2016 February: A pleasant stroll to Sheridan Hill near Dunns Swamp, Wollemi National Park, NSW, Australia
Prolog - Sheridan Hill
Sheridan Hill, 725 meters, is not as exciting as other areas in the Dunns swamp area ... mainly because the route we have chosen is too tame. Scroll forward to the satellite photo ... there, the area north-west of the summit seems to be prime pagoda-like rock formations territory, but we were no where near it. Ah well, next time we'll definitely explore over there !
Nonetheless from its summit, DH & I can see both Mt Touwouwan and Mt Towinhingy which we climbed earlier. Well, that makes Sheridan Hill interesting enough for us :-)
Photos and trip report on the Mt Touwouwan climb are in my blog:
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/mt-touwouwan-wollemi-nat-pk-nsw.html
Photos and trip report on the Mt Towinhingy climb are in my blog:
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/mt-towinhingy-wollemi-nat-pk-nsw.html
Maps
LPI 1:100,000 scaled 8932 Mount Pomany
LPI 1:25,000 scaled 8932-3N Olinda
Below is the relevant part of the 1:25,000 scaled LPI Olinda map
Here is map on a brochure on the Dunns Swamp area:
- Upper red arrow points to Beehive Pagoda by the bank of Dunns Swamp, opposite the carpark and picnic area ... refer to photos #1, #2, #8 and #9.
- Lower red arrow points to Ganguddy Ford just south of where Ganguddy Creek flows into the south arm of Dunns Swamp
GPS tracklog file & Route
The GPX tracklog file of our route can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSVU9YUUs0VjlHc2c/view?usp=sharing
Below is our route, red colour, clockwise, superimposed on the 1:25,000 scaled LPI Olinda map:
Satellite view of our route, clockwise in red colour ~~~
The summit of Sheridan Hill is at the bottom right hand corner of our route. The area north-west of the summit seems to be full of pagoda-like rock formations. But our route was too tame ... we didn't go anywhere near it :-( Next time, we'll definitely explore there.
A summary of our route is:
- Start at Dunns Swamp picnic area
- To Beehive Pagoda
- To Cudgegong Picnic Area
- Climb Sheridan Hill
- Return leg is along east side of Ganguddy Creek
- Then cross Ganguddy Ford to return to Dunns Swamp picnic area
(Ganguddy Creek runs parallel to the access road to Dunns Swamp.)
Timeline & Distance
13:10 0.0 km Start at carpark at Dunns Swamp Picnic Area
13:28 0.7 km At Ganguddy Ford where Ganguddy Creek flows into Dunns Swamp
13:41 1.6 km At Beehive Pagoda
13:42 1.6 km Leave Beehive Pagoda
13:59 2.7 km At Cudgegong Picnic Area
14:07 2.8 km Leave Cudgegong Picnic Area
14:46 4.4 km At Sheridan Hill summit
Afternoon tea and explore around
15:08 4.6 km Leave Sheridan Hill summit
15:55 5.8 km At Ganguddy Ford
16:06 6.4 km End at carpark at Dunns Swamp Picnic Area
==============================================
Total: 2 hrs 56 mins at leisurely pace
6.4 km Distance is from Google Earth
7.3 km Distance is from Garmin GPS
Pictures - Dunns Swamp
1) From where we start the walk, looking across Dunns Swamp at our first destination, Beehive Pagoda, the red arrow. A well maintained track for tourists will take us there.
2) Zooming onto Beehive Pagoda
To Beehive Pagoda
3) This is the track that will take us to Beehive Pagoda.
4) Walking along the west bank of the south branch of Dunns Swamp
5) A few of these termite mounds along the track
6) And some interesting rock formations
7) DH posing inside a tree :-)
At Beehive Pagoda
8) We arrive at this rock formation named Beehive Pagoda by the bank of Dunns Swamp.
- Upper pic: West side, as we approach it
- Lower pic: East side, the side facing the water
9) Dunns swamp as seen from Beehive Pagoda ~~~
- Towards north-west is Mt Touwouwan pointed to by the red arrow.
- The picnic area is in the red oval. Photos #1 and #2 were taken near the left tip of the red oval.
10) Zooming onto Mt Touwouwan, towards north-west
On Waterside Walk to Cudgegong Picnic Area
11) On the Waterside Walk along the southern bank of Dunns Swamp ~~~
We are now walking towards Cudgegong Picnic Area.
12) On the Waterside Walk and looking back ~~~
In the upper photo, the mountain in the background is Mt Touwouwan, towards north-west.
13) Plenty of pagodas along Waterside Walk
Cudgegong Picnic Area
14) Arrive at Cudgegong Picnic Area ... quiet, no one around
15) Quite a picturesque place
To Sheridan Hill
From Cudgegong Picnic Area, we head south to climb the nearby Sheridan Hill.
16) These pics are taken when we are bushbashing up the slope of Sheridan Hill. The vegetation is not thick, easy going. The summit itself is at the centre of the pics.
17) Bushbashing up the hillside
18) Interesting tessellate pattern on a rock
19) I wonder what tree is this?
Sheridan Hill Summit
20) This is it, the summit of Sheridan Hill, about 725 meters above sea level.
21) The summit is a few large rocks. I am at to the top of the highest one.
22) We can't find any cairn at the summit, so we stack a few stones to make one.
By the way, the rock formation in the 2 pics below and also in the above pic are of the same rock. They look different to each other because they are viewed from different angles.
23) Moving a little away from the summit and looking back at it ... The red circle has the small cairn that we had just built.
Views from Sheridan Hill Summit
24) At the summit, there is not much of a view due to too many trees. Move away a bit and there are good lookouts. This view is towards south and west.
- Left arrow: Mt Durambang, south-ish
- Right arrow: Mt Towinhingy, west-ish.
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/mt-towinhingy-wollemi-nat-pk-nsw.html
25) Zooming onto Mt Towinhingy, west-ish
26) Zooming onto Mt Durambang, south-ish
27) Zooming onto some pagoda rock formations in the middle of the panorama of photo #24.
28) From a different lookout, towards north-west, is Mt Touwouwan. We climbed it yesterday. Photos and trip report are in my blog:
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/mt-touwouwan-wollemi-nat-pk-nsw.html
Descend Sheridan Hill
29) We climbed up Sheridan Hill from the north. Now we descend down its western slope.
30) As we climb down, we are met with another marvelous view of Mt Touwouwan which we climbed yesterday.
31) Passing by a rock with a hole in it ... One always reaches for the camera when one encounters such a rock :-) The 2 pics below are of the same rock but from opposite directions.
- Upper pic: The hole is on the left side of the rock.
- Lower pic: The hole is on the right.
32) DH climbing down
Along Ganguddy Creek
33) We've descended Sheridan Hill and are now walking northward along the east side of Ganguddy Creek ... nice scenes and a pleasant walk.
34) Wombat hole ... plenty of them in the Australian bush
35) Ganguddy Creek, near where it flows into the south arm of Dunns Swamp
36) (Continuation to the right of the previous pic)
This place is called Ganguddy Ford. It is near where Ganguddy Creek flows into the south arm of Dunns Swamp.
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