Starlights and Slott track

[FionaShedden]

Hi all,

Was hoping to go out in a couple of weeks and do the Slotts Track down to Nattai and then along river to Emmetts Flat then back up via starlights track, with some teenagers.
Can't find any recent reviews of the state of this track last ones from late 2021 and early 2022 seem to indicate it was very overgrown, and particularly hard going along the river flats.

Anyone have any recent experience?

Cheers,

Fiona

[paprika]

Hi Fiona,

I was down there just last weekend. Emmett's flat is not too overgrown - definitely space to pitch a tent at the campground/on the river bank. The riverbank from Emmett's flat up to Slotts track is really rough after the floods with some spots being steep and pretty hard to get around. Slotts track was very overgrown from the bottom and difficult to follow. We ended up cutting our losses and heading back up starlight. Hope that helps!

[puredingo]

Hey there. Not to be too contrary to paprikas report but I went down the slot way last month and found it in good condition.
Now, this is relatively speaking of course as after the fire/flood period it basically unrecognisable. And yes, as stated the bottom 3rd being the worse as you approach the river, so I would suggest you do it the way you planned and enter the valley via Slotts and once you hit the flat just keep walking the easiest path to the water gets louder.

And one more tip…do NOT go out up the troys creek track. Gone!

[FionaShedden]

Thanks Guys - great feedback!

[anarresti]

Thinking of heading out here next week. How was it from the end of Slotts up to Emmetts? Looks like following the Nattai, but is there a track? Or just scrambling around the river edge.
Cheers - Aaron

[puredingo]

No track mate, the river banks are wide from the previous flooding so it’s a combination of walking the dry flats and the odd bank. Making sure you don’t over shoot Emmett’s is the trick. The floods also changed the course and flow of the river so the flat sits further away than it did years ago.

[anarresti]

Thanks Dingo, much appreciated!

[fosterhike]

Hi all,

I want to head up that way with a friend to do some off-trail camping in a few weeks. My plan was to suggest the starlights trail, head down to Emmetts Flat and see what the conditions are like. I can see on Gaia there is another campsite further down the Nattai river at the junction of Wanganderry Creek called Cathedral Forest, although there's no mention of it on the national park website or anywhere I could find. I thought it'd be a way to get a little more isolation if it's busy. The topo and minview make it seems like a pretty decent place to camp and pretty spectacular too. I wanted to know:

1. What the conditions are like in the area at the moment, specifically the starlights track.
2. How difficult the track might be carrying a camping load of about 10kg. Bushwalkingnsw tracknotes says its EM but the ascent looks pretty big, all trails mentions it being hard.
3. Where to park near the trailhead as I think one of the car parks is closed?
4. Whether emmetts flat is a nice place to camp if we're tired and cant navigate up the river further, or whether anyone here has heard of or been to cathedral forest.
5. What the water availability is like in the valley assuming we have filters/chems. Is it running year round?

Cheers!

[tom_brennan]

1. What the conditions are like in the area at the moment, specifically the starlights track.

This report from last year suggests that Starlights is OK, but a bit rough and damaged. https://grindlay.org/2022/06/nattai-road-river/

2. How difficult the track might be carrying a camping load of about 10kg. Bushwalkingnsw tracknotes says its EM but the ascent looks pretty big, all trails mentions it being hard.

It's an easy 440m descent/ascent. The Bushwalking NSW notes say EM because you're expected to be fit enough to carry an overnight pack for 10-15km. If not, then you might find it harder.

3. Where to park near the trailhead as I think one of the car parks is closed?

You'd need to contact the NPWS office and see if there is alternative parking a bit back down the road.

4. Whether emmetts flat is a nice place to camp if we're tired and cant navigate up the river further, or whether anyone here has heard of or been to cathedral forest.

Link above has pic of Emmetts - looks OK, but a shade of its former glory (big grassy areas)

5. What the water availability is like in the valley assuming we have filters/chems. Is it running year round?

Yes - the Nattai will be running. But I'd take it from one of the various other options if you can - Troys Creek or Starlights Creek

[fosterhike]

Hi Tom. Really appreciate the additional information and ideas. I'm wondering about your suggestion to take it from a smaller creek, is this just good practice in general when sourcing water in the wild?

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Hi Tom. Really appreciate the additional information and ideas. I'm wondering about your suggestion to take it from a smaller creek, is this just good practice in general when sourcing water in the wild?

Just a reflection on the quality of the Nattai River itself, given that Mittagong (and treatment works etc) all lie upstream. Troys is reliable and trustworthy, as is wanganderry.

Sent from my SM-S906E using Tapatalk

[michael_p]

3. Where to park near the trailhead as I think one of the car parks is closed?

You can fit a few cars on Nattai Rd outside the NP parking area. If you get there early enough you may be able to park on Nattai Rd. If there are no spots you may have to go a few hundred metres back up the road as that end of Nattai Rd is narrow.

[tom_brennan]

Hi Tom. Really appreciate the additional information and ideas. I'm wondering about your suggestion to take it from a smaller creek, is this just good practice in general when sourcing water in the wild?

Specific advice for avoiding the Nattai - as it drains off Mittagong. Not the best source for drinking water!

Basically, look at the catchments of the creeks/rivers for where you are planning to take water. Where possible, choose streams with catchments entirely within natural areas. Where this isn't possible, try to choose ones with minimal human impact in the catchment, and depending on how much human activity is going on, decide whether you need to treat the water (and how).

