Panoramic views with a touch of thick scrub on the Constance Point loop

An invitation from Yuri to join him on a Newnes bushwalk up to Constance Point is impossible to refuse, even though it means an ungodly early start for the three hour drive from Sydney to the Wolgan Valley. (Our small group comprises Yuri leading with myself, Scott, Irina, Evgenia and Avi.)

Getting to the start of the walk is the first challenge; Wolgan Gap Road has been closed for over three years due to multiple landslide and the risk of further instability. The steep, 4WD-only “Donkey Steps” was created to provide the only route into the valley. A report commissioned by Lithgow City Council estimated that repairing the road would cost over $1bn, and proposed building a new route into Wolgan Valley. Almost three years later, the original road has been partially re-opened and new report suggested the road could be restored for a fraction of the original estimate.

It’s a tale of incredible incompetence, with the second report not released to the public for almost six months after being provided to Council. Adding to the farce, shortly after Wolgan Gap Road was closed, Lithgow Council ripped up one side of the road with a grader to “harvest” the road base to build the temporary Donkey Steps route – making any future repairs even more complicated. As the Financial Review put it “For three years, Wolgan Valley was cut off and the Emirates resort forced to close as disaster funding was put toward a new road. Turns out the old one was just fine.“

We eventually reach the starting point Constance Point bushwalk along Wolgan Road, startling a red bellied black snake which slithers up the river, away from us. Most of take our shoes off to cross the very shallow Wolgan River; the alternative is a fallen log that Irina gracefully shuffles across.

Once across the river it’s all uphill as we make our way towards Constance Point, through light scrub. From time to time the cliffs we’re making our way towards loom above the trees.

The route gets increasingly steep with a few scrambles as gain altitude.

Offsetting the effort of climbing the increasingly steep slope are some great views looking down the Wolgan Valley.

There’s a second scramble as we reach the base of the cliff line.

A wide “ramp” provides access through the cliffs; Yuri explained that this “pass” was found with a combination of luck, teamwork and time-consuming exploration when the group he was leading needed to find a route down from Constance Point at the end of a long day (this bushwalk being done in the opposite direction).

At the top of the ramp, a wide, low and somewhat unlikely ledge on the right provides a safe passage further along the cliff-line.

On the other side of the ledge, there is one last tape-assisted scramble which gets us above the main cliff-line. It’s a relatively straightforward ascent and the tape isn’t essential – but I can imagine the sense of relief finding this pass and the shallow ledge when searching for a way down from the top.

We’re not yet at Constance Point, but make our way up a natural ramp to a view point.

Although we are only about an hour into our bushwalk, there are already panoramic views over the Wolgan Valley and beyond.

To the north is Newnes, near the end of the Wolgan Valley and surrounded by Wollemi National Park; to the south-west is Donkey Mountain.

To the south is Constance Point – the highest point on the ridgeline – which is where we are heading next.

We re-trace our steps a short distance, descending via a couple of slots before we continue along the ridge.

It’s fairly easy walking, with a clamber up a large pagoda taking us up to Constance Point.

Michael Keats gave Constance Point its name in his Bush Club Track Notes in May 2010; Constance Gorge below was likely named after Constance Caroline Mary, wife of Donald Sutherland who was Consulting Engineer and General Manager of The Commonwealth Oil Corporation Ltd’s mine and refinery at Newnes in the early 1900s. From Constance Point there are more sweeping views across to Donkey Mountain and down the Wolgan Valley.

From Constance Point we continue along the ridge, enjoying more views towards the south-west.

It’s mostly easy walking along Constance Ridge, with a few patches of scrub and a series of small pagodas – and constant views over the Wolgan Valley to the west and south-west, and Constance Gorge to the east.

We head to the south-eastern end of Constance Ridge, where it ends above towering cliffs; below is Tiger Snake Creek.

From here we make our way across the end of Constance Ridge, descending a narrow slot…

…before traversing a field of low grass. It’s very easy and pleasant walking… but it’s the calm before the storm, so to speak.. The terrain is about to get a lot more challenging!

We continue to descend the eastern side of Constance Ridge, finding narrow slots between the pagodas.

The next slot is long, narrow and steep – but the gradient is safe enough to allow a controlled bum-slide without the use of tape.

