Mountains

Monday, August 4, 2014

Mt Tennent, ACT, Australia

2014 August: Climb Mt Tennent by a trail near Namadgi Visitor Centre - ACT, Australia

(If you wish to climb Mt Tennent, I suggest you climb it via The Scar (the mud slide) ... more exciting ! Photos and write up of that trip are in http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/mt-tennent-via-mud-slide-scar-act.html )

Mt Tennent

When you are near the Namadgi Visitor Centre in ACT, the first thing you notice is a towering mountain dominating over that part of the countryside, and you just feel the urge to want to climb it. Well, that mountain is Mt Tennent. Today, I have the pleasure to go up there with 2 Queanbeyan guys, Adam & Resty.

It is not a high mountain. Wikipedia says it is 1375 metres in elevation. Australian government topographic map gives 1384 meters. There is a walking track all the way to the summit; easy to climb; and popular with the Canberrans. Many walk up the mountain as an exercise.

Map

Below is a map of Mt Tennent.
- Namadgi Visitor Centre is near top right hand corner of the map, by the side of Naas Road.
- But note that the black dash line meant to represent an existing walking track, is incorrectly drawn ... see the next map.

GPS tracklog file & route

You can climb Mt Tennent from the south ... drive on Naas Rd, turn west into Apollo Road. Less than 3 km from the turn off, there is a fire trail heading north. Walk on the fire trail and it will lead to the summit.

But today's climb is on a walking track that starts from the north east. In the below map, our tracklog is in brown. Note that as mentioned earlier, the black dash line meant to represent the walking track, is incorrectly drawn; hence it doesn't match up with our route in brown.

You can (and many do) park the car at Namdagi Visitor Centre and start walking from there. We are a bit lazy, park the car by the side of Naas Road, about 500 meters south west of the Visitor Centre (the small blue circle in the above map). If you see a green bushwalking register box on top of a post by the fence with a register book inside ... well, that is where the trail head is.

You don't need a map for the climb as the walking track is well sign posted. For what it is worth, the KML tracklog file of our walk can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSWnZUN0luRjRyLUk/edit?usp=sharing

The Namadgi Visitors Centre classifies this walk as hard. Hhmmm ... it is not hard at all. Maybe hard for the Canberra public servants - they are called fat cats :-)

By the way, it is more exciting to climb Mt Tennent via the mud slide (The Scar). I climb it that way 3 weeks later. Photos and write up of that trip are in http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/mt-tennent-via-mud-slide-scar-act.html

Timeline

10:08 0.0km Start hiking up Mt Tennent with Adam.
11:16 2.8km Stop and wait for Resty - he rings up and says he is coming !

(Adam and I were the only starters. Resty was supposed to come too. But his wife had to work on the day, hence he was grounded - to look after the children.

But not long after we started walking, Resty rang and said he is coming - he found someone to look after the kids ... the marvels of modern technology ... without the mobilephone, how was he going to contact us!

So we waited for him on a lookout half way up the mountain.)

11:54 2.9km Start climbing again as Resty catches up with us.
13:09 6.8km Reach summit.

13:53 6.9km Leave summit.
15:46 13.7km Back at car.

Distance (return) : 13.7 km
Duration (return) : 5 hr 38 min
Walking time excluding rests : 4 hr 16 min at leisurely pace
Elevation difference from trail head : 750 meters approximately

Pictures

1) View of Mt Tennent taken from Namadgi Visitor Centre in ACT - The long thin scar (in the shadow) running down the centre of the photo is the previously mentioned mud slide.

2) Not long after we park the car and start walking, we encounter these mats. Adam informs me that they are newly laid - obviously the Namadgi National Park authority knows a VIP is going to walk up here today :-)

3) Hhmmm ... maybe I'm not that important as the path soon gives way to this type of trail.

4) Half way up the mountain is this nice view of the ACT country side. The small building at the centre is the Namadgi Visitor Centre - where the 1st photo was taken.

