General Information
Distance: 12.8 kilometers
Total climb: 302 meters
Time taken: 4 hours 20 minutes
Map: Mittagong 8929-2S 1:25 000
Guide: link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO: 171 kilometers
Start point map grid reference: 56H KG 62381 86348
Destination map grid reference: Forty Foot Falls - 56H KG 64236 87304
Box Vale Track Lookout - 56H KG 63985 88991
End point: same as start
Route
http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/
Description
The Box Vale Mine Track follows the path of a historic railway line between Mittagong and the defunct Box Vale coal mine. There is also a side-track to Forty Foot falls on Nattai Creek. The trail starts at a picnic area about 250 meters off the Hume Motorway near Welby. Before long the trail conforms to the first of the embankments and cuttings of the old railway line.
Soon after passing through the first cutting (The Casuarina Cutting) there is a management trail to the right that leads to Forty Foot Falls. After a few hundred meters the trail forks and there is no clear sign of the correct path to follow - presumably it has been removed or vandalised - but the left hand road is the right one to take. About one kilometer further on there is a picnic table on the side of the trail and it is here that the walking track down to Forty Foot Falls begins. The track is very steep, descending about 100 meters in elevation. Much of the track is stepped and there are one or two ladders as well. The track takes you down to the base of the falls, and it is relatively easy to clamber up behind the falls where there is a substantial overhang and a shallow cave - a good place for lunch.
The climb back up to the management trail gave us a good cardio workout, but only took us about 15 minutes. We retraced our steps back to the Box Vale Mine Track and headed roughly north and northeast along more embankments and through more cuttings.
Eventually we reached the most unique aspect of this walk, an old railway tunnel. This is about 84 meters long and quite dark, so a torch is needed to fully appreciate it.
About 400 meters after the tunnel the old railway ends, but from there there is a 600 meter track going down to a lookout over the Nattai River gorge with an excellent view to the northwest.
At the end of the old railway it is also possible to take another track that leads down into the Nattai River gorge and back to Mittagong via Forty Foot Falls. We didn't have time to do this, but have bookmarked it as a possible future walk.
Soon after passing through the first cutting (The Casuarina Cutting) there is a management trail to the right that leads to Forty Foot Falls. After a few hundred meters the trail forks and there is no clear sign of the correct path to follow - presumably it has been removed or vandalised - but the left hand road is the right one to take. About one kilometer further on there is a picnic table on the side of the trail and it is here that the walking track down to Forty Foot Falls begins. The track is very steep, descending about 100 meters in elevation. Much of the track is stepped and there are one or two ladders as well. The track takes you down to the base of the falls, and it is relatively easy to clamber up behind the falls where there is a substantial overhang and a shallow cave - a good place for lunch.
The climb back up to the management trail gave us a good cardio workout, but only took us about 15 minutes. We retraced our steps back to the Box Vale Mine Track and headed roughly north and northeast along more embankments and through more cuttings.
Eventually we reached the most unique aspect of this walk, an old railway tunnel. This is about 84 meters long and quite dark, so a torch is needed to fully appreciate it.
About 400 meters after the tunnel the old railway ends, but from there there is a 600 meter track going down to a lookout over the Nattai River gorge with an excellent view to the northwest.
At the end of the old railway it is also possible to take another track that leads down into the Nattai River gorge and back to Mittagong via Forty Foot Falls. We didn't have time to do this, but have bookmarked it as a possible future walk.
