Ooline Creek Circuit

A strenuous hike mostly on dry creek beds traversing tens of kilometers of river rocks. The first day's climb up Ooline Creek included a few waterfall climbs; thankfully these were slow flowing and not too difficult to scale.

After the terrain flattens out the Ooline Creek line forks and you need to follow the northwestern branch which is fairly overgrown and indistinct. The narrow creek bed eventually opens out into a wide, flat clearing where we considered making camp at. We decided to push on however as the following day's hike we knew would be difficult. After a few hundred meters through the open area you will encounter an old fenceline with 4WD track, marking the boundary of the national park.

Turn northeast and follow the 4WD track keeping the fence on your left. This was a much welcomed break from the rockhopping and scrambling up Ooline Creek. Another small creek bed at the bottom of a dip in the 4WD track signals the start of the route to Blue Gorge. Turn right and follow this creek bed southeasterly. We camped on the northern side of this creek bed as it was getting dark and we did not want to attempt Blue Gorge tired and in darkness.

The next day's downclimb of Blue Gorge Creek was as spectacular as it was tricky. You really need to have a head for heights in some sections. Several of the waterfalls where sheer, vertical drops and required some sure-footed skirting around them to find a viable way down, away from the waterfalls. At one point the gorge opens into a vast amphitheatre-like section, commanding an impressive view down the gorge. Here we shuffled down a large rock ledge before crossing the trickling stream (where we also filled up) and found a route down a slope covered with scree.

There are then a number of more minor waterfalls that we downclimbed or contoured around, and when Blue Gorge Creek flattened out it was only a couple of kilometers before its confluence with the Severn River.

The final return back to The Broadwater was quite hard on ankles as there is no solid footing if following the creek bed across basketball-sized loose rocks. Leaving the creek to walk along the bank means some bushbashing instead. Difficult as it was, there was quite a lot of wildlife in the area, and we were lucky enough to spot a few goats, grey kangaroos and deer coming to drink from the pooled water. We also spotted some decent sized Murray Cod in some of the larger pools.

After a much-needed dip in the Permanent Waterhole we arrived back at camp, sore and weary but with an incredible sense of accomplishment.

I would like to stress that this walk is not for the faint-hearted, and the ranger we spoke to advised against attempting it. The descent of Blue Gorge in particular was not without risk, and we never would have attempted it in the wet.