volume 38 issue 1 summer 2013 - bushwalker magazine quartelys/bushwalker381.pdfi am getting a bit...

Volume 38Volume 38Issue 1Issue 1

Summer 2013Summer 2013Pugilistic Creek,Pugilistic Creek, Kosciusko National Park.Kosciusko National Park.“Sub-zero in March”“Sub-zero in March”

Karen Davis at Wineglass Torabove the Great HorseshoeBend in the Shoalhaven River.Photo: Brett Davis,Shoalhaven Bushwalkers

Wouldn’t you like to be here?Wouldn’t you like to be here?

Rare female Honey Possum with babies in pouch, Mt Chance (WA) campsiteon Bibbulmum Track. Photo: Nancy Ainsworth, Watagan Wanderers

Bushwalker T he

The Official Publication of theConfederation of Bushwalking Clubs NSW

Volume 38, Issue 1, Summer 2013

ISSN 0313 2684

The Bushwalker | 3

Walk Safely—Walk with a Club


Editor: Roger [email protected]

Graphic Design & Assembly: Barry HanlonProofreader: Roy Jamieson

Confederation Officers:President: David TrinderAdministration Officer:

[email protected]: www.bushwalking.org.auAddress all correspondence to:PO Box 119, Newtown, NSW 2042

The Confederation of BushwalkingClubs NSW Inc representsapproximately 66 Clubs with a totalmembership of about 8,700bushwalkers.

Formed in 1932, the Confederationprovides a united voice on behalf of allbushwalkers on conservation, accessand other issues.

People interested in joining abushwalking club may write to theConfederation [email protected] a list of Clubs, but a far moreuseful on-line list is available at theConfederation websitewww.bushwalking.org.au,broken up into areas. There’s lots ofother good stuff there too, includingthe bushwalking FAQ.

From the editor’s desk. . .

Front Cover: Pugilistic Creek, Kosciusko Na-tional Park. “Sub-zero in March”. Photo: RogerCaffin.

IndexWouldn’t you like to be here? 2From the Editor’s Desk 3President’s Report 4Hailstorm Retreat 4Letter to the Editor 6Wilderness Vandalism 7Shelved in Kalang Canyon 8Wilpen Creek to Widen Balcony 9Kosciuszko Can Wait 13Hydration Packs - the case against 14Book Review 15

FIRST, an acknowledgement. In the last issue I had a picture on theinside front cover of a walker in a gorge, but I had lost all the details.Karen Davis wrote to me to tell me that she is the walker, the pho-

tographer is her husband Brett Davis, and she is in Bungonia Gorge. Theyboth belong to the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers. Coincidentally, one of thephotos opposite is also of Karen, but in the Budawangs.

Another bit of amusement concerns the Totem Pole. You will find whatlooks like another photo of Michael Keats by the Totem Pole inside - but itis actually someone else. They went there after reading Michael's story.

My wife and I have not done much walking recently: what with Sydneyhitting a record 45.8 C and the Shooters Party about to be let loose in Na-tional Parks, we have felt a bit inhibited. I wonder: just how many walkersand clubs are going to feel worried about their safety? I understand thatthe Confederation's Insurance Policy may have to rise a considerableamount due to the shooting. Sheer total utter madness - and the basest ofpolitical deals. It stinks.

David Springthorpe of the CMW has sent a page from their Club maga-zine advertising the availability of new copies of the Budawangs sketchmaps. I thought this might be of general interest.

Articles for PublicationI am getting a bit low on pictures for the Inside Front Cover. If you would like to see

yours published, send them in. Note that I need the originals, straight from the cameraand uncropped and unretouched, so we can set them up for the printing process. Weneed high resolution for large pictures.

Apart from that, please keep those articles rolling in. We need them. Plain textplease, and again the original unedited photos direct from the camera. If you want toinclude a DOC file or a PDF (in addition to the plain text) to illustrate the sort of layoutyou have in mind, please do so as well.

Please note that opinions expressed by authors may not represent the officialopinions of the Confederation or any Club. The Editor’s opinions are his own, if he canfind them. . .

Roger CaffinEditor

Turtle Rock — just one ofthe many amazing pagodaformations that were seen

by the team of intrepidbushwalkers who completed

the Wollemi north-southtraverse in 2012.

Story page 9.

4 | The Bushwalker



I HOPE Club members have been able toget out into the beautiful outdoor plac-

es despite the recent park closures andfires.

Since my last report the nationalbushwalking organisation BAI(Bushwalking Australia Incorporated)held its conference at Narrabeen on thenorthern beaches of Sydney in November.The President, David Reid from Victoria,stood down and was replaced by a NewSouth Wales representative, our past statePresident, Dodie Green. We congratulateher on that role and we are sure she willprogress the aims of BAI well. These aimsare to support and encourage the states.

BAI instigated a national trainingsurvey to which 54 Clubs responded; thefindings are summarised below.■ Over 50% of Clubs have no formal

training programs - (this must adverse-ly affect safety outcomes)

■ Clubs don’t want to pay for training■ The Clubs that do training want to run

their own programs■ Most prefer outcomes-focused training

to build competence■ Most Clubs are clear about what they

think should be included in leadertrainingA Training Working Group with 2

NSW representatives was established toinvestigate the development of an onlinecurriculum for Clubs to use if they wish.BAI or the state Confederation is notgoing to impose training requirements onClubs.

Insurance was discussed and will bemade more efficient. The paymentprogram will be■ Clubs to declare membership on 1st

March■ Invoices will be sent out by the broker

on 1st July■ Insurance money is due on 30th July■ Broker is paid on 20th AugustThe NSW Confederation ManagementCommittee still needs people to fill 4 posi-tions: Conservation Officer, Tracks and Ac-

Great North Walk, on the way to Brooklyn

Great North Walk, Jerusalem Bay

cess Officer, Training Coordinator andInsurance Officer. At the same time someof the current members have busy worklives and are having trouble getting tomeetings and it is difficult for representa-tives of country Clubs to participate onthe Management Committee. We areplanning to start holding meetings by tel-econference. A telephone meeting mightstart at 7.30PM and run for 90 minutes.This should allow country Clubs to partici-pate, it might help people to fill vacanciesand help current members.

Confederation is planning toparticipate in the Australia-wide GreatAustralian Bushwalk (GAB) on 3rd March.We propose the walk to go from CowanStation to Hawkesbury River Station(Brooklyn) on part of the Great NorthWalk track. We have explored the routeand plans are underway. We are hopingthat most nearby Clubs will send a group.We also want to encourage non-clubwalkers to join in and we are looking for asponsor to help with publicity.

