Bimberi Peak, ACT, Australia (east approach)

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2011 January - 1.5 days hike - Climb Bimberi Peak, from the east
                         Start from abandoned Orroral Tracking Station in ACT and camp overnight at Cotter Flats

Alternate route

An alternate shorter 1-day route is from the west - start at Currango Plain (north-eastern tip of Tantangara Reservoir).
I did it twice. Photos and trip reports are in:

•  2018-12:  https://mntviews.blogspot.com/2018/12/bimberi-peak-and-mt-murray-act-australia.html
                    (including climbing Mt Murray)

•  2009-12:  http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/bimberi-act-australia.html


Bimberi Peak

- 1913 meters
- Highest mountain in ACT
- Right on the border of ACT & NSW

This trip with Ricky is part of our effort to climb the highest peak in every State/Territory in Australia ... called the State-8 peaks. Scroll forward to the Appendix section to see a list and links of my climbing trips to these peaks.


Route, distance travelled, hiking time

Day 1:  31 km, 12 hrs 15 min
- Start from the abandoned Orroral Tracking Station.
- Follow Cotter Hut Road.
- Turn west into Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT).
- Cross Cotter River at Cotter Flats.
- Rejoin Cotter Hut Road which soon becomes Yaouk Trail.
- Take south-south-west fork, the Murray Gap Trail.
- At Murrays Gap, bush-bash northward up to the peak.
- Retrace steps back to Cotter Flats.

Day 2:  13.5 km, 4 hrs
- Retrace steps back to Orroral Tracking Station.


Maps

1:25,000 scaled  8626-1N Corin Dam  and  8626-1S Rendezous maps
1:50,000 scaled  Rooftop's "Namadgi - ACT South Activities Map"  2011 edition
1:100,000 scaled  8626 Tantangara


Water Requirement

From Cotter Flats to Bimberi Peak and back is a long trip. On a hot day, you should carry 3 litres of water.


Camping Permit

You need one, but it is free. Get it from Namadgi National Park Visitor Centre at Tharwa, ACT.


To get to the abandoned Orroral Tracking Station

Any decent map of ACT would show you how to get there. From Civic (Canberra city centre) to there is about an hour's drive.


Description

Ricky and I park the car and start walking at 5:50am. Nice and cool then. We first walk on Cotter Hut road. Unfortunately cars are not allowed on it, as otherwise one could have driven all the way to Cotter Flats and saves at least 4 hours of walking.

About 4.5 km (1 hour) on Cotter Hut Road, we turn west into a small foot track which leads to Cotter Flats. The only way you will notice this foot track is a small post with a yellow triangle sign with the words "Australian Alps Walking Track" (AAWT) in small print ... scroll down to see the 1st photo. You must keep an eye out for it, because one blink and you'll miss it. If you miss it, you can continue on Cotter Hut Road. It will also lead to Cotter Flats, but it will be 4 km longer.

This area is truly remote. We do not see a single soul for the 2 days. And as such, many stretches of the AAWT is overgrown with vegetation. At times, it is very hard to pick the trail.

At 9:40am we arrive at Cotter Flats and cross the Cotter River. There is a nice camping spot, a flat grassy area just by the river. We dump our camping gears there and explore around. Nearby is a ranger's hut called Cotter Hut. It has a well manicured lawn ... but don't even think about it ... you are not allowed to camp anywhere near the hut.

At 10:30am, it is time to get going again. The pack is much lighter now without all those camping gears.

From Cotter Hut, one could have bush-bashed one's way westward to Bimberi Peak. We take the longer and easier route, ie walk on the Murray Gap Trail to Murrays Gap which is at the border between ACT and NSW. Then we bush-bash northward to the peak.

A description of Murray Gap and Bimberi Peak is in http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/bimberi-act-australia.html and won't be repeated here.

We reached the peak at 14:20. Spend 30 minutes browsing around, then it is time to retrace steps back to Cotter Flats for the night.

All up, it is a 12-hr day!!! The last time I had such a long walk was ages ago when I climbed ACT's Mt Kelly from Gudgenby homestead on Boboyan Rd. Admittedly, the Kilimanjaro summit day was longer - 15 hrs; but there were plenty of rests and a long lunch. Whereas these ACT hikes have minimal breaks only.

