This hike had it all! I explored the ruins of an old quarry, saw an astonishing set of Aboriginal engravings, then did a semi-bushbash to visit a massive set of caves!

On a personal note, those who follow my blog will know I’ve been trying to get back into shape and I think I’ve made some progress as I had no trouble with this hike! I zoomed up and down the hills and crushed the kilometres with no excessive huffing and puffing. Feels good!

I parked in a dirt road just off the pacific highway in the Somersby/Mooney Mooney area north of Sydney. In only a few minutes I came upon the entrance to the old quarry.

It was a magnificent site! Carved out of the sandstone, it almost looked as though it had a swimming pool or an old pond in the centre. So many old ruins in the bush are old industrial sites, and old in Australia really isn’t that old, but it still feels like I’ve stumbled upon an ancient civilisation! I circled around the perimeter then stepped down into the pit and explored a little more.

Rather than walk all the way round to my entry point I cut thru the bush where it seemed others had done so and returned to the trail. I briefly started walking in the wrong direction but I always check the app at every intersection so I did a one-eighty and carried on.

Very near by, and fortunately not destroyed by the quarry, was the Aboriginal engraving site. In amongst the kangaroo and fish designs was two huge carvings of people or deities. It looked like an alien with five baubles extending from its head and I wondered what inspired the design. I was very careful where I stepped as there were so many smaller drawings! They were quite hard to photograph as they were either very large or very faint. I put the camera away a bit and tried to imagine what life was like back then. As most of the pictures were of food I guess it was a constant struggle to find it.

The next part of the hike involved most of the walking. I followed an overgrown service track to the point at which I was to turn off. There was a little post with a ribbon attached and some rocks stacked so I followed what I thought was the track but it fizzled out. I returned to my starting point and realised I needed to head downhill a little further, and sure enough there was another little post with a ribbon and rocks. This time it was clearly a used track, though a bit overgrown. I pushed through and it became quite uneven to walk on. It was a proper bush track now and I absolutely love the roughness, having to climb over rocks and trees and branches and try not to slip or fall or become too scratched up by the sharp spikes plants. Fantastic fun!

The track, not much more than a few ribbons on the trees now, stopped decending and started to wind alongside the cliffside. I saw the first cave, high up on a cliff. I tried to find a way up to it but it looked a tad dangerous so I gave it a miss. A short walk further along and the second, largest cave came into view. I say cave, but they are not completely closed, they are more like giant rock shelters but the term must be valid as it’s used in other places for a similar feature. I climbed up into this cave and tried to photograph it but failed due to its size. You could fit a small village under it! The walls were amazing to look at, with lots of swirls and corrugations and protuberances! Alongside the orange and yellow sandstone were splotches of black, likely evidence of bushfire or possibly campfire. I sat and ate for a while, thinking the adventure was over.

But no! There was another huge cave right next door! The floor was steeper and there was more water running over it. Plenty of drinking water and a shower available in this one! And alongside that was another smaller cave, still huge in its own right but having far less of an overhang. I took my photos and carried on. They were amazing!

The route out was hard to follow, lots of bushbashing. I think I may have missed a marker but it was clear from the map where to go so I pushed on and soon found a ribbon again. Before I knew it I was back on the overgrown track and headed out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this walk, it was only around 6.5km but it packed a lot in. It felt like a sightseeing expedition really! It felt great to hike without any feeling of not being fit too. I think I’m turning the corner on fitness so I might just try a longer hike next time. Thanks for reading!

YouTube video! Hike to Mooney Mooney Quarry, Caves and Engravings