A hiking blog with pretty pictures.
The walk to Bonnum Pic in Nattai National Park is a real classic, with attractive rocky terrain and valley and cliff views in all directions.
The high quality walk to Bonnum Pic in Nattai National Park is relatively unknown, and I hadn’t heard of it until just a week before I did it. The valley and cliff views are excellent, and once you get to the cliff line the walking experience is very enjoyable, walking over rocky outcrops and eventually navigating a rocky ridge.
Continue reading “Bonnum Pic Route, Nattai National Park NSW”
An adventurous walk along the Nattai River in Nattai National Park to the exposed summit of Russells Needle.
The walk to Russells Needle was one of the more challenging walks I’ve done in Australia. The views and sense of achievement from reaching the summit are worth the effort, however I found the Nattai River and Rocky Waterholes Creek to be the highlight of the walk. There are also excellent views at Needle lookout on the route down to the river, which you could visit for a much shorter day out. Definitely recommended for experienced walkers.
Continue reading “Russells Needle Route, Nattai National Park NSW”
Two walks in one in Guula Ngulla National Park, to Baldy Billy Peak for good views, and down to a secluded stretch of the Wollondilly River.
Two walks in one here, on my first visit to the recently established Guula Ngulla National Park. The name means Koala Country, and there is a population in the park, but also emus, which is the closest to Sydney I’ve seen them. There are good views over the Wollondilly River from the short ascent to Baldy Billy Peak. After returning to the main track, you descend steeply into a valley to emerge at a pleasant stretch of the Wollondilly River.
Continue reading “Baldy Billy Peak & Wollondilly River, Guula Ngulla National Park NSW”
The walk from Long Point to the Shoalhaven River in Morton National Park offers excellent views and atmospheric riverside walking. You can add to your adventure by climbing Kingpin Mountain and Long Point Intermediate.
There are excellent views from near the start of this walk to McCallums Flat and the Shoalhaven River from Long Point, but also very atmospheric walking along the river and over the river flats. You can add to your adventure by walking off-track over Kingpin Mountain (555m) and Long Point Intermediate (562m), and get bonus views while you’re there. All on all a lesser known but high quality walk that I can highly recommend.
Continue reading “Long Point to the Shoalhaven River, Morton National Park NSW”
Visit atmospheric Dimmocks Creek and a series of old lookouts over Bundanoon Creek on unmaintained tracks with optional bush bashing.
The ‘lost lookouts’ at Bundanoon in the NSW Southern Highlands are a series of old lookouts that used to be accessed on maintained tracks. My route took me firstly down to the atmospheric Dimmocks Creek, then later on an indistinct but marked track for a while to the first two lookouts with nice views of cliffs and Bundanoon Creek.
After that the route is no longer marked and the track almost entirely disappeared, so I spent 2-3 hours (return) bush bashing to visit two more official lookouts and one informal vantage point. I also enjoyed the mushrooms in autumn.
Continue reading “Bundanoon Lost Lookouts & Dimmocks Creek, Morton National Park NSW”
Expansive views are available from the summit of Mt Jellore (834m) in Nattai National Park, and you’ll enjoy mixed vegetation along the way.
There are expansive views available from the summit of Mt Jellore (834m) over Nattai National Park and beyond to the Greater Blue Mountains. Although the views are good I probably enjoyed some of the vegetation along the way more, especially Jellore Creek. Nevertheless, the summit is quite prominent, so you feel like you are on a real (though small) mountain, which is not common in these parts.
Continue reading “Mt Jellore Summit, Nattai National Park NSW”
Uniquely spectacular scenery on the Bungonia Gorge Red Track, passing scenic pools, a giant boulder field & towering cliffs on either side of this enormous slot canyon.
I first visited Bungonia National Park a few years ago, walking two of the easy tracks on the plateau and visiting various impressive viewpoints. From one of them you get a clear view of Bungonia Gorge, but on that day I didn’t have time to visit. I’m kind of happy I waited to do the Bungonia Gorge Red Track together with my wife Sophia, because it ended up being one our more challenging walks. The scenery is uniquely spectacular, with scenic pools, towering cliffs, and giant boulders in the slot canyon, as well as grass trees, maidenhair ferns and a pleasant stretch of river. Continue reading “Bungonia Gorge Red Track, Bungonia National Park NSW”
A straightforward walk you can easily fit into half a day, ending at Rocky Waterholes Creek Lookout in Nattai National Park. The remote feeling views are pretty good, but better views and a better walking experience is to be had visiting nearby Ahearn Lookout. So this is one for those who have already done this and also the Starlights Trail.
Continue reading “Rocky Waterholes Creek Lookout Route, Nattai National Park NSW”
A pleasant walk through bush with rocky outcrops and clearings to excellent views at Ahearns Lookout in Nattai National Park.
Ahearns Lookout is an alternative walk to the Starlights Trail, in Nattai National Park south-west of Sydney. There are excellent views from the precipitous cliff edge over the Nattai River Valley. Along the way there are rocky outcrops and clearings, plus occasional broken views through the trees. Well worth the only moderate effort. Continue reading “Ahearns Lookout Track, Nattai National Park NSW”
A short walk culminating in views of the very attractive Belmore Falls, near Robertson in the NSW Southern Highlands.
I’d seen Belmore Falls on Instagram, and was surprised I hadn’t visited them before, because they are a very attractive two tier waterfall. The walk to see them is very short (1.8km return), and in fact we visited with my 81 year old mother-in-law in tow, and did an even shorter walk than that described on the NPWS site (just a couple of hundred metres from the car park probably). They are well worth the visit if you are in the area (Robertson in the NSW Southern Highlands), and were particular good when we visited, as there had been heavy rainfall in the preceding few days. Continue reading “Belmore Falls Walking Track, NSW Southern Highlands”
