Our drop off point was a little stony beach approx. 1km west of Swan Cove, after enjoying clear views of the pristine Bathurst Harbour we headed up off the beach onto buttongrass plains following a ridgeline East toward Mt. Wilson (above image).
With 28kg packs and warm sun beating down on us, the going was sweaty but the view looking back at Bathurst harbour was well worth it (Above). From Mt. Wilson we proceeded across a saddle up onto the Mt. Norold Plateau, a shallow bowl approx. 8 km in circumference with a single lake and several waterfalls.
The most spectacular of the waterfalls was Abscida falls (Above), a multi-tiered waterfall separated by sharp shrubby drops.
Determined to experience the waterfalls we made our way down to the bottom of the third fall with some difficulty. After a day spent exploring the plateau we made our way down toward Old River via a series of ridge lines starting west of Richea peak. Thick cloud reduced visibility down to less than 50m making the going very difficult with much back tracking and head scratching as a result. Just as I thought we would wander in circles all day, the cloud lifted revealing the river several kilometres below us.
The view from a ridgeline looking west toward Old River and Bathurst Harbour.
Our going was frustrated by a thick slime mould that seemed to grow everywhere, making every second step a slippery effort to keep balance. We dubbed it South-west Slime (Although I would like a real name for it?).
Incredible views coming down from the Mt. Norold Plateau.
Due to time lost back tracking in the cloud, we were racing the sun to cross Old River and make camp on Junction ridge. By the time we reached the river, the sun had gone down but the decision was made to make a night crossing.
With torch in mouth we dipped into the edge of the river following it upstream from the junction of the Solly River to a set of rapids. At times the depth of the river forced us to scramble across rocky ledges (the river side scrub was nasty in the dark). Once at the rapids we proceeded slowly in fast flowing, thigh deep water using exposed rocks to keep us upright, as we negotiated the 50m to the other side. I'm not sure I took a breath during the crossing.
Making camp on the Junction ridge, we were exuberant after our night time rapids crossing and were treated to a full moon. The sight of the moonlight reflecting of the quartzite rock of Harry's Bluff and the sound of the Solly and Old River merging is one I will never forget.
Looking west at the junction of the Solly and Old River.
From Junction ridge we made good going in fine weather through heath heading east toward George Ridge, slowed up by the occasional band of thick scrub (Melalueca sp., Ghania sp. and Bauera rubiodes). Camping the night on George we were visited by a curious Boo Book owl who kept as company for the night.
Waking the next morning to another sunny day we got our first views of the Old River Valley and the major challenge of the hike..... Gorilla ridge upto Geeves Bluff (Above). The going across George ridge was generally good with exception of one band of thick scrub, once down onto the valley floor the going was made very easy due to relatively recent fire clearing our thick bands of scrub. Apart from almost stepping on a Ground Parrot and sighting a giant stonefly the going was rather uneventful. Before we knew it we were at the base of Gorilla ridge (or what we thought was Gorilla ridge) and the call was made to try for the Richea Plateau described by David Noble.
Last minute campsite just below rocky cliffs W of Geeves Bluff.
Thus began what can only be described as an arduous and character testing ordeal. For the next two days we walked from sun up to sun down and covered only 4km!
We realized to late that we were not on Gorilla ridge but a ridge heading in a similar direction starting slightly NW. The scrub was thick, interlocked, covered in large fallen branches with scattered Ghania to cut up your hands and face, just because it wasn't trying enough already.
Much time was spent crawling on the ground squeezing packs under branches or climbing ontop of fallen branches with no idea where the ground was. The two nights we spent camped on the ridge were interesting to say the least..... Flat open space was non-existent (flat and scrubby or steep and somewhat open), so setting up a tent was not as option. We slept side by side under a tarp using our tent bases as a ground layer, the slope was such that u had to keep your legs tensed to avoid sliding down slope. Mosquitos and the occasional leech keep us company.
We often talked of the old school hikers of the 70's travelling up to fed peak via the Old River Valley and Gorilla ridge, much respect to those old chums.
The next morning we picked a way up very step cliffs onto a ridgeline, in drizzly rain and heavy cloud, with no visibility and unsure of where we had ascended, we weren't sure how far it was or in which direction Geeves Bluff and Hanging Lake (we had no GPS). Nothing to be done but wait out the weather and hope for a glimpse of a land mark.
For a day and a half we waited on a cold windswept ridge, before a brief break in the cloud cover revealed Hanging lake just 400m to the East! Jubilant upon reaching the Lake we waited another day and a half in bad weather before the cloud broke and we got the views people so often rave about.....
