[Wander with us to] : Erith Coal Mine Trail @ Bundanoon, NSW Australia

Hi Everyone 👋

It was a long weekend and our family decided to go for a drive an hour away for a walk. It’s been a while since everyone has gone out together for a drive rather than the short trip to the supermarket.

We looked up a place and found a walking trail in Bundanoon which used to be a coal mine. It is a 2km loop trail and was said to be a really good walk for people of all ages and to take in the nature. We can also see the coal mine cave. As we had my grandma with us, we thought this would be an interesting walk for her and she would definitely enjoy being out of the house to get a bit of exercise.

Off we went on the drive. We got a little worried as the dark clouds seemed to be coming and hoped that the rain would hold off for a bit so we can complete this walk.

On arrival, we found that there was free parking available. Usually you will need a ticket per car which costs $8. We weren’t sure why it was free that day but it felt like a win. Parked the car and began our walk.

You can see the evident damage from the devastating bushfires earlier this year. It will take a while for all this to be restored. If anything, we saw some trails left by some animals which is good news as it shows the animals in the wild are back in the area but it’s just upsetting that it’s not the home they know. Just hope they’re able to find food.

The trail itself goes downhill and it was very rocky with loose stones everywhere. Luckily we all wore the correct shoes and no one slipped on the walk down. Grandma was getting worried about the walk and did not want to risk slipping so she stopped half way and went back to the car to wait for us. It’s best for her safety and well-being especially when the walk back would be a slight steep uphill.

The trail however you can kind of make out the road where wheels have been on. If you walk in the very middle, it is very rocky and towards the side it’s flatter and easier to walk on.

We had Taro with us on this walk and kept him in a backpack made for carrying your pup. He was not allowed out of the bag and to walk as the park did not allow pets and it was ok to carry them. He enjoyed the views without the effort of walking. We watched him as he turned his head everywhere to enjoy the new environment.

Just a couple of metres through the walk, we came across the sign for the coal mine pool. Got extremely excited and went a few metres further to find a blocked off area....

The rest of the walk was blocked off due to heavy flooding and so we couldn’t go any further. It was pretty disappointing as it would’ve been our first time seeing a mine cave.

Disappointed, we turned around and battled that uphill walk. A very short visit but in the end we still got some form of exercise done, we went on a drive, we connected with nature again and not our tv, couch and phones. Oh, most importantly we got to spend some quality time with each other! Pretty much things we really appreciate since covid19.

Maybe we can attempt this walk again next time when it’s open.