Posts Tagged ‘Wombeyan Caves’


Living in the now, being in the flow, is about being totally engaged in what you are doing right now. No other thought enters, no other worry. You are engrossed in your activity – now.

Leaving at 7am before the temperature got to its maximum of 37C, I slalomed up the Wombeyan Caves Road, reducing the angle of incline. It was not too hot, and not so steep that I couldn’t cycle, and I was in the flow.

Then I met the same shape on the gravel road – corrugations. I continued my slalom cycling, avoiding the sine wave shaped undulations in the road. I was in the flow.

I rarely stopped to think of taking a photo, so in the flow I was. Here is a wombat sign.

Wombat sign

I stopped for morning tea at Taralga, and filled up with a lot of water to make it through the 45km of undulating terrain in the scorching sun.

As it turned out, it was not that hard, and I didn’t feel that hot. I had a tailwind, and the road was more downhill than up.

The heat, however, had stopped the trains. They can’t handle it when it is so hot, apparently, so I am not on my way home today. I am happy with this. I will continue towards Sydney tomorrow by bike. I will connect up the lines on my Strava heatmap – a record of everywhere I have cycled since I started using Strava in 2018 or so. I have not connected my routes starting in Goulburn with routes around Mittagong. A worthy pursuit for tomorrow.


Caves, gorge swimming, corrugated roads, kangaroo guests for dinner, heat and steep climbs/drops out of and into valleys. All in the bright sun (except for the caves and gorge swimming).

Gorge swimming

From Bummaroo (love the name), it was a long slog out of the valley in the already hot sun. At the top, a kind gentleman stopped his car and gave me a cold bottle of water. He was impressed.. 🙂

The road undulated through the farmland countryside before turning off to the Wombeyan Caves.

The turnoff

I started getting worried about the brakes when the road turned into a corrugated gravel track (knowing there was a massive descent just before the caves).

It was avoid the corrugations game today

Luckily, the road reverted to bitumen before the final descent, and the brakes made it (with only one mild squeak).

I came to Wombeyan Caves in 2019, but only for a short stay as I had to get back to Mittagong the same day (a very long ride on a road that is now closed). This time I had time to check out some of the caves – the Fig Tree Cave.

Fig tree cave

Then, time for a swim in the Limestone Gorge. I had memories of crystal clear water and only me there. This time, I shared the gorge with lots of people and a pink flamingo floatie. It was refreshing, though, after the walk there in the hot sun.

Limestone Gorge

I had to be very firm with a kangaroo this evening who was adamant he wanted to share my dinner. He let me pat him (which was nice), but it all became too intimate once he started pawing at and slobbering over my panniers. Even a light kick away from me didn’t deter him. I had to shout and run after him with arms waving. He left.

The friendly kangaroo

Became the annoying kangaroo

Start: Mittagong Station
End: Mittagong Station
Total distance: 139km
Strava link

This was always going to be a long day – a 70km ride each-way ending in a 500m drop on a dirt road to the Wollondilly River and a 500m climb out the other side. It was, however, a beautiful trip to the Wombeyan Caves. There is a lot to see there. I only saw the limestone gorge and went for a swim in its beautiful clear cold waters.

The road to Wombeyan Caves

The road to Wombeyan Caves

The tunnel on the way to Wombeyan Caves

The tunnel on the way to Wombeyan Caves

The descent to the Wollondilly River

The descent to the Wollondilly River

On the way to Wombeyan Caves

On the way to Wombeyan Caves

Limestone Gorge at Wombeyan Caves

Limestone Gorge at Wombeyan Caves

Limestone Gorge at Wombeyan Caves

Limestone Gorge at Wombeyan Caves

Turtle in the middle of the road

Turtle in the middle of the road