Every year for the past 6 or so years, the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers have made the late April jaunt to Laurel Hill near Tumbarumba for 5 days of bushwalking and relaxation. Laurel Hill Forest Lodge is situated next to a Pine Forest just 20km north of Tumbarumba. The lodge was once a low security prison farm, then taken over by the Forestry Commission before the present owners bought the place and turned it into a holiday and convention center - all the cabins are named after well-known prisons in Australia. Several sections of the Hume & Hovell Walking Track are located close to or just a short drive away, allowing walkers to attempt short day walks along the track.
The walks below were done during my times at Laurel Hill in 2008, 2011 and 2012 and feature sections of the Hume & Hovell Walking Track. The track itself follows the route that explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell took in 1824 when they attempted to find suitable grazing land to the south of the colony and solve the mystery to where the western rivers flowed. They instead discovered a route between Sydney and Melbourne. Their basic journey was along a route which now sees the Hume Highway built between the two capital cities, though not the exact route the explorers took. During the 1980's a long distance walking track was created which starts at Yass and ends at Albury, over 440km in distance - a walk that takes around 25 days to complete - and follows basically the exact route the explorers took (with exceptions where there are now dams) One day I hope to follow the main section of the walk between Wee Jasper and Woomargma.
HENRY ANGEL TRACKHEAD TO TUMBARUMBA CREEK 2008
HENRY ANGEL TRACKHEAD TO JUNCTION CAMPSITE 2011
