Blue Mountains wilderness getaway

WHISPERING forest, plunging gorges and waterfalls really show off the best of rugged New South Wales, writes Brian Johnston.

Blue Mountains escape Jemby

IT'S said that to everything there is a season and I have no argument with that.

Certainly there's the cosy comfort side of the Blue Mountains in NSW, and a time for chintz, collectables and adding yet another scented soap to the bathroom collection.

But sometimes I feel tea shoppes and antique stores are ludicrously out of place in this rugged landscape of plunging gorges and endless, whispering forest.

If all you do is tour Leura village or the tourist viewpoints, it's absurdly easy to forget what a true wilderness exists on the very doorstep of Sydney.

But you can get in among it all by driving a little further to Blackheath, and turning off towards Evans Lookout. Here, Jemby-Rinjah Eco Lodge makes no concessions to cuteness and country charm, and Laura Ashley had no hand in designing the chipboard walls.

Jemby-Rinjah is exactly what its name promises an eco lodge of individual cabins so don't complain about the breeze blowing on your backside from the composting toilet.

Don't expect anything more than white fuzz on your TV (though you can rent a DVD if you must), or instant coffee in your kitchen.

There is a rather eccentric restaurant in the central reception lodge, but it seems to pride itself on being closed most of the time.

On the other hand, you do get an excellent hot shower, a good firm bed and a log-burning stove guaranteed to keep you warm as toast.

And that's all you really need, because just outside your window is a whopping great forest where lorikeets swoop and kookaburras clack. Jemby-Rinjah is surrounded on three sides by national park and is a 500m stroll to Evans Lookout, where the forest plunges off cliffs, revealing views fit for a Bible illustration.

There are several good walking tracks here that show just how wild the Blue Mountains really are.

The trail to Govetts Leap along the cliff rim has more ups and downs than you might expect but reveals several waterfalls that disappear in a sheen of spray into the Grose Valley.

You can also do a more challenging hike down into Grand Canyon, which takes about four hours and involves many flights of steps and creek crossings. This is a historic walking track, the first built into a Blue Mountains canyon, and opened in 1907 to great fanfare.

It's now on the NSW State Heritage Register and is being slowly restored.

You might feel like a heritage item yourself as you heave up some interminable steps at the end of the day, but gum forest alive with crimson rosellas and lush with giant ferns is the reward. You've earned your appetite, so all you have to do is fire up one of the communal barbecues at Jemby-Rinjah and spread a feast on the thoughtfully provided wooden tables under the trees.

No scones and crumpets, no fussy food and foam, and none of the other creeping aspects of civilisation that take over in Blue Mountains towns.

Just hurl a slab of steak on the grill and pile up the spuds as king parrots look on. No one will care that you're dining in your hiking boots.

To everything a season, and sometimes the simple pleasures are still the best. 

The writer was a guest of Jemby-Rinjah Eco Lodge and Destination NSW.

GO2

BLACKHEATH

Getting there

Blackheath is 115km or two hours' drive west of Sydney via the Great Western Highway (M4). Follow the signs to Evans Lookout 1km before town for Jemby-Rinjah Eco Lodge.

Staying there

Jemby-Rinjah Eco Lodge has one, two and four-bedroom cabins.
See jemby.com.au or ph 4787 6230.

Eating there

Ashcrofts Restaurant, at 18 Govetts Leap Rd, is open for dinner Wednesday to Sunday and is the top place to dine in Blackheath, with magnificent food and an upstairs art gallery.
See ashcrofts.com or ph 4787 8297.

Leura Garage, at 84 Railway Pde, makes a great lunch stop on the way to Blackheath from Sydney.

See leuragarage.com.au or ph 4784 3391.

More See visitnsw.com or ph 1300 653 408.