Starlights Trail Nattai National Park

[adventurer87]

How is the road up to the carpark of Wattle Ridge carpark. Is it dirt road up to the Wattle Ridge Carpark. I dont have a 4 wheel drive. I have a holden barina spark.

I have driven on dirt and of roads in the outback with this small car.

[GPSGuided]

How is the road up to the carpark of Wattle Ridge carpark. Is it dirt road up to the Wattle Ridge Carpark. I dont have a 4 wheel drive. I have a holden barina spark.

No problem, especially on dry days. I have taken my 2WD car with lower profile tyres down that road a few times and it's all fine. As for all unpaved, I would be more cautious on rainy days.

[adventurer87]

I am going start of April.

But what is the weather like during March? Its strange it says on the nsw national park website it says the wettest month is in March? I thought it would be i winter the wettest month is.

If its good in March i will go.

[michael_p]

March is fine. The walk is down the northern side of the creek valley and has some sections that are a bit exposed to the sun but in general it is fine. If it is a warm day take your swimmers and go for a dip in the river.

Michael.

[LachlanB]

How is the road up to the carpark of Wattle Ridge carpark.

AS GPSG said, you will almost certainly be fine. The road is usually in pretty good nick too, a nicely made firetrail.

[ribuck]

How is the road up to the carpark of Wattle Ridge carpark.

I've just got back from an overnight trip down Starlights Trail to Emmetts Flat last night. The road is in excellent condition (for a dirt road) and would be fine in a low-clearance 2WD. There's plenty of crystal clear drinking water in the creek five minutes downstream from Emmetts Flat. Maybe take gaiters, as I encountered three black snakes and a lyrebird.

[Hughmac]

Must have been a cranky lyrebird if you needed gaiters for it. The creek you mention is Troy's Creek. Been there plenty of times and never seen it not running. If you're interested, after you cross Troy's and climb the slope behind the old campsite on your right there is an abandoned fire trail that takes you back to a an old logging clearing on Nattai Rd. Adds 5 plus k's to the walk, but gives you the option of a circuit walk rather than a simple there and back. Parts of it are quite picturesque.

[GPSGuided]

Been there and around the old work shed, never was able to find the track up. Does it follow the west side of Troy creek up? It’s the missing segment on OSM.

[michael_p]

Where the Troys Creek FT reaches the river flat is about 1-200m past where you cross Troys Ck. The end of the FT is overgrown and not obvious any more so it is very easy to miss it. Easiest way to find the FT it is to walk straight up the hill behind the camp kitchen/shed.

The upper half of the FT is visible in Google Earth if you set the historical images to 2009. The FT does run up the side of the creek valley and meets Nattai Rd (11E FT) about 4-5km past the Starlights sign.

Michael.

[michael_p]

Managed to get some photos of the bottom of the Troys Ck fire trail on the weekend.

First photo is the bottom of the fire trail. Behind me was large flat area that looked like a turning circle. Where I was standing the trail takes a left turn (to the right of the photo) and drops sharply to the river flat. Second photo is looking down the sharp drop to the river flat. Looking at the fire trail from the river flat it just looks like any other part of the hill.

Also, some grading work has been done on the fire trail section of Starlights after the Nattai Wilderness sign. This has made the Starlights turn off even more obscure. Someone has put a cairn to mark the turn off (middle of photo) and the old ST that was painted on the rocks (to the right of the cairn) has just about disappeared.

Michael.