permanently. For specific climate information, check relevant pages at the Bureau of Meteorology.
Fitness Required: Although one should be reasonably fit for this tour, there is really only one demanding climb (coming out of the Wolgan Valley). If the second day (as written in this guide) were broken into two days then this tour would become easier yet. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of hills and the gravel surfaces (not to mention the section where there is only a walking track) means that this tour is not suitable for people wanting an easy ride.
Direction to Travel: While this trip could be attempted in any direction, the suggested itinerary gives a net loss of about 800 vertical metres. Doing the tour in reverse would lose introduce two more steep climbs: one out of the Bylong Valley and another out of the Capertee Valley.
Transport Access: Bell, Lithgow and Muswellbrook (the start and endpoints of the trip) are all accessible by CityRail train services. Bookings are not required and bicycles are free during off-peak periods (otherwise one must purchase a child fare for the bicycle). Services to Bell and Lithgow run approximately every two hours in daylight hours whereas services to and from Muswellbrook are less frequent. The town of Rylstone (mid way through the tour) is serviced by a Countrylink bus about twice a week. Bookings on this bus service are necessary, and please check Countrylink's bicycle policy before making a booking.
Print Maps: The NRMA NSW Touring Map 4 (Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter, Illawarra, Southern Highlands) covers the entire trip. Printing a copy of the Glow Worm Tunnel Rail Trail map is also recommended. For those who want topographic coverage, the Sydney Special and Singleton maps in the Natmap 1:250 000 series (with 50m contour intervals) would suffice. (Technically, for complete topographic coverage, you should also purchase the Bathurst and Dubbo maps in the series; but the route only dips into these maps for less than 20km each.)
Accommodation: This tour is best done carrying a tent. Most of the campgrounds are beautiful and hot showers are available at two of them! However, with the exception of staying at Dunn's Swamp (and possibly in Widden Valley), the tour could also be done by using pub and farmstay accommodation. Be warned that both Newnes and Dunn's Swamp can get crowded on weekends, public holidays and school holidays, particularly during the warmer months. To enjoy the magic of the scenery it is probably best to do the tour during the week, either outside of school holidays or during the winter.
Drinking Water: It is recommended that water coming from streams, rivers and dams be treated (boiled, purified or filtered) before consumption. Tap water in larger towns and villages (Lidsdale, Glen Davis, Rylstone) need not be treated. See notes for each day regarding the availablility of water.
Bicycle Shops: Apart from Muswellbrook (the endpoint of the trip) none of the towns on this route have bicycle shops. The cyclist should be well prepared to deal with any emergencies. Lithgow and Mudgee lie within 45km of the route and have bicycle shops. A computer shop in Rylstone also sells toys and bicycles, though I am uncertain whether they could help beyond basic repairs (be warned that they have limitted trading hours in winter). Some contact details that were accurate in July 2008 are given below:
Route Variations: The route can be shortened (in distance) by following parts of the National Bicentenial Trail. See the discussion for Day 2 and Day 4. This could probably shorten the tour by one day; however, the roads are probably rougher and this shortened route has no place to restock food supplies between the first and last day of the trip. As mentioned above, Day 1 of this tour could easilt be omitted.
Extending the Tour: This tour could easily be extended another two or three days by cycling around the eastern border of the Wollemi wilderness. The best route makes use of the Old Convict Road and ends at Windsor train station on the CityRail network. See Day 3 and Day 4 of my Wellington to Wyong cycle tour for more details.
A true circumnavigation of the Wollemi wilderness is more problematic than the above mentioned extension due to traffic. One could proceed as follows. From Sandy Hollow, take the back road (not the more heavily trafficked Golden Highway) to Jerrys Plains. From here, cycle to Bulga and then take the Putty Road to Richmond. I have never cycled the Puttty road but it would almost certainly take reasonably fast traffic, have little shoulder and many blind spots. From Richmond take Bells Line of Road (heavy vehicle use, not too cycle friendly) back to Bell. It is possible to avoid parts of Bells Line of Road. For example, from Wheeny Creek on the Putty Road, one could cycle along Upper Colo Road, Comleroy Road, Roxana Road, Mill Road to meet Bells Line of Road beneath Kurrajong Heights. Also, one can leave Bells Line of Road just after Bilpin to cycle through Mt Irvine and the beautiful village of Mt Wilson. While introducing rugged roads, more hills and by-passing major shopping centres, these alternative routes via Comleroy and Mt Wilson take little traffic and are more fitting with the Wollemi theme.
This tour can also be connected with the New England Ranges and Tablelands and Wellington to Wyong tours on this site. See also the extensive touring options in this area on Darrell Stone's cycle touring site.
Other useful links: Tom's Wollemi, Yengo and Blue Mountains cycle tour covered sections of this route.
Date Travelled: I cycled this route in July 2008.
© 2008-2010 Robert Taggart. Last updated 24 July 2010.