DIRECTIONS:
From Newcastle/Sydney: Take the A1 north from Hexham, proceeding straight ahead at the large roundabout at Heatherbrae. Approx. 13.8 km from this roundabout, turn left into Italia Road. Proceed a further 3.5 km, turning right onto the quarry access track. Follow this track approx. 600 m to the quarry itself.
From the west, via Seaham: Use either Seaham Road or Clarence Town Road to get to Seaham. From Seaham, take East Seaham Road over the river, proceeding 3.1 km, before turning right into Italia Road. Travel another 4.9 km and turn left onto the quarry access track. Follow this track approx. 600 m to the quarry itself.
The access track is largely unsealed, fairly lumpy and may be slippery in wet conditions. It has suffered some water damage from recent rains, however, most 2WD vehicles do not have difficulty when driven with care and attention.
SAFETY:
Safety bearing is SW to Italia Road.
Trail bikes and 4WD vehicles are active in the area. Listen for their approach and give way by moving off tracks. It is safest to assume that they have not seen you.
Be aware of the presence of leaning or damaged trees, resulting from past storms and bushfire.
Map:
“Rolling Stones” (1: 10 000) is 60% of new area to the north of the old Balickera Quarry map.
Courses will follow the usual NOY structure.
Terrain:
(a) Like most Wallaroo areas there are many sections (mainly hills and ridges) where the ground is covered in small stones. The smooth, well-rounded ones can easily become “Rolling Stones”. TREAD CAREFULLY! The rocky ground symbol has been used where the stones become small rocks, of such intensity as to slow running speed.
(b) The new area of the map has some steep sided hills and ridges. There are some large areas of thick vegetation, despite last year’s fire.
(c) In the old section of the map, some tree-root mounds have been burned to a mound of ash, whilst some new ones have not yet been found. The map has had some upgrade in the vicinity of courses.
(d) Most native cherry trees were burnt. A few survived. None will be shown on this version of the map.
(e) If the creek, not far from the start, is full, a suggested crossing point (not compulsory) will be indicated on the map and highlighted in the field with orange coloured streamers.
(f) The stubble in burnt areas can be quite ridged and unforgiving. TREAD CAREFULLY!
Planner: Denis Lyons
Vetter:Glenn & Claire Burgess
Courses::
| Very easy |
| Easy |
| Moderate short |
| Moderate long |
| Hard short |
| Harm medium |
| Hard long |
Safety:
Safety bearing is SW to Italia Road.
Trail bikes and 4WD vehicles are active in the area. Listen for their approach and give way by moving off tracks. It is safest to assume that they have not seen you.
Be aware of the presence of leaning or damaged trees, resulting from past storms and bushfire.
Start times: 9:30 to 11:30am with course closure at 1pm. Please ensure you start your course with enough time to complete it prior to course closure.