Trifter

There are a number of bushwalking opportunities to be had in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The region is composed geographically of a coastal plain, of the Illawarra Escarpment to the west which is the eastern face of the Woronora Plateau, and of Lake Illawarra in the southern part of the coastal plain. Situated just north of the lake is the coastal city of Wollongong, the suburbs of which lie to the north west and south.

I shall describe the various tracks in the region below in order of their geographical location starting from the south to the north and from west to east, giving details on the conditions and features of the tracks. I have tried to tell the facts truly and in an up to date fashion but of course many are subject to change.

The first track which I will mention is Hoddle’s Track, which begins from the summit of Saddleback Mountain southwest of the coastal town of Kiama, situated at the southern end of the Illawarra coastal plain, which at this point turns into the Shoalhaven coastal plain to the south. This track follows a route along a high ridge connecting Saddleback Mountain with Noorinan Mountain, but the track itself does not go to Noorinan Mountain.

The track is in good condition, or was the last time I took it, and has several very steep but open sections at the start near the summit of Saddleback Mountain. Here it passes through remnant rainforest which once covered much of the coastal plain some 600 metres below. The track then goes through drier forest, with views to the south over the Shoalhaven plain and to the north over the Illawarra plain. It is a few kilometres in length, and takes a generally westerly direction, following a track surveyed by Surveyor Hoddle in the 1800s to take supplies from the country to port.

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The next track I will mention is a little farther up the plain. The reader will excuse me for not noting the tracks at Macquarie Pass National Park as I do not own a car and as such have not visited the place, nor have I been to the Barren Grounds reserve atop Noorinan Mountain’s summit plateau. This one is the Bridle Track which goes from the Mount Kembla lookout car park for a short distance along the escarpment before petering out near the Moss Vale-Unanderra Railway line. It is after a while in a terrible disarray and turns into a positively dangerous scramble over wet rocks at its southern end, for it goes in a generally southerly direction. But the first part is all right enough.

It is in good condition at the northern end and of a fairly level nature, and goes just under the summit of the escarpment, with views over Lake Illawarra. The track is not marked by a sign at the entrance, though marked on several maps and within the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, and as such you must go from the car park a short way over a sort of metal stile to reach it.

The next track I will mention is the Mount Kembla Ring Track, which goes from the aforementioned car park around eastwards then north and westwards about the eastern part of the mountain before joining Cordeaux Road near some houses. It begins by a steep drop into a gully by way of stairs and then winds its way through rainforest like growth with many ferns, about a few gullies before going in a somewhat more level fashion to a split near an old pit pony watering hole used back when the Mount Kembla mine was in operation. The track going rightwards (southwards) leads to private property, whereas the one going leftwards (northwards) follows a more level route about a few turns and in an open management trail fashion about the mountain.

At a point close to the abandoned mine entrance (boarded up and guarded by a small flock of wild goats) the track enters private property and a sign instructs one to keep to the track or face prosecution. It then follows a fairly straight route to Cordeaux Road at which point it passes some old houses. The track is in fairly good condition, and the stairs are all right if you take care as the handrail is in a dangerous state of wear. The track gives little views as it mostly goes through dense forested areas.

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The next track I will mention is the Mount Kembla Summit Track. This track goes from the car park at Mount Kembla Lookout up the narrow sandstone ridge to the summit, some 534 metres above sea level, overlooking the coastal plain to the east and south and partly to the northeast over Wollongong. The track goes through dry forest and for a few sections one must hoist oneself up to a higher position over small rock faces, though for a fit person this should be no difficulty. The thin ridge gives good views and so does the summit at which point there is a trigonometry station and a few rock ledges.

The track is in good condition, but due to the few areas where one must hoist oneself over the rock face it is only for the fit to take. Its length is somewhere about one and a half kilometres I believe. It follows a route nearby to one taken by an abandoned project of the 1800s to construct a carriageway to the summit.

