A really interesting place we visited during our trip in 2023 was an old railway tunnel containing thousands, maybe millions, of glow worms. It was an experience then because the rail bed was full of rocks and holes and we stumbled our way through the tunnel with only cellphone flashlights to show our way and didn’t see many glow worms because of people shining lights on the ceiling, which makes the glow worms turn off. We had read that there had been improvements made through the tunnel with a walking track, making it much easier to traverse.
So off we went to Lithgow. Margaret had to take her riding mower and push mower to be serviced. With a 75 minute drive, one learns to combine errands and appointments to cut down on driving. It’s interesting to see how rural living is very different than city living. Margaret and Lou think a 45 minute drive to Mudgee, or a 75 minute drive to Lithgow, isn’t a big deal.
After dropping off the trailer with the mowers at the service place, we then proceeded to the Glow Worm Tunnel. One of the things that didn’t really improve was the dirt road we had to travel for about 30 miles. We bounced along for what seemed like forever. Although some grading had been done, the road was corrugated, as Lou called it, an apt description. It was interesting, though, to see how the landscape had recovered from the 2029/2020 bushfires. Although we saw loads of standing and downed dead trees, the scrub grass and bushes and small new trees were green and lush.
We came to a sign showing roads to two different car parks. Margaret chose the right one going to the Old Coal Path Road. The sign said 5km, but none of us believed that after going about 15 minutes down a narrow path. We came to a two-slot car park with a sign showing a map. After consulting the map, which showed a rather long, winding, track to the tunnel, we opted to head back to the fork and take the left road, which indicated 3km to a car park, also unbelievable.
Near the glow worm car park, you drive through a very narrow tunnel several hundred feet long, a taste of things to come. We finally arrived at the car park and began walking descent down to the glow worm tunnel.
The tunnel was hand-dug through the sandstone in the early 1900s for a railway through the Wolgan Valley enabling rail cars to get to the shale oil fields. It was a dangerous endeavor and many men lost their lives due to falls from the cliffs or mistimed blasts. The railway ended in 1932 and all the track was pulled up and shipped to shipped to North Africa for use as anti-tank traps and gun emplacement reinforcements during WWII.
The tunnel has since been inhabited by glow worms, tiny creatures that produce a compelling blue-green light called bioluminescence, which they use to attract their prey. Here’s a photo that I borrowed from the internet showing what the glow worm larvae looks like.
We hiked down to the tunnel entrance through the bush and rock cliffs. It is a really nice walk with many beautiful things to see.
We arrived at the tunnel and were pleased to find a proper cement walkway, with hand rail through the tunnel. What a difference that walkway and handrail made!
The tunnel is 1,320 feet long and is curved. Within a few minutes, once past the curve so the light from the entrance was blocked, it became very, very dark, but with the walkway and handrail, you really didn’t need a torch. You could just shuffle along holding on to the railing. What a difference from our last visit where we stumbled along in the unimproved rail bed, stepping in puddles and tripping over rocks.
It took a while for our eyes to adjust to the total darkness, but as we shuffled along into the tunnel, small dots of light began to appear. It was a really incredible sight as thousands of pinpoint lights began to appear. I had better luck using my peripheral vision to see vast swaths of glow worms rather than staring straight at the glow worms. We saw so many more glow worms this time around and it was exciting. Photos don’t do it justice, but Christine was able to capture a couple of shots. The glow worms look kind of like flying over a small town in an airplane and seeing the lights.
We stayed in the tunnel much longer than Lou, Margaret and Clare did, and as a result, we got separated from them and didn’t know where they went. We wandered around the area outside the tunnel, which is beautiful, while waiting to see if we could connect up with them.
There was a track that went to a lookout, but we stayed near the tunnel and waited. After a while, we walked back through the tunnel and up to the car park to wait for them. I guess we should have walked the track to the lookout, because that’s where they went. They said it was a great view over the valley. Oh well, maybe next time.
This trip to the glow worm tunnel was a thousand times better than the last visit. It was well worth doing and we’re glad we made the trip.
Then it was back over the bumpy dirt road to Lithgow. Margaret had to pick up her school bus to drive back to Kandos. This is the end of her holiday from school and so she starts her school bus runs tomorrow.
Clare then took over the driving and we followed behind Margaret in her school bus. We encountered heavy rain on the trip home. Margaret took the bus to the depot in Kandos and as we waited for her, we watched a lot of lightening over the Coomber Mountain and then we saw incredible pink clouds. Christine took a video of the clouds as we drove, but I can’t upload videos currently and I couldn’t take a clip to show you.
We arrived home late and were all tired. It was a lovely day.