The breathtaking new Ginninderry walking track

Australian Community Media

Tim the Yowie Man explores a new, revamped Shepherd’s Lookout walking track near Strathnairn where the Peregrine falcons soar and the Murrumbidgee meanders majestically through the valley down below.

Transcript

00:00 (Music plays)

00:03 With commanding views of the Murrumbidgee River

00:06 as it flows out of the ACT,

00:08 Shepard's Lookout here near Strathnam

00:12 is arguably one of suburban Canberra's best lookouts.

00:17 Now if you've ever wondered what lies beneath the lookout,

00:21 particularly on the eastern side,

00:23 then wonder no more.

00:25 Because earlier in the week,

00:26 I caught up with Gareth Payton of Iconic Trails

00:30 who along with his crew

00:32 are currently putting the finishing touches

00:35 to 10 kilometres of new walking track

00:39 through the Ginanderry Conservation Corridor.

00:44 So Gareth, you've been working on this new track for 8 months?

00:48 Yep, correct, yes.

00:49 So we're getting at the point now of the second lot of trails out here.

00:53 So we're up to about 10 kilometres of trail now that we're going to explore.

00:57 So we've got swing bridges and normal solid fixed bridges

01:00 so there's a bit of excitement there.

01:02 I can't think of any swing bridges in Canberra

01:04 so it's quite unique for the area.

01:06 And we're right down near the Murrumbidgee River.

01:09 Has it been nice being able to work out here for 8 months

01:12 with the river gurgling by?

01:14 Oh absolutely, it's so peaceful out here.

01:16 It's just amazing watching eagles fly around

01:18 and watching the river.

01:19 Yeah, it's awesome.

01:20 Yeah, very lucky.

01:21 What other wildlife have you encountered?

01:23 Deer, wallaroo, wombats, snakes.

01:28 That's probably the main ones I'd say.

01:30 Yeah, a lot of bird life as well which is quite impressive.

01:33 And what's been the biggest challenge of the build of this track?

01:38 Well, lucky enough we were able to heli-lift a lot of the material in

01:41 so we didn't have to physically carry all the rocks in for all the steps

01:44 and the material.

01:45 But there is still a lot of walking to get to site each day

01:49 and still a lot of carrying material as well.

01:52 But the bulk of it we didn't have to literally bring it along the trail.

01:55 We were able to drop it off in heli-bags

01:57 so that made our life a lot easier but still not easy.

02:00 So with 10 to 12 kilometres of trail or new trail,

02:04 you and your crew would be pretty fit.

02:07 Yeah, that's it.

02:08 The guys are pretty amazing and strong fit.

02:11 When you see how many rocks are involved in building these steps

02:14 you'll be quite impressed.

02:16 So yeah, pretty much a crew of eight out here full time

02:19 for seven, eight months sort of thing.

02:22 So yeah, they've been pretty flat out and pretty fit now.

02:25 And behind you here we've got the Shepherd's Lookout

02:28 which many Canberrans have been to the top of and looked down the river.

02:32 But this is certainly a different perspective being down near the river

02:36 and then looking back up at the lookout.

02:38 Yeah, exactly.

02:39 Super impressive.

02:40 And that's what I think people really enjoy about this whole network

02:43 is there's so many little seating areas, viewing areas

02:46 just to really stop and take it in and just relax.

02:48 And whether you need to rest or the family or the kids

02:52 or whatever want to relax for a little bit, it's a great place to stop,

02:55 get some lunch out and just relax and take it all in.

02:59 We'd better keep walking, hey?

03:00 Yep, absolutely.

03:01 [Music playing]

03:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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