Uloola Falls, Gurrumboola Ridge, Kangaroo Creek & Karloo Pool - The Royal National Park

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Route: Waterfall, Waterfall Oval, Uloola Fire Trail, Callaghans Tor, Uloola Swamp, Uloola Falls, Uloola Track, Gurrumbulla Ridge, Robertson Knoll, Engadine Track, Kangaroo Creek, Bottle Forest, Bottle Forest Track, Kangaroo Creek, Karloo Pool, Karloo Track, Heathcote

Date: 14/06/2020
From: Waterfall

Parking: N/A
Start Point: Waterfall
Finish Point: Heathcote
Region: Royal National Park

Route length: 11.6 miles (18.7km)
Time taken: 04:30
Average speed: 2.1mph
Ascent: 518m
Descent: 580m

Points of Interest: Uloola Falls, Robertson Knoll, Kangaroo Creek, Karloo Pool

Despite being the middle of winter, the odd day here and there can easily get into the mid-20s. As a Brit, this is perfect weather for hiking and today would be one of those days. I decided to head back to Royal National Park for an extended day of hiking through some of the lesser trodden routes in the interior of the national park.

One of the great things about the area is the train line which runs up the western fringe of the park, allowing a multitude of one-way hikes to be devised. Mine would be a south-north trip along the Gurrumbulla Ridge through the heart of the national park, linking up a few of the highlights along the way.

Though I sing the praises of the train, the line to the town of Waterfall was actually closed for trackwork so, I hopped on the replacement bus from the main train station in Sydney, arriving in Waterfall a little later than planned but still with plenty of time for a long, winter hike. The walk starts straight from the station where a bush track leaves the back of the car park, into the national park. It's also probably worth pointing out that it's the middle of winter here in Sydney yet today would be a heady 22 degrees - my sort of winter.

The first objective was Uloola Falls, some 6km away, utilising the Uloola walking track. The track is mostly a fire trail which is easy to follow and meanders through the picturesque highlands of National Park, passing Uloola Swamp and eventually arriving at the Uloola bush campsite (little more than a patch of cleared ground among the trees). Uloola Falls are adjacent to the campsite.

From the station car park, the adventure begins

A short section of path links the station to the Uloola Fire Trail

Rains from previous days had flooded a few parts of the path

Waterfall Oval - this is actually maintained as a cricket pitch during the summer

The Uloola Firetrail

The adjacent bush along the fire trail

Uloola Firetrail

The fire trail at Uloola Swamp

Uloola Firetrail

Approaching the campground

Uloola Falls campground

The waterfalls themselves look fairly impressive though are difficult to get a clear view of thanks to the trees which surround them. I think it's possible to get down to the foot of them but it wasn't obvious where. The most obvious track leaving Uloola Falls heads to Karloo Pool, a designation for later in the day. Instead, I continued along a lesser trodden section of the Uloola Track up onto Gurrumboola Ridge.

Uloola Brook at the campground

Looking down Uloola Falls

The top of Uloola Falls

Uloola Falls

Uloola Falls

Once again, it's a long hike to the next destination at Robertson Knoll but the ridge is interesting along its length with a mixture of bush and more open, rocky sections. There are a few instances of curious, whaleback rocks to cross in addition to a fine lookout close to Mount Ball which has a sweeping view of the national park.

The Uloola Track heads away from the campground, climbing the Gurrumboola Ridge

Gurrumboola Ridge

Gurrumboola Ridge

The whale-back sandstone rocks along the Gurrumboola Ridge

Looking north along the ridge

The Sydney skyline is visible on the horizon

Gurrumboola Ridge

Royal National Park

Panorama from the Uloola Track

The bark of a scribbly gum tree

From the lookout, the path continues along the ridge towards an area called Audley - a bit of a hub in the centre of the national park where Kangaroo Creek and the Hacking River join forces. Rather than heading down to the rivers, the path stays high until it reaches a viewpoint at Robertson Knoll.

Uloola Track

The Hacking River at Allambie Flat

Robertson Knoll

Robertson Knoll

Robertson Knoll

Leaving Robertson Knoll

The path winds down below the knoll, linking up with the Engadine Track, another Royal National park's notable paths which links Engadine village to the visitor centre at Audley. A steep, entertaining descent (sometimes utilising series of metal steps) heads down into the bush to the beautiful Kangaroo Creek.

Descending the Engadine Track

Engadine Track

Descending the Engadine Track

The Engadine Track

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Now, the Engadine Track crosses the creek but when I arrived there was no obvious crossing point. After a bit of searching, I decided to ditch the boots and simply wade across to the other side (bringing the boots with me, obviously).

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Once safely across the river, the Engadine Track makes a stiff climb away from Kangaroo Creek, following the course of Tuckawa Rill and leading out of the valley. It emerges into an impressive wooded area - the Bottle Forest. The forest is popular with mountain bikers thanks to the network of tracks which wind through the trees. As I was strolling through the woods, I decided to extend the walk by returning to Kangaroo Creek by way of the Bottle Forest Trail.

The Engadine Track

Bottle Forest

Descending the Bottle Forest Trail back to Kangaroo Creek

While it's possible to hike along Kangaroo Creek itself, some hasty research earlier in the day revealed the route was less than appealing with no track to speak of a tremendous amount of bush-bashing to contend with. That's why I took the more direct, though steeper route through the Bottle Forest and back down again. A steep descent returned me to the creek where a path of sorts follows it upstream.

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

Kangaroo Creek

After an hour of adventurous hiking alongside shaded Kangaroo Creek, I ended up at Karloo Pool - the main reason I decided to extend the walk. The main pool is around 20m long and 10m wide, with a small waterfall dropping into it, it's a beautiful spot in amongst the bush. Although the water is clear it has an emerald green sheen which makes for stunning viewing against the darker green leafy backdrop of the bush. Swimming here is most-definitely encouraged, perhaps one for the summer months.

Karloo Pool

Kangaroo Creek

Karloo Pool

The time had come to actually start making my way back to a train station in order to leave the national park before dark. Instead of the original intention of heading to Engadine, the Karloo Pools Track would lead back to the neighbouring village/town of Heathcote. The prospect of another climb wasn't a welcome one but the gradient eases after a steep start.

The Karloo Track climbs out of the valley

Karloo Track

The Heathcote Brook valley

Above Heathcote Brook

Engadine Track

Last light of the day

Once out of the valley the Karloo Pools Track is a joy as it traverses along the steep side of Heathcote Brook. The later afternoon sun made the experience all the more enjoyable. At the head of the valley, the track crosses Heathcote Brook and finally arrived back in civilisation, alongside the Sutherland Communications Centre of the Rural Fire Service. Like Waterfall, the train station at Heathcote also backs directly onto the national park.

Luckily it wasn't long before I was back on the replacement bus to Sydney, enjoying the sunset while being ferried around for once, rather than driving. There are a few more walks I'd like to do using the train, the jewel in the crown of the national park being the Coast Track - keep your eyes peeled for that.