|
BROWNHILL SUMMIT Time : 2 hours; Distance : 7 km |
||||||
|
SUMMIT TRACK
|
||||||
|
A beautiful day: blue sky, sunshine, green grass, exhilaration!! Ideal for exploring the next section south of the Waite Conservation Park. I park the car in Hillside Road, a continuation of Waite Road, just before it turns the corner.
• 1 We should perhaps call this a Summit Track, as our walk begins in Waite Conservation Reserve. Here is the track into the Reserve.
• 2 We follow up the hill, veering right before the water tank, and then immediately right up the hill to meet up with the signposted Yurrebilla Track. We follow this track south (in the direction of the arrow!).
• 3 We soon come to the southern boundary of the Waite Reserve.
• 4 It is not clear where we are now, but in fact the track continues through the eastern part of the Carrick Hill Estate. A pleasant walking trail.
• 5 Now this is a worry! Where did he come from?
• 6 There is the occasional pleasant view out across the Plains to the distant city.
• 7 There are some gum trees along here, also some pines, and lots of olive trees. These are a real pest in the hills – unless you are fond of olives.
• 8 Just as we leave the Carrick Hill Estate we come to a T-junction with several signs. One describes the Yurrebilla Trail.
• 9 Clearly we have arrived at Brownhill Reserve. If we turn right here we finish up at McElligot Quarry – an interesting destination for a future visit.
• 10 Instead we turn left, and begin the steep climb up the bare but grassy slopes of Brownhill. It begins like this ...
• 11 From the top of this section we can see our destination: there is a trig station just visible on the horizon in the centre.
• 12 The track continues its steep climb. There is always a crazy jogger!! We see that Brownhill is not quite treeless!
• 13 The track does a dog-leg to the left near the top, and the gradient eases. Some workers find an easier way of ascent.
• 14 At the summit there is another attractive sign – defaced by vandals. Why do they do it?
• 15 There is also a unique trig structure, apparently used for surveying by Colonel Light long ago (well maybe not this structure!).
• 16 I would have loved to continue on beyond the summit along this walking trail, and returned to the (previously visited) Wylie Trig in Waite Reserve. The trail is here, but so is the gate, the barbed wire fence and warning signs.
• 17 There is a wonderful panoramic view to be seen from the summit – right round from the Mount Lofty towers to the city. Part of this is shown below ...
• 18 We retrace our steps down the hill, and until we get well into Carrick Hill Estate. I really want to get a photo of the old mansion, so I follow a side path down to the left across this stile, and follow an alternative walking track.
• 19 And well worth the effort! This grand old house is now used as an art gallery and function centre.
• 20 A little further along we find this old horse trough – memory of a past era.
• 21 Some more walking brings us to this grassy, rocky knoll. Now, where does the track go?
Well, beyond this the track seems to fizzle out and I am left to negotiate some uncharted territory. I make my way uphill through fairly thick scrub to rejoin the Yurrebilla Trail, fortunately without personal damage! It would have been easier to retrace our steps back to the main Yurrebilla Trail. So back to the car. |
||||||
|
SUMMIT TRACK
|
CREEK | |||||
