Mummy, my legs hurt

Near Blackheath NSW Time: 2 hours Distance: 7km loop This beautiful lush rainforest walk is well known and well publicised as one of the best attractions in the mountains. We had a kid free weekend so Richie and I were able to enjoy this snowy(!) day in peace. This loop walk is jaw droppingly beautiful; prehistoric in its scale, and lush green everywhere you look. There's so much information online about this walk that I'll just share some photos and skip all the details. Suffice to say there's a hell of a lot of stairs up and down, but the views are totally worth it. On our way back down the mountains, we stopped for a moment to check out the walk to Lake Burrogorang lookout overlooking Warragamba Dam. This walk is about 2.5km from the parking area at the end of Kings Tableland Rd. It was absolutely freezing by this stage - we'd got warm walking around Blackheath then cooled down so I was well and truly frozen when we got ou...

Distance: 12km  Duration: 2 1/2 hours including plenty of photo stops and a snack break Everyone has seen photos of this iconic spot - the ubiquitous wide shots featuring the token silhouetted adventure seeker out on the precipice.  But I'm embarrassed to say, I wasn't even 100% sure where hanging rock was . 'Top of the mountains?' was as close as I could guess without checking Google maps. So on one warm kid free day, Richie and I decided to explore Burramoko trail (the 10km return walk to the cliff edge), and hanging rock itself, an additional short but very steep and hairy downward scramble along the top of a sheer cliff face, with bugger all in between you and the bottom of the Grose valley. The walk itself is easy with only a few smallish hills. It's long and exposed to the sun though, so slip slop slap if you don't get out there nice and early. The main fire trail walk is pretty and relatively easy going, but it's...

Near Blackheath, NSW Distance: 6.8km Duration: 2.5 hours Today we explored Fortress Lookout and the well-hidden Dr Dark's cave. Although the kids alternated between 'I hate life' and 'bush walking is awesome', they did great on this very steep and scrubby track! Heading along Mt Hay road we parked at a small parking area signposted as Fortress Ridge. Through a locked gate and up a steep rocky fire trail was Fortress Ridge Trail proper. At the end point of this track is a breathtaking vista, with the ground covered in scratchy low heath that slopes down gently -then all of a sudden you realise you're on the edge of a sheer drop, so don't let the kids run ahead on this bit! There are magnificent views down into the Grose valley and down to your left in the picture below you can see the (smallish) Medusa falls which I believe flow into Arethusa canyon. Backtracking from the lookout, keep your eyes peeled for the nondescript side trail to D...

Near Blackheath NSW Distance: ~1 km Duration: 45 minutes What a magical find this little walk is. Tucked away down below a hairpin turn on Megalong Rd, if you blink you'll miss the tiny carpark area opposite the start of this walk. A small signpost points the way to the start of the track, and whilst the track itself is rough and steep in parts, overall it's what I'd call an easy walk because it's so short. There's some typical snaggle-toothed blue mountains stairs to get down to some beautiful small falls forming the centrepiece of a natural amphitheater. The mermaid's cave itself is supposedly up higher on the cliff wall but we didn't even notice it, we were too busy with our heads down spotting a wide variety of stunning toadstools as there had been substantial rain recently. The falls flow softly over some gently sloping rocks which of course are slippery; remind the little ones that green rocks = a sore bum when you slip! Ty and...