Summer bushwalking

[Champion_Munch]

Hi all,

May have 3-5 days to spend bushwalking around Christmas time, but since it's too hot in QLD around that time was considering heading south to NSW (..or beyond perhaps). I visited Blue Mountains last summer for a week, but otherwise have not done any walking in NSW. What would be a good place to visit at this time of year? Options would be (1) fly to a major city, hire a car and visit park within a few hours' drive or (2) drive from Brisbane to northern NSW, although I suppose the further south I go the better I can escape the heat!

Would love a good multiday bushwalk but if several good day walk options are around then happy to do that instead. Look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Cheers,
Munch

[Tortoise]

G'day Munch.

My first thought is the Snowies. That's where I always escaped the summer heat from Sydney.
you could look at flights from Brisbane to Albury - iirc, you can access good walking from the western side in about 1.5 hrs drive. I'm not up with all the fire-affected areas, though.

Edit: the dirt roads might be a problem with some hire car companies, though. And i'm out of touch - they may have sealed some more roads in the last 15 yrs.

Make it 5 days if you possibly can!

[north-north-west]

From Albury it's sealed all the way unless you're looking at something pretty obscure. Round Mtn carpark isn't that far out - fee-free parking - and there's a lot that could be done from there. Lot of tracks, lot of good, easy off-track walking.

[GPSGuided]

Go Tassie, but even there may get hit by a 40°C heat wave in late December, along with bushfire risks. To be more secure, try NZ.

[Champion_Munch]

Hi all,

GPS, NZ would be nice (of course!) but I am already heading there in September. And for such a short time, the less time spent on planes the better!

Tortoise/NNW, Snowies might be a good idea. Recently went to the snow on a day trip from Canberra, would be great to see it without all the snow. Is there a recommended multiday walk option for this region? If I can avoid the crowds that would be awesome, but I expect that to be difficult over xmas holidays.

Cheers,
Munch

[north-north-west]

Snowies is always busy over holidays, but if you go into the Jagungal wilderness it's a bit less so, especially off track.

I'll stick with my usual recommendation for a cheap exploration - Round Mountain carpark, 15 Mile to Happy Jacks Rd (track can be a little vague in places, but the route's pretty obvious), over the bridge and up past Wuthering Heights to Far Bald, then you can either go off track down to Happy Jacks Plain to Mackeys & the AAWT or follow the track to Doubtful Creek, then either off track to Jacky's LO, Jagungal Saddle and up Jagungal, or stick with the track to O'Keefe's and find the foot track up to Jagungal from the west. From Jagungal, you can go via a number of routes (Tarn Bluff, Strawberry Hill, Bull Peaks/Brassies) to Mawsons and up to Gungartan via Kerries. From Gungartan you have heaps of options, and there are a number of good tracked and off track routes to get you back to the carpark. How far you go depends on how long you walk each day. There are huts if you'd rather do it easy and ultra light, and billions of places to pitch if you want to keep away from people at night. Water is generally plentiful, also.

Get some maps and start planning.

[Champion_Munch]

Thanks for the suggestions NNW. What's a suitable map for the area? Are there any guidebooks with track notes etc or does the NP provide reasonable details for this kind of route?

Cheers,
Munch

[GPSGuided]

NSW govt's LPI Map store for online purchase. Just Google it.

[awildland]

If you wanted something in northern NSW I would recommend New England National Park in northern NSW. It rarely gets too hot as it is quite high in elevation.

There is a 3-day walk down into the Thora Valley near Bellingen (where actually it can get horribly hot and steamy but the walk follows the river) and it does require a pretty massive car shuttle or hiring a local to do the shuttle for you or having someone pick you up. In the park itself there are a lot of day walks and there are plenty of off-track self guided options. May not be what you are after but it is a stunning national park so thought I'd throw it out there.

Otherwise, maybe think about the Budawangs on the south coast of NSW ? Others on this forum will know more about what it is like in summer but you can fly to sydney and easily drive south to walk Pigeon House and the Castle.

