Walk 18:- Wondabyne to Woy Woy At A Glance
Route Summary:-This walk is wholly on tracks and public roads. It goes up steeply on a constructed walking track to the ridgeline, then for about 1.5 km. on fire trail, then on walking track over Myron and Kariong Brooks for about 2.3 km. to another service road and about 1.4 km. along this to a junction with a walking track and just under 1 km along this to another service road, then along this and after about 200 meters, a walking track on left goes up to Mt Wondabyne after about 1.3 km. then continue on walking track for about 100m. to a fire trail. Follow fire trails for about 3 km. to a rubbish tip and another 4 km. on public roads to Woy Woy Station
RQI:- 51
Highlights:- Unique Wondabyne Station in pristine bush setting; Kariong Brook and waterfall; rock formations; panoramic views over Central Coast from Mt Wondabyne
Negatives :- Second half of this walk is uninteresting with 3 km on service road past a rubbish tip and 4 km. along sealed public residential road to Woy Woy Station.
Length:- 14.6 km
Grade:- Medium
Weather:_ All weather except when creeks in flood
Continuous walking time with a few 3-4 min. stops:- 3hrs 32 mins.
Train Time from Central to Start :-. 1 hr. 9 mins.
N.B. You must ask the train guard to have the train stop and sit in the last carriage, exit by rear door (very short platform)
Train Time from finish to Central:-. 1 hr 15 mins.
Total Climb :- 345 meters
Total Descent :- 345 meters
Water:- Woy Woy; nil en route
Toilets:- Woy Woy Station
Café/Kiosk :- Woy Woy
Published 1:25,000 Map :- Gosford; Broken Bay
Walk No 18 Track Notes Wondabyne to Woy Woy
Thurs 17/ 01/13
Km/Hrs.min. Distances in bold are shown on map
0.0/0.00 Wondabyne Station; start of walk
0.40/0.09 After steep climb on steps, walking track reaches turning circle foe service road; veer right and follow service road uphill
1.43/0.21 After steady climb on service track , track to Pindar cave exits on left over smooth massive sandstone outcrop; continue straight
2.04/0.28 Track junction almost at top of ridge; signage:- ‘Patonga 15 km’ via bush track on right; ‘Wondabyne Station 2.5 km’ back track; leave the service road and Patonga bush track on arrowed green post; this good walking track has strategically placed arrowed green posts and fading cream arrows painted on rocks
3.39/0.50 Crossing Myron Brook on massive sandstone outcrop; very pleasant locality
3.73/0.58 Crossing Kariong Brook on rubble covering water flow; another idyllic locality; track veers right after crossing and goes steeply uphill
3.76/1.00 After a short distance uphill, T junction with bush track from Girrakool; turn right and continue steeply uphill on steps
4.18/1.11 Top of ridge after almost continuous climb from Kariong Brook; fire place on flat sandstone outcrop; now wider track continues more gently uphill
4.28/1.13 After more steady climbing, bush track makes T junction with service road; signage:- ‘Patonga’ on right along service road; ‘Girrakool’ back track; ‘Staples Lookout’ on left along service road; turn right to Patonga, following service road uphill, steeply in parts
5.74/1.32 Track Y junction; bush track leaves service service road on right; signage:- ‘Girrakool’ back track and ‘Patonga’ both left on service road and right on bush track; take bush track on right; much of this track is over massive unjointed sandstone with interesting erosion rills; take care not to lose track when crossing sandstone; walk past dis-used power poles on right and short section of timber walkway; follow this track to T intersection with service road
6.49/1.44 At rack T junction with service road under newish power lines; signage:- ‘Girrakool’ back track and ‘Patonga’ on right; turn right and follow service road gently uphill
6.67/1.47 On ridge top; signage:- on right ‘Wondabyne Station 7 km’and ‘Girrakool’ both back track; more signage on left side of service road:- ‘Mount Wondabyne’ via bush track on left; turn left and follow this track uphill, leaving the service road.
7.56/2.03 Track junction; no signage; track on left goes to the top of Mt Wondabyne, only another approx. 200 m to top; optional detour to Mt Wondabyne; spectacular views here; after detour, return to track junction and turn left; if no detour, go straight on; after about only 100 m., track arrives at clearing with turning circle for service road on left; this is known as ‘Camp Site’ ; turn left and follow service road downhill to another T junction.
8.38/2.15 Track T junction with another service trail (Tunnel Track) ; signage:- ‘Mt Wondabyne’ and ‘Girrakool’ both back track; GNW arrowed green post indicates right turn; turn right and follow service road gently downhill, with valley on left.
8.80/2.20 Road T junction with service road on right; signage:- ‘Rocky Pond Trail’ on right and ‘Girrakool’ back track; continue straight on service road; after about 150 m., track Y junction
8.98/2.24 Track Y junction with bush track on left; signage:- ‘Tunnel Track’ sign on right of road and GNW arrowed post for bush track; take bush track on left away from service road for about 20 m to an intersection with a wide service road signaged:- ‘Dillons Road’; the bush track signaged ‘Patonga’ crosses Dillons Road at right angles; turn left here, leaving the bush track and follow Dillons Road gently downhill to the fence line of the Woy Woy Rubbish Tip.
10.40/2.42 Dillons service Road makes a sharp left bend at the Rubbish Tip fence; continue on Dillons Road along tip fence, with fence on right
10.55/2.44 Fence and gate across Dillons Road; walk through gap in fence on left of gate and walk another 60 m past gate on gravel road to acute intersection with sealed vehicular access road to Tip; main entrance to Tip about 40 m on right; follow this road as it meanders downhill for about 1 km. to the front gates to the Tip, being careful with traffic
11.59/2.57 At front gates of tip; signage indicates gate closing times, but walkers can easily climb up bank around gates; continue straight on, on what is now Nagari Road, passing a self storage site on right and railway lines now always on left
12.03/3.02 Road intersection; right hand road is closed; left hand road leads to railway underpass; continue straight ahead on what is now Station Street; follow Station Street , with houses on right and railway lines on left through several road intersections to Woy Woy Station
14.57/3.32 At Woy Woy Station; end of walk
General Comment:- The second half of this walk between Mt Wondabyne and Woy Woy does not have much to recommend it. The first 3 km after Mt Wondabyne ‘Campsite’ is on boring service road, ending at the Woy Woy Rubbish Tip. This is followed by a 1 km walk downhill along a sealed vehicular tip access road, past the Woy Woy Sewerage Works in the valley on left, with the final 3 km along Woy Woy suburban streets between houses and the railway line.
From Mt Wondabyne, suggest you re-trace your steps to Wondabyne Station following the ‘Girakool’ signage, but taking care to leave the Girakool Track just before re-crossing Kariong Brook. This is a much more pleasant walk. The distance back to Wondabyne Station is 7.56 km, compared with 7.0 km to Woy Woy Station. The walk time to Woy Woy is about 30 minutes less, and there is a better, faster train service ex Woy Woy, but that is all.
Route Quality Index
- Wondabyne to Woy Woy
On public vehicular road:- 28%
On locked fire/service trail:- 42%
On walking track:- 30%
RQI= 30+21+0=51
- Wondabyne Circuit via Mt Wondabyne
On public Vehicular road:- 0%
On locked fire/service trail:- 41%
On walking track:- 59%
RQI= 59+22+0= 81
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