I’d heard about this circuit in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve from locals when walking up Mt Gingera, the ACT’s second highest peak. You visit five peaks over 1400m, topping out at 1615m on Tidbinbilla Mountain itself. There are generally excellent views in all directions from the peaks and open sections of what is essentially one long ridge.
There was also a variety of vegetation, and some wildlife like lyrebirds, wallabies and kangaroos. (In summer there may also be snakes!) Track notes at the end.
Tidbinbilla Mountain Circuit: The Scenery
Track Notes
The Mindjagari Track network is a series of connected tracks that take you up to the Tidbinbilla Range and offers a few different circuits. I did one of the larger ones that takes in five peaks and most of the best views. This exact circuit is not described on the website.
Starting at Mountain Creek Car Park, I walked clockwise by first heading straight up onto the ridge on the Snowy Corner Track. (Note that I’m not entirely sure about the route straight out of the car park, but it was all signposted so no real navigation required.)
On the ridge turn right (north) to visit the walk’s high point, Tidbinbilla Mountain (1615m). The views are good here.
Continue along the ridge until the turn off to visit the The Pimple, where you’ll get some of the best views of the day. There’s just a little scrambling to get there.
Return to the main track and continue walking roughly north west over Tidbinbilla Peak and then Johns Peak. Continuing along the ridge will take you to the final peak, Camels Hump, which is a short climb off a stretch of fire trail. Excellent views back towards Johns Peak are available on the way up.
Return down to the fire trail, and continue on this back to the start. This is a bit of a slog, but I was lucky to have quite a lot of bird song on the day I did it, so not too bad.
More info on Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is available on the official website. Note that you have to pay to enter, and the gates close for the night, so best start this walk early. Very roughly 16-17km and 1000m+ change in elevation. Probably moderate to hard because its fairly long with a decent change in elevation.
