Max S planned and led this walk.  He picked me up at 7am and we drove to the Namadgi Visitors Centre 'early' car park down past Tharwa.

Walk

We were walking the first steps of the Australian Alpine Walking Track by 7.25am, around the pond, across the road and on the track leading up to the flanks of Mt Tennent.  The weather was overcast, with a few sunny patches.  I'd been this way before, on 15 March 2004.  But the first things to strike us were the magnificent wildflowers - of many colours and shapes and sizes.  I don't know names - only hardenbergia, indigofera and 'Billy Button'.  The next remarkable feature, as we climbed the solid 600m to the south turn in the track, was the wonderful work done to repair and upgrade the track since the 2003 fires.  New bridges, seats, benched track and stone steps.  The track now goes through Cypress Pine lookout - unfortunately the cypress pines could not be repaired.

At 4.3km and 8.50am, and at the left hand turn to the south in the track, we headed bush.  Continuing just south of west, we descended to Bushfold Flats, passing a quickly waddling wombat.  Near the grasslands of the Flats, we walked for a while on the newly established AAWT benched track, not quite sure where it comes from and goes to.  Out onto the Flats, a view of the fire destroyed shed (1st edn Williamsdale map), then down the track along Georges Creek to Blue Gum Creek.  We stopped for 15 minutes for morning tea (9.30am), sitting by the swiftly flowing creek.

We then headed bush again, up the ridge line to the south west.  I'd been here alone on 25 March 2005, but coming in from Booroomba Rocks car park then.  We crossed the old dog proof fence at 9.55am and continued up the 413m climb to the highest point of the little range running down the west of Bushfold Flats.  We stopped for 5 minutes, looking across to Booroomba Rocks to the west and Mt Tennent to the east.

Next, we headed eastish down the ridge back to Bushfold Flats and up into the timber on the east side, search for the new AAWT track we'd seen earlier.  Not finding anything, we stopped for lunch for 15 minutes, then on up the fenceline to the Mt Tennent fire trail, which we hit at 12.35pm.

North to where the AAWT leaves the fire trail (the fire trail goes the final 1km SE up to Mt Tennent), through the cleared area and down the AAWT to where we left it earlier in the morning.

And so back to the start, again enjoying the great wildflowers.

An excellent walk, refreshing acquaintance with an area in a different season and walking with a mate.  Although a lot of track, it was also a reasonable workout with 17.3km + 1350m.

Time:  7.25am - 2.10pm, with 35 minutes of stops.