3.3.2 Track Access and Condition

Other lots in the Munibung Hill area are currently subject to development and planning processes for residential development. The portions of the land on the south-western side of Munibung Hill (the previous Hawkins Quarry site), are owned by Munibung Hill Pty Ltd, and are currently being remediated to enable development as a residential subdivision marketed as Munibung Hill Estate. These growing residential estates will contribute to the future growth of northern Lake Macquarie’s economy and contribute to an increasing need to create recreational areas to meet the lifestyle needs of the growing community.

Conservation is a continuing land use on Munibung Hill. This includes a reserve area for Angophora inopina on WAMC land at the northern end of the Management Area.

Environment protection or management zoning applies across most of the non-urban parts of the site. Some areas are zoned open space.

The long history of development around Munibung and onto its slopes has created multiple tracks. Unsealed vehicle tracks (current or legacy) provide access for maintenance of telecommunications towers and fire management, and formerly provided access for air quality monitoring stations. Some tracks are associated with former quarry sites. Some tracks have been made by local residents visiting Munibung Hill for recreation or more recently for local scale conservation and enjoyment of the natural areas. Many existing tracks are wholly or partly on private land.

Many tracks located on Munibung Hill are steep unsealed gravel paths which have loose surface gravel and often deep rills from erosion. The majority of the existing walking tracks on Munibung Hill meet some requirements of Grade 3 to 4 walking tracks under the Australian Walking Track Grading System (AWTGS), but have sections that are in poor condition, highly eroded or overgrown. Safe passive recreation requires reliable track conditions, consistently meeting at least Grade 4 requirements, and suitable for independent walkers.

While there is pedestrian access from the local residential areas (from small reserves at the end of narrow suburban streets), there is currently very limited parking for people travelling from elsewhere in the City or from the lower Hunter.

Existing tracks which have been identified as possible options to facilitate access to Munibung Hill are outlined in Table 3.1 and shown in Figure 2.1. Although primarily on Council land, parts of these tracks traverse private land.