A gruelling journey down Stokes Creek in Dhawaral NP

After a couple of enjoyable off-track bushwalks along O’Hares Creek (downstream from the 10D Trail to Jingga Pool and upstream from the Victoria Road Trail to Jingga Pool), I’m back to explore a remote section of Stokes Creek. Which turns out to be a lot less pleasant – but still an interesting experience.

As with most bushwalks in Dhawaral National Park, today’s journey starts with an easy stroll along firetrails from the Victoria Road carpark.

After a few hundred metres along the Victoria Road Trail we turn onto the 10B Trail, crossing Stokes Creek below a weir – which has a lot more water flowing through it than on my last visit.

The plan is to continue along the 10B firetrail for a couple of kilometres, before bushbashing down to Stokes Creek. So far the plan goes to plan, so to speak, with the initial thick scrub near the firetrail getting (slightly) less dense as we descend into the valley.

There’s some easy scrambling but no major cliff-lines, and we soon spot Stokes Creek below us. Stokes Creek flows into O’Hares Creek just above Jingga Pool, and with its upper reaches and catchment area wholly contained within Dhawaral National Park the water quality of the creek is very high.

Alas, the plan now starts to go a little awry… unlike O’Hares Creek, which has a number of deep pools separated by rock platforms, Stokes Creek seems to be just one continuous deep pool (with – as we later found out – a few sections of quicksand!). While prepared for a few swims, I’m not keen on swimming for many kilometres.

Instead we walk along the bush beside the creek, which consists of a delightful mix of dense and prickly scrub, fallen branches and loose rocks. Mostly all at the same time.

There are a few small cascades and shallow pools, but they are few and far between.

It’s a pristine and beautiful landscape, not that we are really appreciating it. Progress is unsurprisingly slow as we make our way slowly along the edge of Stokes Creek.

Eventually the creek gets a bit shallower, and while it’s not a hot day it’s much more pleasant walking in the creek when we can.

We’re now in the Quicksand Section, where the water is about waist deep… but we’re frequently up to our waist in the soft sand of the creekbed.

The risk of being sucked into an untimely demise by the sand is far preferable to dealing with the impenetrably dense scrub on both sides of Stokes Creek, so we continue wading down the middle of the creek.

As well as, err, enjoying the tranquillity and serenity of Stokes Creek, our plan involved visiting some of the Aboriginal rock art sites above Stokes Creek. So it was without too much sadness that we leave the creek, to climb up towards the ridge. Below one of the many cliff-lines is a Shelter with Art, which contains a number of figures drawn in charcoal.

Along with many typical rock art motifs (and graffiti which dates back to the 1930s) is an unusual figure which may be post-contact art. By 1795 cattle had strayed from the colony at Farm Cove to the Menangle-Camden area, with 60 cattle reported by explorer Francis Barrallier as being near what is now known as Douglas Park – resulting in the area being called “Cowpastures”. Historical records document encounters between the European settlers and Dharawal people from around 1795, which were initially peaceful before increasing hostility between 1814 and 1816 that culminated in the “Appin massacre” on 17 April 1816. So a depiction of settlers and cows in this area would be very feasible (similar to the ‘Bull Cave’ in Kentlyn).

From here the plan was to return to Stokes Creek to continue our journey downstream… but at this point I faced a mutiny. And although there was only one mutineer, he was fairly adamant that another three kilometres of dense scrub and quick sand was really not a smart idea. Possibly using slightly different terminology. So a Revised and More Sensible Plan was devised that involved us continuing along the ridge above the creek.

Although the scrub along the ridge is fairly dense in places, it’s faster than following the creek… and somewhat unexpectedly we stumble across a mountain-biking / bushwalking track that takes us most of the way to the 10T West Trail.

Once on the 10T West Trail it’s very easy walking, as the firetrail descends to Stokes Creek.

The firetrail follows Stokes Creek for a short distance, offering the last opportunity for a swim.

It then climbs back up from the creek to meet the 10B Trail, completing our loop.

Getting to Stokes Creek

The easiest way to reach Stokes Creek is from the end of Victoria Road (Wedderburn), which is about 15km (20min) from the Campbelltown exit on the Hume Highway, and about an hour south-west of Sydney. There are a few access points where Stokes Creek can be accessed via a trail:

• Stokes Creek Falls which is about a kilometre along the 10B firetrail from the Victoria Road Trail
• Minerva Pool via the Minerva Pool Walking Track (1.6km from the carpark)
• From the 10T Management Trail, about 2.4km from the Victoria Road carpark

From the 10T Management Trail there’s no “on track” access to Stokes Creek for almost 27km, where the Seven Creeks Way crosses the creek near its headwaters. However, you can drop down to this more remote section of the Stokes Creek from the 10B Management Trail which roughly parallels the creek for much of its length.