A Shale Of A Time

History abounds only a few hours’ drive from Sydney.

- Kev Smith

Wollemi National Park is a natural wilderness area in the upper reaches of the Blue Mountains and the Hunter region of NSW covering 5000km² and located only a few hours’ drive west of Sydney. It’s claimed to be the largest wilderness area in NSW and is home to significant Aboriginal features, rare plants (Wollemi Pine was found in 1994 in a remote valley) and numerous animals. The park has many entry points, but as it’s rugged and remote there aren’t a lot of roads that actually run directly through it.

Some of the park’s best features can be found on the Lithgow side, as that’s where the early explorers – like Allan Cunningham, who passed through in 1822 – entered from. The entire area is a natural wonderland with key landmarks including basalt structures formed over millions of years and the Capertree Valley which is the second-largest canyon in the world – it’s 1.6km wider than the Grand Canyon, but not as deep. Indigenous Australians have been living in the area for about 40,000 years, and many sites and caves have been found with handprint and animal stencils; in fact, bushwalkers found 200 different shapes in one remote cave.