is this track open?

Finito,

It has been a year or so since I was in that area so I am not absolutely positive, but the track appeared to be closed then. What I mean by that is that the entrance to the track was blocked at the Seal Rocks end, however there may be another entrance that has been unofficially put in.

The track is unmaintained and has been for over 30 years that I have known of its existence. ( I have travelled it once about 30 years ago) It was originally put in by the sand mining companies and when the mining ceased, the local and state government accepted no responsibility for it, so I remains in limbo. No one owns it so no one maintains it.

The distance is not all that great between Mungo and Seal Rocks, so I doubt you would need to camp overnight. Having said that, if you wanted to camp, I doubt you would find a suitable spot unless you go onto the beach to camp, and if you do that, you are entering a National Park and may be liable for a camping fee if permitted to camp on the beach, which I seriously doubt you would be allowed to do. The NPWS provide "official" camp sites at Mungo for that purpose.

The decision is yours, but please do not do the wrong thing for the sake of all of us who may follow in your footsteps one day.

Thanks, i would like to do everything by the book, so if it is closed, it is closed. I really can't afford a fine (I'm a 19 year old student after all) and i am sure there are plenty of other places i can go where i won't risk getting a fine, and creating a reason for the road to be official shut. I might have a look at the other side at some point, but i am pretty sure from memory at the mungo brush end there is a gate and a sign saying that it is shut. Not sure if it the same road though.

Finito

No worries - as of a couple of years back the old sand mining track was legal. We camped a couple of nights at Mungo, then took the track up to the Seal Rocks Road. Quite pretty and easy driving - took us about 1 3/4 hours taking it easy with our camper in tow, so you wouldn't need to camp along there. (I think you can only bush camp if you are a couple of kays from the car.) The turn off at the Mungo end is obvious or the ranger will point it out - the top one is a bit harder to find.

There is a NP camp ground just along the coast from Seal Rocks at Yagon, right on the coast, or a nice spot at Wallingat NP just off the Lakes Way (turn off near Bungwahl) and at Booti Booti NP (close to Forster and pretty busy in the holidays).

If you've been to Mungo before, don't be disappointed that the old lake front camping has been closed off - we have loved the area too much and the paperbarks started dying and dropping branches on campers. But there's heaps of camp sites along there - just more formal than they used to be.

Enjoy it!
Max

Thanks Max, i found your post to be quite informative, i wasn't aware that the Mungo Brush lakeside camping was closed off. I stayed there about 5 years back and never thought it would be closed. I will give the track a go, i'm only new to 4WDing and really need to find a group of people who also have a 4WD's, so a easy track will keep me out of trouble. No point owning a 4WD if i don't use it!

I remembered your post from the other day and just saw this ExOz trek notes post that mught interest you.

http://www.exploroz.com.au/TrekNotes/NSWCoast/Myall_Lakes.asp

Thanks, that does help. My only worry is however that it was posted 06 Oct 2003. Not even a year ago, but i just thought i would check. At least i know a little more about the trek, especialy knowing about beach permits.