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.