Nursery Swamp is one of more than 400 wetlands in Namadgi, and is regarded as one of the outstanding fens of its type on the Australian mainland. A fen is a wetland where sedge plants grow close together, leaving no areas of open water. The name Nursery Swamp is apparently derived from the early use of the sheltered valley for raising lambs and calves. The walk from Orroral Valley (at an elevation of about 940m) to the swamp (at an elevation of about 1100m) is just over 4km on walking track with an initial steep climb (with some stone and timber steps) of 200m through peppermint forest to a rocky saddle before it flattens out and then descends slightly through snowgum and black sallee woodland into Nursery Creek and the swamp. It has boardwalks, logs and stepping stones in places across wet, boggy or sensitive areas. The track ends at a flattish area just above the main part of the swamp with good views of the widening valley and surrounding hills. Before returning by the same way may ascend to the rocky granite summit of one of the many hills that overlook the adjoining valley of Rendezvous Creek. This is about a 4km detour, some of it on a feint walking track, the rest cross-country through bush with some easy rock scrambling on the boulders neat the summit of hill 1373. Total distance for the walk, including the side trip to hill 1373, is about 12.5km with about 470m of ascent.
There will be no pre-trip meeting for this day walk, with transport and other arrangements to be sorted out either at the ANUMC welcome BBQ or by email and phone on Saturday.
As per the trip description. The ascent to hill 1373 will be from the saddle to the north.