There are lots of kangaroos around Cotter Flats. They are a friendly and curious bunch. They nose around our stuff; even copulated in front of us!!! Ricky claims that when he pees, some kangaroos come over and drink his urine. How gross!!!

I bought a brand new Blackwolf Cocoon Bivy Tent for this trip. 1.1 kg. It is quite good, easy to set up. But condensation is a problem. The weather is fine, so I have the vinyl flap off, leaving the mesh screen in place to ward off insects. But still, by the morning the inside of the tent is all wet. Fortunately I have a good sleeping bag which keeps me warm and dry.

Next day, up at 6am. Put on the backpack at 7am. Cross the Cotter River on bare feet. The water is freezing cold and painful. Reminds me of the Aconcagua trip where I had to do the same. At the time, I swore I would never do any hiking again if it involves crossing freezing rivers ... and here I'm doing it again!!!

We are back at the car by 11am.


Timelines

1st day:

05:50 From abandoned Orroral Tracking Station, start walk on Cotter Hut Raod.
07:00 4.5 km later, arrive at junction of Cotter Hut Road and AAWT.

------ 0 min rest

07:00 Start on AAWT.
09:40 9 km later, arrive at Cotter Flats.

------ 50 min rest

10:30 Leave Cotter Flats.
10:50 1.5 km later, arrive at junction to Murray Gap Trail.
12:25 4.5 km later Arrive at Murrays Gap.

------ 20 min lunch

12:45 Start Bimberi Peak climb.
14:20 2.7 km later, arrive at Bimberi Peak (total of 22.2 km from the car to summit)

------ 30 min rest

15:10 Leave Bimberi Peak.
16:10 Back at Murrays Gap.

------ 10 min rest

16:20 Leave Murrays Gap.
17:45 Back at junction to Murray Gap Trail.
18:05 Back at Cotter Flats and camp by the west side of Cotter River crossing point.

------ Total for the 1st day: 12 hrs 15 min, 31 km

2nd day:

07:10 Leave Cotter Flats.
08:48 Back at Cotter Gap.
09:50 Back at junction of Cotter Hut Road and AAWT.

------- 5 min rest

09:55 Leave junction of Cotter Hut Road and AAWT.
11:05 Arrive at Orroral Tracking Station.

------ Total for the 2nd day: 3 hr 55 min, 13.5 km


Pictures - Day 1: To Murrays Gap

1. Small post by the Cotter Hut Road - The yellow triangle sign points to a small foot track. Written in small print on the triangle is "Australian Alpine Walking Track". Both the foot track and this post are very inconspicuous. One blink and you will miss it.

2. The Australian Alpine Walking Track - This is the better part of the trail. Many stretches are completely covered with vegetation, making it very hard to find the trail.

At Murrays Gap

3. A view of Bimberi Peak from Murrays Gap

4. Me at Murrays Gap. Murrays Gap is large flat swampy area between Bimberi Peak and Mt Murray.

5. At Murray's gap - This sign marks the border between ACT & NSW. There are wild pigs in this area. Avoid them if you can as they can attack you!!! (Just so that there is no misunderstanding, the wild pig is not me, ok!!!)

Bushbash up Bimberi

6. There is no trail from Murrays Gap to Bimberi Peak; need to bush-bash to the summit. Here Ricky takes a rest amongst the scrubs.

7. Love these small yellow flowers covering the slope

8. I saw this wind-beaten tree the last time I was here. And it is still here. A photo of the same tree is somewhere in http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/bimberi-act-australia.html

Bimberi Peak summit

9. Bimberi Peak summit - almost there!!!

10. Made it!!!
(I got Ricky to carry my bulky camera tripod. The last time I carried it was to climb Qld's Walshs Pyramid. It was heavy!!! From now on, he is going to carry it ... that is why one has a climbing partner ... hehe.)

11. Our hiking gears are under the shade of this tree

12. My smelly socks hanging here to dry. I always wear 2 pairs of socks. They got wet when crossing the numerous streams - it has been a wet summer.

