Welcome to The Tablelands Way experience

Overlooking the magnificent Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area is The Tablelands region, home of awe inspiring ancient wonders such as the Wollemi pine and stone pagodas. Its sandstone cliffs and valleys, carved over 250 million years, are home to the world’s most diverse eucalypt forests. As a visitor, you can walk, cycle, ride horses, float on a lilo, and abseil. You can do this through canyons, along wild rivers, and on bush tracks and farm land. You can bypass Sydney and travel back through time in well preserved historic villages, early European inland settlements and Australia’s first inland city. Alternatively you can simply kick back with down to earth locals and taste the wonderful home cooking of The Tablelands Way experience's many bed & breakfasts.

The Tablelands Way experience accesses many of the region’s more remote and unexplored treasures. Follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin or step into the shoes of Australia's pioneers. Observe the nectar eating parrots feast on gum flowers and spot the Masked Owl hiding in a tree hollow. Savour the subtle flavours of cold climate wines or watch a Lyrebird strutting its stuff. See the platypus dart through its rivers, and discover remote gorges that hide the Wollemi pine. Experience the road less travelled.

Key Destinations of The Tablelands Way experience

Gulgong
Mudgee
Wollemi National Park
Gardens of Stone National Park
Lithgow
Oberon
Jenolan Caves
Kanangra-Boyd National Park
Upper Lachlan: Taralaga
Wombeyan Caves
Goulburn
Bungonia State Conservation Area
 

Gulgong: the Gold Rush town

Gulgong is one of the best preserved towns of the gold rush period. In 1870, gold was found on Red Hill, in the middle of the town. After the discovery the town’s population jumped to 20,000 in two years. By 1876, 15,000 kilos of gold had been mined in the town. Gulgong is a township of single story weatherboard structures and buildings of iron, stone and brick. It boasts 130 buildings on the National Trust Register.

Registered buildings include churches, schools, a police station and even a bark built opera house, dating back to 1871. Of special interest is the Georgian cottage, built by the father of the poet Henry Lawson. The best way to see Gulgong is on foot.
 

Mudgee: Creations from Nature

Mudgee has always attracted food and wine makers. The Mudgee wine industry was established in 1854, by three German families. Descendents of two of these families (Kurtz and Roth) are still growing grapes in the Mudgee Region today. The welcoming nature of the locals, and a boutique family style of business, means that you can meet the wine and food makers as you taste the local bounty.

Mudgee differs from many competing wine regions in its continental, rather than maritime, climate. The nights are cold and the days are hot. This leads to bright exaggerated flavours. Mudgee wines are lively and overt, not subtle. Winemakers take advantage of the cool nights to develop the intense flavours, which have made Mudgee reds famous. Cool temperatures also help conserve acidity in the grapes, in contrast to grapes grown in other, warmer parts of Australia.

Good wine finds a natural match with fine dining and gourmet food, and Mudgee has an abundance of culinary delights. You can dine in award winning restaurants, or taste locally produced cheeses, wine jellies, tapenades, honeys, field tomatoes, verjuices, olives and other delicacies at farmers markets. Look out for the many medal winning products among the range.
 

Wollemi National Park

Wollemi National Park covers an area of 487,500 hectares and is home to scenic rivers and mountain ranges. It contains over 200,000 hectares of remote wilderness, making it the largest wilderness in NSW. Rivers and creeks have eroded the sandstone laid down 250 million years ago creating the landscape of today.

Plant life includes tall open woodlands, lush patches of rainforest, and, in windswept areas, heath. The Wollemi pine, nicknamed the Jurassic pine, was discovered in one of its canyons in 1994.

Animals include eastern grey kangaroos, wombats, red-necked wallabies and wallaroos, which can be seen grazing on the grassy stream banks. The park is also home to rare and endangered animals, such as the broad-headed snake, Regent Honeyeater, Glossy Black Cockatoo, koala and brush-tailed rock wallaby.
 

Gardens of Stone National Park

The Gardens of Stone National Park is only accessible to bushwalkers and mountain bikers, and has retained its remote wilderness feeling. Scattered throughout the Gardens of Stone’s 15,230 hectares are towering pagoda rock formations alongside sandstone escarpments.

A particularly dramatic display of stone pagodas is known as the Lost City. Its array of pagodas resembles an ancient archaeological relic. Banksias and dwarf she-oaks grow between the pagodas, and endemic pagoda daisies bloom along their fringes. A lucky few visitors may have a chance meeting with an endangered brush-tailed rock wallaby, as it darts along a sandstone escarpment. Other protected animals of the Gardens of Stone include the Regent Honeyeater, which lives in the park's ironbark-box woodland, the koala, and several species of glider and owl, which dwell in the eucalypt forests.
 

