Stage 7: Hall Village to Watson

Stage 7
Tuesday 2016 04 12
Hall Village to Federal Highwa, Watson
28.27km, 943m ascent
(Corresponds to Section 2 and Section 3.)

My car was booked in for a service on Saturday and I woke up with a sore back I couldn't shake on Sunday. I had an appointment on Monday, so it wasn't until Tuesday that I could make my big final push, hoping to complete the walk that day.

For some reason, the official route divides the section between Hall and the Federal Highway into two short stages, with a stop at the Northern Border Campsite, which is not accessible by road. Unless you actually intend to camp, you have to continue on at least to Forde, which makes a good 18km, perhaps a bit more. I was confident of making it that far, not that there was any alternative, but really wanted to go the next 10km or so and complete the circuit, even if it did mean I'd be too knackered to want to climb Old Joe's Hill when I arrived near the end of the day.

Once you leave Hall, the trail quickly funnels you between two well fenced paddocks festooned with signs reading, 'Private property Stay on trail Trespassers will be prosecuted', precluding safe access to Oak Hill and another trig point quite near Hall. So there wasn't really any opportunity to deviate from the trail. About 5km from Hall, there's a side trail to the summit of One Tree Hill, where I had my first morning tea.

One Tree Hill Trig

When I arrived at the Northern Border Campsite, I enjoyed another cuppa.

Northern Border Campsite

At Mulligan's Flat Road, there's a hole in the fence not far from the roundabout. I cut across to the gate and entered the nature reserve.

Mulligan's Flat Road

Here's a link to some photos of the area taken on a walk on 25 March 2015.

The trail follows the north side of Mulligan's Flat Road, skirting the reserve, presumably to bring custom to Forde shops? After 18km, I guess a lot of people would fancy a coffee? I followed firetrails and headed cross country more or less directly SE towards the gate leading to Goorooyarroo reserve, where I picked up the trail and followed it the rest of the way back to my starting point.