We met in the carpark for Risdon Dam at 9.45am - gee it was busy at the Dam, with walkers, runners and radio-controlled yachties galore. We set off in a clockwise direction around the reservoir, over the dam wall and along the circuit loop, in pleasant (if overcast) weather.
Our first deviation from the plan was to head left at the first creek crossing, where a nice little track with a walker's gate beckoned to us.
The track was along a firetrail and fairly level at this stage. It runs through pretty and fairly sparse eucalypt forest on dry slopes. We surprised a group of Forester Kangaroos:
After this we got a bit confused, not quite sure where we were on the map.
We headed up the hill too early, and had to return to the firetrail, before eventually meeting up with the track which came up off the reservoir loop. Back on track again, we found ourselves heading uphill, and when we turned left up to Mt Direction
the trail got quite steep:
Thankfully the track levelled off a little just before the actual summit, and there were excellent views to the north:
The summit is a rocky knob with a large rock cairn and an emergency radio transmission station. Here we stopped for refreshments (at around 11.45am).
There are some limited views to the south, down the river, from an outcrop just south of the summit,
but much better views are to be had from a spot from the west of the summit. Robert had noticed a series of little cairns heading in that direction:
There are some limited views to the south, down the river, from an outcrop just south of the summit,
but much better views are to be had from a spot from the west of the summit. Robert had noticed a series of little cairns heading in that direction:
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| Looking south from Mt Direction |
This lookout spot is actually as per the map above, we'll all have to check this spot out next time!
When we eventually headed back down, Wayne led some of us off to the right, leaving the track from roughly where the red arrow is on the map above. This leads southwards along the ridgeline to near the 400m contour as marked on the map, which is another good spot for a lookout over Nyrstar and the river. There is a small cairn there to mark the spot.
The group re-formed again down the track, and we made good time on the downhill stretch (with some trouble to older knees). We soon reached the reservoir loop again. With Kat and Philip taking the shorter route (1.9km) back to the carpark, the rest of us continued clockwise around the loop (2.1km). It was a pleasant stroll, and we all got back to the carpark before 2pm.
Then it was a short drive to our coffee stop at The Aproneers in Lindisfarne, where Lyn joined us to catch up before her big trip to Spain to do the Camino.
