Wouldn’t you like to be here? - Bushwalking...

Wouldn’t you like to be here?

A lesson in geology, Rincon del Verde.Photo: Laura Fortey.

View from top of Strezlecki Peak, Flinders Island, Bass Strait.Photo: Linda Groom, Canberra Bushwalking Club.

The Official Publication of Bushwalking NSW Inc

Volume 41, Issue 4, 2016 ISSN 0313 2684

The Bushwalker | 3

Walk Safely—Walk with a Club

Editor: Roger Caffin [email protected] Design & Assembly: Barry HanlonProofreader: Roy Jamieson

Bushwalking NSW Officers:President: Mitchell IsaacsExecutive Officer: Kirsten Mayer [email protected] Phone: 02 8003 5545Website: www.bushwalkingnsw.org.auAddress all correspondence to: PO Box 904,Darlinghurst, NSW 1300Facebook: www.facebook.com/bushwalkingnswTwitter: @BushwalkingNSW

Bushwalking NSW Inc representsapproximately 69 Clubs with a totalmembership of about 12,700bushwalkers.Formed in 1932, Bushwalking NSWprovides a united voice on behalf of allbushwalkers on conservation, accessand other issues.People interested in joining abushwalking club may write to theExecutive Officer at:[email protected] Bushwalking NSW websitewww.bushwalkingnsw.org.aucontains a list of clubs and lots of usefulinformation on bushwalking, includingthe Australian Bushwalking FAQ.

Front Cover: Long Reef Beach and Long Reef Point,Dee Why. Photo: Roger Caffin.Back Cover: Larapinta Trail, 10:30 pm.Photo: David Whyte, Watagan Wanderers.

IndexWouldn’t you like to be here? 2From the Editor’s Desk 3A Feast of Forest at Coolah Tops 4Pilbara Bus Trip 6The Grand Balcony andKoopartoo Mesa 8The Devil’s Maw 11Walking in the Watagans 12Book Reviews 15

The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyondTianjara - a history of the former Artillery TrainingArea in the hinterland of south eastern NSW

From theeditor’s desk. . .I WROTE in my last editorial “Recent times have seen an unmitigated assault onthe environmental protection laws of NSW, at the hands of the Baird party.”They don’t seem to have got any better. I cannot help wondering at the mindsetwhich countenances such wilful destruction.

The front cover: a wild looking bit of coastline, but it’s actually a Sydney beach!We all know that ‘Sydney is Hawkesbury sandstone’, except that Long ReefPoint, the headland in the photo, is not. Further north (another beach or two),we found what looked like the remains of volcanic lava. Indeed, there arevolcanic outcrops and diatremes over much of the East Coast.

The back cover is another photo from the Larapinta Trail. The rock here isfascinating too - and razor sharp in places, but the real attraction is the sunset.The glow, the light on the clouds, the plains disappearing into dusk. And there’sa bit of interesting rock in the inside front cover photos too. It can befascinating stuff, looking closely at the rock under your feet.

Yes, good photos are always welcome. Small captions at least to explain if youcan, please.

Roger CaffinEditor

If you are an adventurer or a stroller, a natureenthusiast or enjoy fitness, you’ll discovergreat company, amazing landscapes andexiting activities when you join a bushwalkingclub!

Visit the Bushwalking NSW website to find aclub near you to join:www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au

KeepExploring.Be amazed!

We are likely to make The Bushwalker an online only publication.If you have strong views on the subject, please make contact via email

or phone using the contact details on this page.

4 | The Bushwalker


Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

hen I was a child in the1960’s, it was fashionable tohave a framed print of alandscape painting on yourlounge room wall, along

with the cabinet TV and the Parker loungesuite. One of those popular artworksremains in my memory. It depicted ashadowy, mysterious forest of toweringtrees, which my father told me wereCalifornian redwoods. This image couldn’thave been more different from our sun-drenched Australian eucalyptus forests,which I knew so well, from familybushwalking trips.

