Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog

Saturday 12 September 2026: True left of the Murrumbidgee River from under Mt McDonald to Uriarra Crossing West * – M/M,X.Starting from Brindabella Rd under Mt McDonald (at Cotter Pines), we enter the Cotter Pines area and skirt the Nerreman property via...

Wednesday 2 September 2026: Searching for historical sites near Freshford Creek and the Murrumbidgee River – M/M. Join with experts. Distance: 13.04km Ascent: 305vm Grade: M/M; M(9) Time: 3:20 moving + 1:32 stopped = 4:52 Recording device: Garmin H1i+ handheld...

Wednesday 19 August 2026: 80r cliff above Coree Creek *– S/R. Join me and my great guide Tim W, on a recce to the top of the 80m cliff that overlooks Coree Creek, opposite Devils Peak. If it’s a goer I’ll put...

Wednesday 12 August 2026: Snowshoe in the Brindies * – L/M.Snow forecast looks good in the Brinies above 1100m on Monday and above 1500m on Tuesday. From Corin Dam via Stockyard Spur to at least Pryors Hut (1640m). That’s probably as far...

I’ve been investigating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to access Johnny Boy’s Walkabout Blog.   There seems to be some advantages in using AI over the Search function of the blog.   To date I’ve used ChatGPT and Claude...

Saturday 8 August 2026: Short Notice – Trigs and NRs #16 – A few northside NRs * – S/E. Short rambles in a couple of northside Nature Reserves. We’ll cover Nadjung Mada, Budjan Galindji and Crace Grasslands Nature Reserves (including Crace...

Wednesday 22 July 2026: Smiling Rock via Hospital Hill N spur recce * – M/R,X. An attempt to revisit Smiling Rock via a scree/vegetation route up the N spur of Hospital Hill. Return via a 200vm descent down scree that frightens the...

Saturday 11 July 2026: Geodetic Observatory via a b-line from the Tracking station – Trigs (and NRs) #11 * – S/R. Climb to the Geodetic Observatory from the Orroral tracking station site through the bush. It’s around a 400vm ascent over 2.5km. Bag NMC...

Saturday 4 July 2026: Walking the predator-proof fence of the Woodland Sanctuary in Goorooyarroo NR– Trigs and Nature Reserves #10 * – L/M. From Wildbark, a counter-clockwise circuit of the fence in Goorooyarroo NR. We’ll leave at the Buru (Kangaroo) Gate 14...

2026 06 26 A Search for Maloneys Hut site. A collaborative effort by Terrylea, Mark and moi to find this elusive site. Summary From Garmin Connect (recorded on Garmin H1i+ handheld) – Distance: 15.47km | Climb: 385vm | Time: 4:02 moving...

Thursday 25 June 2026: A Thursday ramble to Hill 1356 on the Tidbinbilla Rim. We park on Corin Dam Road just north of the Billy Billy Rocks climbers track. Heading up hill on a disused logging track we come to...

Wednesday 24 June 2026: Joint Clubs Easy-Medium Wednesday Walk – Nil Desperandum and nearby POI * – M/E. We did this hike this time last year. 3 attended as it was wet and snowing 😂. Let’s try again. Starting from...

Saturday 6 June 2026: Trigs and Nature Reserves #6 – Hardy and Cotter trigs * – M/R. This hike begins at the gate on Pipeline Rd in the Pierces Creek Pine Forest area. We walk up an old fire trail to bag...

Getting older, but no wiser...

Tuesday 12 May 2026: Short ‘n’ Brutal at TNR, Trigs and Nature Reserves #2 * – M/M. The middle section of the Mindjagarri Track Network. Very steep climb up to Snowy Corner. A bag of Tidbinbilla Mountain. Visit Tidbinbilla Peak. Return via the...

Saturday 25 April 2026: Glendale Drystone Walls * – M/R. Mystery surrounds these manmade walls, not even Tim the Yowie Man or the late Val Jeffries knowing who built them or what they were for. Come along and make your best guess. Using...

Monday 20 April 2026: Mt Tennent … yet again * – L/M. Last week one geocache eluded me, but I now have a hint from the cache owner. It’s GC9NRQ8, down off the side of the new(-ish) track that parallels the Mt Tennent FT....

Saturday 28 March 2026: Northern Section of the Mindjagari Track Network * – L/M. Enjoy the views from the crest of the Tidbinbilla Range. Use the Camelback FT to climb to the crest, turn south to scale Johns Peak, then to Tidbinbilla Peak...

Tuesday 17 March 2026: Fishing Gap and Mt Domain * – L/M. Fishing Gap was so named because old timers used to head over and down to the Cotter River to fish. Marmaduke Rothschild has a 10 metre fishing pole, but not for...

Saturday 14 March 2026: The Bobeyan Divide * – L/M. The Bobeyan (Boboyan) Divide forms the southern border of the ACT. We’ll walk in via the Settlers Track to Waterhole Hut, then SW to the Divide to discover border markers and blaze...