First 'Bushwalk'!

[Beth Harris045]

Hi!

Hope this is in the right place, just stumbled upon this forum.
I am an exchange student visiting Sydeny for a week with a friend and we wanted to go for a 2 day, 1 night camping trek somewhere whilst we are in the area. We are both relatively experienced walkers but don't know the area/ Australia at all. The Blue Mountains seem pretty impressive- is there any 'must-see' things here? Or a good 2-day trail? Anyone point me in the direction to find maps with trail paths marked on? We were also considering the Royal National park as another option
Any advice and tips on routes, camping spots and anything else we might need to know would be so greatly helpful!
Beth

[Tortoise]

Hi Beth,

Welcome to the forum! Will you have a car, or will you be using public transport? That'll narrow things down a bit.

[LachlanB]

Hi Beth,
Hope you're enjoying your visit to Sydney!
The best maps to use for bushwalking are the NSW LPI 1:25000 scale maps. They're green and white, and have the best compromise of coverage, detail and scale. You can look at the maps online here: http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au
Click 'Basemaps' in the top right corner, then 'Looking for 1943 Imagery?', then 'Topo Maps (current)' in the resultant menus.

If you just want an overview of the Blue Mountains, the Spatial Vision Blue Mountains North and Blue Mountains South maps are pretty good. Nice maps with a good overview, but at a 1:50000 scale.

There's certainly plenty of great overnight walks around Sydney, especially in the Blue Mountains that you were looking at. However, to give you a better suggestion, it'd be good to know if you're restricted to public transport.
Two popular 'classic' overnight walks in the Blue Mountains are Mount Solitary from Katoomba, and Blue Gum Forest in the Grose Valley (there's many ways down to here).
There's some other good options around too, but both of the above walks are very scenic, and a good spot to start in the Blue Mountains

In the Royal National Park, the Coast Track is quite popular and scenic, but you have to book it, and it is frequently booked out well in advance (especially on weekends) as there is only one campsite. There's other overnight tracks in the area, but if you've only got time for one, the Coast Track is probably the best option in the RNP and Heathcote NP.

[jonnosan]

I agree with suggestions made by LachlanB and would put the Blue Gum at the top of the list especially if you are traveling via train - http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-an ... -loop.html

[tom_brennan]

For a first visit, LachlanB has summed it up well.

[Bron]

Just be aware that you MUST be self sufficient to do any hiking in the bush around Sydney.
That means you need to be able to read a map and carry all your own food, stove and shelter.
There are no refuges or shops once you are away from civilisation.

Also whilst Mt Solitary and Blue Gum Forest are considered to be classic Blue Mountains Bushwalks in my experience these trails are quite poorly marked once you are away from the trailhead. The Grose Valley in particular has very little signs other than in the Govetts Creek tributary.

Another area to consider is the bush between Sydney and Gosford along the Great North Walk. Some great sections can be done as overnighters including Hornsby to Berowra camping at Crosslands and Berowra to Brooklyn camping at the dam. Both can be done using public transport only.

hope this helps
Bron