5) Further up the mountain is this flat marsh area - it is dry today.

6) The peak is in sight. There is a communication / fire observation tower up there.

7) Make it to the top, 1384 meters. Well, not quite at the top ... because the ladder up the communication tower is locked, so we couldn't make it to the highest point of Mt Tennent :-(

8) With 2 Queanbeyan guys Adam & Resty

9) At the summit, towards the west, there is a panoramic view of Brindabella Range, Bimberi Range and Scabby Range. The left arrow points to Bimberi, the highest mountain in ACT. The right arrow points to Gingera, 2nd highest in ACT. Glad to see these old friends as I've climbed both of them.

10) Zooming onto Bimberi - the big snow-capped mountain on the horizon, highest peak in ACT

11) Zooming onto Gingera, 2nd highest peak in ACT

12) It is still winter, not much flowers. But these violet coloured Hardenbergia violacea, Happy Wanderer, are quite common along the trail.

13) Closer look at the Happy Wanderer

Go to Index

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Walpa Gorge, Kata Tjuta, NT, Australia

Go to Index

2014 July: Short stroll - Walpa Gorge in Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), NT, Australia

Prolog

I was here at Walpa Gorge 14 months ago in 2013-05 with Ricky (after climbing South Australia highest mountain Mt Woodroffe). On that day, it was raining cats and dogs. But we have the good fortune to witness the most stunning scenery of water pouring down the cliff faces of the gorge. The most beautiful photo must be photo #29 ... scroll forward to see it.

But today, it is sunny, clear blue sky.

Walpa Gorege Walk

Walpa Gorge is a gorge between two of the highest domes in Kata Tjuta.

The walk in the gorge is a short easy stroll on a well maintained tourist track. Return trip is about an hour. First, walk up a rocky gentle slope, then into a shady, moist gully. The walk ends at a viewing platform between towering domes. The viewing platform is as far east as you can go. The rest of the gorge is sacred to the aborigines.

Map

- Blue oval: Walpa Gorge
- Top right hand corner: It says the distance is 2.6 km return, 1 hour.

Satellite Image

Satellite image of Kata Tjuta, The Ogas:
- Yellow arrow: Points to Walpa Gorge carpark.
- Right yellow dot: Viewing platform based on the above map. The viewing platform is as far east as one is allowed to go.
- Left yellow dot: But my Garmin GPS indicates that this is the location of the viewing platform.

- Distance from carpark to the left yellow dot is 1.4 km oneway - measured in GoogleEarth.
- Distance from carpark to the right yellow dot is 1.8 km - measured in GoogleEarth.
- Distance as indicated by the map is 1.3 km (scroll back to see the map).

Well, I believe the left yellow dot is the correct location of the viewing platform. Can someone confirm this for me please?

Timeline & Distance

Next 2013
Today Morning May Distance Comment
------ ------- ------ -------- ----------------------------
15:10 07:53 16:36 0.0 km Start at Walpa Gorge carpark
15:35 08:20 16:52 1.4 km At viewing platform

15:38 08:30 16:55 1.4 km Turn back
16:00 09:04 17:08 2.8 km Back at carpark
====== ======= ====== ======== ============================
50 min 71 min 32 min 2.8 km Distance is from GoogleEarth

Pictures

The pictures below are mostly taken today between 3pm and 4pm.

A few are taken the next morning ... Yup, I will go there again next morning :-)

And a few were taken 14 months ago in 2013-05, in a trip with Ricky during heavy down pour. The photographs give a rare sight on how the gorge is like in the rain ... well, one word, stunning ! Scroll forward to photo #29 ... it must be the most beautiful picture of all the photos on Walpa Gorge. At the time this report is being prepared, I can't find any picture posted on the internet of the gorge in the rain.

Walpa Gorge as seen from near the carpark

1) Walpa Gorge as seen from near the carpark ~~~
- As a comparison, the lower pic was taken 14 months ago in 2013-05 in the rain.

