Bindook Highlands to Yass

From “Bindook” the Federation Track swings west along the Colong Stock Route and down to Limeburners Flat to cross crystal clear Murruin Creek and then rises again to the Range Fire Trail and the Great Dividing Range. Here it swings south along the very broad flat ridge top of the Divide with excellent vistas of ridge and forest to the east while the views to the west down into the Abercrombie Valley are quite spectacular

This open country soon ends and once again the Track follows fire trails through heavy timber to open grazing country east of Wombeyan Caves where the rolling, grassy country of the Southern Highlands appears. Wombeyan Caves is an excellent camp site and a day spent exploring these caves is well worth while. The Track then heads west from the caves through old limestone quarries and along the old Coach Road to Taralga with its living history. From Taralga to Roslyn the Track runs along quiet, dusty back roads through some of the best pastoral country in Australia! When Australia rode on the sheep’s back, the best wool came from around this area and it is still an important industry today. At Roslyn you reach one of the disused railways built in the early 1900′s to open up this country but rendered obsolete by modern roads and vehicles. However, this old line provides an easy walking route through open forest and golden pastures to the northern outskirts of Goulburn where the Track winds its way through the streets and parks of this inland city

Beyond Goulburn, the Track follows quiet country roads past historic homesteads and churches to Breadalbane on the old Hume Highway. It then runs along the original Sydney Road as it winds its way over the Cullerin Range to the site of Hume’s original homestead at Fish River. More quiet roads bring you to the peaceful village of Gunning and then to the even smaller hamlet of Jerrawa. From Jerrawa the Track winds its way south to cross the Hume Freeway and climbs over the Mundoonen Range through Mundoonen Nature Reserve where more quiet country roads are used to reach Yass, one of the most attractive towns in the Southern Highlands. Here the beautifully restored Cooma Cottage and Hume’s grave remind you of this pioneering trail-blazer.