The first challenge of this loop bushwalk in Dharug National Park is finding a way up from Wisemans Ferry Road to Haycock Trig, which is “protected” on most sides by cliffs and steep terrain. The LIDAR map shows two potential approaches: one up an unnamed creek to the east, and a more promising line from Allens Creek to the west, where there are a few gaps in the cliff line.
We decide to tackle the ascent from Allens Creek, initally taking an old and very overgrown trail which follows an easement near the edge of a large private property bordering the national park.
As the trail gradually dissolves into the boggy creekbed, we leave the valley and head up the steep slope towards the ridge, pushing through the thick undergrowth.
Weathered overhangs mark the last barrier, but they’re negotiable with a bit of scrambling.
There are glimpses of nearby Dharug National Park peaks as we get higher, and the first of several possible Aboriginal stone arrangements that we walk past – subtle but unmistakably deliberate.
One last scramble and we’re just above the saddle between the Haycock Trig and an unnamed peak above the Hawkesbury River (Deerubbin).
Before making our way to the trig, we take a short detour south along the ridge to the Unnamed Peak. As we push through the (mostly) light scrub, we encounter another stone arrangement.
After our steep climb up to the ridge, it’s an easy walk to the end of the ridge. While the elevation of this Unnamed Peak at the End of The Ridge is almost 70m lower than the trig station we’re heading to, it offers some great views through the trees of the Hawkesbury River (Deerubbin). Directly ahead on the other side of the river is Courangra Point (Peter Hibbs, a member of Governor Phillip’s party which explored the Hawkesbury, was granted 60 acres here in 1823) which is named after the Aboriginal word “Cooranggoorah” meaning “grass tree”.
To the left (east) is Gentlemans Halt, while looking down the river to the south-west is Paddys Bight, with the rugged cliffs of Canoelands and Marramarra National Park.
We trace our steps back along the ridge, dropping gently to the large, rocky saddle between just below Haycock Trig.
It’s quite an impressive rock platform, both for its size and the many spectacular, wind-hollowed overhangs on the western side.
On the platform is an axe grinding groove site, and a small set of Aboriginal engravings.
This saddle is the cultural and geological highlight of the loop; from here we face our last ascent, as we head up to the trig and the highest point of the ridge. The LIDAR map shows a single cliff-line that we’ll need to negotiate…
…but we soon find a narrow slot that offers easy access to the top.
Our next stop is Haycock Trig, which is still in decent condition – but offers no view, except for scrub in every direction.
From the trig we make fairly fast progress along the ridge, which is a bit scrubby but has very few sections of really thick undergrowth. Near the trig is an old water canteen, which looks like something issued by the army in the 1900s – perhaps it was left there by the surveyor who erected the trig station? – and a bit further along is another possible Aboriginal stone arrangement.
Although it’s still winter, there are lots of plants in flower, with large numbers of pink boronia.
Towards the end of the ridge it gets a little narrower (not that you can really tell as the scrub limits visibility), and from the top of the cliffs on the southern side there are some views through the trees down the valley formed by Allens Creek, towards the Hawkesbury River.
Civilisation manifests itself in the form of a high-voltage transmission pylon, as our ridge intersects the Eastern Commission Trail, a 17.4-kilometre management and powerline access track which runs north-south through Dharug National Park. From just about the trail you can see the distant peaks of the Parr State Conservation Area.
Although I’m never a fan of firetrail walking, it’s pleasant change from the last five hours of bush-bashing, and the road passes a few Aboriginal engraving sites.
As the service trail starts to descend towards Wisemans Ferry Road, there is a great view of the Singletons Mill Bend where the Hawkesbury River makes two sharp 180-degree bends. Singletons Mill is named after a historic 19th-century tidal flour mill built by pioneer brothers James and Benjamin Singleton around 1832–1834, a crucial resource for the new British colony of Sydney Town which fell into disuse in the 1860s and was completely demolished by the early 1900s.
We don’t encounter a single bushwalker or mountain-bike rider on the Eastern Commission Trail, which is now closed to cars with a locked gate at both ends (in the past it was open to 4WD vehicles; I can’t find any evidence as to when the trail was gated).
Another, even more spectacular vista over the Hawkesbury River appears on our right, with an expansive view that reveals the entire two U-shaped bends of the river from Singletons Mill to Gunderman. To the left are the steep ridges and cliffs of Canoelands.
The Eastern Commission Trail starts to descend steeply for the last kilometre, with the vegetation changing as the trail zig-zags towards the locked gate just before Wisemans Ferry Road.
The final three kilometres of our loop is a somewhat anticlimactic trudge along Wisemans Ferry Road next to the Hawkesbury River (avoidable with a car-shuffle). As we approach our vehicle, the sheer cliffs of the Unnamed Peak loom over the road — a fitting bookend to the loop.
Allow a full day for this loop; the first half involves route-finding and some steep scrambling. Although I’d originally planned to do this loop in the opposite direction, knowing you have an easy “firetrail exit” means you can spend more time exploring the ridge.
Getting to the Haycock Trig Ridge
You can start this loop walk at either end; there is parking near the start of the Eastern Commission Trail (don’t try and drive up the firetrail, as there is nowhere to turn around near the locked gate), or along Wisemans Ferry Road near Allens Creek. Both trailheads are about 20km (20min) from the ferry crossing, or 32km (30min) from George Downes Drive in Central Mangrove.
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