Planning 6 week NSW hike; 2 questions.

[AmyL]

A week ago I introduced myself over on the "Who are you" forum.
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7320

I'll now follow up in this forum that is focused on the region I'm planning to visit. Thanks so much to you folks who have already helped, and thanks in advance for more assistance. I have found most of the information I need by browsing these forums and other websites. So far, I have two concrete questions I haven't been able to resolve.

We'll be in New South Wales for six weeks in Sept-Oct 2011. 36 days of walking, all on foot except a few ferry rides. Rough camping along the way. Itinerary is:
1. walk The Great North Walk from Newcastle to Sydney
2. walk and ferry across Sydney
3. walk (with occasional wade/swim/boat) south along the coast all the way to Mallacoota, following the Great South Coast Walk route described by GangGang: http://www.gang-gang.net/nomad/ Thanks a ton to them for writing a great trip report; their report inspired us to take this trip.
4. bus from Mallacoota/Genoa to Wollongong, where we have a layover day to join a pelagic birding trip.

Question #1: On the Great North Walk, we are considering a slight variation to avoid the once-a-day reserve-in-advance ferry from Patonga to Brooklyn. As far as I can tell, the ferry from Little Wobby to Brooklyn runs many times per day and does not require advance reservation. To simplify our logistics and flexibility, we're thinking of leaving the Great North Route west of Woy Woy and heading to Little Wobby instead of to Patonga, following the "Little Wobby to Woy Woy" route described by WildWalks. Is there any reason this is not a good idea? From where we sit it looks OK, but it would be nice to have confirmation from somebody who is familiar with the area.
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/brisbane-water-national-park/little-wobby-to-woy-woy-via-rocky-ponds.html
http://www.hawkesburyriverferries.com.au/dangar_island_timetable.html

Question #2: I'm usually pretty skilled at digging up information, but I haven't been able to find an official website for the Comerong Island Ferry. The gang-gang trip report says the ferry runs on demand but only when a car demands it, not when the only passenger is on foot. The best info I've found is in a photo. Does anybody have advice or info about how often the ferry might run and whether we are at risk of waiting for hours if we show up, on foot, on the east (island) side of the crossing?
http://ozphotos.net.au/details.php?gid=43&pid=294

We're excited about this trip, looking forward to some nice coastal walking and a lot of great birds.

Amy & Jim, Palo Alto California, http://amyl.smugmug.com

p.s.
You can see our planned route by loading the kml file into google earth:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15393086/BPL/AustraliaRoute.kml

[johnw]

Hi again Amy,
I haven't been to Comerong Is, but have visited the Shoalhaven area occasionally. It looks like the Comerong Island Ferry is run by Shoalhaven City Council, although actual operation may be contracted to a private operator (possibly O'Connor Ferry Services - no web site or email). Depending on the timing of your visit the ferry may be undergoing maintenance. It also appears to not run the first Tuesday each month. An email to SCC may get some answers - council@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBF43_Comerong_Island_Ferry_Numbaa_NSW

http://www.constructionsite.com.au/hire-of-cranes-to-lift-comerong-island-ferry-for-maintenance_Tend56618.htm

http://doc.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/displaydoc.aspx?record=D11/137955

[wildwalks]

"Little Wobby to Woy Woy" route

Sounds like a great holiday
Little Wobby was actually the original route for the GNW. It is a Nice walk, but the track does require some navigation skills. Sometimes the track is clearer and sometimes it is very unclear. You also need to get permission (usually a non-issue just need to ask.) The track is surprisingly much harder to find from the north than from the south.
Other options
You can book a water taxi from patonga about $100. This way you get to do the whole GNW. There are some nice sections that you would miss otherwise.
OR
Catch the train from Wondabyne Station and re-join the GNW at Brooklyn
(this mean you miss a full days section of the GNW.

Hope that is of some help

Happy walking

Matt

[AmyL]

JohnW, thanks for the suggestion. I sent email to the Tourist Info Center at Nowra and got confirmation that everything will be AOK with the Comerong Island Ferry. The only limitation is that it is closed the first Tuesday of every month, which is no problem for us.

Matt, thanks for describing the alternatives. We're very comfortable with off-trail navigation unless the brush is so thick it requires crawling - plenty of experience with that, but I don't much care for it. So we might take the Little Wobby route.

