Kiama's Hoddle's Track Bushwalk

Hoddles Track Entrance

Hoddle's Track - Unsealed farm tracks 

Letter Boxes along the track

Walking Past Private Property and Farmland

On the right a dam with a small jetty with a rusty utility vehicle

Beautiful building overlooking a view

After a steep incline, a T-junction with the Hoddles Track sign

Turning left at the T-junction, to see a beautiful view on the right

Reaching Barren Grounds Nature Reserve

Noorinan Mountain Cliff edge

Hoddle's Track to Noorinan Mountain. Starting Point at cnr of Hoddles Road and Foxground Road, Kiama, NSW Australia. Completed 1st Sept 2018
Wearing: Asos Top, Timberland 6 inch Boots, 5.11 Tactical Wyldcat Pants, Vans Backpack, Fitbit Versa Watch
Photos taken by myself and Hai

With 16 posts to go until 2018 is over, I decided to blog about a recent Hiking adventure instead of reaching into my photo archives. Two weeks ago Hai and I wanted to take advantage of the first day of Spring weather and hike the Hoddles Track in sleepy Kiama.

We followed the walk guide 'Hoddle's Track and Saddleback' on page 204 from the book 'Best Bush, Coast & Village Walks of The Illawarra'. Below are a few points from the "At a Glance" section:

Grade: Medium
Time: 3-4 hours
Distance: 9.5km return
Ascent/Descent: 450m / 450m
Conditions: Hoddles Track is steep and eroded; take care near unfenced cliffs

1. We parked the Jeep at the corner of Hoddles Road and Foxground road in Kiama. As you drive down Foxground road which is unsealed, the entrance isn't as obvious as I thought. We approached a open wooden fence with an old green sign overlooking farm land.

2. Hesitant at first (it looked like private property), we walked over easy hills with the path lined with kangaroos and cow's manure. It then became obvious then we were on the right path. The path stretched out towards the trees, which starts to ascends and I found myself out of breath. We then passed through gates lined with letter boxes giving us indication that we were going to pass some houses.

3. Soon on the right, we took notice of an old utility vehicle that had rusted away on top of a small hill. Next to it was a sad little dam with a tiny jetty.
We kept walking and we reached open farmland again, passing by some cows chewing on grass.

4. A lonely wooden building appears on the right. You will be able to see a weathered bench overlooking a magnificent view. However remember we are walking past private properties so please do not trespass.

5. The track climbed steeply and through some gum trees. It really puffed us out as we took 10 minutes to reach the top. I kept muttering to myself "when is this bloody hill going to bloody end" until we reached the T-junction. A nice grassy area with a track sign that said "Hoddles Track" appeared before us and I rested to eat my snack.

6. We took the left path towards Noorinan Mountain, past a crumbling wall on our left. To our right, there is a spectacular lookout with a view of rolling hills of Jamberoo and Minnamurra that leads to the sea. We continued upward passing some marked posts painted green and the 'Barren Grounds' sign to continue upwards.

7. We veered left, and kept climbing over fallen tree trunks and up the crumbling path. Above us the cliff rocks tower. We eventually reached a stone on the ground with an arrow etched in pointing right. We suspected that a hiker was trying to indicate that you could climb the cliffs for another view. But we knew it was not part of the official path so we continued on straight.

8. We eventually reached a slightly open area with a big boulder sitting on our right. Momentarily confused on which path to take, Hai then found the path towards our left. We climbed through the narrow path flanked by grass tress and could hear the sea waves crashing. We carefully found a rock with an arrow etched into it pointing up. We climbed up and the ground became sandy. Finally we reached a rock platform with a beautiful view over Foxground and to Saddleback Mountain.

We ate our lunch (pork rolls and cheese and bacon rolls) and then made our way back. Thankfully it was alot easier and quicker to descend the steep path, making the return trip feel alot shorter.

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For us, we had set ourselves a 2-3 hour time limit so we only completed the track up to Noorinan Mountain and back, instead of going right at the T-junction to Saddleback Mount (as indicated by our Guide book). It instead took us about two and a half hours, 5.6km return and around 11.6k steps (according to my handy Fitbit).

Hai and I were using this hike to celebrate our anniversary which was between the 2nd (our official first date) and the 5th (our wedding day date) of every month. Usually we eat out at a nice restaurant but this time decided to hike, because it had been so long since our last one. And the weather was bloody beautiful that day, reminding me that Australia is still wonderfully unique; despite our year long hiatus.
Next roadtrip/hike planned: another visit to Laurel Hill to visit the Sugar Pine Trees, with friends Betty, Erin and Jaye.