[Champion_Munch]

Hi awildland,

Checked out your blog - New England NP looks pretty amazing from your photos! Unfortunately, if I go for a multiday hike a throughwalk would be much more difficult to organise than a loop, but it might be a nice place if I end up going the day walk options. If not, might have to make it there another time - looks absolutely stunning.

Cheers,
Munch

[Onestepmore]

What about the Barrington Tops?
Close to New England NP. If you drive maybe visit both?

[awildland]

What about the Barrington Tops?

Definitely another great option to think about.

And yes, Munch, the through walk in New England NP is a bit of a transport hassle but definitely good day walks.

I was also going to suggest Gibraltar Range/Washpool National Park as it has a lovely 3-5 day track walk that is a loop but it can get pretty hot in summer on some of that walk. I think they call it the World Heritage Walk if you want to google it.

(p.s New England NP really is stunning! certainly our favourite)

[Champion_Munch]

Hi one step, barrington tops looks nice too, however it looks to be an extremely long drive from Brisbane, would probably be easier to fly Newcastle and drive from there. I've read elsewhere on this forum that some sections of the park are closed due to the spread of a fungus? Not sure what the latest on that is.

Wild land, I had looked up that walk at Gibraltar before, unfortunately looks like it would be pretty exposed and hot in summer. Looking through your blog it looks like there are many options for walking around the coffs area, shame most of it is way too far to drive from Brisbane for a day trip. Your great photos of the rainforest at New England np remind me of lamington np, if you have visited (my favourite walking place in South East qld). What camera setup do you take for day trips/overnighters?

Cheers,
Munch

[awildland]

Wild land, I had looked up that walk at Gibraltar before, unfortunately looks like it would be pretty exposed and hot in summer. Looking through your blog it looks like there are many options for walking around the coffs area, shame most of it is way too far to drive from Brisbane for a day trip. Your great photos of the rainforest at New England np remind me of lamington np, if you have visited (my favourite walking place in South East qld). What camera setup do you take for day trips/overnighters?

Cheers,
Munch

Munch you are right about Gibraltar walk being exposed and hot, it really is best in winter. And yes Brisbane-Coffs is way too far for day trips and even just for weekends - we have the same problem but in reverse in that we are always wanting to do walks in SE Qld but have to find holiday time for them rather than just weekends because of the distance. We have walked in Lamington NP (stunning spot) and yes the rainforest in New England NP is very similar.

Caz is the photographer in our wild land partnership and he is a Canon fan (EOS 700D). He usually takes his favourite wide angle lens (Canon 10-22mm) and one other mid-range zoom lens (canon 24-105) and a tripod. It adds to his pack weight of course! but at least that slows him down a bit, so I can keep up!

Hope you end up finding something suitable for your summer trip! and thanks very much for dropping by our blogpage.
chrissy

[Champion_Munch]

NNW/GPS guided,

Which relevant maps should I be looking to get from LPI? Will the maps include the various walking route options around Mt Jagungal? Is there a suitable guidebook that provides track info for the region?

Also, how would you recommend to break up the days... and tents vs huts, is the weather generally more mild in Summer or should we expect to have a shower or two?

Cheers,
Munch

[GPSGuided]

Go to LPI's map store and look up. You can scroll through the area and decide on the map sections you need. As I've found in recent months, LPI's inclusion of bushwalking tracks can be a little haphazard once out of the major areas. I think you should cross reference with OpenStreetMap.org.

[north-north-west]

I have no idea what LPI maps are like - I've always used the CMA 1:25k maps. Jagungal, Toolong to start with if that's the area you're interested in, maybe Rendezvous Creek & one or two others depending on how far east or north you want to go.

Huts will be busy that time of year, no matter where you are. Best areas to overnight don't have huts. I used to walk KNP & Namadgi over Xmas/New Year every year from 2001 through 2013, between five and 15 days at a time. Summer storms every trip - usually in the afternoons. Some of them can get pretty wild. I wouldn't go in there without some sort of portable shelter, but that's just me. Some people do it.