[fosterhike]

thanks for the help everyone!

[fosterhike]

hey all,

Just wanted to say I headed down starlights to emmetts flat last weekend and had a great time. Took a little detour down the Needle lookout by mistake but it was a good lesson to always check the maps now and then, me and my friend were just having a chat and kept walking. Probably would've gone a lot further off course if the trail hadn't ended, so a cheap lesson to learn. Emmetts is really nice with a few established fireplaces, the trail down starlights is pretty overgrown at shoulder height but easy to see on the ground. Seemed like a lot of algae in the Nattai and was glad I got info about Troy being a good source of water, really appreciate the advice. Saw a few red bellies near the water coming down, and some wombat scat but the rest of the time it was sadly very quiet, the fires really devastated that area it seems.

[Mcspud]

Did starlight’s a few weeks ago as an overnight walk. It was a pretty disappointing walk to be honest. The campsite at the bottom was ok but the one across the river has ceased to exist. Walking along the river is fairly hard but not overly attractive. Looks like walking along the Murrumbidgee by comparison. Trail bikes everywhere until the single track started. The highlight was meeting a 92 year old man walking it.

[tgdavies]

Any more recent updates? I'm thinking of doing Starlights/Emmets Flat as a quick overnight next week.

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Any more recent updates? I'm thinking of doing Starlights/Emmets Flat as a quick overnight next week.

Starlight's is fine, a bit scrubby past the creek at the bottom (which had good water, along with Troy's creek) but that part was a bit scrubby pre-fires anyway. Emmett's has a few nice open camping spots.. Even the slott way is pretty clear now apart from where the track braids a bit in the scrub down near the river. Nattai seems a bit wider than it used to be in places but that's based on memory and I might be dreaming it up. Still wouldn't want to be doing too much off track given the scrub but the tracks have re-established pretty well... the area is definitely different to what it used to be but still nice.

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[juxtaposer]

Hi all,

I want to head up that way with a friend to do some off-trail camping in a few weeks. My plan was to suggest the starlights trail, head down to Emmetts Flat and see what the conditions are like. I can see on Gaia there is another campsite further down the Nattai river at the junction of Wanganderry Creek called Cathedral Forest, although there's no mention of it on the national park website or anywhere I could find. I thought it'd be a way to get a little more isolation if it's busy. The topo and minview make it seems like a pretty decent place to camp and pretty spectacular too. I wanted to know:

1. What the conditions are like in the area at the moment, specifically the starlights track.
2. How difficult the track might be carrying a camping load of about 10kg. Bushwalkingnsw tracknotes says its EM but the ascent looks pretty big, all trails mentions it being hard.
3. Where to park near the trailhead as I think one of the car parks is closed?
4. Whether emmetts flat is a nice place to camp if we're tired and cant navigate up the river further, or

whether anyone here has heard of or been to cathedral forest.

5. What the water availability is like in the valley assuming we have filters/chems. Is it running year round?

Cheers!

Yes, a couple of times, a long time ago. It didn't have a name then. Robert Sloss later gave it that name but I always thought of it as the paperbark palace. Passed through it after coming down a tributary of Wanganderry Creek. Came back a month later to camp there. Had a good look around. The main species is Melaleuca stypheliodes with some M. linariifolia. There is a treeless area in the centre at edge of which we camped.

[tom_brennan]

Speaking of names, does anyone know the origin of "Slott Way"?

There are some newish signs at the turnoff to Starlights Track, Ahearn Lookout, and also Slott Way at the junction with the Ahearn track. Though the spelling leaves something to be desired...

[Allchin09]

Maybe it is Slots Way Tom?

What does Sloss have to say in his books, anything?

[tom_brennan]

Maybe it is Slots Way Tom?

Well, Australia is the gambling capital of the world, after all! But we call them pokies...

What does Sloss have to say in his books, anything?

I don't have most of them, so hoping from some insight from other Nattai aficionados.

[rachel_g]

The Sloss books on historic background for The Slott Way says:
"In 2004 Mel Lee with the Southern Highlands Bushwalkers found this route to the Nattai River following a dry wash creek bed. In 2008 a club member, David Hardie found a safer route below the base of the northern cliff line to bypass the difficult dry wash bed route".
So... no, the Sloss books give no insight as to why it is called Slott Way (or why there are 2 Ts)!

[michael_p]

The Sloss books on historic background for The Slott Way says:
"In 2004 Mel Lee with the Southern Highlands Bushwalkers found this route to the Nattai River following a dry wash creek bed. In 2008 a club member, David Hardie found a safer route below the base of the northern cliff line to bypass the difficult dry wash bed route".
So... no, the Sloss books give no insight as to why it is called Slott Way (or why there are 2 Ts)!

I have no idea where the name came from. The David Hardie noted in the Sloss guide may be the David Hardie who is listed on the Southern Highlands Bushwalkers website as webmaster.

On a side note: Many years ago I was emailed a map with a route drawn on it that followed that side creek from the Ahearn Track down to Rocky Waterholes CK. I am pretty sure this was the "dry wash creek bed" route described in the Sloss guide. This may have been before the Slott Way came into existence or it may have been not long after. I can't remember the timeline exactly, too long ago for my old brain.

Cheers,
Michael.

[Allchin09]

The David Hardie noted in the Sloss guide may be the David Hardie who is listed on the Southern Highlands Bushwalkers website as webmaster.

Yes, that would be him