THE NEWSLETTER OF CANBERRA BUSHWALKING CLUB itit Volume 42, Number 6 July 2006 Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc PO Box 160 Canberra ACT 2601 JULY GENERAL MEETING 8pm Wednesday 19 The Kokoda Track – a pilgrimage Presenter: Phil Quinton During April of this year Phil travelled with three friends to Papua New Guinea and walked with a trekking company along the Kokoda Track. See photos and hear of his experiences on this increasingly popular route for Australians. Main meeting room, St. John’s Church Hall Constitution Avenue, Reid Canberra Bushwalking Club it July 2006 page 1 within a general municipal services most interesting and was surprised President’sPresident’s portfolio and there is no longer a at the well-preserved appearance of Minister for the Environment. the paintings. The topic drew a good PrattlePrattle (President’s Report March-May crowd to our monthly meeting and 2006). the detective story of how the reported origins of the paintings and The Lower Cotter Draft Strategic Committee Matters the likely identity of the artist were Plan of Management has been he Committee agreed at its June validated was a tale worth hearing. released for public comment. The meeting to place all Committee At least one group has been formed T Conservation Council, scientists Minutes dating from September to take up Linda’s invitation to visit and others have been actively 2005, on the Club’s protected the National Library to examine the lobbying to stop the replanting of website to provide easy access for actual paintings. pines in this water catchment. members. With the rise in petrol costs one The Conservation Council is organ- George Carter has been busy expects an appropriate increase in ising a Climate Change campaign updating the booklet he authored transport charges on club trips. meeting to be held on 26 July at entitled, Finding Your Way in the Some leaders have already started 7pm. They are asking member Bush. This booklet provides to do this, hopefully with the groups and supporters to identify excellent guidance to bushwalkers agreement of their participants.I individuals within their networks on how to navigate in the bush. A understand that a motion will be put who would be interested in sub group of the Committee has at a club meeting, recommending becoming directly involved in this been providing George with an increase from 33.3 to 36 cents campaign over the next year. For comments on the revised drafts. The per kilometre per car. Leaders are further information people who Club intends to re-print the updated requested to be careful and rigorous want to become involved at the version this year with the assistance with their distance and costs individual level can contact Adrian of a grant from the ACT calculations. Some recent estimates Whitehead on 6247 7808 or adrian government. for trips haven’t been right. @ecoaction.net.au A majority of members voted in In recent weeks I have noticed favour of re-registering the Club’s Rene Davies several Flame Robins in the Corroboree frog trademark at the President paddocks. It has been said that they June meeting. The trademark will come down from the high country be re-registered for a period of ten WalksWalks when it gets too cold. This last June years for a total cost of $300. has been Canberra’s coldest for 20 WaffleWaffle years, so I was surprised that they Following comments by a Club didn’t keep moving. When I look member the Committee agreed to at the legs of those birds I wonder refine the wording on the erence Uren’s article on light- if they ever suffer from frostbite; disclaimers in the Membership Tweight food and energy needs so thin and seemingly not insulated? Application and Membership has been a point of conversation Renewal forms. These changes among a number of people over In the meantime, good walking! have now been incorporated into recent weeks, and it complements Rob Horsfield those forms appearing in IT and on his previous information on gear Walks Secretary the Club website. very well. Remember though, that In June the Club purchased a laptop the quantities prescibed have a computer for use particularly for statistical base and one needs to MembershipMembership slide presentations at Club meetings evaluate them personally. mattersmatters and also for the preparation of IT. It’s sad and too late to find out that one might need extra, part-way into Environmental Matters ew members: Robert Cussel, Jenny Bounds, President of the a trip. On the Bibbulmun Track Terence ate well using his NIan Chalmers, Heather Conservation Council of the South Dornoch, Willi Ryan, Louise and East Region and Canberra, has prescribed food schedule and he didn’t look too thin at the end