The drive in wasn't too bad in the XJ series Jeep Cherokee that I owned at the time. A few rutted out, steep sections and water bars where the extra clearance was appreciated but nothing difficult. I suspect that a lot of soft roaders can be driven in here with care, and maybe the odd 2WD with good clearance (and/or that isn't a prized possession). To get to the start I used instructions from http://www.pbase.com/bookster/kalkmtn which has some good info and photos. Basically, just take the Eucumbene Rd north of Jindabyne, left onto Nimmo Rd, which eventually joins the Island Bend Fire Trail. Follow this to the camp site at the Gungarlin River. While it would possibly seem easier to approach from Island Bend, I don't think it can be done (unless on foot). From memory, unless things have since changed, a permanently locked gate blocks vehicle access somewhere along that side.
The walk starts at the camp site near the bridge on the Gungarlin River, just on the edge of the Botherum Plain. This was at the end of December and it was a popular place. Numerous vehicles were camped there. It's a public site managed by the NPWS and has a pit toilet. Most of the people car camping there appeared to be fly fishing. The walk from the camp site to Kalkite Mountain summit is not too difficult for experienced walkers. Across the Botherum Plain it’s old fire trail, with a shallow crossing of the Gungarlin on the way. Distance is about 14km return, but includes roughly 3 km off track (each way) from Kalkite Gap. Elevation gain is around 250m. It's not difficult off track (steep-ish, of course) but there's a bit of navigation and you need to avoid being confused by brumby tracks.
From the bridge we commenced the walk SE along the old fire trail across the Botherum Plain, which makes up the bulk of the total walk distance of about 14 km return. This part is easy going. We knew that the Botherum Plain Hut was located along here, off the trail somewhat, but didn't sight it on the way out. We continued along the trail and made a shallow crossing of the Gungarlin River at a very pretty spot.
- Gungarlin River Crossing
We continued along the trail to the location known as Kalkite Gap, indicated by the presence of Kalkite Rock, a solitary, large round boulder on the plain. This was the point at which we needed head off-track and navigate up to the mountain summit. The initial ENE uphill climb revealed brumby tracks everywhere. If you do this walk don't be fooled by them, although some were handy to follow briefly (i.e. those that were heading generally in the right direction). We aimed for the saddle between Kalkite Mountain and the unnamed hill to its NW. From here it was reasonably easy to spot the route up the rest of the mountain. A lot of earlier fire damage was evident as we made the fairly steep ascent of Kalkite Mountain itself.
- Creamy Yellow Bottlebrush spp. on Kalkite Mountain
- Lake Jindabyne from near the trig
Nearing 1550m ASL Kalkite Mountain won't win any prizes for altitude when compared with its taller brethren on the main range nearby. But you'd be forgiven for thinking differently once on top. Well, not quite on top as the true summit is a large rock slab surrounded by trees and you can't see anything from that. But the summit is only a few metres higher than its immediate surrounds anyway. The views are from an eyrie near the trig station just to the NE of the true summit. Breathtaking views over Lake Jindabyne and across it to the small settlements of Kalkite and East Jindabyne, with Jindabyne township itself and parts of the main range in the distance.
- Towards the Main Range
- Jindabyne in the distance
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