26 October 2010 Thunder Bluff and Rendezvous Creek

Map: Rendezvous Creek 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:

Tuesday 26 October - Thunder Bluff and Rendezvous Creek - L/R. Take the Nursery Swamp Walking Track and the footpad W to the saddle above Rendezvous Creek. Then NW through SH1424 to Thunder Bluff. Steeply down 300m to Rendezvous Creek and follow it to the fire place for lunch. A little search for a hut site. Return via the taped footpad and walking track. Around 15km and 550m climb. Map: Rendezvous Creek. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$10 per person.

4 of us drove to the Nursery Swamp car park in the Orroral Valley.

Further Information

Replaces the walk advertised in CBC it. Pretty similar to 9 Aug 06.

Photographs

Access all primary pics here. All thumbnails in the walk report are active - click for a larger picture.

Walk

Track Thunder Bluff and Rendezvous Creek


Sorry about the sound - it was a bit breezy up there

We were soon panting up the track - it sticks in into you from the start, with the climb. A pleasant day, a little more cloud than in Canberra and an early 2 drops of sky spit. After that, it cleared a little and was a lovely sunny day with broken cloud. Nice wild flowers about, including lots of white heathy type stuff. Plenty of water flowing in Nursery Creek. The pig trap was freshly baited with a vegemite bun. Easily found the blue paint on the log marking the start of the footpad to Rendezvous Creek, and again easily lost the footpad twice, so someone else took over. Who knows what those fungus-y type little toadstools are?

Hardenbergia on the Nursery Swamp Walking Track around 1.3km from the start Nursery Creek just after leaving the Nursery Swamp Walking Track Blue paint on the log marks the start of the footpad to Rendezvous Creek Fungus-y things

Reached the saddle, 4.1km in 1hr 15mins, and turned NW up the broad ridge towards SH1424.

Pretty scrubby at first, a little easier on the broad part of the ridge. Then extremely tight and slow from just before the 1300m contour to the (early, to keep one party member from whingeing) morning tea mark. From leaving the footpad to morning tea was 1.1km in 35mins.

Back on our feet, we reached the crest of the ridge and a couple of open granite slabs with ever better views (would have made great morning tea spots). Going from this point to SH1424 was marginally better, alternating between short granite 'island' runs in 'seas' of head-high pea regrowth. Morning tea to SH1424 was 550m in 21mins. Excellent views from here to the knoll to the SW of Mt Orroral. The knoll is still pretty open on the SW side - might make a good walk. We could also see SH1434 and Thunder Bluff just below it in the top of the tree ahead.

1 Knoll to the SW of Mt Orroral from SH1424 The view from SH1424 to Thunder Bluff

670m in 20mins from SH1424 to Thunder Bluff. I didn't find my DSLR lens cap that I dropped on 9 Aug 06 (no wonder the regrowth was so fierce - it was 4 years ago that I was last here) as we approached. One final little ditch of scrub and I think my companions, all for the first time here, were suitably impressed. Worth the walk in.

The huge granite curved slab just drops away and, even with the wind blowing at you, I'm not happy too close to the edge. Stupendous 180° views, from SE to NW. The video clip shows it all (sorry about the sound). Emerald green grasslands at the mouth of Rendezvous Creek then, over the line of Rendezvous Creek, the Mavis Ridge with the granite flanks of Mt Herlt, Mt Mavis and the white granite further up the Ridge, the Namadgi bulb (I think) just peeking over the top ...

View from Thunder Bluff - Grasslands at mouth of Rendezvous Creek, the Mavis Ridge with the granite slabs on Mt Herlt View from Thunder Bluff - Mt Herlt and Mt Mavis View from Thunder Bluff - Mt Mavis View from Thunder Bluff - upper Mavis Ridge with Namadgi bulb peeking

... the upper Mavis Ridge with Bimberi Peak over the back, the flanks of the Ridge on the sides of Rock Flats, the prominent Split Rock and Dutchies Peak near Mt McKeahnie in the distance. Fabulous!

View from Thunder Bluff - upper Mavis Ridge View from Thunder Bluff - Bimberi Peak View from Thunder Bluff - looking across to the side of Rock Flats View from Thunder Bluff - Split Rock

2 View from Thunder Bluff (with lousy stitching)

We left at 10.58am, heading SE for a little way (as I'd done on 9 Aug 06) until there was a line down. I hadn't forgotten the extremely dense descent, but I had forgotten to remind my friends to bring scrub gloves. The top is very tight and drops 200m from the 1400m to 1200m contour over 550m, taking us 34mins. But the last 100m down to Rendezvous Creek is through more open going and we hit the boulders in the creek at 11.56am. Someone began calling for lunch. We battled the boulders for a while but, knowing the right-hand bank was better going, we crossed.

Rendezvous Creek boulders Crossing Rendezvous Creek

A quicker 1.3km in 28mins down Rendezvous Creek to the fireplace opposite where the footpad comes down and we all appreciated a 25min lunch break.

The real purpose of the walk now became clear as we set off down the mid Rendezvous Creek vehicle track to find the McKeahnie Hut site (KHA 873). Alas, much searching revealed nothing, except a 60s (was that 1960s or 1860s?) frying pan, egg slide, plastic box and cup which Garry kindly carted back to remove the rubbish from the bush. I wandered another 100m or so down the creek flats - the vehicle track heads a bit further south. Great views up to Mt Herlt from here - another walk to do, as I haven't visited the slabs.

We headed back to the fire place and crossed Rendezvous Creek, having completed a 2.6km there and back, plus searching, in 43mins.

3 View to Mt Herlt and Mt Mavis from Rendezvous Creek Old bridging timbers in creek towards end of mid Rendezvous Creek track Remains of bridging across Rendezvous Creek

5.1km along the footpad and NSWT back to the car in 1hr 15mins.

Indigofera on Nursery Swamp Walking Track around 500m from start

We called in at the Tharwa General Store and had a drink, sitting on the verandah until the bridge reopened at 3.30pm.

Thanks Karen C, Garry M and Ken W and for 2 of you not complaining (grin).

Distance: 16.8km Climb: 700m. Time: 8.10am - 2.50pm (6hrs 40mins), with 35mins of stops.
Grading: L/R; H(13)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Thunder Bluff and Rendezvous Creek

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This page last updated 23Aug22