Brief description: Out & back walk along Lake Road.
Day & date: Wednesday 21 JAN 10
Start time: 0800
Walking time: 4h+
Walk distance: 21km return
Weather: Sunny, warm 30C
Sun: Rise 0610,transit 1315,set 2020.
Walk map: NSW topographic map 1:25000 Sutton 8727-1S
Start: Corner of Lake Road & Bungendore Road.
Mail boxes at the start of Lake Road.
Start location: 26 km ENE of Canberra City.Start Grid ref: 194983
Start GPS: UTM Zone 55 719360E, 6098329N
Locality map from Geoscience Australia MapConnect 250K topo base:
Lake Road Bungendore -
Geology: Ordovician rocks of the Pittman Formation [450MY] make up the Lake George Range & escarpment. Recent sands, gravels & soil make up the flat bed of Lake George and the surrounding plain. This is a mini version of Africa's Rift Valley!
Walklog1:Walked with Reg Sewrey. Parked in the Bungendore Showground, north of the township on Mathews Lane, then walked up to the start of Lake Road. [40 minute drive from Evatt].
An easy flat walk along Lake Road which follows the Lake George escarpment north along the edge of the dried lake bed. Area to the north of Bungendore near the road was proposed as a site for the national capital.
Typical view along Lake Road.
Plenty of shade in the morning. The wooded escarpment towers 100m high on the west, contrasting with the flat lake bed on the east. A ribbon of properties extends along the west side of the road. The gravel road is in excellent condition and perfect for walking. It is a no through road [though not marked as such at the start of the road!!!] and so carries local traffic only. The public road ends at the gates of Silver Wattle [55 717837E, 6108025N]. Apparently Gearys Gap, about 5km further north, can be reached by walking along the shoreline of the lake.
Country looked dry; small numbers of sheep, cattle, horses & alpacas. Kangaroos evident. Large eagle soaring along hills. Wind turbines busy on the eastern shore of the lake.
Alpacas with old & new wind power behind.
Typical landscape, flat soils & gravels in foreground. Smiths Gap in the Lake George Range in the background.
I wore new Hi Tec Natal boots. Very comfortable. Some red soreness around ankles and lower leg next day. No blisters.Historic aspects:
Lake George and its environs have a fascinating history. I have been living in Canberra over 40 years and can remember when the waters of the lake were lapping at the Federal Highway. Area to the north of Bungendore near the road was proposed as a site for the national capital in 1903.
Extract from NSW parish map 1963. Parish of Lake George, County of Murray. [Credit to NSW Lands Spatial Information eXchange. PIXel]
The map shows the northern part of Lake Road running north south. A string of small blocks line the western side of the road adjacent to the escarpment while larger blocks subdivide the dry bed of the lake to the east. The heavy blue line at the top [north] of the map is the boundary of Yarrowlumla shire. This is where, and perhaps why, Lake Road ends. To the north of Yarrolumla shire is Gundaroo shire.
The line of a drainage and reclamation channel notified in 1931 can be seen running across the lake bed. Smalley trig station [870m] indicates the top of the range. The Silver Wattle Trig Station does not seem to exist any more.
