Teddywombat's obsession with bushwalks

Living in Sydney has been such a merit that without going far from home, you can enjoy the beauty of the wilderness. There are no less than 600 walking tracks (according to wildwalks.com) meandering across pristine national parks, reserves and bushlands around Sydney. After a week of busy work, you can easily clear your mind and lungs by diving into a walking track or two during the weekends - keeping away from the crowds, leaving your cares at home and getting closer with Mother Nature.

In Australia, we don't normally call it "hiking" mostly due to the fact that we don't have many high mountains to climb. Plus, Australian native plants have a rather "bushy" feeling, though we do have big trees. With this in mind, hikers tend to call their hobby "bushwalking" rather than "hiking".

I've been addicted to bushwalking since 2006. My initiation was Bill Bryson's best seller "Walk into the Woods." Hence, after completing the book, every weekend the beautiful sunshine would tempt my wild heart to take a walk into the Aussie bushland.

At the beginning, I was studying the street directories to search for the closest tracks. It was exciting to find those green tentacles of Mother Nature stretching among building blocks, roads and railways. Following the traces of dotted brown lines (indicate walking lines) to see where they were heading was just as much fun.

After accumulating more experiences, I started exploring tracks with mid- to high-level difficulties. Finishing all the tracks around my area, I searched for those within moderate driving distances. But the first thing to consider was if the track could be finished within a day. Here is a short list of what I've prepared for a day hike, just for your reference.

• Bring a map with the track you are going to walk through (or a hand-held GPS). Do a bit of research before you set off--otherwise you'll waste some time in doing so along the way.
  
• Wear sturdy hiking shoes - remember, don't wear sneakers on rugged tracks, or your feet will complain!
  
• Drink plenty of water in any weather condition, no joking.
  
• Use sunscreen and sunglasses if you walk under the blazing Aussie sunshine.
  
• Bring a torch in case you miss your turn and schedule - blundering in the dark night forest is one of the most miserable experiences (it hasn't happened to me yet, but you can imagine how it would be).
  
• Other beneficial add-ons include a cap, camera, walking stick, a bag and some snacks. If you feel bored, an iPod may help you kill the silence.
  
• Wear fast-dry hiking pants rather than jeans. This is what I learned from Bill Bryson's experience--it's a very practical suggestion.
  

To list a few of my most favorite walking areas which I've been waded through:

1. Garigal National Park and Middle Harbor area: Located in the Lower North Shore area of Sydney Metro, Middle Harbor area provides probably the most delicate views, with lush native plants and expansive harbor inlets. Most tracks are well maintained in this area. One of my favorite is Two Creek Track. There are swift drops, leafy glade territories, wooden bridges hanging over babbling brooks, small waterfalls bumbling over black rocks and marshy mangrove banks--and the views across upper reaches of Middle Harbor are just sensational. Located right between residential blocks, Garigal National Park has no shortage of wild animals. There are flocks of cockatoo and rainbow parrots; mysterious water dragons (a kind of lizard) taking sun baths on boulders along the bank; wild cockerels wandering across the bushes. I once saw a mother fox playing with cubs along a secluded creek.

2. Berowra Valley and Hornsby area: There are plenty of picturesque tracks here, and they are far more difficult and wilder. A long section of the Great North Walk (Sydney to New Castle) runs through the whole region along the deep valley and Berawra Waters. But I rather prefer another thread of tracks from Gibbergong, passing Bobbin Head to Berowra Track before reaching Brooklyn Station. The view is just spectacular - very dynamic terrain alongside the tracks and very expansive valley water view. It's said that once a humpback whale entered the Mooney Mookey Valley in 1950s. It's a pity I missed the whale, but I did bump into a huge goanna of 1.5 meter long. Without any preparation, I was scared out of my wits at the first sight--but he was rather calm in seeing me.

3. Central Coast: This is a bit far from the Sydney Metro area, probably a 2-hour drive to the north, so I could go all day and hardly meet a soul. One highlight is the Bouddi Coast Walk stretching along the coast line of Bouddi National Park. Any angle of the ocean view on the track is just immense. Besides the cliff top walk, the track also strings up a couple of small beaches. Just imagine that a full kilometer-long, sandy beach is totally yours. Every time while passing an empty beach, I would be totally immersed in the beauty and calmness of Mother Nature. Not long ago, I met a big snake along the Bouddi Coastal Walk. That was another calm animal of decent size that I met alone in the wild. He even posed for me to take a couple of photos, and his cool, brown gaze was quite unforgettable.

