Apsley Gorge
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Photos taken on 25th April 2003 of the walk from Cheyenne to Blue Mountain Creek and Enmore Long Point
DCP_2757.JPG 08:49
Leaving from Cheyenne.
Note that the digital camera was still set to daylight saving time at this point.
Winterbourne Grid Reference
David's notes for the trip:
Cheyenne to Blue Mountain Creek and Melrose, exploratory walk, Friday 25th to Sunday 27th April 2003
Note - almost all of this walk is on the Winterbourne 1:25000 map- Serial Number 9236-2-N- plus a small portion on the Enmore 1:25000- Serial Number 9236 - 1- S
Party of David Lawrence, Don Hitchcock, Lorrainne Hecker, and Graham Hemmings. The plan was to walk down the Cheyenne spur between Blue Mountain and Hole Creek (SBMCHC), then on down to camp at the Postmans Creek Junction. Then on Saturday to continue down to the Macleay junction, and return to camp. Then two people to walk up the Enmore Long Ridge spur, and the other two up Granville Spur, meeting at a gate on the road, AMG 916 969.
Lindsay Teychenne very kindly picked us all up at 6.30 in Armidale. The route is a little torturous, and worth spelling out.
Armidale -20-Uralla - left onto the Walcha road- 17.5 (AMG 602 928) left -11.5 (690 888)- rt onto Hazeldene road- 10-(766 864) keep to right on Hazeldene Road- 4- (806 865) keep to right-3- (831 856)-left onto Winterbourne Road- 12.5- Cheyenne (AMG 916 916)- (total distance 78.5 km )
After a chat with Burg Blomfield, who had set a few visiting city kids to lighting a fire (they were applying a match to wood as thick as your thumb), we hoisted packs and set off north at 8.55 in cool overcast conditions.
AMG 91469 91866- Photo looking down Spur Blue Mountain Creek/Hole Creek (SBMC/HC)
First we followed the gorgeside fence, along a bush road to the gate through the dogproof at AMG 91351 92767. At 91427 93023, we photographed a specimen-description
Grass Trigger Plant Stylidium graminifolium OWRNPApsleyF, BudRow, EnmA, TableT, GaraG A tufted grass-like Herb, to about 1 metre high. Leaves are radical, linear, 8-20 X 0.4 cm, with margins entire or toothed. Flowers are numerous, small, pink (occasionally white), about 5-10 mm across. The sepals are in 5 lobes, more or less united in two lips, occur on stalks a tufted, grass-like plant with leaves from 6-20 cm long. Fruit is a capsule 8-12 mm long. Habitat - soils of low fertility in woodlands, heath, and semi- swamps. A good Image can be found at http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/jpg/sgram.jpg
We then went left to where Burg had put tape and a red jumper in line in adjacent trees to mark the top of a ridge (about 915 931). This ridge looks a very good alternative if you wanted to drop into Blue Mountain Creek a bit upstream- it's shorter than SBMC/HC, and doesn't drop as far, but of course it's a lot steeper .
We then began travelling down SBMCHC . It's a classic ridge, metamorphosed sediments making for a rough shaley underfoot and pretty skeletal vegetation, and its narrowness making navigation obvious. At 91819 93150, took a photo to show narrowness of the ridge. Continuing down, we were a bit surprised to find a pretty level campsite just off the ridge at 92278 92433, these knife edge ridges seldom have flat bits tacked onto their sides. It had a grand view, but unfortunately, no water.
At 92928 94110, we took a photo, spec. A herb to 10 cm, apparently labiate, opposite leaves, about 1 cm X 3 mm, discolorous, purple look to plant. (Can't key it out from the material- maybe you can keep the photo, Don, and I'll refer it to the Botany Department)
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