Hiking Adventure For 17 July 2024 – Lawson To Hazelbrook

I’m starting with a disclaimer, bushwalking Down Under is different to anywhere else I’ve hiked.

To put things into perspective Australia is the 6th largest country in the world and approximately 1/3 the size of the whole of North America. Australia ranks 55 in the list of world countries by population. What does this have to do with hiking? It means we have fewer hiking trails which are less curated compared to other countries I have hiked in.

The Australian bush is unique. It needs to be destroyed by bush fires to rejuvenate and in OZ off track hiking is common. We call it bush bashing.

Today’s walk commenced with a short section of bush bashing as we tried to find the start of the trail. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, lets dive into the details of my hiking adventure for 17 July 2024.

• When: 17 July 2024
• Where: Blue Mountains National Park. Starting at Lawson train station and finishing at Hazelbrook train station.
• Weather: Sunny Sydney winters day with a low of 43 F (6 C) and a high of 52 F (11 C)
• Departure: from Lawson train station at 09:17 am and arrived back at Hazelbrook station at 3:30 pm
• Length: 8.5 miles, 13.7 km
• Elevation gain: 1686 ft, 514 m
• Duration: 6 hours 13 mins, including breaks

The Start

Our group of 14, including an amazing 83 year old lady, met after 9:00 am at Lawson train station to commence our hike in the Blue Mountains National Park where we were visiting many small waterfalls with numerous creek crossings. It was a cold but sunny winter’s day and we had a short road walk before we started on a fire trail. Our trusty leader advised us to keep an eye out on the left side for a distinctive tree which marked the start of the trail.

We passed a plethora of trees and without successfully finding the “distinctive” tree we cut into the bush on what appeared to be a rough track of sorts. This is where our brief off track adventure started as we knew if we continued in a westerly direction we would cross paths with the track, which we shortly did.

Echo Bluff

Our first port of call was Echo Bluff, where the mandatory “cooee” was shouted and it naturally came back. What’s a “cooee”, I hear you ask? The word “cooee” originated from the Dharug language of Aboriginal Australians in the Sydney area. The call, meaning “come here”, was used as communication over distance by Aboriginal people. It was expressed as a long loud call which ended with a shrill rising inflection on the “ee”. It was adopted by the colonial settlers and is now widely used in OZ as a call over distance.

As it was a little windy at Echo Bluff we continued on in search of a more sheltered morning tea spot. We found a rock platform that jutted out over a drop in the undulating landscape below. In my mind it resembled a dog’s or animal’s head.

The Empire Pass Walking Track

The track we took was constructed in the early 1900s. After improvments it was opened on Empire Day, 1913, hence its name. The track passes through a beautiful gully of temperate rainforest and visits several small but pretty waterfalls in the North Lawson area.

A Series of Nine Falls

Fairy Falls and Dante’s Glen Falls

The first falls we encountered were Fairy Falls where we carefully walked across the top of the red rocks down to the pretty two tiered falls with an undercut ledge. After Fairy Falls we descended down some steep rock stairs then along a short side track that put us on a ledge above the water and sand below giving a different view of Dante’s Glen Falls. We were greeted with plants growing out of the cliff face and a long log jammed up against the waterfall, giving the glen a wild and secluded feel.

We made a further descent onto the sand and were greeted by a picturesque wide waterfall that drops into a shallow pool within a small, shaded grotto. Along the creek were large moss covered boulders great for careful rock hopping. Once there was a deep pool at the base of Dante’s Glen Falls, but over the years it has gradually filled with silt and is now only a foot or so deep. We noted how much cooler it was in the grotto and how it would be a great summer spot.

St Michael’s Falls

After taking in the pretty falls and glen, we continued to our next destination. St Michael’s Falls. This section of the track was undulating and had us criss crossing back and forth over the creek, using well placed rocks to keep our feet dry.

The pool at the base of these falls was a little larger than the pools at the previous falls and we noted that the water must have travelled under-ground as no creek was initially visible at the surface.

Frederica Falls

We continued on the path which eventually followed the creek to our next destination the multi-tiered Frederica Falls. Again we had ups and downs and more creek crossings until we arrived at the base of these red rocked falls. and swimming hole, enclosed by bush.

The history of these falls goes as such: They were was named after Effie Alicia Frederica Chilvers Williams Roberts, who was the the daughter of Benjamin William and Alice Taplin Roberts. Williams had bought three portions of land on the north side of the railway line at Lawson. The earliest known use of the name Frederica Falls is on 1 March 1895, when Frederica would have been 13 years of age, as she was born on 25 April 1882. Our lunch spot was at the top of the falls.

After lunch our track took us along North Lawson Trail. A fire trail with a decent ascent. This led us to Queens Road and after crossing the road we entered back into some bush but then had a little more road walking which was short, thank goodness.

Glowworm Nook Falls

We were back in the bush making our way to Glowworm Nook Falls. A short side trip to see these less spectactular falls that run over rocks. There are Lower, Middle and Top falls, we saw the top and didn’t see any glow worms as it wasn’t dark enough. Learn more about glowworms here.

Horeseshoe Falls

Our next destination was a slight descent to Horseshoe Falls (also called Lyrebird Falls) which is a shaded natural ampitheatre. The falls obviously get their name because of their shape and they flow over a large rock overhang that enabled us to walk behind the falls without getting wet.

Fairy Falls

After Horeseshoe Falls we meandered our way back to Fairy Falls (yes there are two falls with the same name). These are less spectactular, two tiered and smaller falls that flow over rocks. After Fairy Falls we entered onto the Burgess Falls Walking Track.

Oakland Falls

Our next destination was Oakland Falls which fell over a rock overhang. We stood at the sandy base, looking up at the tall trees growing above.

Burgess Falls

Our final falls for the day and probably the most fitting to visit last, paid respect to a fallen WW1 soldier. Burgess Falls were named after soldier Edward Allan Burgess who was from Hazelbrook. Burgess was killed on the Western Front on 3 June 1917 at the age of 38. These fell into a grotto with ferns and plants growing out the cliff face walls of the falls. A plaque that we missed, is on a rock face nearby and was laid in his memory by the residents of Hazelbrook on the 7th of October 1918.

After another road walk we arrived at Hazelbrook Station at 3:30 pm giving us plenty of time to catch our train back to Sydney.

The Verdict

This was an enjoybale walk that I had never done before and would make a great summertime walk with its shady paths and the opportunity to cool off under the falls. While the falls were not huge, they fell into pretty grottos with lush rain forests and mossy boulders providing wonderful settings to reflect and contemplate life on the trail. Here is my previous hike details.

Happy Hiking!

If you have any questions or comments about this hike or hiking in general, please leave them below.