Kariong Kariong, New South Wales, Australia
By Geocaching Australia on 02-Sep-09. Waypoint TP4227

Part of a group walk, we started up from Wondebyne station and followed the Great North Walk until Scorpas Peak. Shortly after that it was off-track, heading east up one peak, then a saddle, before climbing up to Kariong. Group leader got a fright as a brown snake struck at him twice as we made our way to the saddle and there was a short panicked retreat whilst the nerves settled. The views as we climbed were great.

The trig itself was in reasonable condition for an old 'un with the vanes still on top of the cairn but fallen off the mast.

We left by a different route, heading due north from Kariong (west of the rifle range). For the most part this is an excellent route across a reasonably level area of bushland that isn't spares but isn't too hard to work through. However, it got very nasty about 200m from the Great North Walk where, after discovering a lovely little waterfall, we plowed through the somewhat impenetrable scrub beside a creek until we intersected the Great North Walk.

Rated: for Overall Experience

I came up here with mrnoo17 ages ago (would have been early last year) but didn't get a photo so technically can't claim a find on this right?
It was late on a friday afternoon and the shooters had just stopped so we somehow ran through the rifle range unseen and climbed straight up the side of the mountain. The ground underfoot through the rifle range is completely covered in smashed clay pigeons to the point where you can no longer see the ground anymore!
We had our camping gear with us so when we made it to the summit we laid out the mats and went exploring. There wasn't a lot of room on the rocky outcrop for sleeping nor was it that comfortable either but we did it. After climbing in to a cave when I was getting back out I spotted a tiger snake about 3m away from where I had laid my sleeping bag to sleep. We didnt have a tent with us either so I just moved a few more metres over near the edge and slept there hoping the snake would stay in the crack in the rock.
We had dinner around a fire and enjoiyed the sunset before sleeping and continuing to hike to Kariong Brook falls the next morning.

Was tons of fun and I had always been interested as to where Mt. Kariong was as Kariong is where i live and its one of the highest points on the central coast.

The 4 of us had a good day out finding this one. From a distance Mt Kariong looked as if it was going to be a bit 'cliffy' but we picked our way across the ridges relatively easily with just a few short scrambles across the off-track section. The bush was varied but not too bad. Miracle of the day was losing my GPS in thick bush, and going back and finding it again!!

Rated: for Overall Experience

Four of us set off from Girrakool on a mission to find this trig. We followed the Piles Creek Loop walking track until we met the GNW track and then headed towards Patonga. Just before we reached Leochares Peak we went 'bush' following the contours until we reached the saddle between Leochares Peak and Mt Kariong. From there it was up, up and up although the route was very manageable. Good GPS coordinates enabled us to locate the trig without issues.

The trig itself is a good size although the top layers have been dismantled. The original mast is there and we decided to put all the vanes back on top of the trig where they belong (2 of them were located not far from its base).

A very enjoyable outing!

Rated: for Overall Experience

After a fair hike and some scratches, we found the cairn. Top spot and well worth the walk

Rated: for Overall Experience

Yeah! We came in from Girrakool and walked along the Great North Walk to a rock platform just before the top of Leocharres Peak and then headed bush! It looked very thick (and was in places) but a lot of rock along the hillsides made the going possible. The worst problem was the big spiders strung across the gaps in the vegetation!

Once up the top, it was lucky we had good co-ords because it wasn't easy to pick where the trig was likely to be and the bush was fairly dense.

But there it was! A good solid cairn which had become a home to a large population of ants!

All up it's about 12km return to the cars and there are some lovely views along the way so well worth the trip

Rated: for Overall Experience

There is a way in that goes nowhere near the rifle range

Let't not annoy the people with guns.
Archived.

When I can get a photograph of the Gosford map I post it up.

It seems that the 'locals' hadn't been near the trig since it had been published, or they would have seen the sign on the gate: RESTRICTED AREA.
Now, I had my 'trusty' 1:25,000 (1st ed.) Gosford map with me for the 4W Event, and it showed that there is a boundary to the Rifle Range, But on consideration, I would imagine that they would like the option of giving limited permission to going around their property anyway. (As we definitely heard it in action today)
I can confirm there is a cairn, without a post, and some of the unpainted vanes are lying on the cairn, and some of the more rusted ones on the ground.
Potentially if permission were forthcoming for bypassing the property and using a set of waypoints keeping out of the range, and with a limited period to access that corridor, that this could be a Difficulty 5, Terrain 4½ Trig. RARE!

I tried to reach this Trig from the East (Karyong end) but got confronted by multiple warning signs. The track is part of the Commonwealth firing range, this is currently leased to the local riffle, pistol and muzzle loader clubs.
Unfortunately the track is out of bounds as it run perilously close to the target area. And to access the Trig from that side (the easy one!) you are in direct line of fire.
It may be possible to access the Trig from the West side from Wondabyne or Woy Woy but the west side of the hill is a much tougher access.

Published