Sunday 25 June 2023

The morning southerly view at Hanging Mountain lookout

Enjoying the view before starting out; joined by Mary and Jim

The Coondella Firetrail.

Views east to the ocean

Winding through the burnt silvertop ash

Unique view of Gulaga

The last hill before the trig!

Finally – Coondella Trig

One of the many ‘downhills’

We were still standing at the end – back at Hanging Mountain lookout

Photos courtesy of Amanda, Philip and Erika

Six club members hiked the Coondella Ridge track, which is a tough 12.5km walk with over 1400m of elevation ascent and descent.

The walk started at Hanging Mountain lookout on Little Sugarloaf Rd where we were joined by two club members who wanted to enjoy this iconic lookout but not the tough walk.

The walk runs along the Coondella Firetrail from Little Sugarloaf Rd to the Coondella Trig station. The track runs along the ridge line of the coastal ranges at over 850m ASL. The views from this elevation are spectacular. It is not often that you are high enough to see Montague Island and ocean beyond it to the horizon. We were also 50m higher than Gulaga which offered us a unique view of the mountain.

The 2020 bushfires killed many of the silvertop ash eucalypt trees which opened up great views to the east to see the coastal towns and villages of Dalmeny, Potato Point, Tuross Head and Moruya. The post fire rains have resulted in a vigorous growth of young saplings and so these views will not be open to us for more than a few years.

A number of our hikers can now say they have joined the Coondella Trig Club with photographic evidence to prove they have been there without the aid of a 4WD vehicle. While this is a hard walk with many steep hills we all agreed the effort was worth it to enjoy the views and experience.

Rob