Many young people are joiningbushwalking “Meetup Groups”. Theorganisers of these groups sometimesrequire a fee and do not provide PA or PLinsurance or the vetting of leaders. Theyare based on Social Media sites and theyare in “our space” and some Clubs mightbe affected by losing or not gaining youngmembers. I would like to hear yourcomments.

Some Clubs have concerns aboutstandards being imposed by ORIC and thefederal body AAS. Confederation has

taken on the threats thatcould have made our lives helland by working with themhave achieved standards thatwe can live with.

It appears that Clubs thatare prepared to pay more forbetter Personal Accidentinsurance cover are in theminority. In most Clubs amajority of members are notemployed. Our insurancebroker might be able to giveus a 2 tier system.

David Trinder,President, Confederationof Bushwalking Clubs, NSW

RICK Jamieson’s book, ‘CanyonsNear Sydney’, 5th edition includesan excellent sketch map showing

the relative disposition of a series of can-yons and slots draining into BunglebooriCreek along the northern bank from War-atah Ridge. Ten canyons are depicted(Scatters, Dead Log, Arch, Four Dope,Deep Throat, Cannons, Whip Bird, Bridge,and Bjelkes Mind), plus the romanticallynamed Hailstorm Retreat, located be-tween Scatters Canyon and Dead LogCanyon.

Hailstorm Retreat is a discontinuousrising slot that provides an excellentaccess to the Bungleboori Creek fromWaratah Ridge. Rick insists on referring toBungleboori Creek as the ‘BunglebooriSouth Branch’, and Dingo Creek as the‘Bungleboori North Branch’. However, thisterminology was officially changed by theNSW Geographic Names Board, 29thSeptember 2006.

Although this was my third visit toHailstorm Retreat, it is an experience thatmerits return visits as it is, from ageomorphologic point of view, veryspecial. Essentially the Retreat is a 300 mlong, variable-width, negotiable slotcutting through 140 m of vertical cliff. Itstarts at the bottom as a dry tumble ofrocks on the north bank of theBungleboori Creek.

Initially the slot alignment wanders abit from side to side before becoming adefined, north-south orientedwatercourse. Sections of the Retreat arenarrow, vertically-sided slots, connectedby ‘V’ shaped ravines, reflecting thedifferential hardness of the sandstonesequence. There are two narrow slot-likesections in the length of the Retreat thatmake for dramatic pictures. In one ofthese slot sections a Coachwood tree hasgrown, creating a constriction whichbecomes more challenging each year asthe tree grows. Negotiating this treerequires wriggling through a gap betweentwo exposed roots.

It was a warm and humid day, with anextensive cloud front building to the

south early in the morning and by 1100, ithad moved in and covered the entire visi-ble sky. Humidity was high but largelyoffset by a rising breeze. At lunch time thebreeze was strong enough to cause severalmembers of the party to seek shelter. Thetemperature ranged from 17 to 23 de-grees.

Hailstorm RetreatMichael KeatsThe Bush Club

[Photos: Roger Caffin]

Volume 38, Issue 1, Summer 2013 The Bushwalker | 5

Walk Safely—Walk with a ClubWalk Safely—Walk with a Club

On the day the walk commenced at0838, at the barrier on the Waratah RidgeRoad, located on the boundary of theNewnes State Forest and the BlueMountains National Park, GR 479 027.The old road was followed for the next 13minutes to GR 494 020. Here we strucksouth following a spur, initially climbing afew more metres to spot height 1014,then descending along a subsidiary spurto the south east. Occasional pagodasappear on the ridge top, these becomingmore pronounced as the ridge descendstowards the Bungleboori Creek.

Morning tea was taken at 1001, GR503 010. This spot was a low ridge

capped with an amazing collection of ero-sion residuals, tabulate on top, but sepa-rated by ‘windows’ and ‘pillars’. Itprovided an attractive foreground forcomposing pictures of the BunglebooriCreek drainage, various cliffs and pago-das. The immediate surrounding vegeta-tion was dominated by lavender pinkKunzea capitata, various colour forms of

Hailstorm Retreat

Hailstorm Retreat

Leptospermum macrocarpum and occa-sional flowers spikes of the Tufted BlueLily, Thelionema caespitosum. The inci-dence of relatively large open areas ofbare rock made this a very pleasant stay.

On resumption the descent towardsthe Bungleboori Creek accelerated andseveral cliff lines were easily breached aswe sought out the easiest ways of route.Successive ramps and broad, open ravinesmade our descent a joy. There was no callfor setting or using a hand line, assomehow we picked a near perfect route.By 1037, we stood on a ledge about 10 mabove the Bungleboori Creek.

This ledge curved to the north east,and led to a further, pleasant rainforestdescent into the bottom end of ScattersCanyon, GR 507 008, about 50 m fromthe junction with the Bungleboori Creek.

Clambering down into Scatters Canyonrevealed wonderful clear pools and mosscovered rocks within a classic Coachwoodforest. Reaching high above on theeastern side, sandstone cliffs guard thejunction area of a sandy beach, and if youwent the quick way, also a deep pool.This was easily circumvented by a shortwalk. We were now on the BunglebooriCreek.

Moving downstream towardsHailstorm Retreat requires constantcrossing and recrossing of theBungleboori Creek to avoid deep pools.Even with wet feet plus, this activity wasno hardship as the creek is delightful andvery photogenic. On a large fallen log anEastern Water Dragon, Physignathuslesuerii, was poised, waiting for passinginsects. It posed for photographs like apaid professional.

We continued our journey, crossingsandbanks, climbing boulders, en-

joying the sunlight playing on deep greenpools, capturing images of caves andoverhangs, richly decorated trees and so

much more. Our Bungleboori walk wasabout 300 m and over all too quickly. It isa journey to savour. At 1129 we reachedthe spot where the ravine that is the dis-charge point from Hailstorm Retreat con-nects with the Bungleboori Creek.

The setting is a superb Coachwood treefilled glen, positioned on a bend with theopportunity to take hundreds of stunningphotographs. Accordingly we tarried awhile here before commencing the ascent.

When we did get moving progress upthe ravine was rapid, initially over a smallarea of rock scree, followed by a series of

Brian Fox with ironstone formations above Hailstone Retreat

Climbing up Hailstorm Retreat

6 | The Bushwalker Volume 38, Issue 1, Summer 2013


ramps and small ledgesbefore the start of the firstparallel sided slot thatmarks the beginning of theHailstorm Retreat. This isat GR 510 007. To reallyenjoy the walk through theslot you need to take timeand look both ahead andthen behind, and veryoften above as well. It is acontinually changing view.We took just over half anhour to complete theascent, stopping frequentlyto take photos and justenjoy the total packagethat nature had on offer.While the walls and floorof Hailstorm Retreat arehome to a broad selectionof ferns and epiphytes,there is a particular fernspecies that flourisheswithin the Retreat, namelyLeptopteris fraseri.