The third “drop” brings us into a hell-scape of thick scrub interspered with fallen branches; we push through the undergrowth for a short distance before Yuri suggests a slight variation to our route.

Climbing a short distance over a large pagoda, we find ourselves a clearer route as we descend, pausing for lunch before we continue our descent.

Although thge general direction we are taking is eastward and down – towards Constance Gorge – we have one more detour. Another short ascent as we make our way towards Tiger Snake Point.

At the very southern cliff-edge of Constance Ridge are five large, interlocking pagodas above Tiger Snake Canyon, which Yuri named Tiger Snake Point on a 2016 bushwalk. All of the pagodas offer a great view, with the southermost one perched over Tiger Snake Creek.

From the top of this pagoda you can down Deanes Creek to the east and south, and Tiger Snake Creek and Tiger Snake Canyon to the west. It’s a testament to the rugged and remote landscape that while the Tiger Snake Canyon walking track is just a few hundred metres away below where are standing, it’s about an 80km, 1.5 hour drive between the two trailheads.

Enjoying the view, we re-trace our steps a short distance, as we continue our descent to Constance Gorge. We push through fairly dense scrub as we make our way across the side Constance Ridge; directly below us are cliffs, but based on the detailed LIDAR map Yuri is fairly confident there are gaps in the cliff line we can use to descend a little further east.

After about 30min we reach a point where a viable route down should be possible, and with a bit of scrambling (no tape required) and a couple of slots we find ourselves in Constance Gorge.

After a short break next to the (dry) creek, we’re finally on the return leg of our bushwalk along Constance Gorge and Zobels Gully. The Constance-Zobels Trench is an unusual gully with an internal watershed; Constance Gorge flows south and then east to Deanes Creek from a low saddle, while Zobels Gully flows north then west into the Wolgan River.

What this means is that we start by walking “upstream”, a fairly gentle ascent up to the saddle between Constance Gorge and Zobels Gully. Or to be more precise, it’s a gentle ascent in terms of elevation, but not the terrain… Yuri described it almost ten years ago as a sub-tropical wonderland, with “the forest floor a carpet of shed leaves and rotting logs”. He also noted traces of an old track, possibly from a telephone line installed around 1905 that crossed Constance Gorge. The ensuing years since Yuri’s last visit has turned the wonderland into an obstacle course of fallen branches and logs.

Occasionally (but not often enough!!) we enjoy a respite from our parkour course, as we traverse a section devoid of debris.

It takes us a bit over an hour to cover the 1.5km up to the saddle between Constance Gorge and Zobels Gully. From here it’s quite a steep descent – we are now at an elevation of about 800m, and the Wolgan River where we finish is at about 525m.

The terrain is now almost the reverse – much steeper, but also more open as we follow Zobels Gully, mostly along the dry creekbed.

Although it’s possible to follow the creek all the way back to where is flows into the Wolgan River, Yuri takes a more direct path away from the creek and below the “nose” of Constance Ridge. For the last 800m or so we re-trace our ascent route back down to the Wolgan River.

I can see why Constance Point is one of Yuri’s favourite Newnes bushwalks (although like a parent asked to choose their favourite child, Yuri declines to pick his #1 bushwalk…). Despite some sections of serious bush-bashing, the views from Constance Point and Constance Ridge are spectacular, and there were some very picturesque patches of rainforest in Constance Gorge.

Getting to Constance Point

The entirely off-track bushwalk to Constance Point (and Constance Gorge) starts along Wolgan Road at the bottom of Zobels Gully, around -33.19671, 150.24661. It’s about 45km (45min drive) from Lithgow.

More information

• Australian Financial Review – Road to ruin: the billion-dollar blunder that shut our priciest resort
• Keats, Fox & Bolotin – Day Walks from Newnes Part 1 – Walk 1.22: Constance Gorge, Tiger Snake Point and Constance Point. This bushwalk is essentially the same one as described here, but in the opposite direction.
• Keats, Fox & Bolotin – The Gardens of Stone Book 8 – Tiger Snake Point and Constance Point [PDF]. This is the same route (with slightly different text) to the walk above in “Day Walks from Newnes”
• Keats & Fox – The Gardens of Stone National Park Book 2 – Walk 2.17: Constance Point. This describes a variant of this walk, starting from Old Coach Road and traversing Tiger Snake Creek.