Wollemi Cycle Tour: Day 5

WOLLEMI CYCLE TOUR - DAY 5

Yodeller's Range, Widden

Route: Bylong, Cox's Gap, Kerrabee, Widden Valley.
Distance: 50km (to Widden Stud) plus extra to find a campsite.

Shortly after leaving Bylong, the Bylong Valley Way becomes unsealed for about 17km - though this section is in the process of being sealed. (Update: Allan T. reports in October 2009 that the Bylong Valley Way is now fully sealed.) It gradually climbs out of the Bylong Valley through Murrumbo Gap, an ascent of almost 150 vertical metres. After descending to Murrumbo creek and the road ascends another 150 vertical metres to Cox's Gap. The bitumen surface resumes one kilometre into this second ascent. Halfway along this climb (and 20km from Bylong) is the Honeysuckle Creek Picnic Area, which has toilets and picnic tables and lies in the Wollemi National Park. At the very top of Cox's Gap, a trail to the right follows the southern ridge, leading to some rocky outcrops with views over Kerrabee and the edge of the Wollemi.


Murrumbo	Honeysuckle Creek Picnic Area	View near Cox's Gap

The descent from Cox's Gap is short but steep. From the bottom, the road is mostly flat with small undulations and enters the Goulburn River Valley, closely following the Ulan-to-Sandy Hollow railway line.

The turn off to Widden Valley is about 34km from Bylong, just after the Bylong Valley Way crosses the Widden Brook. Short of making an inconvenient detour to the Goulburn River, this brook seems to be the only reliable source of water after Bylong. If you need to fill up water bottles, it is easiest to do so a couple of kilometres up the Widden Road, where there are no fences barring access to the creek. The water should be treated before consumption.


Horses and cockatoos at Widden

From the Bylong Valley Way it is about 16km to Widden Stud along a sealed, single lane, no-through road that takes very little traffic. The road follows Widden Brook upstream and undulates gently. The valley opens up at Widden Stud, where the spectacular sandstone escarpment has been carved and chiselled to create imaginative rock formations, accompanied sometimes with equally imaginative names: Wedding Cake Mountain, Christmas Pudding, The Cat Ears, Blue Yodeller. For a sketch map of Widden Valley, plus photos, walking and climbing information, visit David Noble's Widden Valley page.

A Widden Valley panorama. Click here for a larger version.

There are no official campsites in the Valley, and permission should be sought from farmers to camp on their land. From Widden Stud there are basically four options: (1) continue heading along the main Widden road toward Holbrook; (2) head up Myrtle Creek Road; (3) head up Emu Creek Road; and (4) head back toward Muswellbrook and camp by the brook downstream of Widden Stud. Options 1 and 4 have the advantage of camping by a good water course; do not expect to find water in Emu Creek or Myrtle Creek. I took the second option. The Myrtle Creek Road is part of the National Bicentennial Trail and farmers in the area are used to cyclists and horses passing through. The road is unsealed and of high quality until it enters the western-most property in the valley. It is at least 10km from Widden Stud to the edge of the Wollemi National Park (where permission to camp need not be obtained). The alternative route mentioned at the end of the Day 4 page meets the present route here.

Myrtle Creek Road and Yodeller's Range

Even though a visit to Widden Valley requires at least 16km of backtracking (though it is likely to be more if you camp further in the upper valley), in my judgment it is certainly worth the trip if you can spare the time.