Blue Mountains Trip 30/1/09 (No Yowies sighted)

[mattw]

Thought I would write a bit on a mini-mission that a mate and I did tonight to a few spots in the Blue Mountains.
The first place we went to was Tablelands Rd, Wentworth Falls. We got there at 8.30 and found the strange place with the "super-max" style security. I think it is the caretakers cottage or something? I have never seen security on a place like that before unless it is a jail. There was a fence that was at least 8ft high with rows of barbed wire at the top and spotlights on the corners pointing outwards. A couple of metres back from that there was another steel fence that was at least 6ft tall. It was all very new with security signs every few metres. It was like it was designed to keep things out rather than in but who knows.
We continued to the left of this and headed a few km's down a dirt road to until I decided to take a random fire trail to the left called Andersons trail. It stopped about 100m up at a very new looking heavy duty gate that had a sign on it saying restricted area or something and it said remote camera surveillance in operation. It had metal cables around it to prevent vehicles from getting around the gate. It was certainly the most expensive looking council gate that my friend and I had ever seen on a fire trail and was a long way out to have camera surveillance(middle of the bush). We stopped here for a while but had no luck so we drove on for quite a while(at least 10km's further I would say) to a place called Mcmahons lookout.On the way there I noticed quite a few saplings on the side of the road snapped at right angles and other branches on the roadside that were very fresh and did not look like they had fallen from a tree.They were perfectly healthy and there was no wind? It was a spooky dark place at 9.30pm but there was no action here either.
Next we headed back to Tablelands Rd and went left past the Caretakers Cottage this time which soon ends at a big "Western" looking country style gate that has a new chain around it and padlocks. It has 2 signs warning of $11000 fines for unauthorised entry. We waited here for about 10 minutes before a 4wd came hurtling around the corner with high-beams shining at us at about 70km per hr(fast for the road we were on and considering there was a gate directly behind us). He seemed to be pulling up next to us and we quickly came to the conclusion that it was the caretaker from up the road or something and we started the car and took off before he could get a word in. We saw him doing a U-turn in our mirrors so we just stepped on it and left.
We decided to try a place in Hazelbrooke next. We tried a stakeout at the end of the road there but again had no luck. We did notice another strange house though. At the end of the street we were heading down to the last spot, the last house before the bush stared also had a similar security setup to the one we had seen down tablelands Rd. The house had a huge fence around it(at least 9ft) with parts of it made from stone. The big double gates were made from solid metal pieces and had "Ned Kelly" style slots at eye level to look out of. It also had lights on the fence lighting up the surrounding bush(at midnight) and a very high tech surveillance camera that moves to point at things. Another property with overkill lighting and security.
Unfortunately we had no luck as far as the Yowies go and are planning a more detailed trip next week now that we have had a good recon of the area/s.

[bush baby]

Thanks mattw great report mate, the super max style fence and cams now was this the care takers house or the old hospital mate.

There is something going on in and around that place im sure of it, ok i could uderstand all that security if you were in sydney itself but out there a bit strange. Makes you think are they trying to keep the big guy at bay maybe.. UFO reports are always coming in from that area also???

Again mate top report cant wait to get out there myself now 'at least the care takers doing his job by checking up. Should have said gday theirs stuff all he could have done to you guys you were not on any prohibitad land. Hope he pays us a visit when we are there....

[Yosemite]

Nice report Matt...

I have a question..Where is Hazelbank..??

[mattw]

Sorry, that is Hazelbrooke. It was late when I got home but I thought I would write it while I was still fresh. I'll edit that now..

[Dion]

We waited here for about 10 minutes before a 4wd came hurtling around the corner with high-beams shining at us at about 70km per hr(fast for the road we were on and considering there was a gate directly behind us). He seemed to be pulling up next to us and we quickly came to the conclusion that it was the caretaker from up the road or something and we started the car and took off before he could get a word in. We saw him doing a U-turn in our mirrors so we just stepped on it and left.

LOL Yeah you have to watch out in the area I think the locals get a lot of yahoos (not saying your a Yahoo matt), running a muck around the old hospital. The area gets a lot of visitors as the hospital is said to be haunted, therefore you get heaps of thrill seekers. I can understand the locals getting fed up with it, still I dont understand why they need such extreme surveillance.

[Tyko7]

Interesting.

There has to be something going on up there.

Has there been any logging up there?

[Yosemite]

Sorry, that is Hazelbrooke. It was late when I got home but I thought I would write it while I was still fresh. I'll edit that now..

Cool....

Did you explore South of the rail line or North (Grose / Devils Wilderness)..??

[bush baby]

As Chewy said such extreme surveillance, strange going on's i say very strange. As for the old hospital a few years back you could access it quite freely until some yahoos went in there and wrecked the place one ended up geting hurt for his troubles. Hence the max security now but thats just for the old hospital.
I can aknowledge that but all the other areas looking like fort knocks thats another story all together.

