25 April 2026: Update email sent to "Booked List" and "Wait List". See text of this email at the end of this description.
This is our first exploratory basecamp to Canberra, the Namadgi National Park, and the adjoining Brindabella National Park, and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Although Cathy & I have visited Canberra a couple of times in recent years, we are not familiar with the rest of the ACT to the south.
We will be car/tent/camper-trailer camping (although carry on reading to the end of this paragraph if this doesn't suit **). The campgrounds unfortunately don't have cabins. We will use at least two camping locations in the park, depending on the walks that we choose to do. Some camps in the park have only basic facilities. It is likely that we will use Honeysuckle Creek Camp (50km south of Canberra) and Cotter Camp (24km west of Canberra). Maybe Mt Clear Camp in the south (80 km south of Canberra). It’s a bit of a balance between being close to our walks/minimising distance versus minimising relocations. More details to follow. ** You would be welcome to join us if you found more suitable alternative accommodation. You would either meet us at camp and car-pool to the start of the walk, or meet at the start of the walk. Some walks will be further from Canberra compared with the campsite.
All walks will be day walks, and most will involve a drive from camp. We will not be doing multi-day pack carry hikes. There will be a mixture of walking grades so that we can enjoy some easier days. There may be a car shuffle. Some of the walks will be rated medium-hard. Expect conditions such as: steep hills; exposed rocky paths; light rock scrambling; cliffs; no shelter; poor visibility; sustained ascent; walking along steep exposed ridge.
Expect to encounter unsealed roads. However , we will not be driving on 4WD tracks.
Here is a selection (from a large list) of walks available (in no particular order). In some cases the walk is only recommended for fine weather due to navigation difficulties. The walks range in grade from easy to ‘hard’ (depending on which source you use). I would like to ‘tick-off’ some peaks and visit the Brindabella and Tidbinbilla Ranges in particular, along with visiting the southern edge of the park (and ACT), and maybe the Tinderry Mountains.
- Mt Tennent Fire Trail 13.7km 740m^ elevation gain 5hrs (according to AllTrails) *HARD*
- Grassy Creek Loop 14km 334m^ elevation gain 4hrs
- Yankee Hat Rock Art site 6km 168m^
- Tidbinbilla Ridge 19km 7.5hrs *HARD*
- Murrumbidgee River/Kambal Pool easy/medium (close to Canberra)
- Orroral Valley 12km 4hrs
- Camels Hump (Tidbinbilla) 12.5km 540m^ 5hrs
- Gibralter Rocks/Devils Gap (Tidbinbilla) 10km 3.5hrs
- Black Mountain 4km 200m^ (combine with visit to Australian National Botanical Gardens)
- Mt Gingera 14km 312m^ 6 hrs (Brindabella Range)
- Tinderry Twin Peak 13km 760m^ 6hrs *HARD*
- Mt Coree 6km 263m^ 2hrs
- Bendora Arboretum walk (Brindabella Range)
- Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
- Cooleman Ridge to Mt Arawang 8km 229m^ 2hrs (close to south-west Canberra)
There are lots of walks to enjoy closer to Canberra. Cathy & I are going to extend our stay and visit the attractions of the city at the end of the basecamp. You would be welcome to join us. We may end up relocating again to a “holiday park” closer to the city.
- Googong Dam (short Canberra walk)
- Lake Jerrabomberra (short Canberra walk)
- Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve (short Canberra walk)
- Lake Tuggeranong Circuit (short Canberra walk)
- Cotter Discovery Trail (near Cotter Camp)
In summary, more details to follow. Final choice of walks to be decided.
Final location of accommodation and dates to be decided. Accommodation will be located in remote National Park campsites, and we may relocate at least once to suit the walks we would like to do. Camping equipment required. Expect some road conditions to be unsealed.
More details to follow.
As always, please feel free to comment, make suggestions and ask questions.
25 April 2026 - Email update
Camping
Thank-you for your responses to my WhatsApp message regarding camping. I have now decided where we will be staying.
I have considered all the available campsites in the Namadgi NP. Although some of them will accommodate camper-trailers, unfortunately it is on a “first-come first-serve” basis, and can’t actually be booked. Because of this, I have decided that we will stay at Cotter Campground for the entirety of our trip (from Sunday 8th to Sunday 15th (7 nights). This will mean that on at least two days we will have to drive for at least an hour (each way) to reach our walk, but it does mean that we will save time and not have to relocate mid-week. Cotter Campground does have the luxury of hot showers and flushing toilets. Cathy & I have now booked.
At the end of the basecamp, Cathy and I will relocate to a ‘holiday park’ campsite, and stay at least another 3 nights. This will probably be at Capital Country (G’Day Parks). I will confirm at a later date should you wish to join us. We will be doing touristy things, and have a couple of family visits to enjoy. Here is a summary of parks in the Canberra city area:
Cotter Campground - Flush toilets / hot showers / unpowered
Alivio - (never stayed) great location for central Canberra but expensive
Discovery Park (G’Day Parks) - (never stayed) on NE edge of Canberra / new park but soulless/no trees. Powered slabs and grass.
Capital Country (G’Day Parks) - (stayed twice) Further out of Canberra compared with Discovery Park. A classic quiet park. Powered and unpowered campsites.
Queanbeyan Riverside (Big 4 partner) - (never stayed) - Not your normal Big4 holiday park. close to shops - no campsites/only villas/cabins/caravans
Queanbeyan Crestview (Big 4 partner) - (never stayed) - Not your normal Big4 holiday park. no tent campsites/only villas/cabins/caravans
Walking
As per the basecamp description, I have mentioned that some of the walks will be rated medium-hard. However, depending on the source of information that you use, in our club rating system we would rate them as hard. Expect conditions such as: steep hills; exposed rocky paths; light rock scrambling; cliffs; no shelter; poor visibility; sustained ascent; walking along steep exposed ridge. You need to be able to maintain a moderate pace, particularly on sustained ascents. Some of the walks require an ascent of at least 740m (Mt Tennent Fire Trail (hard) & Tinderry Twin Peak (hard)). Some of the walks will find us out on the trail for 8-9 hours. As a comparison, if you have ever done Mt Difficult (Gar) in the Grampians, this is 17km with 626m of ascent (as a group we did this recently in 8¼ hours). If we are feeling up to it, and the weather is fine, we may attempt Tidbinbella Peak Loop (Alltrails rated hard 15.1km 990m ascent). I am going to edit the description of this basecamp so that there is no ambiguity. Apologies. We won’t be tackling “hard” walks everyday.
Travel
Cathy and I will be leaving Melbourne probably around the 4th November. We are going to take a few days to get to Canberra, and are thinking of driving up the Monaro Highway. This starts near the border with NSW. No specific plans. We will probably drive back to Melbourne along the Hume.
