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

00:11 is arguably one of suburban Canberra's best lookouts.

00:16 Now if you've ever wondered what lies beneath the lookout,

00:21 particularly on the eastern side, then wonder no more.

00:24 Because earlier in the week I caught up with Gareth Payton

00:28 of Iconic Trails, who along with his crew

00:32 are currently putting the finishing touches

00:35 to 10 kilometres of new walking track

00:38 through the Gin and Dairy Conservation Corridor.

00:42 (Music plays)

00:44 So Gareth, you've been working on this new track for eight 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 just a bit, about 10 kilometres of trail now

00:55 that we're about 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

01:11 for eight months with the river gurgling by?

01:13 Oh absolutely, yeah, it's so peaceful out here.

01:15 It's just amazing watching eagles fly around and watching the river.

01:19 Yeah, it's awesome. 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, 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 So 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. 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 pretty much a crew of eight out here full-time for seven, eight months.

02:21 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

02:35 and then looking back up at the lookout.

02:38 Yeah, exactly. 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]

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