Location: Cooranbong/Watigans NSW
Event: Yowie Stalking
Date: 1988
After discussing various Yowie sightings up/down the Great Dividing Range, with my brother, he relayed to me a an incident that happened to him and a mate in 1988.
It happen at a place called Cooranbong N.S.W, near Newcastle. Cooranbong backs directly on to the Watagan Mountain Range, backing onto the Great Divide. The exact location was a place called 'One Tree Hill' off Mathews Valley Rd.
To get to 'One Tree Hill' look out, there are initially two separate steep hills that you must climb via a fire trail. The area is very popular with walkers and bikers.
The boys decided to go to the top of the hill in the early hours of the morning following a party they had been too (for something to do), there was no moon and it was very dark.
They were coming back down from the "look out" when they heard something breaking sticks in the bushes adjacent to them.
They stopped and listened, there was silence. They started walking again and this creature started to walk (definitely on 2 feet) breaking branches again.
My brother has camped in the bush many times and is very familiar with the animals that are found in the area (i.e. kangaroos, pigs etc.). There was no rhythmic thud of a kangaroo hopping or any characteristic that would denote a 4 legged creature.
They stopped again and listened, the creature did the same. They both were carrying large bush knives (as you did back then while in the bush) they took them out by this time, because they were scared to death.
They knew that something in the bushes (10 to 20m away), was stalking them.
They then decided to run as fast as they could down the steep hills, the creature ran as fast as they were running but parallel to them crashing through the bushes as it went.
The boys only stopped when they made it down to the road way that was immediately surrounded by a large clearing with a dam near bye...
The creature was never seen by them but it stopped running beside them when they got to the roadway/clearing.
Andrew Thompson
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