The top end of the Retreat is marked bya pagoda, at GR 510 012. It has a

commanding position with views westover the catchment of Scatters Canyon,and a short unnamed ravine betweenScatters Canyon and Hailstorm Retreat.This unnamed ravine has on its westernside a significant ridge. We plan to con-struct a walk to visit both the ridge andravine during summer.

The pagoda at GR 510 012, wasselected as a good spot for lunch. Asstated earlier, the breeze was now quitestrong, the clouds threatening rain, solunch was somewhat hurried. The walkup to the ridge was easy, although there isno defined track. En route we found a fineexample of one of the less cryptic nativecockroaches, Polyzosteria limbata. Withsome coaching, it posed for thephotographers. A few drops of rain fell,and then the clouds seemed to disperse.

The ridge walk wasthrough about a kilometre ofopen forest. There was notmuch of note to observeapart from a Grevillea,Grevillea sericea. At 1311,GR 509 0238 we intersectedwith the eastern mostsection of the formerWaratah Ridge Road, whichis still in excellent conditiondespite it being locked towheeled traffic some yearsago. Once on this road, ourpace picked up and in fiveminutes we made it to thenext road junction at GR509 028.

The road section to spotheight 996 is character-

ised by many specimens ofthe Native Currant, Lep-tomeria acida. Many busheshad ripe fruit and I enjoyedeating a few. At 1340, wereached the site of theformer vehicle parking area,GR 498 022. From thatpoint, it was a very briskpace back to the vehicles.Several small MountainDragons, Rankinia diemen-sis, out sunning themselvesscuttled across our path aswe moved through. The to-tal walk distance was 12.1km and the total ascents468 m. t

In the lower end of Scatters Canyon Creek

Eastern Water Dragon, Bungleboori Creek

Hi Roger,I’d like to make some comments in

response to the President’s invitation to do so,in his report in the Spring 2012 edition of TheBushwalker. My remarks are personal onesand have not been discussed with othermembers of my club's committee.

Personal Accident Insurance. Davidasked for our thoughts on the notion of payinghigher premiums in return for an increase inthe maximum benefit for working memberswho are injured. Without our club having yetput this idea to a general meeting of ourmembers (to my knowledge, neither BAI northe Confederation have formally raised thematter with clubs), I think we would beunlikely to support any substantial increase inpremiums to fund this. Fewer than 10% of ourmembers are in the paid workforce and Isuppose some of that 10% already have theirown separate ‘loss of earnings’ insurancecover. I recognise that ‘loss of earnings’ coveris one of the few real benefits our personalaccident insurance policy provides formembers, unless they become disabled, but itreally does only potentially benefit a smallminority of the total membership. [How aboutthe increased risk of being shot at? - Ed]

Change of Name. I support the changeof name to the more manageable‘Bushwalking NSW’. I do not support theadoption of a more commercial and genericmoniker such as ‘Adventure NSW’; there isn'teven a hint of our main activity in that. [Here Imust agree. I am all for bushwalking, but Ireally dislike the ‘adventure’ implications - Ed]

Track Maintenance. Our club membershelp NPWS maintain a couple of tracks in ourlocal area and I know that Milton NPA andCanberra Bushwalking Club do likewise.Could I suggest that clubs be encouraged toliaise with their local NPWS office with theaim of building rapport and maintainingtracks. I do not believe that Bushwalking NSW(Confederation) needs to become involved inany way, because this just brings inunnecessary layers of bureaucracy on bothsides of the arrangement. When handledlocally, it is easy to schedule dates that suitboth parties and, when weather causes adelay, to readily change them.

Bushwalking NSW’s (Confederation's)Role. I suffered an involuntary shudder whenI read the dreaded words ‘Adventure ActivityStandards’ and the acronym ‘ORIC’ - I hadbeen suppressing these as one does withterrible memories. Bushwalkers don't need or,in my opinion, want all this over-regulation ofour activities. Please work to spare us fromthese impediments to our enjoyment of purebushwalking. Also, for my part, I don't wantsome external team, no matter who theymight represent and how well-meaning theymay be, to descend upon our club to teach usnavigation, bushcraft or anything else. We doquite well with the expertise that residesamongst our members. [Me, I think we domuch better - Ed]

However, perhaps Bushwalking NSW coulddevelop a booklet that covered navigation,bushcraft, basic first aid responses to the mostlikely emergencies, guidelines for walkers andleaders and so on (most of which will neverbecome outdated). This would take time andwould also need to be circulated to clubs as adraft for comment, but when finally agreedupon could be printed and issued to everymember of a club. This would be somethingthat HQ could do for member clubs without itbeing seen as ‘rules’ and ‘directives’.

Peter DaltonShoalhaven bushwalkers

Letter to The Editor

The Bushwalker | 7



IN OCTOBER I was enjoying a walkalong the Colo River, downstream ofWollemi Creek, until I was dismayed

to find many branches and trees sawnthrough to create an easier path along thebank. Not just one track, but two, in par-allel. Right in the scenic heart of the Wol-lemi Wilderness.

But that’s not all. One of the passesback up onto the Culoul Range usuallyinvolves a river crossing. But someone hashacked a series of at least 50 handholdsand bucket footholds into a beautifulseries of riverworn boulders, and then onup the rocky gully. At least two stainlesssteel ring-bolts have been drilled into therock, one with a massive handlineattached. A few of the holds were older,but much of the work was new, with rawrock and chips of rubble still lying in thesteps, below flood level. It will now takethe river many thousands of years to erasethis desecration of nature. What anepitaph for the vandals.

And all to avoid a short wade/swim(as its very difficult to cross the boulders).But this pass has been used by walkers forat least 50 years, since well before BobBuck published his sketch map back in1973. Bob told it true: “only competentand experienced walkers should attempttrips in the area”.

I’m sick to death of going into the bushand finding yet more deliberate damageand mess. Was it for this that ourhonoured forebears fought to stop theCuloul Range being strip-mined for shale?To stop the river being dammed? Topreserve Wollemi National Park and thenthe Wollemi Wilderness, perhaps the mostintact wild area in south-east mainlandAustralia?