Recently, out of the blue, I was remindedof this painted forest. It wasn’t in Californiabut on the Mudgee Bushwalking Club’s

April bushwalk at one of our local NationalParks, Coolah Tops. The trees weren’tredwoods but majestic silvertopstringybarks, rising straight and tall out ofa carpet of emerald green bracken fern, andwe passed through them as we walked thetrack from the Breeza Lookout toShepherds Peak.

Shepherds Peak is a prominent basalticrock formation, jutting out from theescarpment on the easternmost extremityof the National Park. On first view it seemsquite daunting, but its flat, blocky rockstructure makes it quite easy to climb, withplenty of footholds despite the steep andprecipitous topography. From its narrowsummit a grand vista spread out before us,across the Liverpool Plains towardsGunnedah, Quirindi and beyond, althoughsmoke from hazard reduction burning inthe Park diminished the visibility. Each ofus added a rock to the cairn at the top, tocommemorate our visit, and I resolved toreturn in clearer conditions, to experiencethe full majesty of the view.

We saw two more wonderful forests onour Coolah Tops walk. Near the Barrackscamping area, where we met for morningtea, is a stand of huge grass trees. Some ofthem are estimated to be up to threehundred years old. Information boards toldus that the resin from these trees was

A Feast ofForest atCoolahTops

Silvertop Stringybark forest

Very, very tall snow gums

Shepherds Peak

Jane MunroMudgee Bushwalking Club

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Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

commercially harvested in the early 20th century and used forlacquer, to relieve digestive problems, and as a component ofexplosives. But the walkers were more interested inphotographing the grass trees, and being photographed amongthem, capturing all the quirky eccentricity of the forms whichstimulated all of our imaginations.

Different again are the snow gums which are scattered overthe eastern end of the Tops. This area receives snowfallsannually, and heavy dumps of snow every few years. The snowgums here are quite unlike those seen in alpine areas wherethey don’t grow particularly tall, but grow in clumps, displayinggnarled and twisted forms. The Coolah Tops specimens are thetallest in the world, growing up to 40 metres tall, on straighttrunks.

We walked a circuit track which leads through a forest ofthese trees. There was much to enjoy here. Some walkers

used a torch to look into hollow tree trunks, to investigate thefauna inhabiting them. A surprised family of bats wasdiscovered in one of these trees. Our youngest walker ended upwith a collection of leaves of a multitude of different shapesand colours. Others simply absorbed the stillness whichprecedes the dusk, the ethereal late afternoon sunlight, and thesounds of the birds and animals preparing for the night.

We lingered longer than planned, among the snow gums,reluctant to say farewell to this atmospheric place. But the sunwas sinking low and we needed to leave this remote area of theNational Park while there was still daylight. I sensed theshadows of all these wonderful trees closing over us as wedrove away, leaving the darkening forest behind us, with anautumn chill in the air and the snows of winter not so far away.

Mudgee Bushwalking Club welcomes visitors and newmembers. For more information visit our websitewww.mudgeebushwalking.org.au. ⧫

Ancient Grass Trees

Club members

6 | The Bushwalker Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

Pilbara Bus Tripwo of us from the Tamworth Bushwalking &Canoe Club have just completed a wonderfulcoach trip from Broome to Perth. Our 22 coachpassengers included a variety of fitness levels.On the first day Brian Fox from The Bush Club

had impressed us. He is well known for his walks &photos in The Bushwalker Magazine. Needless to saywe had a few good yarns about bushwalking etc. Brianwas off the coach 1st and ready to explore thesurrounding area and report back to us.

