This walk was organised and led by Terence U as a CBC walk:

Saturday 17 January: Crack-of-Dawn No 2 - M/M. Start around sunrise and finish around lunch time to avoid the worst of the heat. The walk will be in Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve on the ACT's northern border. Limit: 8. Map: Hall 1:25000. Leader: Terence U. Transport: TBA.

6 of us met at 6.30am, at the Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve car park, on the N side of Horse Park Drive ~2km west of the Federal Highway/Majura Road intersection.

The map for the Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve is here.

Walk track

A very pleasant 4hr ramble in an area I'd not visited before. From the car park we wandered E up Burnt Stump Hill (see here and pic 1), then across to Gecko Hills. From here, generally N to pick up the ACT-NSW border and so to Old Joe Hill (see pic 2). Pleasant views to central Canberra, the Gungahlin suburbs and the farms of NSW. So on to Gooroo Hill. Continuing to follow the border, we dropped down to around the 700m contour and lay about for (an unearned) morning tea. Lovely woodland with outstanding specimen trees.

Soon after recommencing we turned SW, crossed the central Goorooyarroo track and headed for Sammys Hill. The 'lowland' was delightful, open walking. A number of dams and waterholes about (see pic 3). Disturbed a large flock of ducks from one. S again from Sammys Hill, then W along a trail (with an excellent signage point for the area) and so back to the cars.

Excellent to be able to continue the mild Canberra Nature Park rambles. Thanks Terence for smooth and faultless leadership and everyone for their company.

Distance: 10.7km  Climb: 300 Time: 6.30 - 10.25am (call it 4hrs), with 15mins of stops.

 Grading: M/E-M; E(7)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve