Orphan Rock
Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
Climbing route
The trail to Orphan Rock is closed to the
general public as the rock is deemed
unstable and dangerous to climb.
And so, I won't be revealing how to get there.
Orphan Rock
Orphan Rock is located in the Blue Mountains
near Scenic World tourist area in Katoomba.
It is a pillar of rock separated from the main cliff
and standing solitarily like a sentinel on duty.
You can just see the tip of the Rock
from Scenic World.
Otherwise, the entire Rock is obscured by trees,
hence no tourist there would realize
the tip is the top of the Rock.
But if you take a short walk
to the nearby Rieds Plateau,
or take a ride in the Scenic Skyway,
you will get a magnificent view of the Rock.
No wonder prior to 1900
it was the main icon of the Blue Mountains.
The Three Sisters
By comparison,
The Three Sisters received little attention then,
and an air of puzzlement for those who saw them.
"A cathedral with three spires" or
"weird monument of Egyptian architecture"
were how they were described.
Then after 1900, The Three Sisters gradually
gained prominence in promotional literature.
In 1912 they were on the cover of the
Katoomba Municipal Council's
"Official tourist Guide".
And the photographer Harry Phillips
raised them in his work to almost mystical status.
Walking track to Orphan Rock
But Orphan Rock,
while overtaken in the beauty contest,
still retained some popularity.
A walking track to the top was opened in 1934.
But it was closed in the 1950s
due to fear the Rock may collapse
if a large group of people were to climb it.
This track must have made the record
as the shortest lived walking track
in the history of Australia !
Orphan Rock slides into obscurity
With the demise of the track,
Orphan Rock gradually slides into obscurity.
It was the logo of the Paragon Cafe in Katoomba
in the 1920s, with the motto "Stands Alone".
And now it lies deserted and stands alone again ...
a mere curiosity for those who see it.
Ah, but not to me.
Once I saw it, I wanted to climbing it !
This trip - with Grayson
In 2010, I made an attempt to reach the Rock,
but was unable to find the land bridge
connecting it to the main cliff.
This Christmas, it so happened that
Grayson was driving from Melbourne to Cairns
and passing Sydney.
So we teamed up for an adventure.
It took us a while to find the way to the Rock.
In the end, like everything in life,
perseverance paid off !
Pictures - Orphan Rock from Rieds Plateau
1, 2) Orphan Rock.
- Pictures taken from Rieds Plateau.
Climbing the Rock
We bushbashed our way to the Rock
along the old trail.
The old trail is now closed
and is overgrown with vegetation.
3) In this photo,
you can just make out the old trail.
Don't bothered to find the trail on any of the maps.
You won't find it.
4) When we reached the base of the rock,
there was a gate with the sign:
"DANGER, AREA CLOSED"
Ah, love it !!!
Whenever there is such a sign,
there is always goodies inside!
5) On the Rock now.
- And looking down and across at
the main cliff on the opposite side.
6) An old photo taken in 1938
showing the stairs up Orphan Rock.
7) This is what the trail looks like now.
- It has not been maintained for 60 years.
- Some steps have rotted away from the stairs.
8) Trail & stairs up Orphan Rock.
Don't touch the hand rails.
They are rickety and rotting.
Liable to give way at the slightest touch.
9) Again, you can see the missing steps
in the wooden stairs.
Need to be careful when stepping on the steps
as they can easily break into pieces.
The trail has not been maintained for 60 years.
10) A big hole in the rock.
- We will be climbing to top of this rock formation.
The reason the Rock is closed to the public is
because the whole structure is unstable
and may collapse at any time.
Top of the Rock
11) We made it !!!
This is the top of the Rock.
We had this eerie feeling when up here all alone
knowing hardly anyone has been here
for the past 60 years !
12) View from the top of the Rock is superb.
- Mountain range in middle of the pic is Mt Solitary.
I haven't climbed it yet.
One day, I will ... watch this blog.
PS: Made it to Mt Solitary in 2012-October.
Photos and trip report are in this link:
https://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/solitary-nsw-australia.html
13) Of course we just have to take a selfie photo
at the top of the Rock for memory.
- The Three Sisters formation is on the right.
14) Zooming onto The Three Sisters.
- Nowadays,
this is the main icon of the Blue Mountains.
15) Katoomba Falls and the cable car
(called Scenic Skyway).
We waved to the people in the cable car
and they waved back at us !
I bet they would ask their tour guides on
how to get onto the Rock;
and the tour guides might not have a clue.
Because you won't find how to climb the Rock
anywhere on the Internet.
By the way, the brown colour of the trees
on the right half of this pic
was not due to a fault in the camera.
They were burnt in a recent bush fire.
