Newnes Industrial Relics and Mystery Mountain - 4 August 2013

Geoff led a great walk yesterday, a small group with Tracie, Jenny, Angela, Geoff and Ross.

We started with an an easy wander through the industrial ruins at Newnes. After following the ruins track and being amazed by the scale of the shale mining & refining operation, we crossed the Wolgan River.

Following the river for a short distance, Tracie began an exploratory search for the No 1 mine shaft, which is on the map but off the track. After some scrambling up the hill from the river, we found the old road, located the mine entrance and alerted the others.

We had crossed back over the river and finished lunch by 1:30 so there was plenty of time to climb Mystery Mountain.

The start of the track is identified by a cairn. It's a good climb with a little scrambling involved. The views from the top are worth the effort - with the camp grounds below and the Wolgan Valley stretching in either direction.

We carefully made our way down before finishing the day with a look at the old school. All that is left of the building are 2 large chimneys.

A fantastic day out!