Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Gibraltar Peak via Devils Gap

General Information

Grading: medium

Distance: 12 kilometers 

Total climb: 575 meters 

Time taken: 3 hours

Map: Tidbinbilla 8627-2S 1:25 000 

Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  46 kilometers

Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 74405 73675

Destination:  55H FA 76675 74314

End Point:  Same as start

 

Route 

 

Note: Forget about the straight line shown below at the end of the walk. It appears that my GPS watch had a slight glitch.

 

Description 

This walk started at the Devils Gap carpark on the Tidbinbilla Reserve ring road. I  followed the Devils Gap fire trail past the gate at the border of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and down to the intersection of numerous management trails at map reference 55H FA 75791 72572.

I took the first trail on the left, which headed back in the general direction I had come from.

This trail is quite rough and a bit overgrown, so I started my habitual snake scanning as I progressed up the hill. At map reference 55H FA 75730 73058 there was another trail heading off to the left.

I followed this trail around to the top of the hill just north of Devils Gap. At map reference 55H FA 75630 73273 I left the track and went bush, following the ridge line down the first hill and up and down a second. The bush was not easy, but not particularly difficult either. Initially it was a bit like this:

Toward the top of the second hill, however, it became a bit rocky and scrubby and my progress was a lot slower. I was also looking out for snakes behind every rock and fallen branch.

By following the ridge I eventually came to the fire trail leading up to Gibraltar Peak, which I had to climb once again to take in the view.

Coming back down from the Peak to the management trail I turned left and went down a very steep slope and followed the signs towards Woods Reserve. This took me along the Gibraltar South fire trail and back to the Devils Gap trail. From there it was an easy walk back to the car park.