Morton Nat. Park

[Chrikka]

Hi, I live in the Southern Highlands and am sick of small day walks. Can anyone suggest any 2-3 day walks in close proximity ?

[clarence]

Hi Crikka

There are a few good ones around the Bungonia-Long Point area which are more or less on track and would be good introductory overnighters. The best of these is to go to Long Point, head down the track past Kingpin Mountain then head down the Shoalhaven River to Badgerys Crossing and then up the spur to the lookout. It can be done as a daywalk but is not too short as an introductory overnighter. If you start at Bungonia and head down through the Gorge or over Mt Ayre to the Shoalhaven then downstream past Louise Reach (and then on to Badgerys Spur) it will be a solid ovenighter. Crossing the Shoalhaven (which you will have to do below the flat west from Mt Pollock, and then again to get back to the north side) can be difficult if the river level is up at all. There is rough track most of the way.

Alternatively you can try the Nattai area. From Hilltop if you head down Starlights Trail you can walk downstream along the Nattai River (don't drink water from the Nattai itself) to Middle Flat. From here a fire trail heads back up to Hilltop.

With the Shoalhaven and Nattai walks there are formed tracks in and out of the valley along the routes described, but along the rivers themdelves there will be a mix of tracks, pads, open forest etc following the line of least resistance, but NOT properly formed walking trails. (It is hard to get lost walking downstream along the river, so provided you can locate the spurs out it won't be an issue). These walks are pretty remote, but they both provide a good introduction to these areas.

There is a lot to explore around the Yarrunga Creek area (there is another thread about this on this forum) which is on fire trails principally.

If you want some off-track options and are prepared to take a lilo (wait till summer for the latter) the options are endless. The Nattai and Shoalhaven provide some of the most exceptional wilderness walking you will find anywhere.

Clarence

[Chrikka]

Great, thanks for that. I was going to camp down at the river off the long point lookout track this weekend, pretty cold but ive just purchased a new sleeping kit and tent and want to test them.

Also if i want to venture further down near the Bungles which tracks would be the best there ?
cheers

[clarence]

Bungles? Do you mean Budawangs. Where does one start. If you are interested in the area (and Morton NP generally) try to get a copy of Fitzroy Falls and Beyond and Pigeon House and Beyond (there are NOT guide books, but do have a few very good walks in them). Ron Doughtons book on the Budawangs covers most of the well known areas, and a few of the lesser known spots as well. You will find a few threads here on the Budawangs and Southern Highalnds (eg Sandy Creek, Mt Carrialoo etc) so rather than re-hash what is on there, have a look at what has already been posted. If you run out of ideas (unlikely) I'm sure forum members will give you several for these areas.
Greater Horseshoe Bend (Shoalhaven), Ettrema Gorge (from the Tolwong Rd via one of the numerous passes) and Russells Needle (Nattai) are a few good starters.
Clarence

[Chrikka]

Yeah, Budawangs, thats what i meant. Thanks for those suggestions.

[jackhinde]

park at the yards at the end of wangaderry road. wander out to the edge of the plateau. walk north onto bonnum pic. camp at the obvious camp (don't move my chair). ditch your stuff. scramble to the end and enjoy the view. backtrack. head east from near the mushroom rock. up and down the moon scape. find the look out over the wangaderry walls. watch the sun set and the cliffs turn pretty colours. backtrack. sleep. wander out in the morning. buy a burger at the mittagong chook shop or get a pint at the scottish arms in east bowral.

done it 4 times in the last year or so as it is the best overnighter in the district: short distance, great views, always lonely, scrambling and walking, navigation required, possibility of death...

it is all on the hilltop topo, top left corner.

take the topo with you, there is a lifetime worth of exploration on that one map alone, which you can plan around the evening fire.

[jackhinde]

i forgot to mention the best bit, plenty of elapid snakes...

[clarence]

Crikka
RE: Nattai River. I was down there a few weeks ago but didn't walk much ALONG the river, crossed at Middle Flat to access opposite escarpment.
Note other posts on this forum where there are supposedly horridly thick weed infestations along parts of the Nattai. Keep this in mind if you do the section Starlights to Middle Flat.
Clarence

[Chrikka]

Was going to go out to do Starlights this weekend (28th or 29th) and maybe Ahearns lookout. Ill look out for the weeds.

[Chrikka]

Jackhinde:
Next time you do that overnighter i might join you,,,,,do you do it this time of year ?

[Marwood]

I spent the weekend taking a walk down Starlights, downstream to Middle Flat, and back out up the fire trail. We'd intended to camp across the river from Allum Flat but we ran out of daylight and enthusiasm and decided to camp on a spot by the fire trail above Middle Flat about 1.5km short of where we intended.

It was the first time I'd been down there so I can't say if the riverbank scrub is worse than in previous years or not. From Emmett Flat to the first river crossing it was pretty much OK going, except there's a blackberry patch getting going just before the river crossing which will likely be troublesome by spring time. Across the river it got pretty thick for a short way till the Wanganderry crossing. At the second Nattai crossing a tree's recently fallen on the eastern bank and brought down several sheoaks, making things a bit tricky though providing a bridge over the water. From there to the next crossing the scrub got thicker, and from the final crossing to the rock shelf by the river just before you rejoin the fire trail it seemed to get thicker and thicker. At the end of the rock shelf by the side creek it was a struggle to find a way though, so we ended up going up the creek aways to find a place to scramble up and get on the road.

All along the river bank there's a higher WSI (wombats per square inch) count than I've seen anywhere before making it real easy to end up thigh deep in a collapsed burrow. Lots of digging around, some probably wombats but also likely there's a bunch of pigs down there too. Mrs M saw something large and black crashing off through the undergrowth as we passed by that may well have been swinish.

