By Susanna Mills
This month’s riding focuses on Ourimbah because you will have no doubt explored everything there is available to explore throughout ‘The Bushland Shire’ during the lockdown. mountain bike
You can only ride the 6km of ‘sanctioned Mtb trail’ in Hornsby so many times before you start suffering from myopia…
Heading out to ride at Ourimbah however, is a beautiful, easy 1h15 drive from Galston or Hornsby. We usually leave before sunrise, taking the Berowra Waters Ferry and then the M1 Highway.
Take the B74 Wyong offramp (not the Ourimbah offramp) and keep turning left until you see the signs to Tree Top Adventure Park on the corner of Redhill and Yarramalong Roads.
Drive-up the wide dirt road, past the pickup point for the Gravity shuttles, and park anywhere in the vicinity of the pump track. Alternately, take a train from Hornsby or Berowra and use your mobile as bridging transport by cycling the 14km to Redhill Road from Ourimbah Rail Station.
Ourimbah State Forest is located at the southern end of the Watagan Mountain Range and is just west of Wyong on the NSW Central Coast. Forests in this part of NSW have been harvested for timber in excess of 100 years. They are regrowth forests: harvested multiple times and then grown back.
Today’s forest management practices protect biodiversity, soil and water quality and cultural heritage sites while also allowing for sustainable timber production.
Ourimbah State Forest is part of the adventure tourism ‘forest playground’ of the area and has received silver and gold awards for adventure tourism from the Hunter/Central Coast LGA and NSW State. You won’t be disappointed with visiting Ourimbah as your post-lockdown day trip. There is something for everyone here!
MAIN ATTRACTIONS:
Ourimbah MTB Park
The Central Coast Mountain Bike Club, under a Forest Permit arrangement, has grown Sydney’s only MTB Park from humble beginnings as a small cross country circuit in the 90’s, to a gravity enduro hub complete with a shuttle facility and the recent addition of a much-needed dirt pump track for the groms and the grown-ups to socialise and practise their skills before hitting the trails!
Ourimbah features a graded, purpose-built network of well-established cross country mtb trails which will test your skills and physical fitness in beautiful, shaded natural surroundings.
For those who want to take things up a notch and navigate berms, jumps, drops and rock gardens, the three awesome graded gravity enduro runs from the radio tower will not disappoint. Make sure you scope these runs first to ascertain which ones are appropriate for your skill level. To find out more or to participate in Ourimbah mtb trail maintenance dig days, go to www.ccmtb.com.au
Central Coast Mountain Bike Tours operate guided mountain bike tours in the Central Coast area: all-inclusive mountain bike adventures, leisure rides to full-day experiences with bike hire and shuttle bus or break-out activity specialists for corporate events. Contact Michael or Katie to book your experience: 0410 523 612 or visit www.ccmtbtours.com.au
Tree Top Adventure Park
The TreeTop Adventure Park is a privately-owned business within Ourimbah State Forest. TreeTops includes a tree-to-tree course where visitors can move through a network of rope bridges, flying foxes, trapeezes and Tarzan jumps. The park features the world’s longest roller-coaster zipline. At one kilometre in length, this zipline ride will have you gasping for breath as you move swiftly through the tree tops. The Tree Hut can be booked for meetings or parties & the park is open seven days a week. Admission fees apply PH: 4025 1008 or visit www.treetops.com.au.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS:
All situated along Yarramalong Road:
Food and Rest: Wyong Milk Factory, The Turf Hut roadside café.
Farm animals & Mazes: Amazement Farm & Fun Park Admission fees apply.
MTB Events at Ourimbah MTB Park: Rocky Trail Entertainment and CCMTB organise cross country and gravity mtb events here on a regular basis. Follow them on Facebook for the latest updates & event criteria.