Walking into the Gorge

2) On the way to Walpa Gorge

3) Left side (north side dome) of the above pic

4) Middle part of photo #2

5) Right side (south side dome) of photo #2

6) Inside the gorge now ~~~
Most photos in this report are taken today between 3pm and 4pm. But the lower pic is taken the next morning using an old camera, hence the weird colour differences. (The battery in my main camera ran out of juice.)

7) Zooming to the line of rocks in the previous pic ~~~
The rocks are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone.

8) Going further forward ... Beautiful gorge !

9) Middle part of previous pic ~~~
- The lower pic is the same scene taken 14 months ago in 2013-05 in the rain.

10) Left side (north side) dome of the photo #8

11) Right side (south side) dome of the photo #8

12) We come to another foot-bridge ~~~
The taller plants around here are Kata Tjuta Wattle (Acacia Olgana) ... I think.

13) The bridge here is the bridge at the centre of the previous pic

14) Middle part of the previous pic ~~~
- The lower pic is the same scene taken 14 months ago in 2013-05 in the rain.

15) Continuation to the left of the previous pic
ie Left side (north side dome) of photo #13

16) Continuation to the right of photo #14
ie Right side (south side dome) of photo #13

17) Going further forward we come to another foot-bridge (centre of the pic).
- The yellow arrow points to yet another foot-bridge ... a photo of it is in photo #18.

18) I am standing on the foot-bridge pointed by the yellow arrow in the previous pic.

19) Now standing at the end of the bridge of the previous pic ~~~
At this time, it is difficult to photograph the gorge:
- The colour of the sky should be navy blue. But in order to bring out the colour of the domes and the surrounding landscape which are in the shade, a slightly longer camera exposure time is required, resulting in the blue sky being washed out in the pic.
- To the right of the red dashes is part of the dome under the strong desert sun. Its colour is washed out too due to the longer exposure time.

20) Middle part of the previous pic ~~~
- Red dashes: Refer to comments to the previous pic.
- Red oval: This is the pool in photo #22.

21) Same scene as the previous pic, taken in 2013-05 in the rain at exactly the same spot as the previous pic.
- I am the guy in the lower pic. Photographer is Ricky.

22) The pool here is the red oval in photo #20.

23) In the rain in 2013-05 (Photograph courtesy of Ricky) ~~~
I was crossing the stream of the previous pic ... there was a lot more water due to the rain.
I don't know why I bothered to put on a rain coat. The rain was so heavy that I was already soaked inside and out a long time ago.

24) Getting close to the viewing platform ~~~
- The colour of the sky should be navy blue. But in order to bring out the colour of the cliffs and the surrounding landscape which are in the shade, a slightly longer camera exposure time is required, resulting in the blue sky being washed out in the pic.
- To the right of the red dashes is part of the cliff face under the strong desert sun. Its colour is washed out too due to the longer exposure time.

Walpa Gorge viewing platform

25) The viewing platform is in front.
The platform is as far east as one is allowed to go. Further up the gorge is considered sacred to the aborigines.

26) Beautiful scene of the gorge from the viewing platform

27) At the viewing platform ~~~
The taller plants here are mostly Kata Tjuta Wattle (Acacia Olgana) ... I think.

28) Me

29) The 2 pics below were taken in the rain in 2013-05.
A rare sight of water pouring down the cliff faces of Walpa Gorge, and we have the good fortune to witness the scene !!!
- Upper pic: Ricky
- Lower pic: Photographed by Ricky ... Of all the pictures taken at the gorge, this one has to be one of the best.

30) Still at the viewing platform ~~~
The cliff on the left side (north side) of the gorge ... ie continuation to the left of photo #27

31) Still at the viewing platform and looking back at the track leading up to here

Leave Walpa Gorge viewing platform

32) Off the viewing platform and on the way back to the car ~~~
This photo is taken not far from the viewing platform.