Amy

[DebFar]

Amy, fantastic walk trip you have planned, just checked out your planned route in Google Earth, I live in the Illawarra region, (Northern Wollongong areas to Kiama / Gerroa and south) ....Google earth needs up dating!! there are new walk bridges over creeks, new walk paths and in particular your going via a Quarry, there are no trespassing signs everywhere, also maybe a bit of swamp section around Minnamurra (we have had lots of rain here). Are you interested in a few newer directions or slight alternatives.

have a look at Nearmap, its last update was June 2011

http://www.nearmap.com/

[AmyL]

DebFar,
Thanks! I'll look at NearMap. I'll also look at OpenCycleMap.org to see if those maps have the newer trails shown [edited - I looked and see that NearMap is based on OpenStreetMap data, and the photo/aerial resolution is unbelievable!]. I'd love to have suggestions, info, a gpx or kml file - anything would help.

I've been working on cleaning up and improving the route. I just put a new version of the kml file in the same location.

Amy

[climberman]

Amy, water in the Nadgee area is dependent on season - you should be right given the time of year, but I will forward you some additional locations I have used and been given. Wau Wauka (pronounced wee wakka) will be fine, as will Barracoota (you must go over the hill and see this - very lovely.

Enjoy your journey, am stoked that ypu'd want to come to our little neck of the woods. You will see some great sights.

Let me know also if you need any info on Wollongong, as it's my home town.

[AmyL]

Climberman -
I appreciate the water info you gave me, and I'd appreaciate any additional info on water sources in Nadgee area.

We are very stoked about the trip. We have done a fair bit of coastal hiking here at home (San Francisco Bay Area), the Oregon Coastal Trail here in the states, also hiked the Southwest Coast Path in England, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Wales, and a good part of the Brittany Coastal Path in France. We really enjoy coastal walking: birds, surf, nice beach camping, mostly easy walking and navigation, etc. This will be the first coastal walking that required serious wading and swimming, so that will be a new adventure. We'll carry giant lightweight dry bags for our packs, and we'll figure out how to time the tides so we can swim without much current.

About Wollongong, we've signed up for a pelagic birding trip on Oct 22 out of Wollongong Harbor.
http://www.sossa-international.org/foru ... agic-Trips
We'll be spending two nights in Wollongong, Oct 21 and 22. Then flying home on Oct 23. If you or somebody you know has a yard where we could spread our sleeping bags, or wants to do an informal B&B, we'd be happy to find a place to stay that's not as sterile as a motel.

Thanks again to everybody for sharing any info.

Amy

[Marwood]

Hey Amy,

Just thought I'd throw these out there for you to consider if you haven't already. The GNW is a nice walk (I'm off to do a leg of it as a day walk tomorrow), but it's not really a coastal walk. I know it's a personal and subjective thing, but in the Sydney area I'd rather do the below than the GNW if I had to choose.

Non-coastal walks in the Sydney Region:

Mittagong to Katoomba and variation.
Colo River (various options).
Kanangra to Katoomba.
Grose Valley & Blue Gum Forest

A few other coastal walks in eastern parts of Oz if you want to or are able to travel further afield from NSW:
QLD:

Fraser Island Great Walk (may not be fully reopened in time for your visit).

VIC:

Great Ocean Walk.
Great South West Walk.

[AmyL]

Marwood - thanks for the links to alternatives to the GNW. Our trip was originally going to start at Sydney and head south, all on the coast. We had extra time and decided to spend some time inland in order to see some additional habitats; we found the GNW and that seemed perfect. I'll look at the other suggestions you made to see if any would work given our schedule and logistics.

ClimberMan/Jules - I incorporated your water waypoints into my data. Much appreciated.

Deb - I incorporated the changes you flagged in the Illawara region. It's looking better.

New kml file is here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15393086/BPL/AustraliaRoute.kml

I think I'm done tuning the route south of Sydney. Today I'm downloading OpenStreetMaps, OpenCycleMaps, and Satellite images to GPS Kit and Gaia GPS on my iPhone. I think I'll try to print OpenCycleMaps for the area south of Sydney using a new tool - MyPhotoMap (looks like an easy way to incorporate a gpx track onto a printed OpenCycleMap using a Mac).

Amy

[AmyL]

We are in final stages of gear selection, and have two more question.