Are these perpetrators bushwalkers? Ihope not; they certainly wouldn’t meet

my understanding of the term, and Iwould expect them to be drummed out ofany club that honours the name. Talkingto other offended walkers, we decided thevandals might be there for otherpurposes: commercial perhaps, but mostlikely piscatorial. They probably love theplace, in their own way, and this is notjust mindless vandalism. But whatever,they should be charged with a criminaloffence.

As a naturalist and a photographer, itsnot just the unsightliness that I find sooffensive. Its the selfishness, thedownright sense of entitlement, as if theyown the place. Some people seem toregard wild places as nothing more than arecreational facility for their personalbenefit. On the way up the pass I foundsigns of Koalas, and Brush-tailed RockWallabies live there too - both nationallythreatened species that are barely hangingon in the Blue Mountains where theywere once common. They can do withoutsuch attitudes.

The Culoul Range Trail is a 13 kmintrusion into the wilderness. I enjoy theconvenience of being able to drive intothis part of the Colo country as much asthe next walker, but if it brings this sort ofsacrilege then I for one would vote to shutit down.

So if you know who these people are,or come across them in their destructivehandicraft, please ask them to stop. Tellthem it is unacceptable, that you are notgrateful, and many people are annoyed.Tell them that the Wollemi Wilderness isnot just a facility. And if they want theirrope back, they know who to call. t

[The most likely explanation I haveheard is that this was done by a commercialfishing guide, so that his heroic clientswouldn't get their pinkies wet. - Ed]

WildernessVandalism Ian Brown



BOB, Marg, Nancy, Andrew and my-self left camp at 7.30 am on Satur-day (in December) intending to do

Kalang today and Dion Dell tomorrow.We were at the start of the creek by

8.30 am and scrambled down looking forthe 1st anchor point. It had been 12 yearssince some of us had done this canyonand we knew that when it says a scramblethat sometimes means a short abseil forus. We are much older than the averagecanyoner and probably more cautiousbecause of that.

So 2 short abseils gets us to the firstbig drop, about 50 metres. We foundsome anchor points easily enough butspent precious time when the ropeentangled in the canopy below. It meansthe first person down spends time fixingthe ropes and as this is a canyon of 10major abseils (more for us), time isimportant and parties must move quickly.

One was a scramble to the left onto asmall ridge. One man’s scramble isanother man's abseil. The steep inclinewas very loose and slippery with lots ofrocks easily knocked down. We hadtrouble locating the anchor, wasting moretime. It was becoming a treasure hunt. Wescouted up, down and around, beforefinally finding the big tree hanging out ona jutting edge which was difficult to get tosafely in the loose soil without hooking upa rope. After reaching the bottom of thisdrop we then had to climb down along aledge and make a short abseil down to aplatform where we visited a plaque put inplace by some WWs for Phil, also fromWW, who lost his life at this site in 1997.

The next drop was fine but the oneafter that gave us trouble with the ropesas where we dropped them straight downwasn’t eventually the way we wanted togo to avoid a cold swim. So again sometime was used altering the path of theropes. Again, this falls on the first persondown as these problems usually can’t beseen from the top. It is very tiring and theones waiting at the top aren’t having apicnic either. I wasn’t wearing a watch sowas not conscious of the time but I know Iate my lunch at 2.30 pm by checking thetime with someone. By now we were allout of food except for a bar or lolly. Noshortage of water though.

By the time we got to the 2nd lastabseil it was 6.30 pm. Again, one ropewent straight down, b e a u t i f u l, andthis time Andrew volunteered to go first.Half way down he found the other ropehad hit a ledge and bounced into thewaterfall and into a crevice. He had to tieoff about 4 times, shimmy across and dragthe recalcitrant rope over dead shrubs,breaking these as he went but still notable to see if the ropes were reaching thebottom due to a slight overhang. It turnedout they did but there was none to spare.As is commonly the case, over the noise ofthe waterfall his words were of no helpfor us to understand what the problemwas. That’s why it’s no picnic for thosewaiting above. Finally the ropes werefree, so I followed Andrew and thenNancy came next. As by now it wasgetting dark they went in search of thelast anchor point whilst I belayed Bob &Marg down. Returning with their headtorches on and no luck it was now 8.50pm and we were all agreed we werestaying put.

As dozens of fireflies danced allaround our rugged accommodation andthe wafting aroma of a dead wallaby overby the pool puckered our nostrils wesearched our packs and 1st aid kits to seewhat we had. Matches! Great. Plenty ofdried wood for a fire and at least it wasn’training or windy. I had a thermal blanket,as did Margaret and we all had a raincoat.Andrew found an abandoned pack hiddenin a niche behind some wood. What storycould this tell? Obviously an accident ofsorts as there was a used bandage and 2used thermal blankets, which Bob andNancy borrowed and put back the nextmorning.

We each made a rough bed amongstthe rocks as close to the fire as com-

fort allowed. Nancy and Marg used the 2remaining dry ropes as a mattress, I hadan emergency poncho under me and weslept with helmets on for extra warmth.Andrew acted as fire stoker all night as wedozed on and off, watching the stars ro-tate as the night inched by. The earlyhours of the morning were the coldest butthe fire made some of the trees look like

Christmas trees and by 5.30 am the wel-coming sounds of birds reached into ourlittle grotto as the sun struggled to sendits light down to us. Breakfast was ahandful of mini marshmallows and a Gas-trolyte tablet in water but we were allhappy and optimistic that today would bean easy and wonderful exit on this fineSunday morning.

Our first chore was to pull down thetwo 60 metre ropes which had hung thereall night as an eerie reminder ofyesterday’s ‘character building’ events.Finding the elusive last anchor involved ahairy walk along an extremely narrowcliff edge. Just as well we hadn’tattempted this in the dark. The last abseilwas a straightforward 45 metre drop intoa small pool, but again, better in daylight.After retrieving the ropes for the last timeand taking off our harnesses we walkeddown the creek to the start of MurderingGully, our exit point, for a quick 400metre climb out. Ha! The gully was okayuntil it got steeper and we were forced toleave it. Climbing up the steep slopes thesoil was again loose and crumbly withrocks easily dislodged to fall toward thosebehind and banging their way loudlydown the cliff into the gully far below.There were no handholds and our feetslipped dangerously threatening to sendus the same way as the rocks.

About 1.30 pm (3 meals now missed)we heard an enormous roar coming

up the valley and suddenly enormous wal-nut sized hailstones pelted down on us,bouncing off our helmets and stinging ourbodies. I saw Nancy huddled behind atree, Bob under an overhanging tree andAndrew in some bushes. Ouch, Ouch,Ouch. Then came the rain. We climbedhigher and higher heading for the saddlebetween the Kanangra Walls. Funny look-ing leeches with spots on their rear likefake eyes appeared, another minor bother,then the mist came in. Thick, thick mist.We heard a helicopter pass twice lowdown in the valley and I asked Nancy hadshe accidentally set off the PLB (PersonalLocator Beacon) Finally, wet, bedraggledbut elated we reached the van for the 9km drive back to camp for food and awarm night in our sleeping bags.

