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| Dunn's Swamp at Dusk |
Route: Glen Davis, Glen Alice, Olinda, Dunn's Swamp.
Distance: 74km
Day 3 consists of a peaceful cycle along rural roads through the Capertee and Cudgegong River Valleys. Glen Alice, a locality 13km from Glen Davis along gravel roads, was one of the first settlements in the valley, and has a pay phone, picnic tables, bins, school, cemetery, church and historical information. These are the only facilities between Glen Davis and Dunn's Swamp.
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| Capertee Valley near Glen Alice |
The gravel road continues for a few kilometres after Glen Alice before it becomes a bitumen surface and (slowly) climbs out of the Capertee Valley, making a net ascent of 450 vertical metres over roughly 25 kilometres.
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| Upper Capertee Valley |
From the saddle between the Capertee and Cudgegong Valleys, the road gently descends towards the Cudgegong River. At the four-way intersection about five or so kilometres from the saddle, either turn right along the gravel road to head directly to Dunn's Swamp (this is signposted as "Dunn's Swamp" or "Kandos Weir"), or take the left turn and cycle to Kandos (7km away) if you need to stock up on food. From this intersection it is 15km to the locality of Olinda, of which only the initial 3km is unsealed. Dunn's Swamp is a further 10km from Olinda along a mostly unsealed road. Expect a short climb over a ridge between Olinda and the swamp.
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| A view from the saddle between the valleys |
Dunn's Swamp is a small but beautiful lake on the Cudgegong River, created by the Kandos Weir and originally used to supply water to the Kandos Cement Works. The area is now located within the boundaries of the Wollemi National Park. It was a well-kept secret until the television show Getaway featured a story on it a couple of years ago. There is room for about 50 camp sites. Facilities include pit toilets, picnic tables and wood barbecues. There is no booking system for campsites so to be guaranteed a spot it is best to avoid weekends, public holidays and school holidays during the warmer months. (I arrived on a Friday night of the school holidays during winter, and found only eight campers present.) The cost for camping is $5 per night per adult.
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| Dunn's Swamp at Platypus Point |
Besides camping, other activities at Dunn's Swamp include kayaking, walking and wildlife watching. Wollemi Afloat, a private company, runs cruises and hires cannoes on some weekends and during some holiday periods (see their website for details). If all is quiet then sometimes platypuses can be seen at dawn or dusk. There are a few short bushwalk in the area. The following morning I did the walk towards the weir (past Platypus Point) and scrambled up the Pagoda Track, which gave magnificent views of the lake and mountains at the edge of the Wollemi Wilderness.
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| Rainbow at Dunn's Swamp | View from the Pagoda Track, Dunn's Swamp |
© 2008 Robert Taggart. Last updated 13 November 2008.