#4: [22-Mar-16]

#3: [22-Nov-12] (incomplete)

13-Nov-2001 -- Drove out to Sherwood nature reserve from Grafton at around 9am so that we had plenty of daylight for this expedition, and finally found the closest position from the road at about 11am, which was at the parks sign from the Glenreagh side. The distance on the Garmin 12 was 3.2km, so dressed in jeans & boots we began following the top of the range thinking it would take about an hour to walk in, but we were very mistaken, as we found the terrain to be steep slopes over broken rocks and bolders, and extreme bush bashing at times walking through dense bushes.

In the end it took us 2 1/2 hours to reach our target, with some time taken up by taking a wrong ridge top and having to climb down one ridge, push through some very dense scrub in a creek bed, and then climb up to the next ridge (with some actual climbing involved on the rock faces!). And by that stage the temperature was in the mid 30s, so we had a good rest at the confluence before we made our return trip. While we were there, we were alerted by the sound of someone approaching, and within a few seconds a large healthy looking goanna came charging out of the scrub straight for us!, and at the last moment climbed up a tree next to us and just stared at us, even letting me take some photos.

It took us 1 1/2 hours to walk out again, the time difference reflecting walking down hill instead of up! The trek took us through some very scenic areas, with views of Glenreagh and the valley, large rock formations and caves, plus large areas of grass trees growing through the rocks, banksia trees in various stages of flower, and lots of birds including a wedgetail eagle. I definitely recommend this walk, though you may want to think twice about going the entire way to the confluence. Sturdy clothing is a must though, with the main hazard being the abundant bull-ant nests, sharp/spikey vegetation, and snakes, though we encountered none. Also take plenty of water and sunscreen.

In the Sherwood Nature Reserve.