What an adventure. So proud of us allfor our good spirits at all times. Thesupport and teamwork was top class. Icouldn’t have been stranded on a cliffwith a finer bunch of people. t

Julie Cox(or The Kalang Treasure Hunt)

Shelved in Kalang Canyon

The bivouac, with one abseil left

Over the edge at the start

One of the daylight abseils

The Bushwalker | 9



AS WAS customary, we were readyto move by 0700. Nothing like agood, steep hill, done at a brisk

pace first thing in the morning, to getyour juices going! Our climb however wasmade more enjoyable and therefore easierby the abundant blue irises in bloom cov-ering the slopes, as well as the floweringpink bushes.

We also passed by a curious rockformation resembling a giant turtle withits mouth open, about to swallow us. Wedarted away, keeping a safe distance.

In fifteen minutes we were on the topof the ridge. Ian observed that it took ussignificantly less time today to get up thesame height than it did for us to comedown on another side yesterdayafternoon. I think a good night’s sleep,even with funnel web spiders andthunderstorms, does wonders to yourbody.

The leaf littered ground was slightlymoist from last night’s rain, but thebushes were completely dry due to thecontinuing high winds. The ridge wasquite open and pleasant, although had no

views to offer - yet. Within half an hour,the views appeared – and what views!

We were now travelling almost parallelto the Widden Valley escarpment, andonly a relatively short distance from it –500 m or less. Fantastic vistaswere withus all day today. Deep early morningshadows made it all look even moredramatic.

Soon after, we came upon anotherincredible rock formation that looked likea prehistoric mastodon; the arch of thetrunk that came all the way to the groundwas high enough for a person to easilywalk under.

Soon after the ridge started to dropsteeply and brought us to one of thehighlights of the entire walk – the WaveCave. Approaching from the top we firstsaw a small, wonderfully proportionedcave suspended off an edge of a cliff like abalcony. Its arched ceiling supported by asingle, slender, gracious column, shapedas though it was meticulously carved bysome masterful artisans, reminded me ofone of the Moorish palaces of SouthernSpain. The cave was bathed in the

beautiful morninglight. We spent afew minutesadmiring the cave,completelyunaware that thisis only theantechamber tothe big spaceunderneath. As wemoved furtherdown and arounda large chambercame into view,with a standalonerock formationresembling a surf

wave in the middle of it.The wave is about 1.5 m high by 4 m

long. Further in this chamber there arehuge slabs of brightly coloured rock,collapsed and scattered on the whitesandy floor in an artistic fashion. Thecave ceiling has an amazing cupoladecorated with intricate weatherings andsplashes of colour that would putBramanti to shame. Above the ceiling andto the side is a further richly decoratedspace culminating with a couple of smallwindows into the sky. What a place!Many photos were taken, and then it wastime to move on. We reached WilpenSaddle at 0850. The day was still veryyoung, and we have seen so muchalready!

After another sharp climb, we got tothe top of the knoll which was open andgrassy. This followed by a 200 m descentthat looked a bit tricky at first due to thecliff line in the upper part. Soon, wemanaged to find a convenient long gullythat delivered us from the top most of theway into the next saddle. This saddle wasvery deep and small, only about 50 mlong but 50 m wide.

At 0948 it was morning tea time nearsome very interesting looking high

rocks. Rather than having a rest, we werehungry for more. Taking our snacks withus, we walked towards the rocks, to see ifwe could climb them. Ian went aheadand disappeared from the view. WhenRodney and I approached the bottom ofthe cliff line, we decided to climb fromthe right hand side. This led us to anoth-er incredible feature – a large, star shapedwindow. It was pierced through the iso-lated pagoda tower we were standing on,high above the ground. The golden sun-light pouring through it was just right forthe best effect.

Wollemi Full North toSouth Traverse

Day 4 — 6 September, 2012

Wilpen Creekto WiddenBalconyYuri Bolotin

The Traverse, 279 km and 12,627 m of ascent, took 18 days inSeptember 2012. It went from the northernmost point of thePark, about 1 km north of Phipps Cutting, to the southernmostpoint at Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong, whilst always remainingwithin the Park boundaries. Nearly 2 years went into the plan-ning. The walk was in three sections with a food resupply betweeneach one. Ian Thorpe (who conceived and led the walk), was

joined by Yuri Bolotin and Rodney Nelson on the first two sections;Ian and Yuri did the third section finishing at Kurrajong on 20September.Michael Keats and Yuri Bolotin are writing a book about this jour-ney. In the meantime we are publishing a condensed version of 3days on the walk from Yuri’s track diaries. This is one day. Twoothers will follow.

Widden Valley with Mount Pomany on the left

Wave Cave — upper antichamber


By climbing around the window, werealised that we were on one of the threehuge monolith rocks, with no waybetween them other than climbing downone and up the other. We saw Ianstanding on top of the next rock, so closebut out of reach. He went on the lefthand side and followed the base to themost outlying one of these monoliths,quite a bit further apart from the othertwo. This outcrop that I called ThreeBrothers is in my opinion as good as if notbetter than the Three Sisters.

Having finished our morning tea, wewere soon climbing again, about 200 m tothe top of Torbanite Mountain. It is not ahard climb, but the exposure to the sunand to the strong wind made it a lotharder. From our ascent, we could seethe Three Brothers below us that weinspected at morning tea.

Near the summit of TorbaniteMountain we veered to the right (west),to avoid climbing it, as we knew therewould not be any views there anyway.The top is flat, open, and strewn withlarge boulders. It is covered withextensive grasslands which make for avery pleasant walking.

The descent is steep but straightfor-ward. Moving through the saddle, we

came almost head on with a female lyre-bird – this must have been near its nest,as it faced us fearlessly and was not run-ning away. Many photos were taken butvery few of them good, as the bird wasmoving around too quickly.

Our ridge did a 90 degree turn to thewest at this point. The day had startedwith not much wind, but it had picked upto perhaps 60 - 70 kph. Even though thewind was providing very welcome cooling

and ventilation, these high gusts were abit scary during scrambles and whilstwalking on narrow cliff edges. One suchdescent was particularly difficult, with notmuch to hang on to except a few tiny rockledges, whilst the wind was trying to pullus off them.

