Good views and nice creek scenery on the shortish Yellow Track in Bungonia National Park. To extend your day consider the Green Track also.
The relatively short Yellow Track in Bungonia National Park was unfinished business for me, having done the Green Track and part of the White Track some years ago, and the challenging and spectacular Red Track more recently. It offers pleasant and rocky creek scenery at Bungonia Creek, then keeps high above the creek, ending with good views of the surrounding topography from Jerrara Canyon Lookout.
Stroll the short Bombala Walking Track in Newcastle’s south, through attractive forest to a beach & rock platforms.
The Bombala Walking Track is a very short walk through distinctive and beautiful forest to a beach and rock platforms in Dudley, south of Newcastle. The coast is undeveloped in this area so you can enjoy a wild feeling down there.
Countless spectacular rock pagodas at Lost City West in Gardens of Stone, a little known alternative to the popular Lost City Walking Track.
This walk takes in countless spectacular and ancient looking rock pagodas for little effort, and you probably won’t see a single person all day. For sure the varied and tracked circuit between Lost City North and South is a must-do. But on that walk you’ll be joined by many others, which can detract somewhat from that sense of having discovered, well, a lost city. This alternative to Lost City West doesn’t take you down into the valley, and requires some (easy) off-track walking, but the pay-off is having the place all to yourself.
An easygoing walk through spectacular rock pagodas & atmospheric canyons in the Lost City area of Gardens of Stone Conservation Area.
Over the years I’d seen photos of rock pagodas in Gardens of Stone National Park, but didn’t know much about how to access these areas. In 2022 NSW added Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area to the mix, and within this boundary is the amazing Lost City. This must be one of the most concentrated areas of pagodas, and a newly constructed track takes you on an easygoing 6km greatest-hits tour. Apart from the rock pagodas there is a very atmospheric canyon network to walk through.
Fairly remote walking on your way to Mount Cloudmaker (1164m), in Kanangra-Boyd National Park, with great views along the way.
This challenging day-walk to the summit of Mount Cloudmaker (1164m) offers a remote walking experience and excellent views. Most of the views are early on in the walk, but for a sense of adventure and to bag some peaks you’ll want to continue on to Mount Cloudmaker.
Ten of my favourite bushwalks in the unique alpine and sub-alpine landscape of Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park.
Kosciuszko National Park contains mainland Australia’s highest ground. The area looms large in the Australian imagination, an exotic landscape tied to the frontier spirit through epic poems like The Man From Snow River.
The highest ground of the Main Range contains all of the nation’s ten highest peaks, and lies in the southern section of the park. It’s a unique alpine landscape of grasslands, herb fields, and delicate sections of bogs, fens, and stony fjeldmark vegetation. The peaks are generally not very prominent, that is, unless you venture over to the Western Ranges, and my first pick of the walks takes in those vistas. There are glacial lakes, and Blue Lake is a real highlight visited on three of my top ten walks. At lower elevations there are iconic snow gums, one of Australia’s most distinctive and hardy eucalyptus trees.
Snow gums near Charlotte Pass.
The northern section of Kosciuszko National Park is not so elevated, and perhaps lacks the glamour of the alpine region. Nevertheless, we discovered some excellent short walks taking in spectacular and atmospheric gorges and waterfalls, so it’s definitely worth a visit.
A pleasant circuit walk along a stretch of Thredbo River at Bullocks Flat. We saw quite a bit of wildlife in the area despite other walkers and cyclists.
The Bullocks Track is an easygoing walk along the banks of the Thredbo River. There are views up 800m to the Ramshead Range, and over picturesque sections of the Thredbo River. We encountered quite a bit of wildlife along the way, despite it being a fairly busy area with a major camp site at Thredbo Diggings. Not a spectacular walk but good one with children or if you need a rest from longer walks up in the alpine areas.
Visit the big boulders called Porcupine Rocks on this popular walk starting on the edge of Perisher Village. You can extend the walk to bag two nearby peaks, Mt Duncan (1926m) & Mt Wheatley (1877m).
The Porcupine Rocks Track is a popular walk to big boulders high up in the Ramshead Range near Perisher Village. There are views over the Thredbo Valley, about 700 to 800m below. If that’s not enough for you then you can walk off-track to nearby Mt Duncan (1926m), and along an impact track and poled route to Mt Wheatley (1877m). All walking is through attractive alpine meadows, heath and snow gums. Continue reading “Porcupine Rocks, Mt Duncan & Mt Wheatley, Kosciuszko National Park”
An excellent short walk from Charlotte Pass to Mt Stilwell (2040m) for great views of the Main Range and over an alpine plateau strewn with countless boulders.
The Mt Stilwell Walk was quite a find for us, as we’d walked other routes from Charlotte Pass before without giving it much attention. It turned out to be a great short walk with views of the Main Range, and over the boulder strewn alpine plateau to the south of the summit. There were numerous wildflowers in summer which added to the appeal. You also get to bag a 2040m peak while you’re at it: bonus :-) Continue reading “Mt Stilwell Walk, Kosciuszko National Park NSW”
The Waterfall Walking Track is a pleasant enough walk through forest to a waterfall and a collection of big boulders in Kosciuszko National Park.
The Waterfall Walking Track is is a pleasant enough walk through a variety of forest types at about 1200m of elevation in Kosciuszko National Park near Jindabynbe. As the name suggests there is a waterfall along the way, but I think the highlight is a collection of giant boulders. Not one of the glitzy alpine walks further up Kosciuszko Road but worthwhile for a change of scene.
