Namadgi National Park: Gorilla Rock

General Information

Grading : medium

Distance:  6.6 kilometers 

Total climb:  176 meters

Time taken:  2 hours 30 minutes

Map:  Corin Dam 8626-1N, 1:25 000 

Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  53.3 kilometers 

Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 78933 60480

Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 78676 62527

End point:  same as start

Route

 

Description

This walk starts from the Honeysuckle Creek Camping Ground near the end of Apollo Road. We first followed the walking track towards Booroomba Rocks. At map reference 55H FA 79161 61901, where the track crosses a creek, we headed bush pretty much in a straight line towards Gorilla Rock (which can't be seen until you are close to it). The bush wasn't too bad to fight through, and we eventually found what we were looking for.

 

After a look around, we headed back the same way we had come.

 

Namadgi National Park: Yankee Hat Climb

General Information

Distance:   9.5 kilometers

Total climb:   510 meters

Time taken:   6 hours  20 minutes

Maps:   Yaouk 8626-2N 1:25 000

Guide:  n/a

Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:   67 kilometers

Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 78464 41158

Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 75628 42419

End point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

We arrived at the Yankee Hat Carpark just after 8am with the external thermometer in my car reading -7 degrees. The sun was shining and there was no wind, however, so it did not feel all that cold even with the heavy frost. We started walking at 8:18am and followed the Yankee Hat Walking Trail to its end at the Yankee Hat rock art site. From here we headed bush to climb Yankee Hat which loomed 380 meters above us.

We initially headed southwest through fairly light scrub and gradually veered to the northwest in order to reach the spur running up to the summit from the southeast. Before long we started to encounter a dusting of fresh snow (probably from two days before) which became thicker and a tiny bit slippery as we continued to climb.



The going was quite easy all the way up with relatively light scrub, few fallen trees and rocks which were easy to get around or climb over. There were occasional views to the north and south as we passed through the scrub, becoming more open as we neared the summit.




Having reached 1400 meters elevation the terrain flattened out and we continued heading northwest through a tangle of scrub and rocks, making for the summit of Yankee Hat.



The summit is a large rock outcrop that was relatively easy to climb up from the southwest. Here we paused for lunch taking in the views to the east and west.




Not wishing to backtrack, we had planned to get down the mountain via the spur on the northwestern side. We found the scrub and terrain a bit more challenging on this side of the mountain, however, so our route down became northeasterly as we tried to avoid patches dense scrub, large rock outcrops and very steep descents. Eventually we reached the Middle Creek Fire Trail and followed it east to just before the ford over Middle Creek. From there we headed overland to the bridge over Bogong Creek and thence back to the carpark.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Gibraltar Peak (3)

General Information

Distance: 6.4 kilometers
Total climb: 354 meters
Time taken: 2 hours
Map: Tidbinbilla 8627-2S 1:25 000
Guide:  link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  45 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 74987 75469
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 76766 74314
End Point:  Same as start

Route

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

Description

I last hiked to Gibraltar Peak on 8 June 2016, but the route taken this time was different. Instead of following the walking track to the peak I walked through the scrub up a ridge. This proved to be quite difficult as the terrain was steep and the scrub in places was quite thick. On the way back I followed the walking trail.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Billy Billy Rocks - West/East Route

General Information

Distance:  5.5 kilometers
Total climb:  300 meters
Time taken:  5 hours 20 minutes
Map:  Corin Dam 8626-1N 1:25 000
Guide:  None available for this route
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  48 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 73985 69672
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 71961 69141
End point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

Billy Billy Rocks is a rocky peak in the south of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Having previously hiked to Billy Billy Rocks via the north-south route from Square Rock carpark, we decided to try out the west-east route from further back on the Corin Road near Billy Billy Creek. We had heard that there was a distinct walking track here which was favoured by rock climbers. There is no track from Square Rock carpark, and it is a difficult walk through thick undergrowth and fallen trees.

The starting point for the hike was a management trail off the Corin Road which loops back onto Corin Road about 140 meters south. We followed this trail from the start point for about 300 meters, but failing to find the start of the walking track, we started to head through the bush. This was a mistake, as we found later that the start of the walking track was only about 150 meters further on, closer to the southern intersection with Corin Road. We almost immediately struck thick undergrowth which continued unabated as we first climbed the ridge to the south of Billy Billy Creek and then turned northwest to approach Billy Billy Rocks from the east. We arrived at the edge of the Rocks after spending almost three hours fighting through 2.2 kilometers of scrub. At this point we decided to have lunch. While we were eating lunch my co-hiker saw behind us a ribbon tied to a tree, and then another one. We had finally found the elusive walking track.

The walking track continued into the Rocks themselves, and we naturally took the opportunity to explore them, guided by a series of small marker cairns. We soon found a high rock shelf with views towards the Tidbinbilla Range and the Tidbinbilla Valley, as well as Namadgi National Park in the distance.

We continued into the maze of rocks, clambering over, under and through them, all the time following the marker cairns.

After about 45 minutes exploring we decided to head back. We retraced the marker cairns to where we had first sighted the walking track. We continued along the track, which was mostly easy to pick out, with the occasional pink ribbon giving us some assurance that we remained on it. The track made its was down to Billy Billy Creek, which we immediately crossed. There is then a slight climb before the track heads down the ridge south of Billy Billy Creek (but higher up than we had gone on the outward journey). The track passes over a large number of low rocky outcrops and we needed to be constantly vigilant for small stone cairns, cuts through the undergrowth or other markers to ensure that we remained on the track. We did lose the track on a few occasions, but we were able to recover it by backtracking to the last marker we sighted.

Eventually we came to an open grassy area and it is here that the track meets the management trail we started on, but more towards the southern intersection with Corin Road. There is a small stone cairn just off the road which indicates the start of the trail. My GPS gave the coordinates for this point as 55H FA 73830 69479.

Unless you enjoy thrashing through dense scrub, do not do what we did. Look for the start of the walking track, and if you don't find it, go home. The walking track is still quite a challenging hike. Apart from the difficulty keeping on the track, even with the markers, it is quite steep in parts and the rocky sections are pretty hard on your feet. Still it is far superior to bush bashing through from either the south or the west of Billy Billy Rocks. The rocks themselves are well worth the effort, but time needs to be allowed for exploring the labyrinth of rocks at the top. There are plenty of good views and interesting formations. We even saw (through a small crawlspace) what looked like a military munitions box, possibly the geocache located among the Rocks.