Karijini NP, Joffre GorgeOur 2 day stay at Karijini National Park was ‘full on’with touring, viewing, swimming & short walks down afew of the many lovely gorges. On day 2 after a busyday again of visiting more gorges we finally stopped atJoffre Gorge LO on the tourist side. We got back tocamp around 3 pm. Kerry & I decided to take a strollfrom our camp over to view Joffre from the westernside. We did not realise that Brian was ahead of us andhad already made his way to the bottom of the gorge toget a look at the Amphitheatre & waterfall. Hereappeared up in front of us and announced that thiswas ‘the highlight of all gorges’ and if we want to godown he would take us - that was all the encouragementI needed.

It was a grade 4 or 5 descent (according to the NPsigns). Kerry had a dickie knee so stayed at the top &took some photos of us 2 adventurers disappearing intothe depth of Joffre Gorge.

I hadn’t done much in the way of this kind of narrowledge walking/climbing for the past 15 months, so I wasgrateful for Brian’s guidance. Half way down the steeppart I was not overly comfortable in leaping from onerock to another, supposedly landing on a narrow ledgeon the other side. The massive drop in the middle wasthe disturbing bit! Brian, in his wisdom, found meanother way down.

Nearing the bottom of the gorge & not willing to getour feet wet, we slid across narrow rock shelves, edgingcarefully down onto the sandy bottom of the gorge andinto the large amphitheatre and in full view of thewaterfall. It was late in the day so my photos do not doit justice, but it was spectacular.

It was time to get back up to the top before sunset &that was not a problem to Brian although he did take an‘alternative’ way again for me. We couldn’t resist doinganother side walk downstream. It was another lovely

Brian and Neta descending. Photo: Kerrie

Joffre gorge and waterfall, Brian doing handstand. Photo: Neta

Neta Horniman, Tamworth Bushwalking & Canoe Club

Mandu Mandu Gorge.Photo Neta


www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au

Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016 The Bushwalker | 7

Pilbara Bus Tripwater hole surrounded by shale like cliffs.

I would have to say that this was a lovely way toremember the start of my 72nd birthday. Many thanksto Brian for his time in helping me on this walk, givingme the opportunity to experience this wonderful gorge.

Cape Range NP,Mandu Mandu GorgeThis is near Exmouth WA on the Western Coast side ofthe Cape Range. It’s limestone country, dissected bycreeks coming out of the range and flowing into theturquoise waters of the Indian Ocean & Ningaloo Reef.

There was an interesting walk starting from ourcamp at Sal Salis (a beautiful fully catered camp with itsown coral reef & beach area). Brian and anotherpassenger Helen were with us this day and we headedoff to explore the gorge. Kerry & I strolled up the creeka short way then decided to check out a small cliff onthe N side to gain views up and over the gorge.

Nestled in a rocky overhead/crevice was a motherBlack Footed Rock Wallaby & her Joey. We watchedthem for quite a while until the mother decided to pokethe Joey into the crevice just in case we were a threat.The views were great and we were lucky to spot Brian &Helen down on the creek below. After we joined backup as a group we decide to ‘reduce the distance back tothe camp’ by doing a ‘short cut’ via the rocky creek untilwe came to the road. The spotting of a very interestingbit of ‘conglomerate’ caught Kerry’s eye and questionswere answered. We made it back to camp in time forlunch and to get organised for our afternoon of WhaleWatching and snorkelling on the outer reef.

The next day was a visit to Yardie Creek, still on thewestern side of the Cape Range NP and a few kilometresfurther south.

On arrival we had a bit of time to hike to two goodlookouts on the Cliff Walk before taking a boat trip upthe accessible part of the creek to see the wild life: rockwallabies, a nesting Sea Eagle and an array of otherbirds etc. Another good day in the eyes of us tourists. ⧫

Another waterhole, shale country. Photo Neta

Top LO above Yardie Ck. Photo Neta

[Not entirely bushwalking, but it could be -RNC]


Join a Club!Bushwalking Clubs are established acrossNSW and ACT.

