View down Nursery Swamp
Saturday 20 June: Nursery Creek Rock Art – M/M. This is a great walk for those who’d like a little taste of the Namadgi. Walk 2km of the Nursery Swamp Walking Track, a well-formed and well-used track. Next comes about 1.5km on an old footpad, which has become a little overgrown since the 2003 fires, but is still easy to traverse at a slow pace. This gets us to the Nursery Creek aboriginal rock art (and geocache GC1MXV5 Walking in the Landscape). Plenty of time to wander around the site and climb the granite boulders up the back. To return, we cross to the south side of Nursery Creek and pick up the footpad which goes to Rendezvous Creek. This used to be a bridle path and, before that, no doubt an aboriginal pad. But we follow it east back to join the Nursery Swamp Walking Track and return the 2km down to the cars. Around 8km and 330m climb. If desired, there is plenty to explore in the Orroral Valley to make a fuller day, or we could continue along the Nursery Swamp Walking Track to visit one of Australia’s best montane fens. Map: Rendezvous Creek. Leader: John Evans 0417 436 877 john@johnevans.id.au . Transport: ∼$12 per person. Late bookings welcome.
10 of us drove in 3 cars to the Nursery Swamp car park.
Further Information
Geocache GC4NQ3X Riverside Camp.
Summary
Distance: 12.9km | Climb: 465m | Time: 9.05am-3.15pm (6hrs 10mins), including 1 hr 15 mins of breaks and driving | Grading: M/E-M; M(9)
Track Map
Track
Profile
Photographs
Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.
Waypoint and Track Files
Download the .gpx file here. (Right click, Save Link As…, Save – if you want to use it.)
Download the .kml file here.
Track Notes
A cold, sunny day after a week of rain for our little ramble. At first I though the white stuff on the side of the Nursery Swamp Walking Track was a heavy frost, but it persisted high up on the shrubs and I needed little convincing that it was a very light dusting of snow. A 2km wander up the track to the saddle in 1 hour.
Next we went off-track, parallel to Nursery Creek, to the rock art site. Didn’t see that much of the footpad, perhaps I was a little high. I liked Peter J’s comment when I said I couldn’t find the track: “speaking out inside words”! Some nice open woodlands in the first bit, a bit of Daviesia closer to the destination. Some slippery patches in the conditions. 1.5km in 1 hour.
Great to find that Fiona is really geocacher Purple Moon so, whilst the others began morning tea, we slipped off 80m and found GC1MXV5 Walking in the Landscape. Returned and had a quick drink and munch.
We headed off south to cross Nursery Creek. As expected, a little scrubby down near the nicely running creek. But soon up the other side and found the ‘blue paint’ footpad to Rendezvous Creek. We followed it east and noticed that the blue paint has been recently refreshed. 1.4km in 45mins saw us at the edge of the open frost hollow at the blue paint marking the start of the pad.
Now 12.15pm and we decided to head a couple of hundred metres directly east to join the Nursery Swamp Walking Track at ‘Rob’s mark’. In less than 10 minutes we were down at the table and benches where we pulled up for lunch.
After munchies we wandered down to the end of the NSWT. There was a wide animal pad across the swamp and we were able to walk along it to cross over the swamp.
A 4.6km return to the cars in 1hr 20mins.
We motored down to the Orroral Campground where Margaret began her caching career by finding GC4NQ3X Riverside Camp for us.
Later, a bonus up in Forde for me, GC4MB6K Mr 50.
Trust everyone enjoyed the day.
Party
10 walkers – Mike B, Julie Anne C, Peter C, Margaret C, Robert D, Peter J, Quentin M, Fiona S, Gabrielle W, me.