Bungonia National Park: Bungonia Gorge to Shoalhaven River

General Information

Distance:  10.5 kilometers
Total climb:  300 meters
Time taken:  6 hours
Map:  Caoura 8928-3N; 1:25 000
Guide:  link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  124 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  56H KG 27160 44914
Destination map grid reference:  56H KG 29266 45882
End point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

This was essentially the reverse of the hike I completed on 20 June 2016 (so also refer to commentary for this hike). We again started at the David Reid carpark and followed the Green Track east until it met the intersection with the Red Track and the White Track, near Mt Ayre. This time we followed the extremely steep Red Track down to Bungonia Creek and turned west toward the Bungonia Slot Canyon. Reaching the Canyon we began the scramble over, around and under the boulders that make moving along the Canyon a major expenditure of effort. After a while we decided not to waste any more time in the boulders and headed back down Bungonia Creek towards our destination where the creek meets the Shoalhaven River. This was not an easy walk, mostly over small rocks and requiring several creek crossings and one detour around a brown snake. The Creek was, however, very pretty.

About 200 meters from the Shoalhaven we came across a wide and deep pool in the Creek where some of us stopped for a quick swim before reaching our destination soon after. We picked up the White Track at this point and headed back up out of the gorge. This track was very steep and required a lot of energy at the end of the day, but those of us who had previously climbed up the Red Track considered it marginally easier.