The CHH signposted short loop track is advertised as 2hrs 30 minutes - probably closer to 3hrs 30 minutes at least unless you are exceptionally fit. If I'm stopping to photograph vegetation along the way I can stretch it to 5 hours easily.
What I don't like about it is that just as you are getting a touch tired, it drops you into fairly uninteresting pine forest for a good 30-45 minutes, right at the end of the track.
My route gives you about half an hour extra of quite delightful bushwalking, and then gets you back to the car as fast as possible along the gravel road.
So, here we are at the carpark, ready to start. (Note. New carpark is about 800m further along Boundary Rd. You may have decided to cut across country from the carpar, in which case, move on a little.)
The crossbar to the right of the gate has been vandalised since this was taken.
A gentle incline takes us up to Walker Rd where we duck beneath a rail and turn right towards the gate on the other side of the road. If rails aren't your thing, ie, if you're fat and carrying a pack, there's a spot about 50 metres up the fenceline where you can get over and down more simply.
Across the road is another gate, sometimes tied closed, other times open. Head through and leave it as you find it.
We keep more or less straight ahead up the clay bank and pass to the left of the water tanks.
A path branches off just past here to the right. This is the route we come back on.
Straight ahead from the water tanks about 100m is Selwyn Rd.
We turn right at Selwyn Rd and about 30m along on the left is the gate into the nature reserve