The next track I will mention is O’Briens Road, or a section thereof. The road used to be open to traffic until recently it was closed due to illegal dumping. The track begins at the summit of Mount Nebo, 252 metres above sea level, a steep hill in the Mount Keira foothills overlooking Wollongong. Fine views may be had at the summit and along the ridge which the track follows towards Mount Brisbane, 469 metres above sea level. The track is wide, owing to its former status as a vehicular road, and was one of the early routes over the escarpment.

The track goes to Harry Graham Drive and is steep though in good condition in some places. The road has weathered badly and is in derelict condition but as long as one watches ones step it does not hinder ones progress. Deer are a common sight here, and Common Blacksnakes are to be seen in the warmer months of the year. The ridge goes up a small rise halfway along, the name of which I am unsure of and therefore I refer to it as Nebo Ridge Hill. The length is a few kilometres or so.

The next track which I will mention is Stafford’s Farm Track. It is not shown on many maps but has an official sign at the entrance. It runs from Harry Graham Drive along a fairly level and open route to a grassy knoll surrounded by thick forest with views of the surrounding escarpment, Mount Warra or Robertson’s Knoll and Mount Kembla. The track is in excellent condition, although in rainy weather as it is mostly grassy in nature with no covering it can get boggy. It peters out about the aforementioned grassy knoll. The length is about a few kilometres or so.

The next track I will mention is the Mount Brisbane Track, a track not marked on many maps and without a sign at the entrance. It begins at a junction with the Mount Warra track from the car park on Harry Graham Drive and follows a route towards Mount Brisbane. It gets quite thin in places but is in good condition. It goes through rock cuttings in places and passes by a collection of wrecked vehicles, fallen down the slope from Harry Graham Drive. It peters out at the termination somewhere near the summit of Mount Brisbane and there is no mark indicating the summit I have seen. The track is in good condition, not overly steep in many places and of about a few kilometres distance.

The next track I will mention is the Robertson’s Lookout Track which goes from the car park at Mount Warra or Robertson’s Knoll along the top of the escarpment to Mount Keira Road at its juncture with Queen Elizabeth Drive. The track near this point goes down some steep steps and there is a ladder at one point. The track is of an open nature and is in good condition and afford good views of the western face of Mount Keira, and the coastal plain thereabouts. It goes through Banksia and other dry bushland forest. Its length is a few kilometres.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

The next track I will mention is the Mount Keira Ring Track which goes in a complete circle about Mount Keira. It meets Mount Keira Road at several places, with extensions to various places such as Byarong Park and Keiraville. This track and its fellows in the region are all well kept as they are some of the more used ones in the region. They feature in some places steep sections with or without steps, but are all in good condition. The Ring Track itself is a few kilometres in length, and the others usually within two or three. The forest differs in nature about the mountain. Connected tracks include the Dave Walsh Track, Ken Ausburn Track and their respective connections. There are several lookouts on the mountain and a car park at Byarong Park on Mount Keira Road as well as at the summit, 464 metres above sea level.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Some features found on Mount Keira include rainforest, dry forest, semi rain or semi dry forest, a cutting made by the tramway which used to supply the coal mines in the area before they were closed recently and several other landmarks of interest such as an old mine air shaft from the Osborne Wallsend Colliery.

There are a few short tracks to be found in the Greenhouse Park, a project which has turned a pile of waste material into a bush reserve east of Coniston near Port Kembla’s northern end. The tracks are all in good condition and only semi steep, and pass through a variety of planted trees and other plants. At the summit of the waste pile hill is a large open grassy area where there are 360 degree views of a grand nature. The length of the tracks combined would be less than a few kilometres and the park is situated within a small area north of the port.

Puckey’s Estate Nature Reserve just north of Wollongong has a track running through it near the course of the creek leading to Stuart Park Lagoon. At the northern end of the two or so kilometre long reserve adjacent to the coastline the track splits into two small tracks which lead to the car park at Fairy Meadow Beach. At the southern end the track joins the Wollongong to Thirroul bicycle and walking track at Squires Way, just northwest of North Beach and North Wollongong.