We were now following a thin, rockyridge with terrific views on both sides.The wind was so strong that it blew myhat away, luckily not too far away. Wedecided to take our hats off for a whileafter that. Maybe the wind wouldappreciate our respect and ease off?

For a little while now, we were lookingfor a protected spot for lunch on the eastfacing side, and at 1220 managed tolocate just the right one - a magnificentlydecorated small cave away from any

Star shaped window

Lyrebird protecting its nest near Torbanite Mountain

wind. We reflected on the multitude ofthese richly decorated caves in theWollemi. I wanted a descriptive name forthem – like pagodas that describe tall,rocky towers with curved ironstoneformations. Maybe 'baroque caves' – equalin opulence to many of the man madecreations of that period. Thus, we hadlunch in a baroque cave.

At 1252 it was time to go. Thetemperature was 19 C, tempered by avery strong westerly wind. From ourrefuge on the eastern side of the cliff wehad to move to the exposed western side,and the difference was instantaneouslyfelt! Our route was by a scenic, high,narrow ledge, with the cliffs both aboveand below us.

The next saddle was easy and open.Unfortunately, Prickly Pear had re-

appeared here for the first time in morethan a day. No fruit, so this time wecouldn’t even console ourselves with eat-ing our enemy up as an after lunch desert.

The vegetation changed dramaticallyas we stepped onto the basalt. We couldfeel loose stones under our feet. ‘Ankletwisting territory’, quipped Ian. The tall,thick grass, growing in clumps, wascovered with bright, yellow flowers.There were lots of small Xanthorrhoeas


The Bushwalker | 11Volume 38, Issue 1, Summer 2013

there as well – and I thought they likesandstone ridges only?!

Along the way, Rodney picked up someCranesbill, a small plant with green

star shaped leaves. You crush it and ap-ply to bruises and cuts. I had a deep oneon my head from one of the tree branchesthat someone had positioned in the wrongplace and was happy to give the bushmedicine a try. And of course, amazingviews were still there with us on this ba-salt spur – Mount Pomany to the south,and to the south east – a whole suite ofother mountains.

From the basalt cap, we descendedinto a very scenic saddle that has a deep,wide, dramatic notch through it whichcontinues all the way down plunginghundreds of meters into the WiddenValley below. In the middle of this saddleis a huge rock with mature trees growingon it. This feature is not shown on thetopographical map.

We were now walking right beside theWidden Valley escarpment. The views,that had been incredible for most of theday, had now become totally unreal. Notonly we could see the valley below,fringed by the high peaks on all sides, thecliff edge we were walking along providedan amazing foreground, dropping

Getting water from rock near Reubens Gap

Rodney setting up in overhang underneath lyrebird nest

hundreds of meters into the abyssunderneath. Unfortunately, I think bynow I have already used up all mysuperlatives, so not sure how to describe avista that is better than ‘amazing’. Youjust have to go there and see it foryourself!

Next, we came upon an orphan rockcolumn, about 3m high, perched on thevery edge of the cliff. For the photosession, I was very tempted to stand onthe narrowest of ledges between thecolumn and the enormous drop below,but common sense prevailed in the end,and the photo was taken with me on theopposite side. After all, I wanted to finishthis Traverse at Kurrajong, rather thanhere!

By 1415, we started a steep descentinto Reubens Gap. It is a two stageexercise. After the first sharp drop flattensout and you expect to come into a saddle,there is the second even sharper decline.We were so eager to come down that weoverdid the second descent and went toolow and had to scramble up about 10 mand sidle along, in order to finally get tothe gap and the fire trail. The time was1428.

Dropped our packs and went down theroad towards Reubens Creek for water.The road plunges down very steeply andour goal was still a fair distance away, sothe idea was to minimise the water searchtime. Further down the valley there arewater wells with assured supply of cleanwater, and before them there arenormally pools in Reubens Creek. Buteven closer to the Gap there is a largerock on the right hand side of the roadthat has a deep cavity in it. We werehoping it would contain water as usual. Itdid, we were in luck! The water was notthe first grade, but it was a lot closer. Wefilled up, two at a time, as the top of therock could only hold two peoplecomfortably.

Back on top by 1524, and on with it.The first hill is steep but with no

scrub. Next comes a bit where prior re-search really pays off. You are suddenlyin front of a tall cliff. Do you climb overthe top, sidle to the left or sidle to theright? Our recce earlier this year said tothe right (west). The east side may go aswell but not as quick; over the top endsup with a 20 m drop. We were gettingtired in the late afternoon and were carry-ing 4-5 L of water each from ReubensGap.




We were now stepping into a veryspecial area that extends S from here toour intended camp site, still about 800 maway. The landscape was very dissectedand full of tall pagodas, multi-level caves,giant boulders, narrow slots and more. Iam passing by for the second time, and onboth days it is late in the afternoon andthere is no time to stop and investigate, aswe are trying to make the camp. Oneday, there will be a special trip to explorethis spectacular part of the WollemiWorld. I called it Reubens Labyrinth.

Towards the end there is a very sharpclimb to the top of the escarpment,

designed to test one’s strength and stami-na, especially late in the day with fullpacks. We took it easy, which is not a bigdeal – it only takes 15 minutes or so. Justbefore the climb, and alongside it, thereare more interesting rock formations andcaves, especially one that looks like anoth-er surf wave.

We reached our camp site just after

1630. This place is absolutelyspectacular, and is worth a visit in its ownright. It is on the very edge of theescarpment, with the cliffs droppingseveral hundred meters into the WiddenValley. However the edge here is not flatbut forms a rocky barrier about 3 m highthat one can climb to from the sideopposite to the cliff. You can then sit justunderneath that barrier, like in a balconyseat in a theatre, and behold theincredible view of the valley below, thehigh mountains on the opposite side, themovement of the sun, and at night, themoon. I called it Widden Balcony.

There is a small, high, rocky platformabove the Balcony, where Rodney campedlast time during a huge thunderstorm. Aninteresting experience, he admits. Wecalled that Rodneys Aire. It is like a stonetower and the vista from there is jawdropping. Underneath the WiddenBalcony, protected from the westerlywind, is a series of cave overhangs, wherewe decided to sleep this time. Rodney

erected his fly beneath a lyrebird nest.For Ian and myself, it was sleepingalfresco on the soft sand of the cave.

We had our ‘happy hour’ at theBalcony, in premium seats, watching themagnificent sunset. Later, after dinner,we took our torches and went up toRodney’s Aire, to see the night sky of ourlives – a 360 degree expanse of the skyfilled with stars and constellations. Wefelt we are standing in the centre of theUniverse. The Milky Way was stretchinglike a giant rainbow from one end of thehorizon to another. We remained therefor a long time, despite the wind whichwas still quite strong, absorbing the magicof the place. This was a fitting conclusionto a hard but really phenomenal day thatwould be difficult to beat.

