Travelog post for: Lewis

Next stop was around a 20 minute drive from where we were and technically on the outskirts of Orange... but knowing what it was that would be understandable. Not something you'd expect to see in the middle of the rural area of New South Wales... but an extinct volcano! Seriously, how crazy is that? It's the highest point West of the Blue Mountains which is on the outskirts of Sydney, around a 2.5 hour drive from where we are now... it's the famous Mount Canobolas... here I am at the top of the mountain...



The top photo you can the city of Orange in the distance... looks so tiny from up here... here I am on the compass at the apex point of the volcano... this is where you stand and it shows the direction to look to see the different cities and towns in the region... on a clear day you can see hundreds of kilometers.


Here's the panoramic view around the top of the mountain from one side to the other... as you can see it has a lot of radio and TV towers. Honestly it's a huge eye sore... oh well!







There are lots of hikes and bush walks all around the apex point of the mountain... we got to learn a bit about the mountain while we were here. If you see in this image you can see there are lots of "vents" where there were smaller less active volcanoes surrounding the main volcano... here's a bit of information about Mount Canobolas...


Mount Canobolas volcanic complex is listed in the Commonwealth Heritage Register for it's unique geological composition and location. These factors have resulted in a distinctive vegetation pattern, containing rare and unique species, which in turn contain habitats for a number of equally unique animals.

Within a 30 kilometer radius of Mount Canobolas, approximately 30 vents are known to have erupted. These eruptions commenced about 50 million years ago and halted approximately 10-15 million years ago. The Mount Canobolas vents erupted over that entire period, while others within the 30 kilometer radius were active for shorter periods. The basalt capping has largely weathered away producing fertile soils as far away as West Wyalong. Which is 222 kilometers away from Orange or just under a 3 hour drive West of Orange.

After we had a bit longer at the top of the volcano and a few more photos we started to head down the mountain. Half way down, we stopped and got a picture of the mountain and a better view of Orange from above. The small mountain next to the main apex of Mount Canobolas is called Little Canobolas, it's a 2km walk from the top of the mountain...



Well, we're not quite done yet... we have one more place to visit before we've seen all the main touristy areas of rural New South Wales (this area anyway)... write again soon with more photos of our next stop!