I have a confession to make. I’ve never walked up Mt Ainslie. Ever. Okay, that’s a lie. I never had walked up Mt Ainslie. However, the Canberra Centenary Trail is a good motivator. On Sunday afternoon, I find myself taking part of an official Cententary Trail walkers-only detour between the two peaks of Majura and Ainslie.
We park one car at the top of Mt Ainslie and park the other near the horse paddocks at the back of Hackett/Watson. We head up our usual path, to the Mt Majura saddle (is that what it’s called? The bit before one would normally turn and head towards the trig).
Half way up at the big rock-y area
Obligatory pic of Black Mountain tower
It’s just past 3.30pm, and we stumble across the Friends of Mt Majura 10 year anniversary party, we’re they’re having cake with views toward the Canberra airport. Instead of turning left toward the trig, we turn right and head towards Mt Ainslie.
Looking down towards the airport
Turning right – an official Centenary Trail points the way
We walk a little lower than the ridge for a way, before the track turns and starts heading
down
down
down.
Path scenery – the path is much narrower than the path we take up to Majura, but still very stable / very few loose rocks
Looking towards Mt Ainslie as we head down. Thankfully, it’s not too steep (… I’d feel differently if I was coming up!)
Flora and fauna
Sharp turns as the path heads down
We essentially reach the bottom of Mt Majura… and almost join up to the path that follows entirely along the base of it. We reflect that we could have walked along the base from our starting position and got to the same point in much less time and effort (and followed the actual Centenary Trail, rather than the detour), but where’s the fun in that?
Reaching the bottom of Mt Majura
It’s a hot slog along the base, and Mt Ainslie looks very far away. Boyfriend takes some photos of me looking particularly cranky (there’s a lot of fly-swatting and a bit of huff and puff) but I’ll spare you my angry face.
It’s a very exposed part of the walk with very little shade; I’m glad we’re not walking any earlier in the day.
And on we go around the base of Mt Ainslie
When we get to the base of Mt Ainslie it’s a little confusing about which way we should go, and if we’re about to choose a path which is going to add time to our trip. The walk which appears to be around the base / heading toward the airport is the right way to go: eventually we come across another Centenary Trail sign which has a little more detail than the others.
It diverts us off the base track and up the mountain.
This is a LOT steeper than it looks
It’s very steep to start with, but I’m placated knowing that it means we’re getting closer to the top. We meet just a handful of walkers coming the other way.
Two roads diverged… but the Centenary Trail sign told me to take the road less (?) travelled
Eventually we come to a fork in the path – the path to the left takes us up to the bitumen road for cars, and the path to the right (helpfully pointed out to us by the Centenary Trail sign) takes us on an arguably safer route.
I’m impatient at the best of times, but I find this part of the walk incredibly frustrating. It’s a steady incline, but it just seems to go on and on. The thickness of the black trees and constantly being near the bitumen road makes it very difficult to know exactly where we are or how much further we have.
Soldier on
Forest of leafless trees
After what seems an age but is probably 10-15 minutes, the path and the curtain of trees stop. Stone steps end our journey.
I think this Centenary Trail sign is pointing in a slightly wrong direction…
Yay!
A Canberra 100 frame is placed in at bit of a strange spot at the top of the stairs. Great to walk through it as an official end to the walk, but it doesn’t frame a particularly interesting vista.
A bull-ant nest is also located immediately underneath it. Cue quite a lot of shrieking and a great stamping dance as I successfully saved myself from getting bitten. (I have saved you from these images as well.)
Happy walkers!
Obligatory view from Mt Ainslie pic
Obligatory view from Mt Ainslie with Cooper and Boyfriend pic
Looking back towards Mt Majura
WALK SNAPSHOT
Time required: I expect this to take us 3 hours, but it takes just 1 hour 45 minutes, including with plenty of stops and photos
Height: The saddle of Mt Majura is about 800m, and Mt Ainslie is 846m
Distance: Google Maps tells me it’s about 7.8 kilometres
Views: Some (not me) argue that Mt Ainslie has the best views in Canberra. They’re certainly pretty good, but I prefer Mt Painter.
Flora and fauna excitement level: We don’t see a lot of flowering plants or wildlife. There are a lot of butterflies, a few twittering birds (but it’s still a warm part of the day), a few bugs and lots of flies.
Effort expended: Medium. This isn’t a meandering walk, but there are plenty of periods of respite.
Quality of track: Medium-high. The track is well maintained (or, perhaps is its best quality in the lead up to the opening of the Centenary Trail). There are very few slippery areas. Signage could be a little clearer.
Value for effort: Medium. This is a good walk but it’s not the most interesting, and nor is it apparently the hardest walk up Mt Ainslie (by far). I’m very glad to have done it but I do not feel like I have been seriously missing out.
—
Date: 3.15pm-4.55pm, Sunday, 17 November
Cost: Free
Worthwhile factor: Worthwhile
Want more? The Canberra Centenary Trail website has some more detailed and easier to understand maps up which you can access here. The map which captures the walk we did is here.
Related articles
- Mt Majura (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Canberra Centenary Trail – Section 4 (Lake Ginninderra to Gungahlin) (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Percival Hill (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Brooks of Canberra pop-up dinner (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Wine blending class at Mt Majura (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- HaHa Bar Redux (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Murrumbateman Moving Feast (inthetaratory.wordpress.com)
- Day 3 – Canberra (fleetfamily.wordpress.com)
In The Taratory 
Great photos from the centenary trail. Walk up One Tree Hill from Hall next – it has great views that you won’t have seen before.