3 November 2012 In the shadow of Mt Namadgi - Big Creamy Flats

The top of Big Creamy Flats from near lunch

Maps: Yaouk and Rendezvous Creek 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by me as a CBC walk:

Saturday 3 November - In the shadow of Mt Namadgi - L/M-R. A wander across the Gudgenby grasslands and up Middle Creek towards Mt Namadgi. Let's see how far we can go, maybe to Big Creamy Flats. Around 18+km and 350+m climb. Maps: Yaouk and Rendezvous Creek. Limit: 8. Leader: John Evans - john@johnevans.id.au, 0417 436 877. Transport: ~$15 per person.

5 of us met in Canberra at 6am and drove using 2 vehicles to the Yankee Hat car park.

Further Information

A bit of a recce for next Saturday to remind me of the way after missing last year.

We'll get wet feet crossing Middle Creek 4km into the walk.

Walk - Track Notes

An overcast day, perfect for walking but not for views, as the hills had their heads in the clouds.

A respectable 4.2km in 50mins across the Gudgenby grasslands, into the mouth of Middle Creek and a couple of wet steps across it to the Middle Creek rock shelter. Plenty of roos and rabbits, a couple of creamy coloured wild dogs - and a yabbie out for a walk on the damp old vehicle track paralleling the creek.

A nice amble 0.7km in 15mins from the rock shelter to the fence crossing, through light scrub and on animal pads which lulls one into a false sense of ease.

3.1km in 1hr 10mins to morning tea, just shy of the spot where this N arm of Middle Creek further subdivides into lines heading to Big Creamy Flats and Rotten Swamp. The scrub closed in a bit, especially in patches of pea and wattle regrowth.

Thanks to Karen Cody on our 6 Nov 10 trip, I was the hero - keeping out of my usual route through the boggy creek junction system and staying high to cross a feeder creek. Thanks to further lessons from last time on 6 Nov 10, I kept low and closer to Middle Creek to avoid the pick-up-sticks higher up (although where we were literally right beside the creek - on the map just under 'Middle' - it could have been a fraction higher). Morning tea to the next point was 2.7km in 1hr 15mins.

I can't do a trip without disaster, so here it came. For some silly reason, after we picked up some water, I crossed to the SW side of Middle Creek and caused us to battle up to the saddle through alternating running drainage lines coming off Mt Namadgi and thick scrub. Fool. 1.4km in 50mins, breaking onto the top of Big Creamy Flats at 11.50am for lunch.

Not good views. Mt Namadgi in the clouds; a few rock piles on the Mavis Ridge could be seen towering above us to the NE. The next question was "did we still have tanks half full for the return trip?". Party members assured me that they did, so I had to haul my aging body up off the ant-infested ground and start walking again.

Thankfully, the route-picking hero (= luck) in me returned and we took a beautiful line off the saddle on the correct (NE) side of the creek, down to where we picked up some more water. The track was a little higher than the morning's leg and was just right under the map-marked 'Middle'. 2.9km in 1hr 30mins.

2.1km in 50mins down to afternoon tea, through the 'Kaz line', then a bit higher than the morning. Perhaps a bit too high at afternoon tea.

2.1km in 50mins down to cross the fence, again, up a bit higher. And so back to the cars.

(60mins for the returning 4.2km across the grasslands. A good body flogging slows me up.)

OK. 10hrs for 25km to Big Creamy Flats. What does that mean for next Saturday? The bush is definitely harder going after 2 years of good rains and growth. I (and most other starters) am 2 years older and slower. On 10 Nov 12 I'd expect the party to be able to move a fraction quicker. We start walking 1 hour earlier, which would give us 13.5hrs to 7.30pm. Bring a torch!

There were 2 members in the party who'd never walked 25km in a day before, let alone through the scrub. They did fabulously, just put their heads down and walked with no complaints. I hope they enjoyed the day! Nice to have the experienced ones, too.

Thanks for joining in Mike B, Cynthia C, Therese P and Ian W.

Distance: 24.8km Climb: 550m. Time: 7.10am - 5.15pm (10hrs 5mins), with 65mins of breaks.
Grading: L/M-R; H(13)