of Michael Thake, Susan Neild, expressed disappointment with Bernadette Wheller, Lois Selby aspects of the ACT Government’s the trip either. recent Ministerial re-shuffle, where I found the talk on “natural history Allan Mikkelsen the environment has been absorbed water colours from the First Fleet” Membership Secretary Page 2 – Canberra Bushwalking Club it July 2006 Photos: Leanne Aust TheThe GreatGreat NorthNorth WalkWalk 2929 MayMay -- 88 JuneJune Participatnts: Jenny Horsfield (leader), Leanne Aust, Janet Edstein, Terence Uren, Judy Dann, David Pembury, Judith Webster, Mark Hopkins, Margaret Roseby ate Grenville called the KHawkesbury ‘The Secret River’ in her wonderful novel about early settlement in Sydney. There are still many ‘secret places’ in the country between Sydney and Newcastle, as we discovered recently on the Great North Walk, which winds for 250km between Top: Judy and Terence looking out over Lake Macquarie. Above: Road bash these two cities. along the Congewai valley Nine members of CBC recently undertook this 12-day walk and can vouch for its excellence. The signage is clear, the track is well maintained, and the route has been imaginatively designed to take the walker through largely unspoilt terrain for much of its length. In fact we were amazed to find such pristine, beautiful forest so close to the metropolitan areas and motorway. The heavily dissected sandstone country around the Hawkesbury was always considered too rough for either farming or settlement so by default it ended up as a national park. over Judith and Jenny heading north along the coast on the last day Canberra Bushwalking Club it July 2006 page 3 Further up the coast, settlers pushed west, clearing land for grazing, orchards and dairies in the Hunter Valley. Having discovered cedar, the ‘red gold’, they cut down down the stands of giant trees and hauled them on bullock drays down to the Hawkesbury where they were shipped to Sydney. Part of the walk follows one such track, the Bumble Hill dray track, contouring round a steep, rocky hillside for over 4 km. However very little of the walk is through cleared land. We did the walk in late May/early June, which provided ideal walking conditions though short daylight hours. At this time of year the banksia are in flower on the sandstone Janet, Jenny and David enjoying a sun shower plateaux, and in many of the gullies the beautiful tall Gymea lilies are just coming into bloom. One problem to be considered when planning this walk is the scarcity of water points. During the current drought The walk officially begins at Macquarie Place near many of the creeks have dried up. CALM (Dept of Sydney Cove and goes up through Lane Cove Conservation and Land Management) has provided water National Park. We began the walk at Hornsby railway tanks at certain points on the route but they are widely station. The first two days takes you through the separated and not always at points where one might want Galston Gorge, up onto the plateau above Berowra to camp. Most of our camps were dry camps, to which we Waters and then over to Jerusalem Bay, a quiet inlet carried water for half a day or more. on the Hawkesbury. From there the route climbs back up onto the sandstone The small village of Yarramalong, half-way along the route, plateau and you head down to Brooklyn railway is an ideal place to pick up new provisions at the general station, where you take the train across the river to store, or post them there. We stayed at a convenient and Wondabyne station. An alternative route includes a comfortable B&B, which also accepted food parcels by ferry ride to Patonga, at the mouth of the Hawkesbury, post. From Yarramalong, there is an 11km road bash to and a climb up onto the plateau from there. the next track head. We paid a local man to give us a lift, and would advise others to do this. It gives you an extra West of Wyong the route climbs up into the Watagan three hours on a 39km stretch where water is uncertain, Mountains, and then follows the steep wooded tops and where the walking can be steep and strenuous. The of the Myall Range, due east towards the northern lift to the track head allowed us to collect water en route end of Lake Macquarie. Both of these mountain and break this section into two days with just one dry camp. ranges provide wonderful walking. Parts are State Forest, but there are still areas of old-growth forest The third last day of the walk brings you back to civilisation that offer a real sense of grandeur and remoteness at Heaton Gap, where the main road heads north to among huge spotted gums and in steep rainforest Cessnock and the Hunter Valley. Then, as you approach gullies ringing with lyre bird and bell bird calls.