September 2011
Sandwiched between weeks of rain was one glorious Sunday, a day of blue skies and gentle breezes.
This, luckily, was the Bushwalking day for August and we walked the Mt Kiera Ring Track.
It has been called an iconic Illawarra walk: sweeping views from the lookouts, the first convict built cart-worthy road into the area, lush rainforests and tall figs that gave the early farmstead its name “The Figtrees”.
The circuit is only 5.7 kms of moderate grade but we added on the 2.4 km return walk to Robertson’s Lookout.
We chose to drive to the Mt Kiera Lookout at the end of the walk as the days in late winter close in so early that there is always the risk of daylight fading before we complete the trek.
Eleven of us set out from Byarong Park where once the pit ponies from the coalmine were grazed. This is a great spot for a picnic as there are toilets and gas BBQs.
The path begins almost immediately past the Girl Guide Camp. Thomas Mitchell had surveyed it in 1834 and there is a wonderful feeling walking over the rocks placed there by the convicts, a definite link to the history of this old settlement of Wollongong.
The path to Warra Trig starts as a steep climb up stone steps, known as “The Jumpers” but soon levels out until Robertson’s Lookout, from where you can see expansive views of the coastal plain and the escarpment.
Retrace your steps from here and rejoin the ring circle walk, which now takes you to the northern side of Mt Kiera, through beautiful rain forest and tall eucalypts.
There are many steps, both wooden and stone, on this side of the mountain but there are wonderful burrawangs, birds nest ferns and some very thick liana vines to keep you enthralled.
After reaching Geordies Flat there is a short 50 metre walk along the road to the track once again through the bush and then a crossing of the road at the end of the gully to the last stretch of fern-lined path which leads you back to the Girl Guide Camp past an archery field.
There is a third lookout, Five Island Lookout, but we had had enough for one day.
Lee Sharam