Pindar Cave Hike Guide-Classic Central Coast Hike

Today’s adventure started at Wondabyne train station in the Brisbane Waters National Park. Wondabyne is basically a train stop on the Central Coast of New South Wales, 63 kilometres, (39 miles) or just over an hour north Sydney. In the 2021 census, its population was 3. Wondabyne station sits on Mullet Creek with its picturesque beauty, it is a quiet and idyllic spot.

Our destination was Pindar Cave, a wide and impressive sandstone cave. It is not deep at all but a popular camping spot as the cave provides excellent shelter.

Pindar Cave Hike Guide

• When:  13 September 2024
• Where: Brisbane Waters National Park. Starting and finishing at Wondabyne train station. It’s not possible to drive to the start of the walk. The only options are train or boat.
• Weather: Overcast in the morning but cleared and sunny by mid-morning to a warm Sydney Spring day with a low of 46.4 F (8C) and a high of 62.6 F (17 C) It felt warmer.
• Departure: From Wondabyne train station at 9:15 am and arrived back at Wondabyne train station at 2: 47 pm
• Length: 8.59 miles, 13.82 km
• Elevation gain: 1565t, 477 m
• Duration: 5 hours 32 minutes, including breaks

The Start

Our group of 10 arrived at Wondabyne train station just before 9:00 am and waited for a large school group to head off before setting foot at 9:15 am.

Up was the only option available, it’s the one track to get to and from the station into the Brisbane Waters National Park. The short, sharp climb up of 525 ft or 160 m, was a bit of a shock to the body as it’s unusual to start a hike in Australia with a climb. Being a not so mountainous country, we usually hike down into a gorge and finish with a climb out. Many things are in reverse Down Under.

After our 10 minute “heart starter” we reached the top, caught our breath, lost a layer and proceeded along a fire trail on our way to our first destination, morning tea at Pindar Lookout.

An Abundance of Flowers

Spring had truly sprung and the bush was alive with an array of spectacular spring flowers with hues of bright yellow, pink, red, violet and white. We encountered pale pink Boronia buds, purple Patisonia, red spikey Kunzea, bright yellow and orange Pultenaea or bush peas and perfectly formed yellow Isopogon . Further along the track we spotted red and grey Grevilleas which are also known as spider flowers. There are in fact, 360 different species of Grevilleas.

We eventually turned off the fire trail onto the Pindar Track, which narrowed, becoming undulating and rocky. Either side of us, a sea of bright coloured wild flowers. I stopped to photograph a Scribbly Gum which had squeezed itself between two boulders. Growing out between the two rocks. The scribbles found on the bark are the feeding trails of the Scribbly Gum Moth larvae.

Morning Tea at Pindar Lookout

We continued along the dense track reaching Pindar Lookout, with its perfectly placed boulders for us to sit on, at 11:11 am. I sat and admired the view of Mullet Creek, Dangar Island and the Hawkesbury River while I enjoyed my well earned morning tea.

Destination Pindar Cave

It was 11:30 am and time to make our way to Pindar Cave. Within an hour of continuing along the track that constantly varied its terrain, gradient, density and became a little wet under foot we reached Pindar Cave. The Cave is an impressive 15 metre or 50 foot sandstone overhang which spans approximately 50 metres or 164 feet. Upon arriving at the cave we were greeted by a young male Bush Turkey, who did not seem bothered by us at all. The cave is a popular camp spot providing ample shelter, so he may be used to humans. I named him Baz, short for Barry.

We wandered a few meters beyond the cave to check out the rock Orchids that are known to grow off the rocks above the cave.

Pindar Waterfall

The waterfall is about 500 metres or 1640 feet along a rough track from the cave. Pindar Waterfall, also called Pindar Brook Waterfall, is formed by the Pindar Brook cascading over a broad rock shelf which then drops further down into a small pool. It is an ephemeral (transient) stream which has an irregular water pattern. Luckily, we had reasonably heavy rain the previous evening and the water was flowing.

Unsure of where the track to the base and pool at the bottom of the falls started, we did a short bush bash to the bottom and then easily found the track back to the rock shelf where we stopped for lunch.

The Walk Back to Wondabyne Station

At 1:00 pm we decided we had better start to head back if we wanted to make the 3:19 pm train from Wondabyne. The trains back to Sydney run hourly and the thought of just missing it and waiting for an hour for the next ensured we kept a sprightly pace back along the same route in.

We arrived at Wondabyne with ample time to spare which allowed me to do my stretches before boarding the train back to Sydney.

This was a truely enjoyable hike, not too difficult at all, unlike last week’s hike in the Bungonia National Park. The highlights being the abundance of spring wildflowers in bloom and the impressive cave and of course being greeted by Baz the Bush Turkey. Happy Hiking!

If you have any questions, or would like to leave a comment, please do so below.