The end of June marked a very full on last few months for us and we had already decided a family holiday with the kids outside of our own backyard was in order this year so Sydney it was for us all for a week. Of course for Warren, no holiday is complete until SOTA has been included, and well, who were we were stop him? Its good for us all after all, though I’m sure at times we have all wondered what we get ourselves into on these adventures.
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Road leading down into the car park for the walk -
Follow the top sign, its a relatively easy but step in places walk – prepare for strong winds in exposed areas however. -
start of the track up -
more out in the open – strong cold winds through this part of the walk.
After a false start taking the longer track….simply because Warren took a ‘boys look’ at the sign and decided that was the way to go, then 10minutes into it we could hear and see others on the track above. After meeting up with them back in the car park, it turned out they had taken the same track we had started to reach the summit and while it was easier for the most part, it was considerably longer. We took the second option (top one on the sign at the car park) and made our way up the track. The track is very exposed until you reach the base of the mountain ‘bush walk’ with very strong icy winds, at times meaning the need to stand still and brace one’s self in order to stay upright. It was much like walking through the high parts of the Kaweka Ranges in Hawkes Bay, back in New Zealand.
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Rock look out into the valleys -
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kids were not fans of the cold winds
Part of the first half of the walk are quite steep, however definitely manageable for most age groups. A walking pole may be an advantage if you have one, as the higher up you go the more rugged the landscape and there is some big steps with not a lot of things to hold on to in parts…of course unless you don’t mind a handful of thorns.
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looking out into the natural canyon, trying to stay upright in strong icy winds -
view out from up in the bush – was a lot more sheltered once into the bush -
The old fulla, looking out across the valley
Once in the ‘bush’ which is much more open than what we are use to back in New Zealand and a lot more light comes in it was a lot more sheltered, making for a much more pleasant walk to the top – that said the views were few and far between, so both parts of the trek to the summit have their positives of course. The car-park was full the day we ventured out there, and so there were a number of groups using the track.
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Summit marker for Mount Banks -
ZL2AJ on the air -
“The view” from the top
Details
Summit – VK2/CT-032
Height – 1060 mASL (height gain apx 200 m)
Access – B59 to Mount Banks Road. Carpark at end of road. 45 minute walk. If you think you are walking down a vehicle access track you have gone the wrong way (as we did). Looking at the sign, the path is behind the rock to the right of the sign.
Coverage – Mobile coverage OK from the summit.
Summit Marker – Trig station.
Land Access Permission – permission not required.
NB: Photos are not for use elsewhere, without prior approval.