View to the Bullen Range and Tidbinbilla Range from TG26, the southern Urambi Hill trig
Monday 29 September: Urambi Hills with Canberra’s social media queens – S/E. A stroll up Urambi Hills with @In_The_Taratory and @chifley_alison. A short and quick 2 hours. Around 4km and 100m climb. Map: Tuggeranong. Leader: John Evans john@johnevans.id.au, 0417 436 877. Transport: Drive yourself to meet at the corner of Athllon and Learmonth Drives Kambah, at 9am. Further details at www.johnevans.id.au/wp/. No booking required, but let me know if you’re coming, if you like.
17 of us met, with another catching us after 20mins.
Summary
Distance: ∼5.5km | Climb: 125m | Time: ∼9.05am-11.15pm (2hrs 10mins), with 15 mins of breaks | Grading: S/E; E(5)
Track Map
Photographs
Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slide show.
Google Earth
Download the Google Earth .kmz file here.
Track Notes
A beautiful Canberra spring morning, the temperature already in the teens as I drove to the meet point. Just a bit breezy.
Amazing network of friendship circles across the group, including the social media queens, CBC (Canberra Bushwalking Club), FARCM (Females Around Regional Canberra Mountains), geocachers, Eternity church folk, old uni friends. Even Richmond supporters!
I was so overawed at the beginning that I forgot to turn on my GPSr, plus took the wrong track. But a handy path up to the saddle between the Urambi Hills knolls saved my bacon and I was able to sell it as a more gentle approach rather than a navigational error. Some, braver than I, are known to equate the Urambi Hills with parts of a woman’s anatomy, so I guess we walked up the cleavage.
A pause at the saddle, then a little climb up to the trig on the southern knoll, TG26. Magnificent urban, rural and bush views, the latter including the nearby Bullen and Tidbinbilla Ranges. Mt Coree can be seen in the north, with the Brindabella Range going south until it disappears behind the closer ranges.
Back down, then up to the northern knoll, where a dead Kurrajong tree still stands in stark, skeletal beauty. I see a number of small ‘uns have been planted nearby. The geocachers in the party were kept amused, with BlackLotusEater scoring a find on the first knoll and Kittykatch on this southern one.
Next, north-west to the next saddle and then down to join the footpad near the small dam that is visible on GoogleEarth (but not marked on the Tuggeranong 1:25000 topographic map). Morning tea was taken on the shady hillside. Munchies handed around.
The footpad took us along the south-west flank of the hills. Lots of tree plantings. Conservation conscious members of the party picked up and re-seated blown off tree guards. The three geocachers in the party (the previously mentioned plus JohnnyBoyACT) took a quick detour and, thanks to Kittykatch, an even quicker log of GC21Z39 Fallen Puddle.
A bit more cross country and we were down at the gate and joining the Canberra Centenary Trail. Over the bridge spanning a grubby looking Tuggeranong Creek flowing down from Lake Tuggeranong, then across to the stile over the Tuggeranong Stone Wall (from the signage down at the south-western end of the wall “the boundary between the huge Lanyon and Yarralumla properties, built between 1867 and 1875”).
A stroll back up towards Athllon Drive and a re-aim to a gate (Athllon Drive is well fenced to dissuade ‘roos mixing with the traffic, so you need either this gate or the CCT alignment) got us onto the bike path across the Lake Tuggeranong wall and so back to the cars.
Hopefully an enjoyable time for all. But hats off to Cooper the whippet for his excellent behaviour and the daughter that has the mad Mum.
Do check out the blog In The Taratory! Thanks for the shout out on ABC666 Tara – I got about 100 hits in 30 minutes!
And have a read of her blog post here.
Party
18 walkers – Tara C, Judy C, Elise D, Gavin F, Hamish H, Kath H, John and Helen L, Jack McC, Anne-Marie McG, Alison N, Zoe N, Joyce O’B, Naa O, Marilyn R, Rhonda S, Llewellyn S-P, me. And Cooper the whippet!
Tomorrow we’re off up the Tidbinbilla Range:
Tuesday 30 September: The Pimple and geocaches on the Tidbinbilla Ridge – L/R. There is a cache – GC1KV4P – on The Pimple, and a number of others on the Tidbinbilla Ridge – GC1KZEK (Johns Peak), GC4R3WY (Tidbinbilla Peak) and GC1KZEP (Tidbinbilla Mountain). GC1WJAZ is near the bottom of the Snowy Corner footpad. Let’s visit them. A Google Earth file at www.johnevans.id.au/KMZ Files/Proposed-The-Pimple-and-geocaches-on-the-Tidbinbilla-Ridge.kmz. Around 15km and 1000m climb. Map: Tidbinbilla. Leader: John Evans john@johnevans.id.au, 0417 436 877. Transport: $6 per person. Further details at www.johnevans.id.au/wp/. Emergency contact details must be registered/provided to book. Book by 2pm Sunday prior.