Daywalks - ACT and surrounding areas

[Human]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster.

In a couple of weeks my partner and I will be heading to ACT. We will have a little over a week to spare and we plan to make the most of our time away from home by hoping from park to park doing daywalks and car camping.

I'm mostly familiar with parkweb.vic.gov.au website where I can usually find a suitable walk and print out a basic map fairly easily. But going through the NSW website has me stumped

Anyway. I was hoping people here might add some of their favourite day walks/tracks (or cool places like caves etc), which we could do in the area. So far on my list I have:
*Budawang - The castle (10km) or Corang Arch (25km)
*Deua - The Big Hole and Marble Arch (10km)
*Kosciuszko South - Main range loop (30km)
*Kosciuszko North - Blue pools
*Namadgi - Corin Dam to Mt Gingera (21km return)
*Gulaga National Park - Mt Dromedary, Tilba Tilba track (~10k return)

Having A couple more spots to add to my list would be great.

Notes. All of my above stated walks should take into account the following criteria:
* We prefer to avoid scrub bashing
* We have a 2WD (which has scraped through a couple of marginal 4WD tracks before)


EDIT: I will make changes to this post as i gather more info. This way others in my shoes can reference it in the future.

[Hallu]

In Kosciuszko climbing the highest point in Australia is a must, and it's quite easy. Take the chair lift up, and walk back down if you can. Near Charlotte Pass, Blue Lake is a very nice area, reminded me of the Pyrénées. I liked Morton NP too, climb the top of Pigeon House, it's fun and the view is great. I didn't like the Kangaroo Valley very much though, the dam ruined it for me at the Three Views Trail. If you camp there, don't miss Bendeela Recreation Area, it's huge, free, flush toilets, full of wombats. Don't miss on the West Rim Walk, at Fitzroy Falls, it has great lookouts. Other lookouts that can be reached by car are Long Point Lookout and Badgerys Lookout. And last but no least I loved Booderee National Park : secluded beaches, plenty of sea eagles, turquoise water and nice native plants. All of this (except Kosciuszko) was done during a trip in August 2013, I barely had any rain, it was mostly sunny and dry. Enjoy. Are you flying to Canberra or driving ? The trip I did was driving from Melbourne, I went to Ben Boyd NP, Bournda NP, Mimosa Rocks NP, Pigeon House, Conjola, Booderee, and Fitzroy Falls, then back to Melbourne through the M31. The only rough road was the one to the start of the Pigeon House walk, it's quite bumpy, I did it in a VW Jetta so you should be fine.

The best way for you to make your choice in my opinion is to buy Take a walk in Southern NSW & ACT by John & Lyn Daly. Tons of info and hikes. You can find it here : http://www.takeawalk.com.au/z5main.htm . The book helped me a lot, coz info is scarce on the websites and on location. There's a separate one on Kosciuszko but you wouldn't need it.

[michael_p]

If you are looking for info on walks in and around the ACT you can't go past John Evans website: http://www.johnevans.id.au.

Cheers,
Michael.

[WarrenH]

Following michael_p's excellent suggestion, perhaps check out IMMHO, some of the most enjoyable day walks in the ACT:

To Billy Billy Rocks from Smokers Gap ... a classic.

The Settlers Track ... simple but classy. There is good tank water at each of the tree huts.

Brayshaws Hut and Westerman #3 Hut on the Settlers track.






Lego Land ... something special for photographers.

Nursery Swamp, the largest fen on Mainland Oz. ... in a stunningly beautiful part of the ACT.






Boboyan Trig ... for the panorama-ists. Excellent sweeps.

Mount Gudgenby ... tells it all about what the ACT's ranges are like. Big Boro grounds up top.

Mount Namadgi ... if you have the legs? This is a monster of a day walk to another Boro Ground and back. A walk that you'll not ever forget. If you're fit, allow 12-13 hours solid walking.

Booroomba Rocks ... after reaching the top, at the saddle, don't think that that is all that there is (just a 30 minute walk), work your way west or further south-westerly to the higher points.





If you are mountain bikers, ride from Hall to Mulligans Flat on the Canberra Centenary Trail, and then return to Hall on the cycle path beside Lake Ginninderra. About 45 klicks all up. Definitely awarded 5 stars (by me). If you can do a car swap, it is a good walk between Hall and Mulligans Flat through the old Gungahlin State Forest. At Mulligans Flat, if time permits you can enter the animal enclosure and extend your ride through the enclosure to Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve, then head back along Horse Camp Drive towards Lake Ginninderra, then head back to Hall. This is now rated 10 stars ( by me).

A section through the old State Forest.






Sentry Box Hill on the Scabby Range ... to save time, ride your MTBs on the Grassy Creek Fire Trail past Westerman's and Waterhole Huts, before dumping your bikes in the bush near Luton's Crutching Sheds and then walk in a special part of the ACT.

Two shots from the Grassy Creek Fire Trail. Westermans #3 Hut and the Scabby Range in the distance.






There is a short walk called the Shanahan's Mountain loop. It is only about 3 klicks in total from the car park. It is very interesting and affords some of the best views in the region. You could do this walk in the morning and then walk the Settlers Track, that's close by, in the afternoon. Too easy.



Out near Googong Dam in the Nature Reserve there are some excellent low level crossings and fire trails to walk or ride to, like, to Gelignite Crossing and Flints Crossings over the spectacular London Bridge.





Gelignite Crossing.




Warren.