The breathtaking new Ginninderry walking track
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.
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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.
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