13, 14: Grass Triggerplant (Stylidium graminifolium) at the summit

At Cotter Flats for the night

15. Cotter Flats - we camp out around here for the night.

16. Cotter River crossing point at Cotter Flats - We set up tent right here beside the river.

17. Our camp site - it has been a grueling 12-hr day, looking forward to a good rest.

18. A pair of friendly kangaroos inspecting my cocoon bivy tent

19. Caught in the act!!! Kangaroos having sex right in front of me!!!
There are lots of kangaroos around here. They are friendly and curious. They nose around our stuff. Ricky claims that when he pees, some kangaroos come over and drink his urine. How gross!!!

Day 2: Return to the car

20. Early next morning, I cross the Cotter River on bare feet.
The water is freezing cold and painful. Reminds me of the Aconcagua trip where I had to do the same. At the time, I swore I would never do any hiking again if it involves crossing a freezing river ... and here I'm doing it again!!!

21. Ricky and the friendly kangaroos

22. Onopordum acanthium (Scotch or Scottish Thistle, Cotton Thistle).
Native to Europe and Western Asia ...
... from the Iberian Peninsula, east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia.
Widely naturalised elsewhere, with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia.
In Australia, it is mostly regarded as a weed.
(Photograph taken near our car at the abandoned Orroral Tracking station.)

23. Kangaroos avoiding the hot summer sun. (Near our car)

360 panoramic view:
A video of 360 panoramic view from the summit of Bimberi is in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrtGxnDAeo

Appendix - State-8 Peaks

This is part of my mission to climb the highest peak in all 8 Australian States & Territories ... called State-8 Peaks.

- 2010 Oct, Qld - Mt Bartle Frere
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/bartle-frere-queensland-australia.html

- 2011 Jan, ACT - Bimberi Peak - This trip report

- 2011 Feb, Tas - Mt Ossa
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/ossa-tas-australia.html

- 2011 Mar, Vic - Mt Bogong
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/bogong-vic-australia-west-peak.html

- 2011 Apr, NSW - Mt Kosciuszko
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/kosciuszo-muellers-peak-townsend-nsw.html

- 2012 Jul, NT - Mt Zeil
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/zeil-nt-australia.html

- 2012 Aug, WA - Mt Meharry
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/meharry-wa-australia.html

- 2013 May, SA - Mt Woodroffe
    http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/woodroffe-sa-australia.html

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Undara & Kalkani Crater, Qld, Australia

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2010 August: Visit Undara lava tubes and climb Kalkani Crater - Qld, Australia

After the Bartle Frere climb, http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/bartle-frere-queensland-australia.html , I drove to Undara to climb Kalkani Crater. And of course, when you are there, you just have to visit the lava tubes as well.

Undara is about 275 kilometres south west of Cairns. Including a short lunch, it is about 4 hours drive by car.

To get there from Cairns:
- Get onto Highway 1 and follow it all the way towards Mt Surprise (Highway 1 starts off as Kennedy Highway. It then changes its name to Gulf Developmental Road.)
- About 18 km from the start of the Gulf Developmental Road (or 38.5 km before you reach Mt Surprise), you'll see a big sign on the south side saying "Undara Experience".
- Turn into this road. 15 minutes later, you'll reach Undara Lodge.

The Undara landscape was drastically changed about 190,000 years ago when volcanic activities spewed enormous volumes of lava onto the surrounding countryside.

The topography, not too steep and not too flat, allowed lava to flow at a rate which was conducive to the formation of lava tubes. When the lava flowed along an existing depression, for example, a river course, the molten fluid gradually formed a tube tunnel with its top surface solidified into a hard crust by the surrounding cool air. The inside, being insulated, continued its steady advance downstream.

One of the lava flows extended 160 km, making it the longest lava flow from a single volcano on earth.

When eruption eventually stopped, the insulated lava drained out of the tunnel, leaving behind a long hollow tube. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

One of the tubes formed by the flow extended for approximately 100 km !

As time passes, erosion caused many parts of the encrusted roof to collapse, cutting the long tube into sections interspersed by moist fertile depressions where rainforest plants and animals thrive.

Openings from the collapsed roof allowed people access to the tubes. In 1990 the area was made a national park and the Undara lodge was built for visitors to stay over and to marvel at this unusual geological wonder.

