Day 1: Burning Mountain Walk

Home to Australia’s only naturally burning coal seam, Burning Mountain Nature Reserve is tucked away off New England Highway.

To traditional Aboriginal owners, it’s the fiery tears of a woman long since turned to stone by Biami, the sky god. Early explorers assumed Burning Mountain’s billowing smoke and peak of grey, smouldering ash was an active volcano. It’s actually a combusting coal seam, that’s been smouldering under the surface of the earth for an estimated 5,500 years.

Burning Mountain walk is the best way to discover this unusual nature reserve, with information panels along an accessible 4km return track that has some steep sections.

You would expect a fire sizzling below ground for 5,500 years to have some fairly dramatic effects on the vegetation, and the remarkable phenomenon of Burning Mountain is reflected in the plants and animals adapted to life around it. We set out from the carpark on a moderate walk to the head of the coal seam, oassing through through eucalypt groves and other types of Upper Hunter woodland. Plenty of dead trees and hollow logs provide homes for lots of wildlife.

As the fire moves one metre every year, the landscape changes: red gums grow along subsidence cracks, and later we saw narrow-leaved stringy bark, tea trees, and stunted grey gums. There are loads of birds in the area, too. Information panels along the track unpack the story of Burning Mountain, including its science and fascinating Aboriginal heritage. A viewing platform is located at the climax of Burning Mountain walk, providing a safe vantage point to view the exhaust vents and rocks transformed by extreme temperatures.