Lithgow: Nature Encounters

Lithgow is surrounded by Gardens of Stone National Park, Blue Mountains National Park, Wollemi National Park, Turon National Park and Marrangaroo National Park. As such it offers easy access to an array of nature encounters.

Throughout history the Lithgow area has been a mecca for nature expeditions. As early as 1836 Charles Darwin chose to stay at Wallerawang, close to Lithgow, to explore the natural wonders of the area. His impressions of the area are recorded in the ‘Voyage of the Beagle’. The Lithgow area is also home to the ancient Wollemi pine, unknown the world until 1994 when it was uncovered by a canyonist.

Lithgow is within easy access of secluded rainforests and different eucalypt communities, such as open woodlands and dry sclerophyll forests. It makes the perfect base camp for visitors who want to seek out their own nature experiences. The slot canyons of Wollemi, and rivers perfect for liloing, will take you deep into remote wilderness where few have travelled before, satisfying an adventurous appetite.

Those who like a more leisurely encounter with nature can enjoy outstanding bird watching in the Capertee Valley. Capertee has the highest bird diversity and greatest number of birds of anywhere in the southern hemisphere. You can see finches, honeyeaters, cockatoos, lorikeets, ducks and more.
 

Oberon: Adventure in Nature

Oberon is located in the high country of the Central Tablelands and enjoys four distinct seasons, including winters with frequent snow. Its rolling green hills are speckled with giant ancient granite tors, created by volcanic activity hundreds of millions of years ago.

On the doorstep of Kanangra-Boyd National Park, Blue Mountains National Park and Abercrombie River National Park , Oberon is a great starting point for Wilderness Adventures. The rugged beauty of Kanangra-Boyd National Park makes it a spectacular backdrop for mountain biking, canyoning, and bushwalking. For those who like their adventures underground, Oberon is home to Jenolan Caves, the world’s oldest open caves.

The Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway is also a popular mountain bike trail, and during the season, a cycle through the pine forests can be enhanced by the delicious discovery of wild mushrooms.

Oberon is also considered one of the best trout fishing spots in Australia, and time spent with the locals is a good way to identify the best spots. But it is not just the trout that attracts people to Oberon's streams and rivers. If you enjoy panning for treasure you will find the area excellent for gem fossicking.
 

Jenolan Caves: The World’s Oldest Caves

Jenolan Caves, part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, are over 340 million years old. It is thought that they are more than 100 million years older than any other open cave system. Jenolan’s Orient Cave is considered by many to be the most beautiful cave in the world.

Jenolan Caves are situated within a karst reserve area, which covers 2,694 hectares. Over 300 caves occur within the reserve, with nine show caves open for regular inspection. It is believed that the Jenolan Caves complex is in fact one giant cave, but scientists have not yet established how it links together. Each show cave has its own unique features. Some have rivers within them. Some have extensive natural sculpture. Others sparkle with a variety of colours.

The first known visitors to the caves were a gang of bushrangers, who used them as a hideout. By the mid 1800s a stream of visitors was arriving at the caves by stage coach from Tarana Railway station. Soon the Six Foot Track from Katoomba to the caves was opened. This track had been used for over a thousand years by aborigines, before being established as a bridle track. It is now a popular bushwalking track.

Also in the area is Caves House. It is one of only a few remaining grand Victorian guest houses and provides an excellent example of early Federation Arts and Craft architecture.
 

Kanangra-Boyd National Park

The 68,000 hectare Kanangra-Boyd National Park is situated at the southern-most tip of the Blue Mountains sandstone plateau complex. There are many treasures in Kanangra-Boyd, not least Jenolan Caves. There is also a remnant alpine forest which stands high upon Boyd Plateau, a relic from the last ice age.

The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is home to the early bushwalking movement and the beginning of the campaign which led to the establishment of the Greater Blue Mountains National Park. This campaign was initiated by Myles Dunphy in 1930. Myles named many of the land features of Kanangra-Boyd, believing that by naming them he would offer them protection. This was before the time of aerial photography and his poetic names were recorded on maps that he created by hand. Names such as Rip, Rap and Roar; Mt Paralyser; Mt Cloudmaker and Kanangra Deep allow visitors to understand the spirit of each land feature even before they experience it themselves.

Before Dunphy other explorers were drawn to the staggering beauty of this region. In 1801 Francis Barrallier attempted to follow the creek lines in order to make the first crossing of the Blue Mountains. Barrallier's second attempt was nearly successful, but was ultimately blocked by the difficult terrain.