Visit our website to find your nearest club at:www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubs-location/

Member Clubs ofBushwalking NSW Inc:All Nations BushwalkersArmidale Bushwalking ClubBankstown Bushwalking ClubBarrier RangersBatemans Bay BushwalkersBlue Mountains Conservation Society BushwalkingClubBlue Steel DashBrindabella Bushwalking ClubBrisbane Water Outdoors ClubCanberra Bushwalking ClubCatholic Bushwalking ClubCentral West Bushwalking ClubClarence Valley Bushwalkers

Coast and Mountain Walkers of NSWCumberland Plain WalkersFairfield Bushwalking ClubGeehi Bushwalking ClubGoulburn Bushwalkers ClubHappy WanderersHill View BushwalkersHunter Area Walkabout ClubIllawarra Ramblers ClubInverell Bushwalking ClubKu-ring-gai Bushwalkers Activity & Social GroupLake Macquarie BushwalkersMacquarie Explorers ClubManly Spit Bushwalking ClubManning River Canoe ClubMountain Devils Bushwalking ClubMudgee Bushwalking ClubMurray Valley BushwalkersNarrabri Bushwalking ClubNational Parks Assn of NSWNational Parks Assn of the ACTNewcastle Bushwalking ClubNewcastle Ramblers Bushwalking ClubNimbin Bushwalkers ClubNorthern Rivers Bushwalkers ClubNSW Nordic Ski Club

Outdoor Club of NSWShoalhaven BushwalkersSouth Coast Bushwalking ClubSouthern Highlands BushwalkersSpan OutdoorsSpringwood Bushwalking ClubSuboir United BushwalkersSutherland Bushwalking ClubSydney Bush WalkersSydney Christian BushwalkersSydney University BushwalkersTamworth Bushwalking & Canoe ClubThe Bush ClubTumut & District Bushwalkers IncTumut Valley Canoe ClubUp and Downers Bushwalking ClubUpper Blue Mountains Bushwalking ClubUpper Lachlan BushwalkersWanderers Bushwalking ClubWarringah Bushwalking ClubWatagan WanderersWEA Ramblers SydneyWeekday WalkersYarrawood Bushwalking ClubYatra Bushwalking Club IncYHA Social & Outdoor Club - Sydney Region

www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au

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Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

Even in the remotest of wildcountry, rarely does an exploratorybushwalk provide such a sense offulfilment as this walk in thesouthern cliffs of the Capertee

Creek, three kilometres south west ofNewnes. Folklore in Newnes was to theeffect that the cliff line was impregnable.The experience of a group of tendetermined walkers on 6th May 2016proved this to be a fallacy. Better still, whatwe saw is some of the most beautiful andspectacular country that the Greater BlueMountains area has to offer.

Walking conditions were close to perfect:a clear autumn day with some initial highthin cloud clearing to a brilliant day.Temperature ranged from 9 to 19 C. In thevalley a flock of Kangaroos kept grazing aswe walked by. In the deeper sections of theravine, Bell Birds maintained a steady noisyprotest at our intrusion.

The Koopartoo Mesa comprisesapproximately six square kilometres ofdeeply dissected high plateau, havingCapertee Creek on the north- west side andthe Wolgan River encircling the east andsouthern sides. For those who want more

precision consult the Ben Bullen 1:25000topographic map. Grid reference 415 230 isthe central point. The glorious MinotaurLair is within this area.

At the briefing session no punches werepulled. As leader Yuri Bolotin put it, “thechances of success in finding a way up tothe top of Koopartoo Mesa via the planned,tight ‘V’ shaped north-south ravine were nobetter than one percent.” For this reasonsome time was spent discussing options toenjoy a great day out even if our primemission failed.

We reminded ourselves that we were

Leaving Red Cliffs

The Grand Balcony and Koopartoo MesaMichael Keats, The Bush Club.Photos: Brian Fox

Slots and tapes, and upwards

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Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

explorers. As we have learned, very fewexploratory walks proceed as planned.Whatever we did would be new anddifferent. At 0906 we set off walkingthrough Red Cliffs noting that the B&Bcottage was currently unoccupied. Oncepassed the cleared land, we began ourascent, heading generally south into a tightravine that rises more than 200 m over amap distance of 800 m.