I fell asleep by the sound of the windhowling outside, but totally protected

and comfortable on a soft, sandy groundof our cave.

Total distance today was 14.5km,ascent – 1,326m. t

Widden Balcony — view south to Mount Pomany A narrow passage through the rocks in Reubens Labyrinth

Yuri next to rock column on edge of Widden escarpmentRodney and Ian at Mastodon Rock

The Bushwalker | 13



I WANTED to see Blue Lake and hope-fully get some reflection shots, so weopted for the 10 km return to Blue

Lake on Xmas Day. I’d like to say the daydawned, but it never did, obscured by amountain mist.

Initially we passed some of the mostbeautiful snow gums I’d ever seen, withpastel colours splashed randomly onmuted backgrounds in improbableabstract shapes that many an artist wouldenvy. Dewdrops hung from every stalkand branch and the odd blossom sparkledin the diffused light.

Around 10.20 am we met anotherwalker - he’d started at 4.30 am on theSummit Track, a 21 km loop viaKosciusko. A few hundred metres furtheron we came upon a murder of crows andit was so eerie as they squawked andflitted from granite boulder to graniteboulder, merely black shapes in the softlight of the mist. Their echoing ‘ark, ark’cries and silhouetted movements in thefog made us think we were on the set ofHitchcock’s ‘The Birds’, their noise theonly sound in the enshrouded mountain.There must have been over 100 of them inthis bleak landscape.

Turns out they’re mainly up here forthe Bogong moths, blown here fromQueensland in their millions. In ages pastthe aborigines, though their tribal groupsdidn’t intermingle in the valleys below,joined together on the high plains insummer to feast upon this food bonanza.These days the moths carry traces ofarsenic upon them from the crop sprayinghundreds of kilometres away and thus theflora and fauna up here have beenpoisoned by traces of the chemical and itsinsidious side effects.

We took the turnoff to Blue Lake. Ourroute suddenly became a rough tiny rockypath down to the lookout but theenshrouding mist prevented any viewingof the waters until, like a temptressdefrocking herself, the pervading cloud letin glimpses of what lay beyond and wewere transfixed from that point on.Everywhere we glanced it was like a

Ian Smith

magician conjuring up a final illusion beforethe finale and it was stunning. The waftingclouds, driven over the mountains by theprevailing wind, reached Blue Lake and then,sucked down by the colder temperature,cascaded spectacularly into the vortex beforerecovering and tumbling onwards, everupwards, ascending the slopes beside us,over the million coloured dots of wildflowersthat flecked the landscape in their prettyhues. t



JUST like walking poles, hydrationpacks have become one of the latest„must have“ items for bushwalkers,

and just like walking poles, their allegedbenefits are far outweighed by their short-comings.For a start, they are relatively expensive.Hydration pack bladders that slip into anexisting backpack cost from $15 up, whileintegrated backpack / hydration pack “so-lutions” can set you back well over $100.Add the ongoing costs of cleaning kits andchemicals to this initial expense, and youmight be left wondering why you justdidn’t pack a couple of plastic bottles thatyou get for free when you buy some softdrink.

And if you go the “cheaper” option ofjust buying the bladder, you might haveto upgrade your day-pack to a purpose-built pack that incorporates a separatepouch for the bladder, unless you justwant to pop it into your pack with the restof your valuables and risk the inevitableleakage problems - because, sooner orlater, despite all claims to the contrary,your hydration pack WILL leak. At bestyou will be left with a wet butt as thewater from the hydration pack soaks intothe bottom of your backpack and out theother side. Other more serious likelihoodsinclude destroyed cameras, ruined gpsdevices, short-circuited car-key remotes,and soggy sandwiches when you discoverthat your expensive pack liner protectingall your vital equipment from inundationhas unexpectedly developed a pin-holeand has suddenly become a hydrationpack itself.

Of course, manufacturers will tell youthat their packs are “leak-proof”. Is

this because other hydration packs leak?Or is it because earlier versions of theirown packs leaked? And why do theystress the “leak-proof” angle? Do softdrink manufacturers advertise “leak-proof” bottles? The answer is “no” – be-cause everybody knows that soft drinkbottles don’t leak.

Some manufacturers even go so far asto advertise their products as “100% leak-proof” – doesn’t “leak-proof” imply 100%“leak-proofedness”? One prominentreviewer of hydration packs on theInternet rated one of the products underreview as “99% leak proof” - which meansthat it leaks!

And even if somehow,miraculously, the bottledoes not leak, there isalways the problem oftheir “bite valves” gettingpinched during transport – and leaking!

All in all, hydration packs are ratherimpractical. They are tucked away in yourbackpack, out of sight and often out ofmind as well. You cannot see how muchwater you have left, and sometimes thefirst hint you have that you are gettinglow on water is when you start sucking airand realise that you have actually alreadyrun out.

Filling a hydration pack is relativelyeasy – at home. In the bush, when you

might have to fill your pack from a shal-low pool or an awkward trickle down arock, hydration packs are notoriously dif-ficult to fill. Some people carry a smallbottle which they use to catch water to filltheir hydration pack, which makes onewonder why they were not just carryingbottles in the first place.

Without exception, hydration packshave tubes leading from the bladder toyour mouth. Apart from the fact that thewater in the tube will heat up rapidly insunlight, much like a baby in a parkedcar, these tubes pose few problems,except when they mysteriously unclip anddangle away somewhere behind you, justout of reach of your frantically searchinghands, or when they snag on trees andscrub, and rip out of the bladder entirely.If you are lucky, the tube might only bepunctured, or perhaps the mouth-piecewill just fall out and disappear into theleaf litter at your feet.

Assuming that you survive your walk,when you get home there will bemaintenance to be done. While otherssimply rinse their water bottles and wipearound the lip, hydration pack ownersmust (or should) go through a much morecomplicated procedure.

Hydration cleaning kits include the“basic” tools you will need for a thoroughrinse/scrub/drying session. Many kitscome with an expander piece to priseapart the walls of the hydration pack topromote proper drying, plus a dryinghook on which to hang the pack after thecleaning process. Most kits also contain atube-cleaning brush, usually over a metre

long, and a thick, bristly brush forscrubbing the reservoir’s inner walls.

Camelbak – a leading manufacturer ofhydration packs – recommend cleaningyour hydration pack thoroughly if leavingit unused for periods of a week or more.For those of you who walk once a week atmost, this means you should clean yourhydration pack every week!Manufacturers also recommend their owncleaning tablets (of course) for deepcleaning the water bladder once a month.

