His: Travel Review - Burning Mountain

If you travel on the New England Highway you may spot a small brown sign that says "Burning Mountain between the small towns of Murrurundi and Scone in Australia. At first there doesn't look like there is much to see as there are no big colourful billboards, buildings or anything that would suggest that this little brown sign would lead to anything interesting. However Burning Mountain, like many other natural attractions are somewhat hidden unless you happen to see the tourist sign in time to pull off the road. Burning Mountain is a underground coal fire that started many thousands of years ago, and is still burning today. It was once thought to be an active volcano, but it has since be determined to be a underground fire that was likely started by a lightning strike. Visitors who walk the trail to the summit, can see the ground smouldering due to the underground fire and is one of the few places in the world where you can see this happen.

The area where you park is fairly basic and has a restroom, a couple of picnic tables and a sign and map showing the map of the trail to Burning Mountain. The trail leads up the hill to the Burning Mountain and takes about 30 minutes to reach the summit. Along the way you will see the landscape change where the fire has been. As you get closer to the summit you will start to smell the suplhur and the smoke from the underground fire. On most days you will even see the heat haze above the ground. There is a elevated walkway that goes across the area that is burning so you can get a birds eye view of the smouldering ground without burning yourself. Aside from the fire there is often many different species of plants and fauna to see and some great views of the surrounding valleys. Below are a few photos of the trail and the Burning Mountain.

 There is no grass growing in certain parts near the area that is currently burning.

Its not showing up in this photo but there is a definete heat haze and it feels quite warm when you are on the elevated pathway.

Since there are no trees due to the underground fire you can get excellent views of the valley and see for miles and miles.

The fire has been burning for over 5000 years and is moving south at about 1m (1.1 yards) per year.

Some times during the walk you would find interesting plants including this wattle tree.

A visit to Burning Mountain should take about 1.5-2 hours, and is well worth the stop if you are in the area. Best of all there is no admission charge, so its a great spot to spend a little time out of the car and even have a picnic lunch after your walk. Have you ever been to unusual natural phenomenon like this?