The Lady (Nancy) Fairfax Walk
The Lady (Nancy) Fairfax Walk was opened by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales, and Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Carmel Tebbutt on Monday 23 March 2009.
The 500 metres of gently graded pathways immerses visitors into pristine rainforest, and is a highly accessible area ideal for groups of adults and children wanting to enjoy the beauty of a rainforest walk.
There is excellent interpretation along its pathways explaining rainforest succession, plant adaptation to low light environments and the wonderful fauna living in the trees such as greater gliders, possums and powerful owls.
You will see rich volcanic soil supporting giant tree-ferns, sassafras, coachwood, black butt, brown barrel and other trees growing in their natural state, well watered by mountain springs. You will also see the pencil orchid Dendrobium fairfaxii growing epiphytically on a tree on the eastern side of the walk. It was named to honour the founder of Sydney Morning Herald, John Fairfax. The type specimen was collected on Mount Tomah in 1872 by the orchid expert Robert Fitzgerald and the description by Fitzgerald and Von Mueller was published on the Fairfax paper the Sydney Mail of 1872. Other plants of interest include lily pilly over 30 m in height and sassafras and coachwood coppice circles surrounded by carpets of ground ferns.
Now part of Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, The Jungle gives visitors an opportunity to experience and understand Blue Mountains' rainforest first hand.
The Jungle will greatly enhance another very exciting development coming to Mount Tomah Botanic Garden - the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Exhibition Centre - set to open in 2010. State and Commonwealth funding have been provided to help build this Centre which will give visitors a virtual experience of the canyons, rare plants, eucalypt diversity and unique remote wilderness landscapes they would otherwise never explore.
This remarkable rainforest experience is included in the entry fee to Mount Tomah Botanic Garden. The Walk is available during Garden opening hours from 10am to 4pm (5pm during daylight saving). Coupled with a guided tour or lunch at the Garden's restaurant, the Lady (Nancy) Fairfax Walk makes for an unforgettable Blue Mountains experience.
