Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Camels Hump (2)

General Information

Distance:  13 kilometers
Total climb:  649 meters
Time taken:  2 hours 55 minutes
Map:  Tidbinbilla 8627-2S, 1:25 000
Guide:  link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  49 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 71471 74624
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 72016 79083
End point:  same as start

I previously completed the walk to Camels Hump on 2 May 2015, although that first time I also walked to Pierce Trig, further along the Tidbinbilla Range. Refer to the blog for this May 2015 walk.

Deua National Park: Wyanbene Trig and Minuma Range

General information

Distance: 6.6 kilometers
Total climb: 407 meters
Time taken: 3 hours 15 minutes
Map:  Krawaree 8826-3N 1:25 000
Guide:  link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  139 kilometers via Braidwood
Start point map grid reference:  55H GA 42461 35502
Destination map grid reference:  55H GA 44985 36575 [not reached]
End Point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

The starting point for this hike was the Wyanbene Caves camping ground. To get there we drove to Captains Flat and from there followed Braidwood/Captains Flat Road to Cooma Road. We turned south on Cooma Road and travelled just over 20 kilometers to Wyanbene Road on the left. We then followed Wyanbene Road for 8 kilometers until it ends at the camping ground. We started hiking at 10:15am. First we followed the short walking trail up to Wyanbene Caves, which is gated but not locked. We chose not to go down into the cave, however, and continued our hike. At first we climbed upwards in a northwesterly direction to make our initial ascent less steep, but after a while we decided to go straight up Wyanbene Caves Mountain. This proved to be a very steep climb through fairly open forest with a rocky and leaf-strewn floor.



We eventually reached the ridge northwest of Wyanbene trig - the first 900 meters of the hike having gained us about 220 meters in elevation - and from there walked up to the trig itself.



Not much in terms of views from the trig due to the dense tree cover, but there were glimpses of what was to come. From the trig we headed due east down a ridge until we met the northern end of Minuma Ridge Fire Trail, and from there climbed up the ridge to the north northeast and then to a large rocky outcrop from where we continued to follow the narrow ridge of the Minuma Range to the northeast. The ridge affords some great views out to the southwest and northeast.





We also found the abandoned mine at the top of the ridge that was mentioned in John Evans' 2009 blog (see above) that we used as a guide for this hike. Evans' blog said that the walk along the ridge was "...through dry, open forest", but clearly things have changed in the last seven years. We found the ridge choked with undergrowth that we had to force our way through and this was both tiring and time-consuming. Some further views provided some compensation though.



After almost an hour-and-a-half of struggling 2 kilometers through the undergrowth we reached the peak on the ridge marked on the map at 1024 meters elevation. We paused for some lunch there and discussed our options. Initially we had intended to walk further along the ridge to a high point overlooking the valley, but we couldn't face another hour or more of bashing through the undergrowth. Instead we looked for a nearby route back down the northwestern side of the range, and found a suitable ridge not much further on. When we arrived at the ridge we discovered a track which took us straight down it. The track seemed like it is no longer used, and is starting to become overgrown in some parts with the same undergrowth we found at the top of the range. It is mostly easy to follow by looking for what we assumed to be erosion prevention mounds along the track. When we were getting close to 800 meters elevation we left the track (which continued to the northwest) and headed southwards back towards the camping ground through open forest and ferns. A passing brown snake made us more cautious as we went. We returned to Canberra via Braidwood so we could stop at the very friendly Royal Mail Hotel for a beer or two.

This was a difficult walk through what was for us an unknown area. Normally I would consider a walk of 6.6 kilometers to be a short stroll, but we came out of it tired and footsore. This is not a walk for everybody, but the views were spectacular, particularly to the east and southeast.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Nil Desperandum to Tidbinbilla Visitors Centre

General Information

Distance:  13 kilometers
Total climb:  500 meters
Time taken:  4 hours
Map:  Tidbinbilla 8627-2S 1:25 000
Guide:  link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  50 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 74483 78216
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 76327 76389
End point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

While staying at Nil Desperandum homestead for a weekend, we decided to do a walk to the Tidbinbilla Visitors Centre, primarily for a coffee since my camp espresso pot was not working to my liking. We followed the signs from the homestead along Boundary Trail, Nils Trail, Gilmores Road and River Road until we crossed the Tidbinbilla River at Greens carpark. From there we followed a walking track to the left until it came out on Tidbinbilla Reserve Road, which we followed to the Visitors Centre.

