Fungi in Namadgi National Park

Lovely to look at. But don’t touch it. Don’t pick it. Don’t eat it.

Mt Clear

Have you ever been on a ride where you just want to get off, but can’t? It’s spinning around and you just want it to be over, but you have to just hold tight and wait? This is exactly how I’m feeling, bush bashing down the western side of Mt Clear early on a Saturday afternoon. It’s littered with fallen timber, spikey bushes poke through my clothes, and it’s all on a steep slope. Unlike a ride I can’t get off, the only way I can get off this mountain is to keep going.

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Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park

There are so many good bushwalks to do in and around the ACT. It took me a few years to realise this, and a few more years to get an appreciation of just how great they are. A great half day walk (even a quarter day walk!) is Booroomba Rocks. It’s nestled just on the other side of Mt Tennent in Namadgi National Park, and provides some extraordinary views of the ACT.

Dominating Mt Tennent

Mt Tennent in the distance

Mt Tennent is a bastard*. There’s no other way to put it. The first time I braved it was August 2011, and on finishing it I made the promise myself to never, ever do it again. That was until I got my new Heart Rate Monitor, which piqued my curiosity – if Mt Tennent is such a hard slog, how many calories does it burn? Of course, the only way to find out was by doing it again.  And that’s how, exactly six months later, I found myself back on Mt Tennent, and cursing it.

Square Rock – you’ll want to do this walk!

I’ve done quite a few hikes this year and it’s no exaggeration to say that the walks you can do around Canberra are pretty magnificent. However, if there’s one trek that ticks all the boxes – being close to Canberra, easy to get to, not too taxing, a fascinating walk with great flora and fauna and simply breathtaking views – it’s the trek to Square Rock.

Snow (just an hour from Canberra!)

As a born and bred Queenslander, there’s not a lot that gets me more excited than the possibility of seeing snow. I’d heard rumours before that snow could fall quite nicely up in the Brindabellas and having been up Mounts Franklin and Ginini in May, was keen to see how the scenery had transformed.  Having taken my trusty steed Pedro (a Suzuki Swift) up previously, I knew the road was quite dangerously marked with potholes. So, in true T1 style, I begged a friend with a 4WD to take us up for the day… and we weren’t disappointed.