BB

[mattw]

Sorry, that is Hazelbrooke. It was late when I got home but I thought I would write it while I was still fresh. I'll edit that now..

Cool....

Did you explore South of the rail line or North (Grose / Devils Wilderness)..??

No I didn't. Do you have the exact address/directions to get there? I might check it out next weekend when I head back..

[Night Walker]

If you are not on restricted land then next time it may be wise to have a chat with the caretaker. There could be a very good reason for security. Speculation tends to run wild... particularly when trying to find the elusive Hairy Man.

[mattw]

Your right. As we drove away I said to my mate that we are not actually breaking any laws. We sort of panicked at the time with the speed of his approach. I wasn't sure if we were on private property or not or even if it was the caretaker. After sitting in the bush for hours we had become fairly jumpy and had no idea of who or what the persons intentions were out there. In hindsight we figured we were on a public road and probably should have stayed there..

[mattw]

Interesting.

There has to be something going on up there.

Has there been any logging up there?

No logging I'm pretty sure as it's all National Park up there I think.

[bush baby]

As far as im aware guys it is all National Park . After sitting in the Bush for a long period of time you do get jumpy i dont blame you for getting out quick. I think we all agree there is something going on in there and certain people dont like onlookers...

BB

[mattw]

I just went to Tablelands road again with no luck. I have just got screws removed from my lag so I have an open foot boot type thing on my foot at the moment, so I can only go so far from the car(basically a slow hobble). I did venture around the big white gate at the end of the road.
Does anyone know where the road behind that gate leads to? Is it a dam or something? Is this the place where most of the Wentworth falls sightings have occurred?

[mattw]

[quote=

Cool....

Did you explore South of the rail line or North (Grose / Devils Wilderness)..??[/quote]

Can you give me the directions of this location please?

[Dean Harrison]

We can provide exact Co-Ords, however best touch Base with Mike.

Certainly not info we can provide via the Net and Publically. Not anymore.........


DMH

[Yosemite]

Hey Mattv,

When I said North or South of the rail line, I meant in relation to the Hazelbrooke area..

If you are North of the line, then you would have explored the Devils Wilderness area, like the area in this link..

http://ozultimate.com/bushwalking/walk. ... rce_id=241

If you went South of the line then it's that area East of Tablelands headed toward Sydney....

So, I didn't mean a EXACT location, I meant a general area...

[mattw]

We can provide exact Co-Ords, however best touch Base with Mike.

Certainly not info we can provide via the Net and Publically. Not anymore.........


DMH

That would be great. I've done 2 mini-missions to a few of the areas around there now and my next step is to camp somewhere there. I am having trouble trying to convince my friends to go further than 10 metres from the car when we get to these places. I might have to spend a night or 2 somewhere by myself camping and just sit silently and wait.
I am sure there is some kind of Yowie action going on in the area. I am into things that are paranormal and mysterious generally but tried to keep an open mind on the Yowie thing. That is until 2 people that asked to be anonymous told me about encounters that they have had with Yowies.
The first is a middle-aged English teacher at a well known high school. When I mentioned that I was going to look for Yowies she told me that she used to live around Springwood in the Blue Mountains and during that time she saw a Yowie on 5 seperate occasions. She said that what she remembered most was the foul spell that she experienced each time she encountered it. She said she saw it at night every time and it used to take things from her clothes line. She refrained when I asked he to write about the story on this site and asked me not tell anyone we know what she told me in case they thought less of her.
Then I had a friend to my house who works for the Australian Defense Forces and the US Defense forces(some computer job to help them more efficient in wars or something). He saw my big spotlight charging and asked what I needed that for. When I told him of the Yowies and the Blue Mountains he casually said he had seen what I was talking about, or at least heard it when he was a teenager(he is nearly 60 now). He said he grew up in Katoomba and Lithgow and would often go camping with mates when he was about 14 in the bush near there. He said one night he and a friend and a big Pigging dog they took along for safety were all asleep in the middle of the night. The dog began to bark at something outside the tent.When they both woke up they heard some seriously heavy footsteps that seemed like the were stepping in a very long stride steadily heading up the hill(dense bushland) towards their tent. Then they said they smelt a sulphur type smell that nearly made them sick.The dog also began to cower. At that point they really got nervous as the dog had always been fearless. Whatever it was stopped just short of there tent and he said it was breathing really heavily like it had a huge chest or something. Apparently it sounded like a horse breathing but was definantly walking on 2 feet. They didn't move and it walked away. He also asked me not to use his name.
One other thing I notice in the Blue Mountains area is a distinct lack of animals in general. Is something keeping their numbers down? You are lucky to see a Wallaby and there is very little roadkill around compared to other locations around National parks. Just some food for thought. I have more possums and owls in my back yard in North Sydney than I see or hear after hours of being in the Blue Mountains?