The way up is steep and although thereare some basic animal tracks in the lowersections, scrambling and climbing werecontinuous activities. An early morning tea

break was taken as we perched on the steepslope in a copse of casuarinas. We notedthat huge Eucalypt trees soaring 40+ mfilled the ravine. The water course bed wasfilled with great boulders that hidtreacherous deep holes. This is a wild andrarely visited location.

After morning tea the climbing becamea bit more serious. Various slots andthe use of a tape, all linked by narrow

ledges, added to the excitement as weclimbed higher towards a towering cliff line.From 1022 to 1035 we gained 20 m in

altitude and stood in awe at one of themost remarkable locations in the WollemiWilderness. Stretching as far as the eyecould see was a ledge of gargantuanproportions. Later on Brian paced it outover a distance of 420 m. What made theledge so amazing were the vertical cliffsboth above and below. Below the drop was35+ m; above it was at least 50 m. Addingto the splendour was the array of colours,shades of pink through to apricot, orangeto deep purple.

The ledge needed a name. I recalled thaton the northern side of Capertee Creek in

The Grand Balcony Grand Balcony, looking back

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Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

the special valley that houses CaperteeCreek there are the Newnes Balconies. Iproffered the word ‘balcony’, Yuri and Briansuggested ‘grand’ and so it was named theGrand Balcony.

Well, the Grand Balcony had usmesmerised. We needed time to absorb itsmagnitude, its colour and its sheergrandeur. More prosaically, we also neededto check whether we would be forced toretrace our steps or whether we could find away up through the next 50 m of cliff line.Would Yuri’s words about one percentchance of making it through be ournemesis?

After taking pictures and pacing out thelength it was time to catch up with forwardscout Rodney to see what he had been ableto discover. Now, the top notched end ofthis ravine has two distinct entry points.The one on the east side looked to be adefinite no-go. The one on the western sideis partly hidden behind dense vegetationand a rock scree slope that narrows to aslot. Rodney reported that the slot actuallywas a possible route. He had been up andback.

While he was there he had set a tape.

Meanwhile we made our way acrossthe butt end of the ravine, climbingall the time. After all we did have

some 50 m of elevation to conquer. To ouramazement the slot worked. The odds ofsuccess being 1 in 100 had paid off! Ecstaticand euphoric are the words that bestdescribes our feelings. Yuri’s diligenthomework studying aerial photographs infine detail had paid off.

The slot is filled with a type of rock quitedifferent from the surrounding sandstone.It looks like massive hematite intrusion and

has a polished appearance from animal use.The question of its formation is somethingelse again. A professional opinion would begood to have. Whether we can persuade ageologist to go there with us is anotherquestion.

During the course of clearing debris fromthe slot I sustained a painful blow to thenose from a flying stick. In jest the nameProboscis Slot was mentioned. However,recalling Yuri’s one percent chance ofmaking it through to the top, One PercentSlot was agreed as the name. ObservantDave found an old piece of blue plastic inthe slot debris. Perhaps we were not thefirst explorers to visit this site? Or could ithave got here some other way?

Now that we had madeit to the top, thought wasgiven to exploring theamazing dissectedplateau area. In adistance of less than twohundred metres ourvision moved from theCapertee Creek valley tothe Wolgan Valley.Although we could notsee it, the upper reachesof the Minotaur Lairwere less than 500 m tothe east, and to the southeast was spot height 920,both places that we hadvisited on 7th April 2016.

The area to the west ofthe slot top comprisesthree heavily dissectedand pagoda-encrustedridges that form a tripleprong shape. The areawas named The Trident.It is so complex that thesmoothing of thecontours bycartographers belies theincredible detail that ison ground reality - butthat is normal aroundhere.