On the plus side the side creeks were flowing well with good clear water so there's no need to treat and drink the Nattai sewer-water - though it did mean the last two Nattai crossings were knee+ deep. Also on the plus side the cool conditions meant no snakes or leeches around. FWIW, it took us about 5 hours from Emmetts to the fire trail.

[Chrikka]

Cool, thanks for that recap,,,,was that last weekend ?

[Marwood]

Yep, Sat 21st & Sun 22nd July.

I should add that if I was to do this walk again I wouldn't try to the riverbank section in a day unless I'd overnighted down there and could get an early start, unless with increasing traffic the trail becomes clearer and freer from scrub so easier going. However, Mrs M has told me that if we go down to the Nattai again she's walking down the fire trail and I can do various things that I can't repeat in polite company.

[jackhinde]

was that you we met on the firetrail on sunday? if so it was myself and mr. puredingo heading in the opposite direction. if you left the river on mr. sloss's suggestion it is a shame, the easiest most weed free bit of the lower nattai is the section you missed!

[Marwood]

Must've been, you were the only folks we saw all weekend. You were heading to Allum Flat to look for your lost GPS? Any luck?

We were following the NPA track notes, though I guess those were likely based on Robert Sloss's booklet. But by the time we got to the point where the firetrail comes down we'd had enough of the scrub and were trying to get to Allum before dark, but ran out of daylight anyhow.

It hosed down with rain as we were driving back to the highway, I guess just before 2pm that was. Did you get drenched where you were?

[jackhinde]

no we didnt find puredingo's mate's lost gps, nor did we crack the 30km in a day that i expected.
we had light rain, i pulled on the poncho and then took it off again. we actually dropped down to the nattai not far from where we met and tracked what i assume was you for a bit along the river, you were a lot closer to allum than you may have realised.

in regards to your question chrikka, yes i will be doing the bonnum again soon, and yes you're welcome.
if you're walking this weekend as you suggest, may i recommend going down starlights and back up troys creek, there arent any weeds on that bit, i did it two weeks ago. i'd tag along but i am gonna be dangling off a rope in bundanoon.

[Chrikka]

Im going to do the Starlights this weekend (day depending on weather) and its going to be my first time. Might get an early start and do Ahearns lookout then shoot down to Middle flat, have some grub then back up to the car. Ill start at that one and then do Troys another time i guess.

[jackhinde]

"shoot down to middle flat" : )

[Chrikka]

hahaha,,,yeah fair enough,,,looked on the Topo and realised its a fair walk. Might leave that for another weekend. Which hike is better, Ahearns or MF ?

[JohnDaly TakeAWalk]

Hi Crikka,
We have just printed our latest book - Take A Walk in Southern NSW & the ACT. It has a whole heap of overnight walks in your area, including the complete Hume and Hovell Walking Track. We will get the stock next week!
Check it out at www.takeawalk.com.au
Within a few days we'll be announcing a competition where everyone who buys a copy will go into a draw to win a paid of Scarpa boots.
Cheers
John

[michael_p]

...Which hike is better, Ahearns or MF ?

Personally I have always thought that Ahearn Lookout is the pick of the day walks in the area. Easy to follow route (well it is nowadays), easy undulating walk and really spectacular views.

There is a pass (for want of a better word) about 1-2km before the end of the Ahearns track that appears to be a negotiable route down to Starlights. On one of the several trips out to Ahearn I have done we followed some rock cairns and yellow electrical tape that took us down to a spot that looked like it may be possible to scramble down through the cliff line. But I would suggest a rope as the scramble is exposed. We intended on heading down the route on one trip but bailed out (read chickened out) at the scramble so I can't confirm this is possible. Some spots looked worn so someone or something has been using it.

Sorry to say but my GPSr was not happy about me scrambling around below the cliff line so I don't have a waypoint for the location of the "pass" as the GPS track was all over the place. I may be going out there again soon to do the geocache that is there, I do intend looking for this pass whilst out there and attempt to get a usable waypoint for it.

Cheers,
Michael.

P.S. You may note my avatar is a photo of Mt Jellore from Ahearn Lookout.

[Chrikka]

Thanks for that Michael, just sitting on the couch watching the five rings now after doing Ahearns today. Went too far along the left hand trail off Starlights so had to back track but it was a pleasant sidetrack anyway.

Enjoyed Ahearns immensly today, its a great day walk with nice little sections of interesting parts,,,,saw no Elapids which was great,,,in fact didnt see any wildlife. Great weather (gotta love winter day hikes) and nice viewing areas to boot. Will try McCarthurs flat and the Cathedral campsite soon.

Saw in the book at the carpark that theres a lot of single hikers heading into that area doing overnighters,,,,,,,,interesting. Pretty safe i guess.

[chutes]

Edited for clarity.

[jackhinde]

edited and removed content as person above edited their post which did not make sense to me and now my post would not make any sense to anyone... does that make sense?

and we should probably now rename this thread as it is all about the nattai national park rather than morton.

[Chrikka]

Sorry guys, dont know how to rename this thread,,,,,am only new to this forum,,,,can someone else do it?
Also, if anyone wants to do a day or overnighter down there in the coming future let me know.

[Webguy]

I did the cache at Ahearns at the beginning of the year...

http://www.roaming-oz.com/index.php/hiking-adventures/75-ahearns-lookout-natti-national-park.html

Route notes and map on there. It is a great walk!

[jackhinde]

geocaching... littering the bush with high technology

[Webguy]

geocaching... littering the bush with high technology

LOL. Interesting take on it.