Newnes glow worm tunnel #obscuraday

At 7.30am we started our Obscura Day adventure. We took a train three hours out of Sydney, past Paramatta, past Penrith up into the Blue Mountains.

The drive from Lithgow with the other explorers was slow and dusty with very high chances of death. After an hour of windy cliff roads and termite hills we made it to a point where we could only proceed on foot. The lush ferns in the forest reminded me of home until we came across a large red bellied black snake who slithered away we neared him.

After following the old railway line for 15 minutes we entered the tunnel, every so often turning off our torches to reveal the glow worms. They were pretty, but not as impressive as some of the caves I have seen in NZ. When we reached the end the others stopped to take photographs outside, James and I went back into the tunnel. This time waiting still and quiet for several minutes as the glow worms lit up. We even found one who was broken and stayed glowing when the torch was on.

On the return trip we found some more treasures which Lithgow had to offer including a Mining Museum which we jumped the fence and had a look at and the Blast Furnace (below).  With trains scarce from the remote location we got a lift home with two lovely friends we made (above, crossing the bridge).

The drive home was probably the highlight of the trip with sing alongs and driving past Hooters, who knew there was one in Sydney! We got home 14 hours after our trip had begun incredibly tired, but surprisingly alive.

Obscura Day was organised by Atlas Obsucra >