(To enlarge the image, click on it.)

In the above satellite photo:
- The broken dark green curve through the lower part of the photo is a reminder of the remnant of the lava flow. It is shown up strikingly in dark green because the vegetation in the moist depression is completely different to the surrounding dry areas. I will be visiting some of the lava tubes which are located along this curve.

- The perfectly bowl shaped Kalkani Crater is at the bottom right hand corner. Its highest point is about 920 meters. I will be climbing to the top of this crater.

- Rangaranga Hill, a perfectly cone shaped volcano, 854 meters high, is at the top right hand corner.

- Undara Lodge, where I stayed overnight, is the smudge near the middle of the left edge.

- An airfield can be seen clearly near the top of the photo. If you don't wish to undertake the long road journey to Undara, you can be flown there by air.

I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking. To enlarge a photo, click on it.

1) Swag tent accommodation at Undara Lodge ... Seeing that I am alone by myself, I stayed in one of them for the night.

2) The tent is quite comfortable - 2 single beds inside, blankets are provided. As you can see from the photo, the tent floor is raised above the ground to prevent crawling insects from getting in.

3) But if you wish, you can stay in one of these restored 100-year old railway carriages for a unique style accommodation.

4) To visit the lava tubes, you must join a guided tour. On the day, there are only 3 of us, the female guide on the left, an European lady tourist on the right, and me.

5) A Bottle Tree, Brachychiton Australis ... This tree likes to grow on where the lava had flowed ... where they can get the required nutrients and minerals. In the photo, you can see the dark solidified lava rocks strewn around the base of the tree.

6) Entrance to one of the lava tubes

7) Inside a lava tube ... we can see small bats hanging from the ceiling and their droppings on the floor (not in this photo).

8) In another lava tube

9, 10) Here is another lava tube. Altogether, we visited 5 lava tubes in this half-day tour.

11) Time to head for Kalkani Crater ... There is no road sign to there. From Undara Lodge, drive towards Highway 1 (The Gulf Developmental Road). At the 9 km mark, you'll come to a sign pointing to Yaramulla. Turn into it. 7 km later, you'll reach the Kalkani Crater picnic area.

12) A breath-taking aerial view of Kalkani Volcano - pure magic scenery!!!

13) At the Kalkani Crater picnic area ... Right in front is the crater wall. From here, there is a trail climbing up to the crater rim. The trail then goes around the top of the rim in a full circle. All up it is 2.5 km, and takes about 2 hrs to complete at a leisurely pace.

14) This is the trail which leads to the top of the crater rim. The entire area is full of a type of volcanic rock called scoria. But the trail itself has been cleared of them, except for these 2 in the photo.

15) Scoria is a volcanic rock full of small holes. (Click on the following photo to enlarge it.) The holes were formed when gases that were dissolved in the magma came out of solution as it erupted, creating bubbles in the molten rock. Some of the bubbles were frozen in place as the rock cooled and solidified. Scoria may form as part of a lava flow, typically near its surface, or as ejected bombs.

16) View from the crater rim toward the north ... The hill in the distance is Rangaranga Hill, a perfectly cone shaped volcano.

17) View from the crater rim

18) Looking down into the crater ... You can sort of make out the crater wall circling around the crater. You are only allowed to walk on the rim. You are not allowed to descend into the crater. The National Park authorities don't want you to damage the unique fauna and flora inside its floor.

19) Zooming into the center of the crater

20, 21) Brachychiton Chillagoensis ... on the crater rim

22, 23) Here is an interesting plant on the crater rim. Does anyone know its name? (Seems to be a kind of Grevillea.)

24) On the way back to Cairns, you can see plenty of these bright red termite mounds along side the Kennedy Highway.

All up, it is a a pretty interesting trip which offers a unique experience in the Australian outback.

More information on the Undara lava tubes is in http://undara.com.au/

PS: The Undara country is right in Bob Katter's heart land. For people who are not familiar with Australia, Bob Katter is a maverick Australian federal politician, a member of the House of Representatives for the electorate of Kennedy. He is almost a cult status figure in this area. Photographs of him are everywhere. Probably only North Korea has more photos of their dear leader on public display than in the Kennedy electorate.

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