An early lunch was taken on a pagoda,nominally at GR 405 222. There are somany pagodas and they all providestunning views. After lunch an inspectionwas made of the western most prong of TheTrident. In-between the prongs the terrainfalls away quickly and steeply. Verticaldrops in excess of 40 m are common.

The exit route from the plateau wasoriginally planned to be via a well-knownpass that is a major tributary of CaperteeCreek. This would have entailed skirting anextra 300 m around the top of severalgullies and then descending through knownterritory. Given that we had very goodaerial photographs with us it was decided totry a new route some 300 m to the east.This option took us between some amazingcliff edge pagodas and involved someplunging unknowns in negotiating awatercourse.

A way down was found through a mixof spectacular slots and tight ravines.The initial drop offered two options.

Brian and Harold choose the tighter onewhile the rest of us followed a more opendescent. Joining up, the group thendescended a succession of small variabledrops in a currently dry creek bed. Thiswould not be a safe route when it wasraining!

At 1359, the major cliff line aboveCapertee Creek valley had been breached.The talus slope below remained to beconquered. This proved fun with greatdrifts of leaf litter providing a lot of slidingas it was near impossible to maintaintraction. I noted that our route was almostparallel to the known creek route to thewest, and in the lower sections, easier. Thepasture land attached to Red Cliffs wasreached at 1428 and the vehicles at 1455. ⧫

* Red Cliffs is an inlier property owned byJames McPhee who also currently ownsKoopartoo. The participants hadpermission to walk through bothproperties.

Lunch with a view

Top end ofOne PercentSlot

www.bwrs.org.au

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A view from halfway down the Devil’sMaw as another victim approaches.

Photo: Emanuel Conomos

A recent despatch from oneof our roving reporters hashighlighted a previously

unknown hazard to be foundlurking near Newnes Plateau.

No, it’s not a coal miner or aNSW politician, it’s somethingelse. We have all heard of theAustralian Bunyip of course, andsome of us have heard of theRock-Eating Worm Petrophiladevorans, but how many of youhave heard of the giant Saw-Tooth Devil?

This monster, cunninglydisguised as a huge chockstone,has recently been seen hangingabove narrow passages waitingfor an unsuspecting passer-by.Step within range and thoserazor-sharp saw-tooth edges willflash down to consume theunwary.

Well, that’s the Devil’sintention, anyhow. However,being silica-based like one ofPratchett’s troll, it tends to haveslightly slower reaction timescompared with us graphene-based (well, carbon-based?) life-forms. Perhaps the synapses arestill back in the Telstra ADSL1days, rather than being upgradedfull Gigahertz optical fibre?

Fortunately, in this case thepasser-by proved to be a shadefaster than the monster. She wasable to flee out of range. Or didthe Devil’s teeth get jammedbetween the boulders? We don’tknow.

(This Saw-Tooth Devil wasdiscovered by Alice Terry andBarb Carfrae on one of HughSpeirs’ Bushranger walks inFebruary 2015.) ⧫

The Devil’s Maw

The monster awaiting another victim.Photo: Hugh Spiers

Escaping the monster.Photo: Hugh Spiers

www.bwrs.org.au

Walking in theWatagans

David WhiteWatagan Wanderers

The Watagan WanderersBushwalking club lives up to

its name by walking nearlyevery week in the WataganMountains. This delightful

location is full of hidden gemsof bubbling streams, towering

cliffs, waterfalls and magicalpockets of rainforest. The club

regularly goes off trackfollowing creeks and ridges

relying on compass and GPSand often a pair of secateurs.I joined the club in 2011 when

I retired from working inCanberra and relocated to

Lake Macquarie. It was ahome coming for me as I

grew up in this area but havenever bushwalked here.

