Frost Hollow to Forest Walk

Easy

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A 1-2 hour walk through Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve, starting near Caswell Drive, that passes a remnant stand of Snow Gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora) ringing a frost hollow — described by ACT Parks as the reserve's best-preserved example of this woodland type surviving in a Canberra suburb.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

1.6 km

Est. time

28 min

Elevation gain

45 m

Route type

Loop

Steepest stretch: +37m over ~300m (around the 0.1km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve, Aranda, Canberra, ACT. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Soft TreefernDocumented on this trail

Dicksonia antarctica

Endangered — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, SA: Endangered▾

Endangered — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, SA: Endangered

Dicksonia antarctica, commonly known as the soft tree fern, is a species of fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland to Tasmania. It is commonly grown as an ornamental both in Australia and elsewhere.

How to spot it

=== Stem === Dicksonia antarctica usually grows to about 5 m (16 ft) with a 'trunk' about 30 cm (12 in) diameter, but in rare instances it may reach up to 15 m (49 ft) tall and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick. The 'trunk' – in ferns correctly known as a caudex (pl. caudices) – consists of a soft core of pith surrounded by vascular bundles and a much harder ring of tissue that provides support to the plant. Externally the caudex is densely covered in matted brown fibrous roots and the remnant bases of olde

Family Dicksoniaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Dicksonia antarctica

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by Leon Perrie

Pacific AzollaDocumented on this trail

Azolla rubra

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species▾

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species

Azolla rubra, known commonly as red azolla and Pacific azolla, is a species of aquatic fern native to Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori names returetu, roturotu, kārearea and kārerarera.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2023) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Salviniaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Azolla rubra

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by jonathon love

Midget GreenhoodDocumented on this trail

Pterostylis mutica

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species▾

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species

Pterostylis mutica, commonly known as the midget greenhood, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring in all states but not the Northern Territory. There is a rosette of leaves at the base of the flowering stem and up to fifteen pale green flowers which have a sensitive labellum.

How to spot it

Pterostylis mutica, is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. There is a rosette of between six and twelve, egg-shaped leaves, each leaf 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long and 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide at the base of the plant. Between two and twenty well-spaced flowers are borne on a flowering spike 150–350 mm (6–10 in) high with five to ten stem leaves wrapped around it. The flowers are pale green, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and about 5 mm (0.2 in) wide. The dorsal sepal and

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Pterostylis mutica

Large Mosquito-OrchidDocumented on this trail

Acianthus exsertus

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species▾

Restricted Trade Species — ACT: Restricted Trade Species

Acianthus exsertus, commonly known as gnat orchid or large mosquito orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to 25 small, fine, dark brown flowers with pinkish and purplish markings and is found growing in sheltered places in forests in Queensland, New South Wales the ACT and Victoria.

How to spot it

Acianthus exsertus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herb with a single heart-shaped, glabrous, dark green leaf that is reddish-purple on its lower surface. The leaf is 15–40 mm (0.6–2 in) long, 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) wide. There are from 3 to 25 flowers, well-spaced on a thin raceme, 100–300 mm (4–10 in) tall, each flower 12–16 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long. The dorsal sepal is linear to egg-shaped, 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, 3 mm (0.12 in) wide with a point 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long with a

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Acianthus exsertus

Loose-Flower Bush-PeaDocumented on this trail

Pultenaea laxiflora

Conservation Dependent — ACT: Conservation Dependent▾

Conservation Dependent — ACT: Conservation Dependent

Pultenaea laxiflora, commonly known as loose-flower bush-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a low-lying to prostrate, spreading shrub with linear to narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow and red to brown or purple flowers.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2021) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Pultenaea laxiflora

Photo via NatureMapr (CC-BY 3.0 (Au)), collected by mainsprite