Lunch view into Tallowa Gorge
Tuesday 25 June 2019: Caoura Ridge, Clifftop Walk, Morton National Park – M/R,ptX. The walk starts on the Caoura Road, 21 km southeast of Marulan. We’ll spend most of the day off-track following the clifftop east along the southern rim of Tallowa Gorge. There are excellent views and some interesting side creeks to negotiate, that have carved deep gullies. Most of the day will be off-track walking and may require some scrambling in steep, rocky, and scrubby terrain. Around 13.5km and 500m climb. Maps: Wingello, Bundanoon, Burrier, Caoura. Leader: Ian W.
Further Information
We were across the other side of Tallowa Gorge a fortnight ago, on 11 June 19.
Summary
Distance: 14.2km | Climb: 500m | Time: 8.35am – 3.10pm (6hrs 35mins), including 50 mins of breaks and lots of looking | Grading: M/R; H(12-)
Photographs
Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.
Videos
Waypoint and Track Files
Download the gpx file for this trip (if your browser does not automatically download the file, it will open the gpx file in a new window and you can then save it). To use in Google Earth, do File, Open… and select Gps or All files as the File Type.
Track Notes
Left Woden area of Canberra at 6.30am and drove via Federal Highway, Hume Highway, Highland Way to Tallong. Then Caoura Rd to the start of the Caoura Ridge Fire Trail. Around 2 hours. Foggy on Caoura Rd. An overcast morning, with the sun coming through in the early arvo.
An unmarked fire trail gave us a good head start N then NW down a spur towards Tallowa Gorge.
An unmarked fire trail gains us some time
It bent away towards the W and S, so we went off-track for the last few hundred metres to reach the top of the 28m cliffs and our first view of Tallowa Gorge.
First look into Tallowa Gorge
The rest of the day was spent along the clifftops on the southern, true right of the Gorge, getting to the edge on 12 occasions to gaze down into and along the massive cut. Five minor and two major side gullies required extra attention to cross. The going was certainly easier than the other side last fortnight. I’ll let the photos do the talking.
Second view
Third view
Fourth view
Fifth view
Sixth view
Seventh view
Eighth view
Ninth view
Tenth view
Eleventh view
Twelfth view
At 2pm we turned away from the tops, and within a couple of hundred metres found an old track alignment.
Walking an old track alignment
It took us up to join the Caoura Ridge Fire Trail.
On the Caoura Ridge Fire Trail
From here it was a 3.2km plod in 45mins back to the car. Nice cycads beside the fire trail.
Orange was the colour of the day in the bush.
Cycads beside the Caoura Ridge Fire Trail
Track Map
Track
Coffee and cake at the Tallong cafe on the way home.
An excellent trip Ian. Thanks very much.
Party
4 walkers – Greg B, Trevor L, Ian W (leader), me.