Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Mount Domain (1)

General Information

Distance:  13 kilometers
Total climb:  759 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 7 minutes
Map:  Tidbinbilla 8627-2S, 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  50 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 72311 71964
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 69661 72739
End point:  same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

This hike starts at the Fishing Gap Carpark off the Tidbinbilla Loop Road. I commenced the hike at 9:30am, signing into the Hikers Register near the gate on Fishing Gap Road. The first section of the hike follows the Fishing Gap Road for 4 kilometers until its end at Fishing Gap itself. This is a pleasant and easy walk along a wide fire trail through thick forest, gaining about 300 meters of elevation from start to end. At Fishing Gap there is a track cut through the new growth to the north which is the start of the track to Mount Domain. At first the track is relatively easy to follow by looking for saplings that have been cut down to clear the way, but eventually this gets to a clearing where the cut trail ends.

From here it is necessary to follow a trail through the scrub marked by pink ribbon tied to trees. Finding these requires paying attention and sometimes pausing to look for the next ribbon. The scrub is very dense in places, and I came out of it with numerous rips in the woollen jumper I was wearing. Some more patience on my part would probably have avoided most if not all of them.

It was about 2.5 kilometers from Fishing Gap to the summit of Mount Domain, but with difficult terrain and a 380 meter climb it took well over an hour to complete this short section. There are excellent views from the top of Mount Domain in all directions.

At just over 1500 meters elevation, and with a strong wing blowing from the west, it was very cold indeed on the summit. I returned the same way that I had come. The downhill section from Mount Domain to Fishing Gap proved to be equally difficult to navigate through, and footing in some areas was quite treacherous. I only fell flat on my butt the once, but it gave me a few bruises to remember it all. It was with some relief that I got back on to the Fishing Gap Road for an easy descent back to the carpark.

Regrowth of trees following the 2003 bushfires presents some challenges for hiking in the Tidbinbilla Range once you get off the fire trails and manicured walking trails. In many ways this hike took me back to an ascent of nearby Tidbinbilla Peak in 2015 where I had to fight through 1.5 kilometers of thick tangles of saplings as soon as I stepped off the Tidbinbilla Range Road. While this can be satisfying at the end, it takes a lot of time and energy. Nevertheless, Mount Domain was a very enjoyable hike. The more people that follow the trail up to the top, the more defined and easy it will be in the future.