Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog

Monday morning 5 December 2022: Goorooyarroo NR ! . Border marker X4, Old Joe Hill, maybe Gooroo Hill and Burnt Stump Hill.

Summary

From Garmin Connect – Distance: 12.73km | Climb: 467m | Time: 3:00 moving + 0:54 of stops = 3:54 | Grading: M/E-M; M(9).

Photographs Photographs are available here.

gpx File The gpx file is available here.

Track Notes

I was last in Goorooyarroo on 8 Oct 22.

The purpose of today’s amble was to check out possibilities for my pyjama party night walk in January, locations and routes for an ACT Heritage Festival walk next April and to enjoy the views from Goorooyarroo’s crests. They are lovely areas up either side of the plain Canberra Centenary Trail along the middle. Not too much arm twisting to get my excellent mate Phillip along.

We started from the Goorooyarroo NR entrance just west of the Federal Highway intersection. Not a good place to enter when approaching from the east, as an extra drive and U-turn is required.

Walking by 7.30am as we left the deep south of Canberra at sparrow’s fart. The day was already warm, topping 28°C today.

The gates in the predator-proof fence in the Goorooyarroo section are not named in signage, but there is a schematic map available in hard copy or here. It’s been fun to match up the indigenous named gates on the map to actuality. I’ve asked Wildbark twice for a gpx file of the fence and gates, but no response.

Our first leg was north along the CCT, then a turn up to the east to the Maga Maga gate.

A pleasant, open grassy spur took us up to the eastern crest.

We turned south and visited border marker X4.

Our second leg was an about turn and north along the crest and ACT border to Old Joe Hill.

We passed border markers W4, and V4 which I’d missed before.

U4 was a possible, as sometimes it’s hard to tell an old lockspit from rocks protecting the bottom of a newly built fence line.

A final little climb to the top.

A trig on the top. Old Joe Hill was named after a supervisor of survey chainmen in the 1950s and 1960s.

It was only 8.45am, so our next leg was north-ish along an old vehicle track/mown strip to Gooroo Hill. Near the top the watershed trends NW, whereas the high point is in NSW. A nice cairn.

This was as far north as we went. We headed SW down the predator-proof fence, through the Banggu gate, down the fence maintenance track to join the CCT.

SW along the CCT and turned right up the (high pressure gas) Pipeline Track. This is the main track that shows on my old TopoView 2006 maps, whilst the newer CCT does not show. Left off it and through a gate, near another gate in a roo fence.

The old vehicle track up the gentle spur took us through a gate in the roo fence and onto the new-ish Ground to Sky Track.

Up to Sammys Hill. Descended to the SE on a vehicle track, with a stop for smoko in the shade of a large tree. Continued down through a gate.

We left the track to cross Sullivans creek, a lot easier than last time.

We joined the CCT, took it south for a bit, then up east-ish to the Maga Maga gate again, on a vehicle track. Chatted with a couple of Rangers. The indigenous Ranger was an elder who did the smoking ceremony at the Wildbark recent opening.

Paralleled the big fence going SW for a while. A shingleback by the fence. Phillip came up with “one person’s sanctuary is another’s prison”. Very good! An echidna further down the fence.

Crossed the CCT and climbed W then SW to Burnt Stump Hill.

Some lovely old eucalypts on a little knoll on the way. Grassy at the top.

Good views all round. Photos in the album.

Descended to the SE.

Across a creek line, onto the CCT and back to the car.

We then drove to Wildbark for a coffee. Thank you Phillip.

Track Maps

Here’s where we went. On TopoView 2006 NSW mosaic © DEPARTMENT OF LANDS PANORAMA AVENUE BATHURST 2795 www.lands.nsw.gov.au Used with permission. So the CCT alignment off the Pipeline Track does not show.

Party

2 walkers – Phillip S, me.

Information Bit(e)s

I’ve had a lot of assistance from walking friends recently. By way of paying a bit back, I’ll publish a few bites of information that may help someone. Today’s is ‘17 Leadership Styles‘.

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