Girrakool to Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne
Download & Print Map and Notes8 hrs 30 mins
870 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 → Piles Creek Waterfall
70 m
2 mins
0m
-10m
Moderate track
(0.34km) Piles Creek Waterfall → Int of Girrakool and Piles Ck lookout tracks
1 km
25 mins
47m
-73m
Moderate track
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 → Tributary Crossing
1 km
29 mins
96m
-81m
Hard track
Turn sharp left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Patonga Ferry’ sign[3] up the side of the gully, keeping the intermittent creek[4] to your left. The track leads past a ‘Patonga’ sign then winds steeply up the hill for about 130m, through a cleft in the rock[5] and past a few rock walls, and then the track mostly flattens out with some filtered distant views[6]. The track continues gently uphill for another 300m, becoming progressively flatter[7] before passing along the side of a long rock wall[8], with a tall sandstone overhang[9]. The track then crosses a small gully and leads past another overhang, where the track begins to lead downhill. The rocky track winds steeply downhill for about 130m to then cross an intermittent creek which flows over the solid sandstone platform[10].
(2.69km) Tributary Crossing → Scopas Peak
2.4 km
57 mins
189m
-33m
Hard track
(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 → Myron Brook crossing
1.6 km
36 mins
36m
-178m
Hard track
(8.96km) Myron Brook crossing → Kariong Brook crossing
400 m
11 mins
28m
-33m
Hard track
Kariong Brook Falls
(9.36km) Kariong Brook crossing → Int of the Great North Walk and Patonga service trail
690 m
24 mins
122m
-21m
Hard track
(10.05km) Int of the Great North Walk and Patonga service trail → Int of GNW and Thommos Loop track
1.5 km
28 mins
54m
-34m
Moderate track
(11.54km) Int of GNW and Thommos Loop trail → Int of GNW and Mullet Creek Trail
1 km
22 mins
29m
-54m
Moderate track
Turn right: From the intersection, the track follows the GNW arrow post along the management trail[80], initially keeping the power lines to your right. The trail soon bends left and leads uphill. As the trail flattens out again, it comes to a three-way intersection marked with a ‘Great North Walk’ and ‘Wondabyne Station’ sign[81], pointing back along the trail.
(12.58km) Int of GNW and Mullet Creek Trail → Int of GNW and Mt Wondabyne Peak tracks
950 m
21 mins
109m
-11m
Hard track
(13.53km) Int of Great North Walk and Mt Wondabyne Peak tracks → Mt Wondabyne Peak
210 m
5 mins
20m
-1m
Hard track
Mt Wondabyne
(13.53km) Int of Great North Walk and Mt Wondabyne Peak tracks → Mt Wondabyne Campsite
90 m
2 mins
0m
-6m
Moderate track
Mt Wondabyne Campsite
(13.62km) Mt Wondabyne Campsite → Int of Tunnel Track and Mt Wondabyne trail
760 m
16 mins
0m
-49m
Moderate track
(14.37km) Int of Tunnel Track and Mt Wondabyne trail → Int of Rocky Ponds Trail and Tunnel Track
470 m
9 mins
8m
-15m
Easy track
(14.84km) Int of Rocky Ponds Trail and Tunnel Track → Int of Hawkesbury Track and Dillons Trail
190 m
3 mins
1m
-8m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the GNW arrow post directly away from the face of the ‘Tunnel Trail’ sign[113][114] along the narrow track. After about 20m, this short track leads to an intersection with the signposted ‘Dillons Trail’[115].
(15.02km) Int of Great North Walk service trail and Patonga track → Woy Woy Landfill
1.8 km
34 mins
24m
-112m
Moderate track
(16.78km) Woy Woy Landfill → Woy Woy Landfill site front gates
1 km
23 mins
38m
-84m
Easy track
(17.79km) Woy Woy Landfill site front gates → Woy Woy train station
2.9 km
45 mins
6m
-21m
Easy track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows Railway Street through the residential area, past the shopping centre to the Woy Woy train station.
Maps for the Girrakool to Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne 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 |
Broken Bay | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91301N BROKEN BAY | NSW-91301N |
Gosford | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9131 GOSFORD | 9131 |
Sydney | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9130 SYDNEY | 9130 |
Cross sectional view of the Girrakool to Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Girrakool to Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne
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 | 20.7 km | ||
Time | 8 hrs 30 mins | ||
. | |||
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
8km of this walk has gentle hills with occasional steps and another 6km is very steep. Whilst another 6km has short steep hills and the remaining 160m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
7km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 6km follows a rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely. Whilst another 3.9km follows a smooth and hardened path and the remaining 3.5km follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles.
Signs
10km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection and another 7km is clearly signposted. The remaining (3.5km) has minimal directional signs.
Experience Required
Around 11km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 9km requires some bushwalking experience.
weather
Around 19km of this walk is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation), whilst the remaining 1.7km is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety.
Infrastructure
Around 16km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 4.2km has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Girrakool to Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne 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 Woy Woy station via Mt Wondabyne ends at the Woy Woy train station (gps: -33.485814, 151.32361)
Your transport options to Woy Woy train station are by;
Train. (get details)
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
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/gtwwsvmw
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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