Gibraltar Pines and [Not Quite] Punch Bowl Creek Falls

General Information

Grading : medium

Distance:  7.2 kilometers 

Total climb:  314 meters

Time taken:  2 hours

Map:  Corin Dam 8626-1N, 1:25 000 

Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  49 kilometers 

Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 74894 68592

Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 76117 68607

End point:  same as start

Route

 

Description

This walk began at the Smokers Trail car park just off Corin Road. We walked straight up the hill from the car park and turned left at the top. This took us on a loop trail through some very nice grassy native bushland.

Looping back around to the southwest, we made our way to Punch Bowl Creek, but due to a navigational error on my part ended up climbing a very steep hill after we had crossed the creek, which we then had to walk down again. At roughly map reference 55H FA 75649 68431 we eventually found the beginning of the walking track down Punch Bowl Creek. This track is quite difficult to find by sight, which is why we ended up unnecessarily climbing the hill.

Making our way along the track we were confronted with a newly-built fence going right across the track.

Assuming that this was a less-than-subtle form of saying "No Access", we decided to turn back short of the falls. [After the walk I asked the Parks people why the track had been closed, only to be informed that it was meant only to keep livestock out, not interfere with walkers, and that a gate allowing access was to be put in. This gate has now been constructed.]

Making our way back to the start of the walking track we decided not to climb that steep hill again, but went up another trail that parallels it on the west. This proved much easier. We then looped back to the starting point along randomly selected management trails.