After a deeply satisfying strong black coffee, we retraced our steps to the point on Gilmores Road at map grid reference 55H FA 74363 76371 where we turned on to a link road that took us to Boundary Trail. We followed Boundary Trail up and down the very steep hill marked at elevation 865 meters on the map and back to Nil Desperandum.

It is really only practical to do the walk this way if you are staying at Nil Desperandum. Generally you would do the walk from the Visitors Centre or Greens carpark (see previous walk on 19 May 2016). The return journey that we did over the very steep hill isn't for the faint hearted, and it is much easier to keep to Gilmores Road.

Namadgi National Park: Rendezvous Creek Rock Art Shelter (1)

General Information

Distance:  15.5 kilometers
Total climb:  383 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 20 minutes
Map:  Rendezvous Creek 8626-1S; 1:25 000
Guide:  Graeme Barrow, Namadgi and Tidbinbilla Classics. Tough Bushwalks in Canberra's 
                                       High Country (Canberra, 2000), pp.54-58.
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  66 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 80598 44229
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 76252 46466 [approximate; rock art not found]
End point: same as start

Description

The starting point for this walk is the Rendezvous Creek carpark off Boboyan Road about 30 kilometers south of Tharwa. A well-marked walking track starts from the carpark and follows Rendezvous Creek for about 500 meters before an iron walking bridge allows hikers to cross the Creek without getting wet. The track then leads up to a lookout with a viewing bench and some information on dingos and wild dogs. Leaving the lookout, the walking track continues into the Rendezvous Creek valley, a wide, kangaroo-filled, grassy tract with high ridges on both sides.



Around 1.5 kilometers into the hike, the walking track meets a management trail that continues up the valley to the northwest. The trail is very distinct, but was waterlogged along much of its length following recent record-breaking rain.





It didn't take long for the boots and gaiters to get wet and muddy.



About 4.5 kilometers into the walk, we came across the remains of Rowleys Rendezvous Creek Hut, which was built in 1950. Many internet sources say that the hut was burnt down in the 2003 Canberra Bushfires. The Kosciuszko Huts Association, however, says that:

This hut was burnt down in 2003, by persons unknown. Circumstances indicate that it may have been done deliberately by pig shooters, however police investigations were inconclusive. Namadgi NP management have refused point-blank to allow KHA to rebuild the hut at our expense.
[https://khuts.org/index.php/the-huts/act-huts/29-rowleys-rendezvous-creek-hut]

There is very little left of the hut today - some bricks from the chimney and some burnt stubs of timber posts.



Having had morning tea at the site of Rowleys Hut, we continued along the trail in search of the rock art shelter nearby. Unfortunately the trail to the rock art site mentioned in Graeme Barrow's book no longer exists, or at least we could not find it. Based on the map in Barrow's book, however, we estimated a GPS location and made our way up into the trees.

As soon as we entered the tree line we were faced with thick and tangled scrub which limited visibility and made the search for the rock art all the more difficult. We spent about 40 minutes in this scrub investigating every rock formation we saw, but did not find the rock art. We bashed our way back to the management trail which we followed further to the northwest in the hope that the track to the rock art was further on. Again we investigated some promising rock formations without success, and eventually decided to head back to the car back through the valley.



Despite the disappointment of not locating the rock art, this was a particularly scenic hike with plenty to hold our interest. There is plenty of wildlife - we saw kangaroos, a lone falcon, and the odd rabbit, and found footprints of feral pigs and a dingo/wild dog in the mud. The track through the open valley is easy to follow and requires little climbing. Unfortunately it was very waterlogged at the time we did the hike, and it would probably be more comfortable in drier conditions. Still, there is some satisfaction in squelching through the water and mud.