Bushrangers Cave
Bushrangers Cave
Tucked away in a giant split in the rock face and almost invisible until you're standing in front of it. With hidden compartments and crevices, and an open door to the valley below. It's a place that invites visitors to imagine stories of outlaws on the run, and of adventure and legend from a time when the mountains were wilder. This is Bushrangers Cave.
Quick Details
Total Length: 1.5km
Elevation: 100m
Grade: Easy with a bit of rock scrambling
Best season: Year round
Suitable for kids: Yes
Starting the Trail
The cold air stings our cheeks as we get out of the car. Winter is finally here, and the first order of business is pulling on another warm layer of clothing before leaving the car behind. The trail starts off nice and wide, under a canopy of eucalyptus trees. We love coming here in late afternoons — the golden light through the trees here is always so pretty.
We make a quick left turn to check out Pulpit Rock. The rock itself isn’t much, but the view over the Kanimbla Valley is pretty great. The rock is also good for climbing, says one of the little adventurers. It’s not particularly high, and you can easily step up onto it — except if you’re a kid and your legs are still little, I suppose it’s more of a climb.
The trail continues gently down the hill, blue sky peeking through the branches above us. Despite the chill in the air, it’s shaping up to be a beautiful day.
As the fire trail ends, we see a short pile of sticks, stacked up like a little hut. “Is this what you brought us to see?” said one of the boys. “You don’t think we’d take you on a bushwalk just to see a pile of sticks, do you?” I asked. “Come on. You’re gonna like this one”.
The trail turns to the left and narrows as it continues down the hill by a series of switchbacks. The dirt beneath our feet changes to rougher and rockier terrain.
The further down we go, the ground changes to a deep purplish-red. At each end of the switchbacks, there’s small sidetrails branching off to lookouts over the valley in one direction, and towards Victoria Pass in the other.
Normally you’d hear the sounds of traffic in the distance, but with Victoria Pass currently shut, the only sounds are the leaves rustling in the breeze, and birds singing somewhere in the trees.
This isn’t a long track, but it’s one that you can take your time on. Hiking with young boys means we’re often slower anyway as the kids' curiosity mixed with too much energy leads them to picking up sticks and rocks, and peeking into tree hollows.
We reach a blockade on the track — Rienits Pass, which leads into the Kanimbla Valley, is shut from here due to a landslide. But for today, that’s okay, because the trail we want is on the open side of the blockade.
The track climbs up a steep but short hill. From the top you have to scramble back down the other side, over large boulders. The sight of the valley floor in the distance is a reminder that right now, we’re up pretty high.
The trail hugs the rock face as we walk around beneath the opening of the cave above our heads.
Bushrangers Cave
“How are we gonna get up there?” said one of the boys. “We’re gonna climb up,” I said, watching his eyes drift up over the boulders in front of us. “You first,” he said. It’s actually not that hard at all — although I suppose having long legs helps.
I think there’s something about scrambling over boulders that reminds all of us of being kids — exploring the world around us with an eager curiosity to know what’s waiting on the other side of an obstacle like this one.
We have no idea where the ladder came from, or why it’s here. But it looks pretty old. A few of the lower steps have disappeared, and someone has replaced them by bringing in a step stool.
The cave itself is fairly small — with pockets and crevices that look like they must go deeper into the mountain. They don’t really go anywhere though. The pocket above the ladder is full of fallen boulders.
The large, odd-shaped crack in the rock that forms the cave's entrance creates an incredible window, looking out over the valley below.
As far as we know this was never actually used as a hideout by bushrangers, but it’s easy to see how it might have got the name. Whatever its true history, it's the sort of place that still invites the imagination to wander back to a time when the mountains were wilder.
Getting There
Bushrangers Cave can be found at Mount Victoria. We started from the end of Kanimbla Valley Road.
Tips and Tricks
This is a fairly easy and short track. If you’re looking to make it longer, you can include a hike to Coxs Cave nearby. There’s a track that links the two together.
As this track sits outside of the national park, this trail is dog friendly.
