Greg at Millpost Hill Cairn
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2019 07 04 Wamboin Greenways No2 with MelbaShed

This was our 2nd walk around some of the Bywong Wamboin Greenways in the area just north of the ACT & east of the Federal Highway. The locals have developed a series of natural public walkways that offer walkers and some cyclists new experiences in a nice open and friendly partially rural setting. On this walk we got some great views over a Wamboin valley and more extensive views out to Black Mountain, the Brindabellas and the Lake George Wind farm. We also saw numerous mobs of kangaroos and a couple of groups of alpacas. This was Melba Shed walk No 208.

Featured image is of Greg at the Millpost Hill Cairn

Pictures in Google Photos

I led this walk with 5 walking on an overcast cold day. This walk replicated a little of the 1st walk we did here in Aug 2018. However we walked more to the west and took Tk7 which encompassed a bushier way through some interesting small narrow reserves. The walk was mostly on tracks or open bushland along crown land road reserves managed as Greenways tracks by the local community under approval of their local council Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. Its a fairly unique concept and reminds me a bit of the Rail Trail concept in Victoria, although this is indeed different as the tracks have a range of original vegetation and some introduced species such as pines. We also had to walk on some small bitumen roads to link Tracks 7 and 4. However the traffic was almost non existent so it was very safe.Whilst the walk was interesting and safe it was wise to wear appropriate footwear as some of the segments were quite rocky and uneven and at least one had lots of fallen timber and branches that has to be walked around. One old partially fallen fence had to be crossed but that was easy.

There is a master plan that shows how the Wamboin and Bywong Communities plan to extend the concept much further and to a total of at least 15 tracks or groups of tracks segments. Currently there are 9 tracks clustered around the Bywong Community Centre, one in Wamboin the Kowen Trail Runs which fits into the plan as Track Segments No 15 just south of the Wamboin Community Centre and adjacent to Kowen Forest, and one way north linking Donnelly Rd to Millyn Rd.

We met at Melba Shed (North Belconnen Uniting Church grounds, Canberra) by 8.05AM then drove to Wamboin via Gungahlin, Mulligans Flat Rd, Sutton, Fed Hwy, Macs Reef Rd, then turned right into Birriwa Rd to park at the Bywong Community Centre.

Then from 9AM we walked down Track 9 to Creswell Cnr, turning right onto Tk1 then walking west until we could join Tk7. Near here two of us deviated 200m to view a large dam to the north.

Alpacas Wamboin
Alpacas on property along Orana Drive

Then we walked south down Tk7 along a largely unmarked route through crown reserves until we reached Yuranga Dr. Just before Yuranga Drive we stopped and had nice views over the valley and across to Mill Post Hill.

Then we continued SE on several local roads before climbing Tk4 over Mill Post Hill (890m) which has some beautiful views from Lake George Wind farms to Black Mountain & the Brindabella’s. It was overcast so these views were slightly constrained.

Then we walked down to join Tk3 & took it back to Tk 1 & 9 & the cars.

One walker was feeling tired so one other went ahead and drove back to pick him up with another, whilst two of us finished the full walk.

4 of us then headed over to Sutton for a late morning tea at the Sutton Bakery. Bob was impressed as they now serve milk shakes. He is not a tea or coffee guy.  The rest of us imbibed the usual flat white coffee. I think a pie or sausage roll or two were also eaten. The bakery keeps on getting better with the car parked now properly cemented.

Here we also viewed a whole array of vintage MG’s whose drivers were also enjoying coffee and food.

The number of roos we saw along the way in peoples farms was amazing. It felt as though they were farming roos, although we also came across quite a few alpacas.

Medium walk. Distance was 11.5km. Two of us us did 11.7Km visiting that extra dam.

We had started walking at 9AM and finished at 12.44AM, ie 3hrs 44m.

Walkers: Bob Salmond, Colin Fitzpatrick, Paul Taylor, Drew McDonald, Greg Hutchison | Drivers: Bob & Drew

Altitudes: The car park location was around 780m altitude. The walk was undulating around the 800m contour and varied only a little. We started at around 780m and got up to about 890m at Millpost Hill on Track 4. The other locations were between these two heights.

References: Information on the Greenways  | Our first walk in the Greenways in Aug 2018My notes on the Kowen Trail Runs from 2018

Map of walk | More pictures in Google Photos | files including gps located in Google Drive

Notes re Maps:  GPS map views provided using Oziexplorer with map base using OzRaster Map with permission of © BKK Enterprises Pty Ltd, http://www.gpsoz.com.au ; or created using Garmin’s Basecamp using Oztopo Map with permission of © BKK Enterprises Pty Ltd, http://www.gpsoz.com.au  | The area of the walk is covered by the NSW 1:25,000 topo map 8727-1S SUTTON. This map covers from Bungendore to Sutton and includes most of Bywong and north part of Wamboin. However there has been so much development in the area not all the area is shown as developed on the current version of the map. The 2017 version of the NSW OzRaster map should be fairly current as its data comes from NSW DFSI Spatial Services who produce all NSW maps. In SIX maps you can view and print portions of an area in pdf format and you can also download the latest 1:25000 topo map in pdf format.

In the SIX, NSW latest topo and Ozraster maps they show the Wamboin Community Hall correctly on Bingley Way, but the Bywong Community Hall on Birriwa Way is marked wrongly as Womboin Community Hall. Even Wamboin is spelt incorrectly.

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2 Comments

  1. Hi
    I would just like to confirm that the Donnelly rd green way does go through to Millynn Rd?
    I walked down there the other day and there is a gate that seems to go into private property.

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