Sunday 21 February 2021

Glenn, Rachael and Donna looking fresh at morning tea before the arduous climb

Without the bushfires we would never have enjoyed this view of the Tuross river and farmland

This is the logging road, the group had hoped to drive their vehicles along

This is what a useful logging road should look like for hiking, but this was the only open space for a small part of the walk

The ancient volcanic rocks are highly fractured but being very resistant to erosion create some spectacular scenery

Some tired but happy hikers who know the cars are only 3kms away down a flat trail

Photos courtesy of Rob and Amanda

Seven hikers set off on an Exploratory walk to visit some interesting geology seen on aerial photography in the creeks downslope from Comerang Mountain. By definition an Exploratory walk has not been reccied but we examine the topographic maps beforehand to evaluate terrain and access roads to propose a walk estimating walk time and route so club members can decide if this walk is for them.

The reality can often be very different. The first thing we discovered was that B-Travers road, a well-used mountain bike road before the 2020 bushfires had not been cleared of fallen trees so our walk increased by 2km just to get to the starting point. I had proposed to use a number of logging roads to get the best access to the creeks but they have not been used in decades which made navigating them difficult due to the forest regrowth and fire damage.

When we finally made it to the creeks everyone was pleased as the geology, waterfalls and ponds were spectacular. In one pool we saw an eel and many small fish.

As walk leader I then realised that we were not going to be able to visit all the outcrops I had hoped to see and so we headed back upslope to Comerang Mountain. We knew this was going to be tough and with the high humidity and temperatures exceeding all of the projections, seven weary hikers were very glad to see the cars.

I will plan another Exploratory walk in the winter that will go straight to the larger outcrops via a different route as I am hoping it will be even more spectacular than what we saw today.

Rob