[mattw]

Hey Mattv,

When I said North or South of the rail line, I meant in relation to the Hazelbrooke area..

If you are North of the line, then you would have explored the Devils Wilderness area, like the area in this link..

http://ozultimate.com/bushwalking/walk. ... rce_id=241

If you went South of the line then it's that area East of Tablelands headed toward Sydney....

So, I didn't mean a EXACT location, I meant a general area...

Thanks for the link. Are those other areas places where Yowies have made an appearance?

[mattw]

We can provide exact Co-Ords, however best touch Base with Mike.

Certainly not info we can provide via the Net and Publically. Not anymore.........


DMH

Excuse my ignorance but who is Mike?

[bush baby]

Good Question mate who is Mike???? i have seen him floating around these forums and seen some pics of him else wear on this site he must be quite cluey on this subject by the looks of it...

BB

[stickyfingers]

...it's Mike Williams... one of the Admins within these forums... Cheers... Stickyfingers.

[TWMcCallum]

Hi Mattw

Your report sounds very familiar for that area. I’m glad you checked out the caretaker’s house, we got the same impression when we visited that area a couple of years ago.

I had an interesting conversation with Neil Frost, a local school teacher and expert on all the local yowie activity. He told me of a conversation that he had with the caretaker some time ago. Apparently the caretaker claimed to be having a lot of trouble at night with kids sneaking around in the bush that surrounds his cottage. He told Neil that each time he would go out to chase them off, they would go tearing away through the bush. He never mentioned anything about yowies to Neil, but Neil suspected that that was what his nocturnal visitors probably were.

We also had a look at an area known as Tunnel Gully, where a young local boy claimed to have been chased by a yowie. Tunnel Gully is not a place that I would like to visit at night, as it would be hard to get out of there in the event of something bad happening. The yowie that inhabits that area sounded like it was a very agro specimen.

Mike Williams is also a local and probably knows a fair bit about what’s been happening in the area, Neil Frost would be good to talk to, but I don’t know if he reads this forum, but both Mike and Neil are nice guys and are usually helpful.

I think it would be a great idea to just let the caretaker know what you are about if you are operating anywhere close to his house, if it is possible. The locals I think have a fairly low tolerance for yowie hunters. We had one local come out and threaten to call the police, he accused us of trespassing in his backyard, where he had a marquee set up for his daughters wedding reception. He claimed he had heard and seen us sneaking about in the bush behind his home. We had not even been any where near his home, but we suspected something else may have.

[Jo Blose]

Hey there Night walker,

Just wondering if you know the story behind that picture you're using as your avatar?

[Night Walker]

Sure - "The Myakka Skunkape" c. 2000

A Florida woman sent a letter and 2 photos to the Sarasota Police Department of a creature who had been stealing apples from her back porch.

Here's a copy of her letter:

[bush baby]

Thanks for the story mattw looking forward to when we spend the weekend there...in March.

BB

[philt]

I just went to Tablelands road again with no luck. I have just got screws removed from my lag so I have an open foot boot type thing on my foot at the moment, so I can only go so far from the car(basically a slow hobble). I did venture around the big white gate at the end of the road.
Does anyone know where the road behind that gate leads to? Is it a dam or something? Is this the place where most of the Wentworth falls sightings have occurred?

Hi mattw,

the link here shows what is beyond the gate
http://www.coolrunning.com.au/fatass/bl ... ore1.shtml (cut & paste)
being a Wentworth Falls local I had been down that road a few times it leads to the old Kendumba Dairy Farm now long abandoned when the Water dept took it all over. On my last trip we slept in an old stone cottage near the abandoned Kedumba farmhouse (it is now gone as well) and I tell you that place gives me the creeps at night could not wait to get out of there. I have a 600 acre farm at Koorawatha near Cowra and I know what noises pigs etc make and whatever was down there was no pig and did not like us being down there.
By the way the road was originally built by the farm owner and his son died building the road his grave is at the gate to the old farm on the valley floor.

The cartaker is worried about his safety being in the middle of nowwhere and hoons coming around every second night. Thats all.

Philt

[bush baby]

Thanks Philt for that Link top photos mate, Extremly remote country for sure....

BB

[mattw]

Thanks Phil. I think that is where I should camp, at the dairy farm. Have you chosen a base camp location for your March trip Bush Baby? I should be able to come to it from start to finish now..

[bush baby]

great to Hear mattw i was thinking we will be getting there quite early in the morning so we could all have a look at different site along the road. I say you might have a few good spots mate....

BB