This trail to Devils Hole is a good taster for those eyeing the Six Foot Track, reports Great Walks.
Spring will soon be upon us, and it’s the perfect time of the year to get out and explore the exposed trails that prove taxing during the relentless heat of summer. A perfect example of this is the Six Foot Track in the upper Blue Mountains, a historic bridle trail that runs from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves.
At 44.3km, it can be difficult to set aside three days to undertake the track in its entirety. For those with a tight schedule, this shortened day walk gives a small taste of the diverse environments the Six Foot Track has to offer by joining the trail at Nellies Glen and exiting via Devils Hole.
It's best to leave your car at the finishing point of this route at the head of the Devils Hole Trail on Cliff Drive. From here, walk up Narrow Neck Rd and turn left onto Stuart St. Following this road to a T-intersection, then turn left again to reach the trail head.
The track begins by winding through dry sclerophyll forest, occasionally descending into quaint, fern-filled valleys. A number of wooden bridges lead you over gurgling streams, where the more open vegetation permits larger scale views of the bends and folds of the terrain. Eventually the trail reaches a T-intersection, and to the left is Norths Lookout, which offers a spectacular view over Nellies Glen towards Megalong Valley.
The lookout is named after John Britty North, who built and operated two coal mines on the Megalong ridge from 1890 to 1897. He also was reputed for playing a vital, albeit commercially motivated, role in Katoomba’s growth as a tourist destination.
Continuing to the right, the trail leads to a junction with the Six Foot Track before descending into the lush surroundings of Nellies Glen. At certain points the glen offers some fascinating acoustics, where quiet conversation seems to echo down the valleys like a naturally formed cathedral. Just before crossing Megalong Creek, it’s worth taking a detour upstream to see Bonnie Doon Falls, where water cascades over a striking flat rock formation into a small sandy pool below.
Observant walkers may be lucky enough to encounter a large variety of bird life as the track opens onto the flat terrain of the bridle trail. We spotted wattle birds, willie wagtails, a red-whiskered bullbul, and heard the calls of lyrebirds in the surrounding scrub. After about 3km, the trail turns left onto Water Board Rd. After following this fire trail for about 15 minutes, there is a faint single track to the left marked by a large rock cairn which leads to the Devils Hole.
The ascent through Devils Hole is steep and difficult to follow in some parts, so look for cairns, tape and metal markers on trees to guide the way. Only a small amount of sunlight reaches the moss-lined trail from the top of the crevasse, and the sky is seen as a thin line of blue at the top of the impressive rock walls. It’s hard to believe that this otherworldly environment is so close to the trail’s end. After the ascent, the trail winds through some dry bushland for a few hundred metres before finally reaching the end of the route at the Devils Hole trail head.
For more info on the Blue Mountains click here.
Words and photos_Doug Wright