Girrakool to Wondabyne station
Download & Print Map and Notes4 hrs
438 m
Hard track
Girrakool Picnic Area
(0km) Girrakool picnic area car park → Illoura Lookout
270 m
6 mins
0m
-33m
Easy track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Girrakool Loop’ sign down along the stone path. The path soon heads down some steps and comes to a fenced and signposted ‘Illoura Lookout’.
Illoura Lookout
(0.27km) Illoura Lookout → Int of Girrakool and Piles Ck lookout tracks
1.1 km
27 mins
47m
-83m
Moderate track
Veer left: From the top of Piles Creek waterfall, this walk follows the track heading south away from the waterfall (keeping the big valley to the right). The clear track winds through the thick bush crossing a few small tributaries and though four sandstone caves. The caves provide good shelter and a great spot to rest. The track then flattens out and comes to a 3-way intersection and a ‘Girrakool’ sign.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads south along the wide track in the opposite direction of the ‘Girrakool’ sign. Soon the track heads down a short wooden staircase to the intersection at the bottom (Piles Creek Lookout visible to the right).
(1.38km) Int of Girrakool and Piles Ck lookout tracks → Piles Ck Lookout
20 m
1 mins
0m
-8m
Moderate track
Piles Creek Lookout
(1.38km) Int of Girrakool and Piles Ck lookout tracks → Monolith Cave
80 m
2 mins
16m
0m
Moderate track
Monolith Cave
(1.46km) Monolith Cave → Rat Gully Lookout
220 m
7 mins
13m
-29m
Moderate track
(1.68km) Rat Gully Lookout → Int of Patonga Ferry and Girrakool tracks
290 m
8 mins
14m
-33m
Moderate track
(1.97km) Int of Patonga Ferry and Girrakool tracks → Scopas Peak
3.1 km
1 hr 18 mins
271m
-81m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the west side of the creek, this walk climbs uphill following the rocky track[11]. The track climb for about 600m, fairly steeply for a while then becoming progressively less steep[12]. The track passes a couple of rocky outcrops[13] to then come to a large flat rock platform, with distant views[14]. The rocky track then leads off this rock platform and continues up the ridge[15] for just shy of 300m to come to the edge of a much larger rock platform[16] with more views. A series of GNW arrow posts lead across this rock platform, generally leading towards Scopas Peak[17] for about 400m where the arrows lead off the rock platform and back onto a heathy track[18]. Keeping Scopas Peak up to the left, this track leads around the side of the hill for about 150m to pass a view across the valley to Mooney Mooney Bridge[19]. Over the next 800m, the track leads up across a few more rock platforms[20] then climbs fairly steeply up to a view point, just to the west of Scopas Peak[21].
(5.11km) Scopas Peak → South end of Scopas Peak Track
1.2 km
23 mins
14m
-80m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the Great North Walk intentions book[29], after leaving your comments, this walk heads south, gently downhill[30] along the clear track. After about 150m, the walk comes to a T-intersection[31] with the Gosford Rifle Range trail – At this intersection is a ‘Girrakool’ sign[32], pointing back along the track.
(6.27km) Int of GNW and Gosford Rifle Range trail → Int of GNW and Wondabyne trail
1.1 km
22 mins
40m
-27m
Moderate track
(7.4km) Int of GNW and Wondabyne Station Trail → Kariong Brook crossing
2 km
47 mins
64m
-211m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the western side of Myron Brook, this walk crosses the creek on the sandstone rock platform[48] to follow the track up a few stone steps and up the short steep hill[49]. The track then flattens out as it leads around the side of the hill for about 200m to pass alongside a long rock wall[50] (on your left). Now leading downhill, the track continues for another 100m then heads down a short steep section[51] into the dense moist gully, coming to a faint intersection in front of Kariong Brook Falls[52] (on your left) (just before crossing the creek, which is often underground). At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Turn left.
Kariong Brook Falls
(7.4km) Int of GNW and Wondabyne Station tracks → Eastern end of the Pindar Cave Track
630 m
11 mins
5m
-19m
Moderate track
(8.02km) Eastern end of the Pindar Cave Track → Clearing above Wondabyne Station
1 km
19 mins
3m
-72m
Hard track
(9.06km) Clearing above Wondabyne Station → Wondabyne Station
440 m
13 mins
15m
-100m
Hard track
Wondabyne
Maps for the Girrakool to Wondabyne station walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Gunderman | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91313S GUNDERMAN | NSW-91313S |
Gosford | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91312S GOSFORD | NSW-91312S |
Gosford | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9131 GOSFORD | 9131 |
Cross sectional view of the Girrakool to Wondabyne station bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Girrakool to Wondabyne station
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 9.5 km | ||
Time | 4 hrs | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6) | ||
Signs | Minimal directional signs (4/6) | ||
Experience Required | Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6) | ||
Weather | Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
6km of this walk is very steep and another 2km has short steep hills. Whilst another 1.7km has gentle hills with occasional steps and the remaining 130m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
4km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 3km follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles. The remaining (2.4km) follows a rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely.
Signs
6km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection and another 2.4km has minimal directional signs. The remaining (630m) is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
Around 7km of this walk requires some bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 2.3km requires no previous bushwalking experience.
weather
Around 9km of this walk is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation), whilst the remaining 970m is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety.
Infrastructure
Around 4.9km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 4.6km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Girrakool to Wondabyne station walk starts at the Girrakool picnic area car park (gps: -33.43168, 151.2766)Your main transport option to Girrakool picnic area car park is by;
Car. A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.
(get details)
The Girrakool to Wondabyne station ends at the Wondabyne Station (gps: -33.492083, 151.25696)
Your main transport option to Wondabyne Station is by;
Train. (get details)
Important Note: There is no car transport option to the end of this walk.
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Hunter weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/gtws
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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