Caves to Caves - Part II - Yerranderie

Yerranderie

We followed Langs Road and then Range Fire Trail from Wombeyan Caves north before joining the Oberon – Colong Stock route near Mount Werong Camping Area.  The tracks were in reasonably good condition, and we stayed in 2wd for the majority of the run north.  As we proceeded east on the stock route, the road slowly deteriorated for the final run down into Yerranderie.

The old gardens

Yerranderie is a ghost town, testament to the fickle nature of silver prices and the requirement to secure long lasting water for Sydney.  All but abandoned it is a time capsule of historic buildings, slowly being invaded by termites.
 When the silver prices fell in the 1920s, the mines all but closed.  A fellow by the name of Alfred Lheude saw promise in the ore and bought large holdings in the area.  Whilst the mines never returned a viable return, his daughter, Valerie, fell in love with the town and the country surrounding it, and had a vision for a eco-tourist retreat.  The town was all but isolated with the creating of Warragamba Dam, blocking access from Sydney to the east.  From being a short drive from Camden, the damming created a five hour drive, via Oberon to the west.  Valerie, well into her 80's, donated the township to the people of NSW, to be managed by the NPWS in Easter this year (2011).  The Yerranderie website has a host of information about the area's early history as well as its more recent past.

These might come in handy one day...

We camped in a beautiful reserve in the private town area, behind the old village buildings.  The facilities included hot showers and flush toilets in a rather rustic (read poky) addition behind the old general store.  Wallabies grazed near our camp, and we explored some of the nearer walking tracks.  Firewood is supplied, and we enjoyed a night time story around the fire in our first drizzle free evening of the camp.

The Muddle Headed Wombat by Campfire

There is free camping behind the old courthouse and police station in the Government Town.  Day tours of the Private Town were $6 per adult with kids half price, but camping was just $12 per adult (kids again half price).  We thought it a bargain as the atmosphere camping behind the old town buildings was well fantastic, and the hot showers were welcome.

We appreciated the sunny afternoon!

One of the vistas from the camp... and some locals

This is not the place to take children who are likely to wander off.  There are countless mine shafts in the area - most have been fenced, but even so, it pays to make sure you know where the little ones are at all times.

Most shafts are fenced, and some allow more than a peek inside!

We packed up early the following morning, hoping to get the canvas packed whilst relatively dry.  A passing shower hastened our pack up, and we re-traced our steps to the Mount Werong camping area, and then turned right along Banshee Road to our next camp at Boyd River, via Dingo Dell and the infamous Kowmung River Fire Trail.  That trip in itself is worthy of another tale and will be told in Part III.