Nadgee Nature Reserve at New Years

[Drew]

Hi there,

A group of us were thinking of walking the Nadgee Nature Reserve from Merrica River to Mallacoota over the New Year's Eve period. Some have suggested that water might be hard to come by. Do people have thoughts on this? We don't really want to carry ridiculous amounts of water (especially along with our celebratory booze) or spend hours walking up creeks to find fresh water every day.

Cheers,

Drew

[kjbeath]

Peter Cook and Chris Dowd "Walking the Wilderness Coast" gives the details on water, and there are only a few places where water is available especially in summer. We camped at Lake Barracoota where water can be obtained from the lake, Nadgee Lake where we picked up water at the Bunyip Hole going north, not much option going south, and Little River from the river, not far upstream.

[Drew]

Thanks for the reply kjbeath. We've decided to go for a closer and simpler option over New Years and are going to Wilsons Prom. I hope to get up to Nadgee before too long though, maybe after some good rain!

Cheers

[Sasha]

Don't forget you need a permit for the Merrika river Mallacootta walk ie the Nadgee Nature reserve, and only a very few people are allowed to start per day....it would be way too late to apply now for NY eve

[Bron]

It might not be too late - always worth ringing NPWS at Merimbula as they may have last minute cancellations. I am doing this walk starting thursday and the rangers were very helpful with permits arranged last week. The only thing I am not sure about is crossing the Wonboyn River as I am walking through to Boyds Tower in Ben Boyd. The V-line bus service from Eden to Mallacoota is $12.60 pp and boat transport across the Mallacoota inlet was arranged with Simon Buckley.
regards
Bron

[MartyGwynne]

How did you go getting across the Wonboyn Bron?
I would have thought flagging down a boat to get across would be OK or walk into the township and ask about getting across (restock food and stay the night and have a hot shower) I think that is what GangGang did along with AmyL from the US.

[Bron]

I am just back from a 7 day trip where we walked from Mallacoota to Boyds Tower in Nadgee NR and Ben Boyd NP.
With a bit of ring around at Wonboyn we were advised it was possible to cross the Wonboyn inlet at low tide, with an offer of a boat if we were unable to make it. We had to make 2 river crossings on our trip and as they were both crossed on the same day it was not possible to cross both at low tide. The first was the Merrica river - this was crossed 3 hrs before low tide and was a very easy sand crossing about mid thigh when we made the crossing. Low tide on the day we crossed Wonboyn river was at 5pm and we reached the crossing at 5.30pm where the tide was still going out very strongly - another 1/2hr would have been even better. The water was about mid thigh at the inlet with lots of standing waves. The current was very strong so we crossed it back from the bar and were thankful we had walking poles.
If you were being picked up by a boat you would need to be picked up at the northern end of the Bay Cliff track however as we were crossing the inlet on foot we found it much easier to traverse around the rocks on the eastern side of Bay Cliff to get to the inlet.
We met hardly any hikers on our trip - none at all for the first 3 days, then a few people who were hiking to go fishing and a few others fishing at Greenglades. We somehow missed the 20 school students walking the other way to Mallacoota although we met their teacher at Newtons campsite. It would have been impossible to flag down a boat at Wonboyn unless we planned to walk all the way to the township.
In terms of water, there was good water at lakes Barracoota and Wau Wauka outlet. We collected fresh water from a stream at Cape Howe luckily, as the water in the soaks at Nadgee Lake was brackish. There was good water at a soak on the way to Nadgee River the next morning. We collected water at Wirra Birra Ck at Newtons but it was only about 15cm deep and barely flowing. Also made a 1hr side trip to the ck on Merrica R Nature Trail, not really necessary as when we got to Greenglades there was a tank at the carpark. We needed to carry water was we had a dry camp on the beach at Disaster Bay before climbing up to Green Cape. My partner and I both carried 4l each and this was enough water for a dry camp. we had rather cool weather on our trip and it in fact rained 3 nights and all of 1 day whilst we were walking in Nadgee. A good time of year to make this trip.

regards
Bron

[Summitview]

I have just walked Mallacoota to Wonboyn (14-16 Jan). Water at Lake Barracoota was good and water at Wau Wauka outlet tasted okay when I walked as far up the outlet until a pad by the outlet ran out. There was flowing water in a vegetated area 200 metres in from the shore, just north-east of Iron Prince reef (about 618440). There was further water seeping out of the dunes in a number of places around the rocky headland and a short flowing gully in the 1.5 km southwest of the border. It looked like you would struggle to get any water at Bunyip Hole. I followed the creek upstream at Little River along Table Creek. The track runs out just before the creek. Here the creek is full of algae; go 50 metres upstream, avoiding the several resident black snakes, to a large pool which was quite palatable. I did not leave the track to look for water elsewhere, nor did I come across any.

The tracks were all followable north from the cove just south of Bunyip Hole to Wonboyn, if a bit overgrown. Walking from Nadgee River to Little River, there is an unmarked but obvious walking track leaving the jeep track, at 612538 which should be followed. Be aware if heading north and going to Merrica River estuary, that the Narrabarba map is wrong. The Table Ridge fire trail is obvious but unsignposted. The Narrabarba map marks the track as heading east from the top of the knoll; in fact, the tracks leaves the main fire trail 200 metres along and down the ridgeline at a SSE direction (this is more accurately marked on the NPWS walk brochure). The map alignment is correct after those first few hundred metres.

Merrica River Estuary was lovely. I crossed 2 hours before high tide and it was only knee deep, so I suspect tide is generally not a problem. Shortly up the hill from the estuary a track becomes clear and is well taped all the way through to Greenglade. It does not however follow the alignment suggested by the guide book, skirting Wonboyn Hill and then going down an earlier spur than suggested in the book, finishing at a cairn and wooden post at about 608687.

It is a great bit of coastal walking and I saw no one for 2 days.