Camelbak cleaning tablets are similarto denture cleansing tablets in theiraction. They contain chlorine dioxide,which is basically bleach. You pop thetablet in a litre of water in the hydrationbladder for just five minutes, then rinsethoroughly and hang up to dry.Manufacturers suggest that you mightwant to follow this with a rinse of bakingsoda, lemon, or vinegar to help removethe chlorine taste of the cleansing tablets.They don’t actually tell us what to use toget rid of the taste of the baking soda,lemon or vinegar.

As opposed to those who prefer waterbottles, people who use hydration

packs do seem to drink more water moreoften, because they spend an inordinateamount of time urinating. While othersstop to quietly sip from their bottles, hy-dration pack users can be seen dashinginto the bush in search of suitable trees.

Hydration packs might be great forelite mountain-bikers, orienteers,rogainers or paddlers, where time spentstopping to take a drink from a bottle istime wasted, but for most bushwalkersthe occasional stop to drop packs, have astretch and top up our fluid levels is atime to look forward to - a welcome breakfrom our hiking effort. During these shortstops, when the hydration pack people arescurrying into the scrub, we have time tocontemplate their folly, realising thatwhile their packs might be equipped withall the latest hydration technology, inreality they are just the suckers on theend. t

[I couldn't agree more! - Ed]

Brett DavisShoalhaven Bushwalkers


IT WAS a sad loss to the NSWbushwalking and conservation move-

ments when long-time volunteer Michael“Ted” Maack died from a terminal illnesson 14 July 2012. He was only 55.

An electrical engineer, Ted firstappeared on the bushwalking scene whenhe joined the Sydney UniversityBushwalkers in 1983. He was assigned henickname “Ted” to distinguish him fromseveral other Michaels—and because atthe time there was a prominent Sydneypolitician by the name Ted Mack.However, the name always seem very apt,and firmly stuck. Ted really was a ted:somewhat cuddly, a bit gruff on theoutside, but warm and generous on theinside.

Ted soon became known in the club asa competent and adventurousbushwalker, cross-country skier andnavigator. Whether leading or following,he was friendly and supportive towardsnewcomers, and was usually to be foundat the rear of the party. He is also recalledas a great participant at club campfires,known for working his way through theentire bushwalkers’ songbook in thecourse of a night.

It was through the club that Ted metMaeve Kennedy. The pair moved to theBlue Mountains and planned to marry,but fate intervened when Maeve tragicallydied after a car accident. Ted thenbecame de-facto father to Maeve’s twoyoung sons.

Ted joined Springwood BushwalkingClub in 1990, and was active through thenineties, while still maintaining hisinvolvement with Sydney Uni. He was amember of Springwood’s winningNavShield rogaine team in 1991, andsubsequent place-getting teams. I fondlyrecall one occasion when he decided toginger up the team by passing round aflask or rum (or was it Drambuie?) whenwe were only five minutes from the start!I admit that horrified me at the time: Iwas focused on the end result.But after years of reflection Irealised, as Ted did then, thatteam bonding and having funwere worth far more than firstplace.

But Ted was no ordinarybushwalker. He served withdistinction in theConfederation of BushwalkingClubs for 24 years, being adelegate firstly of Sydney UniBushwalkers, then Springwoodand finally the Blue MountainsConservation Society.

His Confederation careerstarted with the role of JuniorVice President in 1988. Aboutthat time he also took on thejob of Transport Officer withthe Search and Rescue Service.

As such, he had the privilege of towingthe official trailer to search and rescueevents with his old short-wheel-baseLandcruiser.

1991 saw him as ConfederationPresident, taking over from the long-serving Gordon Lee. Then, after periods asMinutes Secretary and Tracks and AccessOfficer, in 2001 he was appointedConservation Officer, arguably the mostimportant role in the Confederation. Heworked hard at it for 10 years—that isuntil ill-health forced his retirement in2011.

Ted was also active in conservation inthe Blue Mountains. In 1992, the 60thanniversary of the saving of Blue GumForest saw Ted as MC at the ceremoniesin the forest—an occasion recalled bythose present at the recent 80thanniversary. He then became an inauguralmember of the Friends of Blue GumForest.

He was also a long-time member theBlue Mountains Conservation Society,where his engineering and mapping skillsproved very useful. He was an activemember of the Blue Mountains Mayor’sWorld Heritage Advisory Committee, andthe campaign against the Stealth filmingsaw him at the blockade on the MountHay road.

Meanwhile, he spent 15 years as a Cuband Scout Leader at Springwood, earninga reputation as a quiet but effectiveleader, much liked by the boys. Manyyoung men of today are richer for Ted’svoluntary service.

In 2000 Ted married Shila, the newlove of his life. Shila was not really abushwalker but was very supportive ofTed’s passion for the bush andconservation, and her family readilyadopted their new father.

On Ted’s passing, ConfederationPresident Dodie Green said “Ted was ourfriend and ally in the protection andpreservation of our great wilderness areasand national parks. Individuals with hissense of service, passion and commitmentare few and far between, he will be verysadly missed.”

Andy Macqueen

FarewellTed Maack

Michael “Ted” Maack officiating at the 60th Anniversaryof the saving of Blue Gum Forest

John & Gilllian SouterISBN 9781921874895Paperback, 234 pp, RRP $29.99

THE SOUTERS have published anumber of walking books generally

covering the Illawong and Shoalhavenregions, and this is the latest one. Theyhave got a very clear and easy to under-stand style, with each walk having a sum-mary, a map, a more detailed descriptionof the walk, a grading (easy, medium andhard), access information and some pho-tos. Mixed in with all this are little extrasabout people, places and variants.

The book is all about day walks,ranging from 1 hour to six hours long.They have been sorted into areas:Wollondilly, Mittagong/Nattai, ‘The Heartof the Highlands’, Robertson &Escarpment, Bundanoon Gullies, andBungonia/Wombeyan. However, a few ofthe extensions mentioned would make fortwo-day walks with a camp somewherenice.

Some of the walks could be describedas strolls around small villages, but otherscould be described as energetic climbsdown and up the big gorges in the area.Ascents of up to 450 m are possible.

The book is a paperback, but the pagesare quite thick paper and should last fairlywell, even in a pack. That means the bookis not quite ‘light-weight’, but for daywalks that hardly matters. If you can't findit in a bookshop, contact the publisher [email protected] or:02 8445 2301

Roger Caffin

Book Review

Best Walks of theSouthern Highlands


The Bushwalker | 15The Bushwalker | 15

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