Namadgi walk - Yankee Hat

We've had a big focus on the book "Cotter - a novel" by Canberra region author Richard Begbie, over the past month (choice of my two book clubs + two discussion groups with the author). So I have been keen to start looking at "Cotter" and "Onyong" country a lot more closely. We've neglected this beautiful area of the Namadgi National Park for too many years. Maybe it's a case of somewhere being so close to home - it's always easy to put off a visit until "later".

Our goal today was to walk to the Yankee Hat Aboriginal rock paintings, on the edge of the Bimberi Wilderness area of Namadgi. The start of the walk on the Old Boboyan Road, south of Tharwa was only about an hour's drive (67klm to be exact) from home in Campbell. The last 3klms or so was unsealed, but it was still an easy drive for us.  

 The Yankee Hat walk is only 6klm return, through open grassland ………...

 Over the Gudgenby River ……….

 A small hilly section, more densely treed …...

 As we draw closer to the Bimberi Wilderness area and the base of Yankee Hat (hill) ……..

And find the Aboriginal rock paintings in the most amazing rock - cave formation at the base of the hill. ……... I could not believe how clean and fresh they look. No one knows how old they area but there is evidence that there has been human habitation in the "cave" for at least 800 years. There were great Bogong moth feasts in this region every Spring, up until a few generations ago. Aboriginal people believe the animals and human forms depicted here represent the totems of all the clan groups that used to gather here for the festivities.

We stayed for a while marvelling at this extraordinary site, so close to the nation's capital - and yet still so relatively unknown.

  Walking back I realised what a great landmark Yankee Hat (hill) is …….

Getting back to the carpark we passed the big mob of kangaroos that looks after this part of the national park - doing their best impression of being rocks in the landscape. 

There are around 30 identified walks through Namadgi National Park. I'm so glad we've made a start!