Date: 9/9/2008
Maps: LPI Kanangra 89303S, LPI Yerranderie 89294N and Dunphy's Kowmung
Route: Morong Creek Fire Trail to Moxley Rock, Broken Whungee, Mt Wheengee Whungee, Heliolater Point, Mt Barrallier, Bushlanders Point, Sunshine Hill and Gogy Ridge. A long day. Distance: 12 kilometres. Ascent: about 650m.
Gear: Daypack, Gaiters, Camera, EPIRB, Maps, Compass, GPS (set to WGS84), 2 litres water.
Party: Peter Medbury
Notes:
The first time I saw Moxley Rock I was standing on Heliolater Point taking in the view. I was enjoying a break from pushing through the very thick she-oak heath that grows all along the western edge of Mt Barrallier. As I looked across towards Mt Wheengee Whungee I could see a large rock formation projecting up from the valley.
The LPI Yerranderie map showed nothing but the Kowmung map identified the structure as Moxley Rock View. My interest was piqued and so I decided that I would walk to Moxley Rock at the first opportunity.
Unexpectedly, 10 days later, a softball committment I had in Newcastle had been postponed for 2 weeks because of rain. I had the day free - the opportunity I had been waiting for. Geoff Fox, a regular walking companion, had another walk arranged which involved Barralliers Crown. I was walking on my own.
I've learnt some lessons from the heath that grows across the tops in this area. You have to find a way round or push through. If it is posible to go around then it will be much quicker and a lot easier. Sometimes there just is no way round and you just have to go through the heath. The heath will rip your clothes and your skin unless you are careful. So I had allowed plenty of time to deal with the heath. I also had a number of options, based on time and progress.
I left home at 5:00am and parked on the Morong Creek Fire Trail, a short distance from the start of the Uni Rover Track. I started walking at 7:30am. There had been a lot of thick fog and lots of wallabies on the Kanangra Walls Road.
Mobile phone coverage is quite patchy in the Kanangra Boyd area, usually only at high spots with line of sight to Mittagong. There is no signal in the valleys. It can't be relied on but it is useful when available. For some reason I had signal where I parked my car so I was able to make a quick phone call to my family before I started walking.
I went straight into the bush, heading south, in an attempt to avoid the heath.
Almost straight away I walked into an old camp site, nicely cleared with a well constructed fire place and plenty of parking. It hadn't been used recently.
After that I was in thick forest. There was plenty of space between the trees but here were so many trees that visibility was quite limited. Even so, it made for easy walking.
As I swung round to the south east, the ground became much rockier. There were large granite slabs, particularly noticable on crests where they just asked to be climbed. Small rocks were everywhere. Small plants were clinging to life in the dirt and rotting leaves that accumulated in the cracks and crannies.
In between the crests, ephemeral streams were flowing strongly after the recent rains.
Fortunately I was able to cross all the streams without getting wet. Along side the streams the ferns were glowing greenly in the clear morning light.
I didn't encounter any heath and in less than an hour I reached Moxley Rock. Not what I had expected at all. That meant I could expand my walk and perhaps including Mt Barrallier. Again that would depend on timing. First though there was Moxley Rock to explore.
Moxley Rock is a large granite outcrop projecting up from the creek far below and extending above the surrounding country. It is heavily eroded and at the top is a jumble of boulders that can easily be climbed. From the top of Moxley Rock there are extensive veiws across to Mt Barrallier, down Shamash Deep and beyond.
After a good look around Moxley Rock, I enjoyed a relaxing morning tea, sitting on top of the rock, taking in the views and listening to Wheengee Whungee Creek thundering in the valley below.
I checked my maps, comparing the topos to the landscape laid out in front of me. From previous trips to Mt Barrallier I had already found a pass though the cliffs just north of Heliolater Point and I knew the easiest route across to Bushlander Point. The buttresses between Heliolater Point and Mt Wheengee Whungee looked OK. If I timed it right I might even meet up with Geoff near Bushlander Point.
