Pulpit Rock lookout at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains has reopened six years after the Black Summer bushfires destroyed much of the site. The reopening follows more than $4.5 million in restoration work funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments.
The Gospers Mountain fire reached the area in December 2019 after burning through the Grose Valley and climbing the surrounding cliffs. Neil Monteith, who was climbing near Pulpit Rock at the time, said he saw a large plume of smoke and described it as resembling “a nuclear bomb going off”.
Mr Monteith said the blaze erased the wooden steps leading to the lookout and destroyed timber shelters in the picnic area. He recalled seeing black ash covering the cliffs and said there were no birds, kangaroos or undergrowth immediately after the fire.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill, who worked as a firefighter during the Black Summer, said the ground at Pulpit Rock had been “like a moonscape”. According to the council, restoration was delayed by the complexity of stabilising the site and conducting geotechnical work.
The lowest lookout could not safely be rebuilt, Cr Greenhill said, but the other three lookouts have been upgraded. The reopened area also has walking trails, picnic facilities, toilets, shelters and a day-use area.
Visitors will pay $12 an hour for parking, while a $38 day pass is available. Mr Monteith said the parking charges could discourage climbers and hikers, while Cr Greenhill said visitor fees were necessary because residents fund much of the infrastructure through council rates.