Climbing the Pass

Here we are climbing the Victoria Pass, east into the Blue Mountains. A problem that persisted for a long time was finding a safe route down from Mt Victoria to the Hartley Valley floor so that the original road west could allow the reliable passage of wagons and carriages into the colony's interior. After trying about 5 different routes over the years, Victoria Pass was completed in 1832. 

The route is still in use today although the actual highway surface is a great deal wider and smoother than what it was in those days. The road falls (or rises) more than 200 metres in very short order. A very big ask for teams of animals hauling big loads in days of yore.