My next destination was Broken Whungee. Broken Whungee is directly across Wheengee Whungee Creek from Moxley Rock.
I had to climb down from Moxley Rock and cross Wheengee Whungee Creek. The climb down was easy. Crossing the creek was not. Normally there would be many easy places to cross the creek but after the recent rains it was swollen and it took me a while to find somewhere safe to cross.
Wheengee Whungee Creek drops almost 350 metres as it flows from Freemans Swamp to Wheengee Whungee Falls, almost 2 kilometres away. The creek rushes over lots of small falls and cascades and was creating the tremendous noise that I had heard from the top of Moxley Rock.
After crossing the creek I followed it for a short distance, amazed at the force of the water and the noise it was making. But soon it was time to move away from the creek and up onto Broken Whungee.
Large areas of Broken Whungee are formed by exposed granite slabs. While many tall trees grow between the slabs they are clearly visible from several kilometres away. Moss areas everywhere were glowing green after the rain.
Large areas of bare rock had been exposed by the ephemeral streams that had rushed down Broken Whungee's steep slopes. Many of these were still trickling. Wet granite is extremely slippery and the scrambles were difficult in some places. If it wasn't my shoes were slipping it was because the surface of earth, small stones or leaves was slipping.
There was a small overhang with unusual markings on the rockwall. Once on top of Broken Whungee I was rewarded with more fantastic views - Moxley Rock, Mt Barrallier & down to Shamash Deep - and took more photos. And I could still hear Wheengee Whungee Creek roaring down below.
From Broken Whungee I followed the exposed rocks around to the south and crossed over onto Mt Wheengee Whungee. There was some heath on near the small stream that flows down between Broken Whungee and Mt Wheengee Whungee but not enough to cause any major delays.
It wasn't much fun trying to traverse along the side of Mt Wheengee Whungee. The ground was soft from the rain and the small rocks shifted under foot. When it rains in this country the water rushes down these small streams with considerable force. After perservering on the slope with no improvment I decided the top of the ridge would be better and I walked up a passage cleared by one of these ephemeral streams.
The top of Mt Wheengee Whungee is covered by open forest. The ground is covered by broken rocks lomandra. It is easy walking. There are no views because of the thick tree cover. A buttress runs down to Wheengee Whungee Creek, just upstream from Wheengee Whungee Falls. Again, it was easy walking down most of the buttress although it does get quite steep near the end. It is much easier to cope with the slope using a walking pole. There is no thick vegetation on the slope. No plants were flowering today.
Wheengee Whungee creek was flowing strongly and again it took a while to find somewhere safe to cross. Just downstream from my crossing point the creek plummets almost 100 metres over Wheengee Whungee Falls and I could hear the roar from the falls. There was no easy way for me to see the falls so I didn't attempt it. It was very pleasant sitting by the creek watching the water flow over small cascades while I took some refreshments.
The eastern slope leading up to Mt Barrallier is a bit steeper than the one I descended. It wasn't quite a scramble but I climbed rapidly following the animal pads.
Vegetation of the Mt Barrallier side was a bit different. There were a couple of plants in flower. I headed over to take a photo of one I could see and but had to stop before I could get close enough. The plant was growing on edge of a sheer cliff, not shown on the topo map. With the damp surface I decided to keep well back from the edge.
The buttress running up to Mt Barrallier is easy walking all the way. My route took me close to the cliffs above Wheengee Whungee Falls. The ground was soft and unstable to so I couldn't get too close. There are some great views into Shamash Deep from there. You get some glimpses of Moxley Rocks through the trees but generally no views. Near the top you can see the Mt Barrallier's western cliff line. And near the top there is about 25 metres of thick banksia heath - dry, sharp and scratchy.
I was planning to have lunch on Heliolater Point on top of the cliffs immediately above me. The pass I intended to use is about 200 metres north of Heliolater Point. I walked north under the cliff line till I reached the pass, a ramp really and just walked up through the cliffs and into the heath that grows on the western side of Mt Barrallier. It took a couple of minutes to work my way through the heath to reach Heliolater Point. The views were outstanding - the rains had washed the air clean and it was unbelievably clear.
