Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog

Saturday 19 February 2022: Rendezvous Creek RA(mble) * – M/M. From the Rendezvous Creek car park beside the Boboyan Road, walk the well-made track and across the bridge out onto the grasslands. Follow an old vehicle track which parallels Rendezvous Creek past an old airfield to Rowleys Rendezvous Creek hut site and stockyards. Continue up the creek valley for a way, with views to large granite formations atop the NE ridge. Return the same, or perhaps down closer to the creek. There are some significant sites to be visited. Around 12km and 260vm. On your Booking Request, please state if you are willing to drive (sealed road) and whether you are willing to take 0, 1, 2 or 3 passengers. All drivers and passengers should wear facemasks in vehicles and should preferably be at least double Covid vaccinated. Transport costs based on 74km round trip.

Summary

Distance: 14.6km | Climb: 297m | Time: 4hrs 4mins moving time, plus 1hr 25mins of stops and breaks | Grading: M/M; M(8).

Photographs

Photographs are available here.

gpx File

Download the gpx file recorded via AllTrails here (in AllTrails, activate …, Download Route, Select a file format, OK). This track has been doctored to not show the final route to the Rock Art.
Download the gpx file for this trip recorded on a GPSr here. Again, the waypoints and track have been doctored, but this gpx file has a number of other waypoints which I can’t be bothered to mark in AllTrails.

Track Notes

I was last here on 20 Jul 19, 10 Feb 15, 14 Aug 07 and 12 Oct 05.

In late 2022 I learned that the indigenous community was discouraging visits to this site. To respect their wishes, I have removed ALL location references to this site on Johnny Boy’s Walkabout Blog. All relevant photos have had georeferencing removed. All track maps have had the site waypoint removed and the nearby track deleted. All gpx/kml files have been re-stored and have the site waypoint removed and the nearby track deleted. ACT Oracle.gpx and ACT Oracle.wpt have been updated to exclude the site location. So you won’t find the Rendezvous Creek Rock Art location on this blog!

AllTrails trip report.

A great weekend for walking with the Canberra Bushwalking Club, with 3 day trips today, 1 tomorrow and an overnight trip.

We met in the Lanyon Marketplace car park opposite my old folks home and motored in three vehicles to the Rendezvous Creek car park. Never seen so many cars in the Namadgi Visitors Centre outer car park. Mt Tennent must have been very busy today. The new bridge over the Gudgenby River at Naas is fully open. Waiting, waiting, waiting, … for the Rocky Crossing over the Gudgenby River at the start of Orroral Road to be finished (July?).

Set off along the Rendezvous Creek Track, taking the lower route over bridge 1 on the way in.

Approaching the large bench and table set and the dingo sign, we took a turn to the SE for a hundred metres or so to Paddy Moore’s Hut site. Alas, I could find nothing today, but it was in 2008 that I first saw the site. The going has changed a bit, what with a fire and this current wet summer. And I don’t wish to hold up a group for too long, searching for my anal locations.

Back on track, we headed from the bench and table location towards the old Rendezvous Creek vehicle track alignment. No footpad visible through the long grass, but we did find the old marker post on our return trip. It was perfect walking weather, the nearby hills and ridges still with their heads in the clouds.

You won’t find the Mavis Ridge on any map as it’s an old CBC local name. There’s some info on local names (including CBC references) here. Look for Mt Mavis.

Good views to the ridge on our right, too. One thing a fire does is to reveal the wonderful granite features.

Plenty of long grass and weeds as we followed the track alignment.

Just after crossing over Pheasant Creek, there’s an old airstrip. It’s marked on the 1st edition Rendezvous Creek 1:25000 map from around 1966. I’ve seen white painted tyres on the ground defining it in places over the years. Nothing there but thistles today (thistles were good practice for later!).

We stopped at Rowleys Rendezvous Creek Hut site for morning tea.

We next continued another kilometre or so up the valley and turned in towards the Rendezvous Creek Rock Art. I was last here on 20 Jul 19. As I understand it, prior to the 2003 fires the turnoff was signposted. After the fires, the indigenous community did not want the track remarked and, also, there’s a big split in the granite above the site which one day (soon?) could fall. We had a respectful look, not entering the cave-like structure.

The entrance at which we stood is well guarded by wattle regrowth.

We headed back down to the open valley floor. A long shot up the valley to Thunder Bluff.

It was now 11 o’clock and it looked like we’d be home for lunch. So a couple of little wanders down closer to the creek, as was the plan. It was down and up through several side drainage lines. We arrived at Rowleys Rendezvous Creek sheep yard.

We continued to the SE, some off-track through the grass, sometimes on the vehicle track alignment. We turned off near (but not through) the airstrip thistles and headed for the next hut site.

Another huge patch of thistles greeted us surrounding Joseph Greenfields or T Brayshaws Hut site. I’m sure some walkers were not pleased. Thanks to a star picket and Stephen’s eagle eyes, we saw a pile of granite. I was ecstatic, others not so.

By now the cloud had cleared and the sun was warm in the open grasslands. Someone said the troops were revolting, so we headed to a single tree and crouched in its shade for lunch.

Back over Pheasant Creek to rejoin the track, continuing on till we reached the old marker post. One used to be able to see this from the large bench, but now not in the long grass.

Then back to near the table and on to bridge 2 over Rendezvous Creek.

A pleasant walk back along the longer leg of the Rendezvous Creek Track with the occasional unique marker.

The creek gurgled away below the track. Back to the car park.

Track Map

Here’s the doctored track laid out on TopoView 2006 maps via OziExplorer.

Party

10 walkers. Rupert D, Lucy E, Jen F, Stephen and Lisa M, Quentin M, Richard M, Lena O, Phillip S, me.