Mt Annan Summit

A Self Guided Walk from the Banksia Garden

Grade: Medium/Hard (a steep climb initially, a descent and a flat stretch to finish)
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Distance: 2.2 km
Track Highlights: Views, views and more views, Mt Annan Summit, wallaby and wallaroo sightings early morning and late afternoon.

This walk commences from the Banksia Garden. Look for the dry stone wall on the left side of the road as your starting point. The track leads up the hill from here towards Mt Annan.

1. Walk up the track from the dry stone wall and turn right onto the Kurrajong Track.
2. About 200 metres along, look out on your left for the Mt Annan Summit Walk sign and take this track up the hill.
3. As you proceed up the steep hill, be sure to glance back over your right shoulder for a great view to the south-west. This is the Cowpastures area, significant historically for its association with the first six months of British settlement. Cattle which wandered from the colony in Sydney Cove in mid- 1788 were found seven years later near Camden, thereby drawing attention to the area’s agricultural potential, and giving the area its name.
4. On the way to the summit, after the climb, you may notice the cutaway on the left side of the track with a few boulders lying around. This is a remnant of the stone quarry located on the northern slope of Mt Annan. Sandstone blocks taken from here were used in the construction of the Upper Canal from 1880–1888. The canal winds its way through the Garden as part of the Upper Nepean Scheme.
5. You will reach the summit of Mt Annan after about 20 minutes. Stop here for a rest and a drink and take in the brilliant 360 degree views south to Glenlee Estate, Yandel’ora, Menangle village and the Southern Highlands, east to Campbelltown and Dharawal and Royal National Parks, north- east 45 km to Sydney and west to the Blue Mountains and Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, some 64 km away. Yandel’ora, the flat area to the south of the Garden, is the traditional meeting area of the Dharawal Aboriginal people and means ‘land of peace between peoples’.  On the summit you will also see remnants of Western Sydney Dry Rainforest vegetation. This area has been the subject of ongoing plant regeneration and weed eradication (particularly African Olive, which has spread throughout the Garden). Glenlee Estate, with its surrounding Olive plantation, was the home of William and Mary Howe, the first European owners and farmers of the site now occupied by the Garden.
6. Proceed down the steps from Mt Annan to the Central Valley Loop Track. Here you may wish to take a right turn and a 10 minute detour to Sundial Hill and the Analemmatic Sundial, a fascinating sundial using a figure of eight (analemma) carved in a granite slab, and hexagonal basalt pillars from Mt Tomah (Blue Mountains). Enjoy the all-round views from here.
7. Turn left and proceed down the path to the Paperbark Track on your left. In the early morning or late afternoon you may be lucky to spot some resident Swamp Wallabies or Common Wallaroos. These marsupials live around Mt Annan and emerge to feed amongst the Kangaroo Grass from dusk to dawn. Swamp Wallabies are dark brown in colour, the larger Common Wallaroos are bluish grey. Also keep an eye out for birds in this area, such as the Nankeen Kestrel, Black Shouldered Kite, Richards Pipit, Golden Headed Cisticola, Eastern Yellow Robin and Brown Quail.
8. Turn left onto the Paperbark Track. As you walk along notice the large paperbarks (Melaleuca styphelioides) on either side of the track.
9. Turn left when you reach the Kurrajong Track and proceed back down towards the Banksia Garden Access Track, about 100 metres along on your right.
10. From here you can see what looks like a coalmine about 300 metres to the south- west of the Garden behind the Banksia Garden. This is actually a coal washery. Coal from the surrounding coal mines to the south is brought in by railway for washing and processing. It is then taken out again by railway to the coal loaders for transport by ship. From this point you can also get a nice view of the Banksia Garden and your finish point.
11. Keep a look out on your left for the Banksia Garden Access Track to return to your finish point. 

We hope you enjoy your walk at Mount Annan Botanic Garden. For further information or inquiries please visit the Gardens Shop / Visitor Centre, telephone (02) 4648 2477. The Gardens Shop has a range of plants, gifts and books available as well as Fact Sheets on a variety of topics. Or just put your feet up and relax a while at the Gardens Restaurant.