I took a quick lunch break, lots of photos and adequately rested I set off again. During lunch I'd been studying Mt Barrallier. Huge areas are covered by thick, almost inpenetrable heath. Last time I'd been at Helliolater Point we'd headed straight up through the heath towards the forest. The heath had been very tough and it took a long time to get through. This time I'd noticed that the forest reached down almost to the cliff line a bit further south.
I headed south a short distance from Heliolater Point to the trees. A short distance south from Heliolater Point I noticed what looked like another pass, much closer than the one I'd used - useful if there was a next time.
At the point where the trees reached the cliff I headed inland. There was virtually no heath. It only took a few minutes to cross Mt Barrallier just a short distance from Bushlanders Point. There is a short section of heath that cannot be avoided but it didn't take long to cross.
When I reached Bushlanders Point, Geoff & his party were down below me looking for ways to climb the cliff. They'd been out to Barralliers Crown and were trying to add some extra interest to what is always a fantastic walk.
I told them it wasn't safe enough where they were trying because of the water running across the suface making moss slippery. I could see any trees close enough to the cliff or well rooted enough to support a tape so they moved around to the north and tried a couple more places. It was much the same story with each of them. In the end they decided it wasn't possible in the damp conditions and we agreed to meet at the northern pass onto Mt Barrallier.
Its an easy 15 minuute walk from Bushlanders Point to the northern pass off Mt Barrallier. The route skirts the heath by staying fairly close to the eastern cliffs. There is some exposure at a couple of places with the route right on the cliff edge so care is needed. Even so it is easier and faster than trying to push through the heath. The northern pass is a short climb down through the cliffs which are quite low in that area.
I had to wait a few minutes for Geoff, Kent and Erin to walk around the base of the cliffs. A quick g'day and we headed north west across Wallarra Bay to Sunshine Hill on Wallarra Heights. I've walked with Kent before but not his daughter. They are both very capable walkers.
From Sunshine Hill we headed north to cross Christys Creek where we could get easy access to Gogy Ridge.
Christys Creek was in flood after the recent rains and we had to find new crossing points. I crossed easily but had a very steep climb up the side of Gogy Ridge. Erin, Kent and Geoff took longer to cross but their ascents were a bit easier.
After a short steep climb up onto Gogy Ridge it is a very easy walk out to the Kanangra Road where Geoff had left his car. The route heads generally north, crossing Gogy Gully and then swinging north east around Mt Dione and then north to the road. Again, keeping out of the heath makes the walking a lot easier. It takes about an hour to reach the road from Christys Creek.
Geoff very kindly gave me a lift back to my car on the Morong Creek Fire Trail, saving me about 25 minutes walk.
All in all, my day had been very successful. I'd confirmed Moxley Rock and Broken Whungee are within easy walking distance from suitable parking.
I'd also confirmed a western pass onto Mt Barrallier and found a route from Heliolater Point across to Bushlanders Point that didn't involve pushing though heath. These would make walks to Mt Barrallier involving Yalpur Point, Shamash Point and the Temple of the Shining Orb much easier in the future.
| Time | Location | Grid Reference |
| 07:30 | Leave Car on Morong Creek Fire Trail | GR 279 347 |
| 08:20 | Moxley Rock | GR 282 328 |
| 09:20 | Wheengee Whungee Creek | GR 280 328 |
| 09:50 | Broken Whungee | GR 280 327 |
| 10:30 | Wheengee Whungee Heights | GR 282 319 |
| 11:30 | Wheengee Whungee Creek | GR 291 317 |
| 12:55 | Pass through cliffs onto Mt Barrallier | GR 300 321 |
| 13:00 | Heliolater Point | GR 282 328 |
| 13:50 | Bushlanders Point | GR 304 320 |
| 15:00 | Wallarra Heights | GR 300 328 |
| 15:05 | Christys Creek Crossing | GR 300 330 |
| 16:05 | Reach Kanangra Walls Road | GR 280 326 |
GPS Track: