Anyone walked Bennies Track near Cheshunt?

[neil_fahey]

Hi all,

Just remembered this track I tried to find last summer (unsuccessfully) and thought some of you guys might know about it... It's supposed to go from Bennies Camp Ground near Cheshunt. We walked around heaps but never found it. Has anyone else been successful?

Cheers
Neil

[Drifting]

That was the track that inspired me to get a GPS. I spent the better part of two days, on different occassions looking for it, with no joy. This was after the Ranger for the area recommended it to me as an easy walk. Maybe if you follow the river upstream as far as you can (it forms a bit of a gorge), and then cross directly over the top of the hill that forms the shoulder of the gorge you might come up with it, but I never did.

Some of the hunters who know the area very well reckon it's easier to find away from Bennie's itself.

I reckon it's all a conspiracy.....LOL

[Drifting]

Actually, my wife just reminded me. Those hunters I spoke to, at least one of them, reckoned that he'd been going there for 7 years and he'd never found the track. Sorry- dodgy memory!

[neil_fahey]

Haha... Well that makes me feel better! Thanks Drifting!

Heading up that way in a couple of weeks and was thinking about trying to do Bennies again but maybe I'll do Cobbler instead. If anyone has any idea of other hikes close by then please let me know (staying at Edi Cutting)

[north-north-west]

If you're driving into Lake Cobbler, head up to Mount Speculation. The track along the ridgeline over Koonika to Spec is a little faint in places but easy enough to follow.

[neil_fahey]

If you're driving into Lake Cobbler, head up to Mount Speculation. The track along the ridgeline over Koonika to Spec is a little faint in places but easy enough to follow.

Will only be in a Subaru Outback - what's the track from Lake Cobbler to Speculation like?

[north-north-west]

The vehicle track's passable to a carefully driven, high clearance two-wheel drive, most of the way. There's just one awkward washout on a sloping rock shelf that I refused to take the old 2WD Hilux over. But the Subaru should do it.
But I really meant walking - the track to Mt Cobbler splits up on the ridge and the southbound route can take you either back onto the Mt Spec vehicle track, or all the way over Koonika to Mt Spec itself. That's a nice little walk.

[Drifting]

We took our old BMW 535 up to Cobbler once- it has big steel skid plates under it, believe it or not. You should have seen the crappy looks we got from the folks driving fancy 4WDs when we got there!

[neil_fahey]

We took our old BMW 535 up to Cobbler once- it has big steel skid plates under it, believe it or not. You should have seen the crappy looks we got from the folks driving fancy 4WDs when we got there!

Haha... I bet you got looks! We got looks last time we went up there in the Subaru!

The vehicle track's passable to a carefully driven, high clearance two-wheel drive, most of the way. There's just one awkward washout on a sloping rock shelf that I refused to take the old 2WD Hilux over. But the Subaru should do it.
But I really meant walking - the track to Mt Cobbler splits up on the ridge and the southbound route can take you either back onto the Mt Spec vehicle track, or all the way over Koonika to Mt Spec itself. That's a nice little walk.

Oh okay sorry I misunderstood... Will look into that too thanks Scavenger!

[north-north-west]

We took our old BMW 535 up to Cobbler once- it has big steel skid plates under it, believe it or not. You should have seen the crappy looks we got from the folks driving fancy 4WDs when we got there!

Yeah, I used to get some pretty snitty looks from 4WDers with the old 2WD Hilux when driving on or camping next to some of their tracks.
But the only really awkward part of the Lake Cobbler access is the side track into the Lake campground - it does get a bit rutted when the big boys take their bombs through it in the wet. Otherwise you could take a sportscar up that far.
Speculation is a slightly different of course.

[volcboy]

I've taken my 1974 Kombi up to the Lake Cobbler campsite and down the Mt Speculation track to the washout described above. All you need is plenty of clearance and torque.

It is amusing how much that really annoyed the crews in their huge 4WD's

Setting up a base at Mt Speculation to do some daywalks to the Razor/Viking and Mt Howitt is worthwhile, as well as climbing Mt Cobbler.

[north-north-west]

Re the Mt Spec 'Road': have been up there recently and, looking at the state of the section from the Staircase turnoff to the carpark, 2wd access - no matter how much torque or clearance your vehicle has - is no longer an option past Mustering Flat. The rocky bits are rougher and rockier and far more eroded, and the bogs are deeper and stickier.
In fact, I can't believe I even tried taking a 2wd up there, though the road was a bit better a few years ago when I did it. Even lost a mudflap off the Hilux on one of the rockier bits.

The Staircase, however, is now a pretty good road. Deep and steep spoon drains, but passable in the dry to anything with a bit of clearance. Although doing it at 80kmh like the moron who almost run both of us off the road is probably a wee bit iffy . . .