In short:
The popular Pulpit Rock lookout in the Blue Mountains was scorched in the Black Summer bushfire.
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lookout → scorch → bushfire
It has reopened after a six-year closure, thanks to more than $4.5m in restoration work.
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It → reopen → work
Visitors will pay $12 an hour to park at the site.
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Visitors → pay → site
Neil Monteith was hanging off the side of a 100-metre sandstone cliff face in the Blue Mountains when he saw a giant plume of smoke gathering across the valley.
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plume → hang → valley
He was climbing near Pulpit Rock at Blackheath in December 2019 when the Gospers Mountain fire was pushing up the back of Mount Banks.
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fire → climb → Banks
"It looked like a nuclear bomb going off," Mr Monteith said.
"
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Monteith → look → bomb
This huge mushroom cloud started to form over on the other side.
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cloud → start → side
We were halfway up the wall … and I remember getting a phone call from my wife saying, 'You need to stop climbing, you need to get home now.'
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you → remember → climbing
"
The Black Summer mega blaze swallowed the Grose Valley and leapt up the cliff, destroying the Pulpit Rock lookout.
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blaze → swallow → lookout
"All the wooden steps that led down to the lookout were totally erased," Mr Monteith said, recalling that piles of metal and wood were all that was left of the timber shelters that formed the picnic area.
"
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that → lead → area
"No life, that was the main thing I remember, no birds, no kangaroos, no undergrowth.
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I → remember → ?
"All the cliffs were actually covered in this horrible black ash on all the climbing holds, any ledges were just covered in inches of ash.
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ledges → cover → ash
"
'Stunning' sandstone restoration
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill worked as a firefighter during the Black Summer, and he remembered what Pulpit Rock looked like in the wake of the blaze.
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Rock → work → blaze
"The ground itself was literally baked; it was like a moonscape," he said.
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he → bake → moonscape
But now, six years on, the area has reopened with upgraded lookouts and walking trails, new picnic facilities, toilets and shelters.
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area → reopen → lookouts
The work was funded with almost $1 million from the Commonwealth and $3.7m from the NSW government.
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work → fund → government
"It looks stunning," Cr Greenhill said.
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Greenhill → look → ?
"Much of the former timber infrastructure has been rebuilt in sandstone to make it more resilient to bushfires."
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it → rebuild → bushfires
Cr Greenhill said the six-year closure was largely due to the "complex' nature of the restoration work.
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closure → say → work
"The geotechnical work around stabilising the area was extensive," he said.
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he → stabilise → area
Cr Greenhill said the council's geotechnical investigations found the lowest lookout could not safely be rebuilt, but the three others had all been upgraded.
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others → say → ?
'Hit list' climb reopens
Mr Monteith said he was excited to see the cliff he was climbing during the fire finally reopen.
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he → reopen → fire
He said Bellbird Wall had been one of the top three most popular multi-pitch routes in the Blue Mountains.
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Wall → say → Mountains
"Now it's been shut for six years it's slightly faded in people's memories," he said.
"
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he → shut → memories
It's a whole generation of climbers later who haven't experienced it."
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who → experience → it
Mr Monteith said the wall had always been on the "hit list" for interstate and international climbers because of its easy access.
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wall → say → access
"You park your car, run down there in 10 minutes, abseil in, 'Wow, amazing views,' exposure … back up to the cafe for dinner," he said.
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he → park → dinner
Parking fee causes concerns
But experiencing that natural splendour will come at a cost.
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experiencing → cause → cost
The Blue Mountains City Council has installed paid parking meters at the lookout, which Mr Monteith said could cause climbers and hikers to think twice about visiting the area.
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climbers → instal → area
"The rates they've decided to put on these, $12 an hour, is only a rate that works for someone who's just popping in to look at the lookout for one hour,"he said.
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who → decide → hour,"he
"It's way more than what gets charged, for example, at Bondi Beach or Manly — premium tourist locations on the beaches of Sydney."
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what → charge → Sydney
Cr Greenhill said a $38 day pass would make it more cost-effective for half-day or full-day visitors.
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it → say → day
"The reality is our residents, through their rates, are paying an enormous amount for us to retain visitor infrastructure," he said.
"
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he → pay → infrastructure
We're now edging up to six million visitors a year.
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We → edge → visitors
"If visitors don't want to contribute, if they want rate payers to subsidise their visitation 100 per cent, don't come."
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payers → want → visitation
The Aporia