I had heard about the club formany years as my mother has

been a long time member.The following photos are a

taste of the WataganMountains

Gap Creek Falls after heavy raincan be quite spectacular

On the way up One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill walk was namedafter a prominent tree

Three “Wanderers” admire the falling water



Alan Rendal likes to swim even

with his clothes on

Julie Cox leads the way

Gap Creek offers spectacular photo ops

Nancy Ainsworth enjoys the viewfrom One Tree Hill

Nature’s art work in Gap Creek


The Bushwalker | 13Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

The variety of fungi in theWatagans is amazing

A typical Watagans creekcrossing - Cedar Creek

Ancient grindinggrooves in Rocky Creek

Stunning scenery in Wallis Creek

Wallis Creek puts on a light play

Stopping for lunch in Reedy Creek



Walking in theWatagans

David WhiteWatagan Wanderers

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Vol. 41, Issue 4, 2016

Subscribe to The BushwalkerKeep up with all the news anddevelopments happening in theNSW bushwalking scene for only$20 per year. This is to cover postingand handling: the magazine itself isfree.Send your name and address andcheque or money order toBushwalking NSW Inc, PO Box904, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300. Makethe cheque or money order payableto Bushwalking NSW.Please indicate which issue you wantyour subscription to start with. Wedon’t want to duplicate copies youalready have.

BUSHWALK ING NSW

Book Reviews . . .

Tianjara -a History of the former ArtilleryTraining Area in the hinterland ofsouth eastern NSW

Robert Sneddon

Published in Australia by R C Sneddon,5 Nyah Place, Duffy, ACT 2611

This is a slim booklet, part of RobertSneddon’s continuing research into the

Sassafras Mountain region as described inSassafras The Parish of Sixty Farms. Itcovers the early history of the Tianjara areaand then the use of the area as a militarypreserve for live firing exercises.

Eventually, well after WW II, the militarywas persuaded to vacate the area and it washanded over to the NPWS. However, theextent of the area affected by anyunexploded ordinance was unknown, and itseems that no proper survey was ever done.As Defence had no real records of what hadbeen fired where, this should havepresented a problem, but it seems littlenotice was officially taken. It was assumedthe affected area was small.

Reality was far worse. The bookdocuments many reports from ex-Servicemen about the live fire practices,which seemed to be along the lines of ‘take

Gardens of Stone NationalPark and beyond, Book 8Michael Keats OAM, Brian Fox andYuri BolotinISBN 978 0 9870546 7 8Paperback, full colour, 604 pp $50 inc postagefrom www.bushexplorers.com.au

a truck load of artillery shells and fire themoff and don’t bring any back’. Some ex-Servicemen opined that 10% of themunitions did not explode as they shouldhave, so a lot of them must be still outthere - waiting.

The realisation of the dangers seems tohave taken a long while to sink in - shadesof Marangaroo! See The Bushwalker Vol 33No 4 for the details of that ex-Defence site.

Roger Caffin

As usual, Michael, Brian and Yurihave done it again, and I venture

to suggest maybe even better thanbefore. Full colour, good paper,detailed route notes, topo maps - allthe usual stuff we expect from them ofcourse. There’s an extensivepreliminary section on the threatenedenvironment and species (almost 30pages), plus sections on thethreatened fauna and flora and theimpact of coal on the area (over 100pages) before you get to the 21different trips. The trips themselvesare extensively documented.

The preliminary sections are notjust wiffle-waffle either: they aredetailed technical (but very readable)discussions of the whole area. More to

the point, with the success of theprevious 7 volumes the authors havebeen able in this Book to draw on awide range of experts from variousplaces for input. The comments on thewhole coal business are researched,factual and do not pull any punches.

All that said, it would be wrong tofocus on just the text. To my mind,the really wonderful bit about thisbook is the photography. To be sure,some of the authors are very goodphotographers, and some of theirwalking partners are also very good,but this time there is much more. Thebook features some of the very bestphotos available from a wide range ofexternal experts. Some of the animalphotography is just unbelievable.

Some of thephotos of thePowerful Owl aredownrightintimidating!

Just beautiful.Roger Caffin

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