We know we should avoid all snakes and spiders, since we don't know which are venomous. We are also wondering about plants. In the US we have ubiquitous plants, Poison Oak and Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron sp), that contain an allergen which, if touched, causes a terrible blistery rash. Obviously we won't be eating any wild plants in New South Wales, but wonder if there are plants which we must avoid touching?

We will be swimming and/or wading across river and lagoon outlets. Is there any special advice regarding jellyfish, octopus, or other nasty sea creatures?
http://www.letsgo.com/2740-asia_and_pac ... _species-c

Thanks, Amy

[wildwalks]

but wonder if there are plants which we must avoid touching?

Well it is possible that you could be allergic to any of the plants, but there are some plants that cause stinging generally.
Nettles are fairly common near road side areas - esp nasty if you squat on one when going to the toilet (so I have heard) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettle
We do have some stinging trees, but you are not likely to come across them on you planned walk, but out of interest http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/gympie-gympie-once-stung-never-forgotten.htm

Is there any special advice regarding jellyfish, octopus, or other nasty sea creatures?

The worst of these are further north in QLD, but we still have a few nasties in NSW. This page http://e-firstaid.stjohn.org.au/low/topic_17/index.html will help you ID the nasty ones, learn how to prevent and manage if stung/bitten.

Snakes: Gaiters are a good idea, as they can help prevent a bite if you accidentally step on a snake, normally they 'run' away when they hear you coming. The above link will give you more info on how to deal with snake and spider bites.

It is a good idea to carry a PLB (emergency beacon). You will find yourself out of mobile phone reception often. If you are in grave danger they can be a great way to attract help.
http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/distress-beacons.html
(there are other somewhat similar devices like SPOT, as well)

Hope that helps

Matt

[AmyL]

Thanks for the link and the info. We also have nettles, and that sort of plant doesn't worry me much, because you get immediate feedback that it's bad, and it only hurts for hours, not days. Our Poison Oak takes 24-48 hours to develop a blistery rash, which itches like hell and lasts for a week or two. That Gympie Gympie looks wicked bad, and I'm glad we won't encounter that.

We will be carrying a SPOT tracker. If we have a serious bite with indications of a bad reaction, we will hit the SOS button. Additionally, one of the message buttons, dispatched to our home base emergency contacts, means "we have a problem and can not self extract, NOT urgent, 1-3 day response is expected". We would use that button if we are lost (not likely on this route) or if we have an immobilizing but non life-threatening injury. What is the best phone number for our home base emergency contact use to handle this situation? Is there a New South Wales Search and Rescue team, or is that handled by different organizations in different regions?

Thanks again, Amy

[wildwalks]

What is the best phone number for our home base emergency contact use to handle this situation?

Great
Dial: 000 on any phone.
You will be asked for police, ambulance or Fire.
Ambulance: if a medical emergency
Police: if lost, they will contact our other search and rescue bodies if need be.
(similar in style to 911).

Hope you don't need it.

Matt

[kjbeath]

As far as plants go, the only ones that are dangerous are the stinging trees which you will probably only find in the Watagans areas of the Great North Walk. These have a large heart shaped leaf usually with sections eaten out. http://kevinswilderness.com/NSW/images/100_5902_web.jpg If you look closely the leaves are covered with fine hairs, which break off when contacted and contain a poison. They hurt and often for days.

We also have stinging nettles but they are much milder.

[AmyL]

Sorry I'm late in letting folks know that we finished our hike in late October. Everything went very well, and we had a great time. We haven't sorted through our photos yet, and haven't yet written a trip report. I'll post a link when we have it. In summary...
We spent eight days walking the Great North Walk from Newcastle from Sydney. Hot and sunny, no rain, all straight forward and enjoyable.
We then took the train across Sydney, and walked for 22 days along the coast from Bundeena to Mallacoota. We followed the excellent route that gang-gang published. We had one day with seriously bad weather, and a couple days with mildly rainy weather, and the rest of the trip was very fine weather.
We rough camped every night except in Mallacoota, where we got a cabin (+ long overdue laundry and hot shower).
The scenery along the coast was very nice, and we had a great trip.
We ended up swimming 3 or 4 times, wading about a dozen times, and hitching ~7 boat rides. The boat rides simplified things, because the water was still cool, the air was cool, and the longer swimming crossings weren't very appealing. Also, by catching boat rides we didn't have to wait hours for slack tide, which in many crossings would have been necessary.
One fun unexpected pleasure was running into DebFar - a lucky coincidence!
More later, Amy&Jim