Today adventurers who appreciate beauty of its twisted and gnarled gorges traverse its trails and canyons. Others enjoy Kanangra-Boyd at a slower pace. They take in its beauty, breathe its pure air, or touch the waters of the Kowmung River, the only gazetted wild river in New South Wales. There is even wheelchair access to one of the best lookouts in the region.
 

Upper Lachlan Shire: The Art of Living Simply

Settlers first arrived in Upper Lachlan Shire 1840. They made hay from native grasses and cleared the land to grow wheat and potatoes. Not much has changed since then. The Shire of Villages is for people who prefer to keep things simple. It contains a circuit drive of villages created in the pioneering days, including Taralga, Laggan, Crookwell, Gunning and Collector.

Bushrangers had more or less disappeared from Upper Lachlan's hills by 1865, but their legends are very much alive today. In Collector you will find the Bushranger Hotel, dedicated to the stories of the outlaws, their dastardly deeds and their miserable ends.

Life is a lot more peaceful these days for the region's locals. Today they are masters of the art of home cooking, kicking back and enjoying life. Visitors can cycle or walk along historic trails or hide away like a bushranger in one of the many bed & breakfasts tucked away in small villages.

Upper Lachlan Shire is also home to the Wombeyan Caves.
 

Wombeyan Caves: Unique marble caves

Speleologists have recorded over 500 cave entrances within the marble of Wombeyan. Walking tracks lead to such diverse features as marble gorges, lookouts, waterfalls, creek beds, open woodland and moist closed forests. Wombeyan limestone dates back to the Silurian period (443 - 417 million years ago). Unlike most other karst areas in New South Wales the limestone at Wombeyan has undergone significant metamorphism, thereby producing marble. This marble makes for a different caving experience from those of nearby Jenolan and Abercrombie caves.

Chalkers wattle is the predominant understorey species throughout the reserve and has been classified as rare. It is endemic to the region. Wombeyan is renowned for its birdlife. Birds such as thornbills, robins, parrots, honeyeaters, treecreepers, whistlers and pardalotes are all seen here, as are the Rock-warbler and the wonderful Lyrebird.

Another of Wombeyan's unique features is its 1.5 km long limestone canyon. Formed from a collapsed giant cave it consists of many spring fed pools, up to 60m long and from 1m to 2.5m deep. Clear and pristine waters mean you can see to the bottom. Between the pools are big limestone boulders, which are part of the collapsed cave roof.

Wombeyan Caves are open every day for guided and self guided tours. As well as the caves the park also offers well appointed camping grounds, cabin accommodation, a caravan park and kiosk facilities.
 

Goulburn: Discover the grandeur of the 1800s

Goulburn was declared a city in March 1863 when Queen Victoria created the Anglican Diocese of Goulburn. Goulburn is the last city in Australia declared by Royal Letters Patent (Bathurst became a city shortly afterwards, in October 1863). However Goulburn’s history began well before this time, and is evident in the many fine examples of Georgian and other early architecture still seen in the city today.

Colonial architect Francis Greenway designed the Goulburn brewery (including maltings, steam mills, tobacco kiln and mews), which was completed in 1836. It is the oldest surviving brewery and industrial complex in Australia and continues to brew ales and stouts to the original recipes.

The 1880s was the decade when Goulburn particularly flourished. High wool prices and the extension of the railways brought prosperity to Goulburn. It became the regional centre for fine merino wool, at a time when Australia’s wealth “rode upon the sheep’s back”. It was at this time that many of Goulburn’s finest buildings were constructed, such as the Post Office (1881), St Saviour’s Cathedral (1884), Courthouse (1887) and Saints Peter and Pauls’ Cathedral (1890).

These years were followed by the great drought and recession of the 1890s, which famously featured in the novel ‘My Brilliant Career’ written by Miles Franklin, who moved to the area in 1889.
 

Bungonia State Conservation Area

Bungonia State Conservation Area, close to Goulburn, has the deepest cave system in Australia, which is popular with experienced adventure cavers. It is also a great place to for those who love to bushwalk surrounded by spectacular views. The Bungonia caves are found in the limestone landscape around Bungonia Creek. The deep gorge, carved over millions of years by the Shoalhaven River, provides spectacular views from a number of lookouts. Bungonia is also famous for its bats. The large bent-winged bat and the eastern horseshoe bat roost in the caves. At Chalk Cave and Grill Cave, over 15,000 bats have been sighted.
 

Country roads are often narrow and winding.
Bends and curves are often dangerous due to a build up loose dirt and stones.
Be prepared for changing road conditions and surfaces in wet weather.
Always drive to the conditions, which is not necessarily the posted speed limit.