The reserve is remarkable for a number of reasons. It is one of a few areas of preserved bushland in the city, is the site of an old saltworks made by the man who gives his name to the reserve, and is known for its variety of bird species. The reserve is popular with many people, joggers, dogwalkers, birdwatchers etc and there is a Bushcare group there. The reserve contains much variety of plant and animal life, and the track is in excellent condition. There are a number of small tracks near the lagoon and the saltworks. The main tracks’ total length is about two kilometres.

There is little in the way of hiking opportunity to the north until you get to Thirroul. There is a maintenance trail that ascends the escarpment at Rixon’s Pass and climbs Mount Corrimal or Broker’s Nose, 440 metres above sea level, but I believe it may be part of the BHP mine property and as such I have not used it myself, though I know that some have. At Thirroul there are two tracks, one I have used and one I have not, that ascend the escarpment near Bulli Pass to Sublime Point, 410 or so metres above sea level.

The first, the Bulli Pass Track, may now be closed, whereas the second was re-opened of late, and ascends Sublime Point through rainforest much inhabited by Cabbage Palm Trees. This track was recently as I said re-opened, after a period of maintenance so is in good order. It contains some steep sections with steps and a ladder. Views from Sublime Point are good and over the coastal plain in both directions north and south. There is a short connecting track, Gibson Track, which goes along a fairly level route at the base of the mountain side.

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On the maps it is marked that a track goes from atop Mount Mitchell southward along the escarpment known as the Forest Track. I have not taken it myself as I shall shortly explain. From Stanwell Park Railway Station a track climbs the escarpment to Stanwell Tops, where there are a number of short tracks through the sandy dry bushland there, and a lookout over Stanwell Park Valley. There is an adjoining track, the Mount Mitchell Track, which goes about the contour of the escarpment for a while, then steeply down to Stanwell Creek, which it crosses, and then steeply upward to Mount Mitchell, the summit of which it apparently reaches, though due to its terrible condition I was unable to find the summit myself and instead gave up the search. About where the track nears the railway viaduct over the creek it petered out into nothingness and no clue was given to indicate its continuation. The rest of this adjoining track was in a terribly unmanaged state the second time I used it in 2008, it may have since been repaired.

There is a track which apparently climbs Mount Mitchell by another route, and I found its beginning at a curve of Lawrence Hargrave Drive by the railway. There was an official sign so I ascended a short steep path but it petered out at the railway and I could not find a continuation. I suppose one is expected to cross the tracks somewhere about there but I had thought crossing the line at any point not indicated by a level crossing an offence, so I did not continue. It is however marked on the maps and remains a mystery to me to this day.

The tracks in the region vary in length and are usually a few kilometres or so in length, with varying gradient and difficulty. The track to Stanwell Tops was in an all right condition as late as early 2008. Near Stanwell Park, to the north, is Bald Hill, the northernmost point of the escarpment before it joins a coastal cliff face known as the White Cliffs that borders on the eastbound side the Royal National Park. I believe Captain James Cook in his journals noted these cliffs.

At Bald Hill, unreachable from Stanwell Park except by way of Lawrence Hargrave Drive or by going from Stanwell Tops, there is a car park and lookout and a memorial to Lawrence Hargrave, the noted pioneer of aviation experimentation in the late 1800s. From this point, where fine views of Mount Mitchell and the coastal plain can be seen, a short track climbs Stony Batter, an outcrop to the north. The track peters out near the summit of Stony Batter.

To the north are the many tracks afforded by the broad expanses of the Royal, Heathcote and other National Parks and reserves, but as these are not within the confines of the Illawarra Region the reader will excuse me for not continuing northwards. It is to be noted that several tracks and reserves I have not covered, these being beyond my reach as I, not owning a motor car, must suffice with public transportation. I have already noted the Macquarie National Park, home to a few tracks, and also to the Barren Grouns Nature Reserve. There are several other sites with hiking opportunities such as the Minnamurra Rainforest and the Wollongong Botanic Gardens which I have failed to cover due to various reasons.