Beyond Sydney bushwalks, I would target New Zealand for world-famous tracks such as Milford and Routeburn Track. I once hiked Kepler Track alone last September when I traveled to New Zealand South Island. With the enormous alpine view, none of the Aussie tracks could compare. The best thing about walking New Zealand tracks is that every different piece of scenery is vividly spread in front of your eyes - cold, white alpine mountains; far and expansive pastures dotted with pearl-like sheep; the huge mirror of a glacial lake; colorful layers of mountain vegetation ... Without the thrusting mountains, the meandering green land would be too sweet; however, without the prosperous colors of vegetation, the mountain themselves would feel too cold. Does Mother Nature teach us a vivid lesson on how to treat our own life?

Walking the Wentworth Tracks

I have been to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains for no less than 5 times. However each time was a short lingering without hitting the bottom of the Fall.
Last weekend I finally made up my time to walk a full circle from so called “Valley of Waters” to Wentworth Falls.

The planning was a bit painful because there are so many side paths on map. To decide which track to take needed a bit study. A website called “Wild Walks” became a great help. It maps out some most popular tracks as well as very specific track notes.

So my trail was something like this: started from the end of Fletcher Street, followed the track along the side of Conservation Hut descent all the way to the Valley of Waters, then trudging through the long Wentworth Pass to hit the bottom of magnificent Wentworth Falls. Then climbing up the Slack Stairs to the top of the Fall (rising up around 900m), then follow the Undercliff Walk and Overcliff Walk until hitting back to Conservation Path.

I drove off from home at 6am when stars were blinking. Though the traffic was dead thin, it still took me around 1.5 hours to reach Wentworth Falls. The sun rose from the back while I was about to arrive, tinted everything with a golden fringe, looked like a promising day.

The track starts off with no drama at all – well paved and maintained. However covered by foliage there were no much breath-taking scenes until Queen Victoria Lookout and Empress Lookout. Sounds Aussies are quite reminiscent about their Anglo-Saxon roots. Though the scene is nothing like England.

A few more minutes later I arrived at Valley Of Waters. It was a series of small waterfalls, nothing gigantic but very delicate. Since it’s hiding deep in the valley, I could even feel the waves upon waves of moisture rushing through the atmosphere. And of course no short of vegetations, no naked rocks can be seen – they are all covered by thick moss.

Passing the Valley of Waters was the joint of National Pass and Wentworth Pass. National Pass is said to be a “easier” walk. Of course I would choose the more difficult one, which is marked as for “experienced walkers only”.

Since the sun was blocked by the cliff, it was rather chill and gloomy along the whole track. Though I didn’t find it’s very difficult comparing with tracks I walked before. I didn’t make any mistake at all in finding the track. A couple of spots need a bit climbing but nothing major. Oh well, I think I must be in the “experienced walkers” group now. I was longing to meet a wild animal along the way – a stout wombat would be ideal, but to my disappointment no ground animals appear at this season except ants. The relief was that there were never short of birds chirping, all song birds, no coarse songs of cockatoos or magpies.

Soon I hit the bottom of Wentworth Falls, and it’s for sure much more majestic than those in the Valley of Waters. It is said the water to be falling from 800 meters above the top of the cliff. Standing at the bottom, I was not able to see the top, the fall has been segmented into 3 steps. Every time I came to see the Wentworth Fall, there were plenty of people up on the top, where you could drive to arrive. But now sitting on a big boulder at the bottom of the fall, I didn’t see a single soul for half hour. There are sure some steep climbing on the cliff.
And that was true, the beginning of the Slack Stairs was quite steep, 4-5 sections were almost vertical. At one spot there were no stairs, just a thick rope dangling from above. This part is definitely not for faint heart.

However after elevating from the Slack Stairs, there was no drama at all. When I was about to reach the top, a lady talked to me considerably “You still got long way to go, young man!” “Oh really? I think I’ll be fine” I said. And I was sure to be fine.

The Undercliff and Overcliff walks loop back to Conservation Hut were no challenge at all and I got back to top within half hour.

Looked at my watch, 3.5 hours I spent, including all the stops. Though no much excitement, I finally conquered one of the most famous Blue Mountains tracks. Now I miss New Zealand, the alpine view was just sensational.

A dangerous hike

The sky is like baby face these days, shinning around 10 min ago and shower could come in every minute. Now I draw the lesson - never do bush walking in such weather. And of course, I did it.

Yesterday I started off late at around 10am. The sun was smiling and it looked like a promising day. I set off to take a train to Berowra station where Berowra track starts. To my surprise the gate was still shut. The track has been out of maintenance for more than 2 years then. My last hike here was about 4 months ago. Though lacking of trim the track was still not too wild because many people are attracted by its sheer beauty.



It was all good at the beginning - birds were chirpping, creeks were laughing... Swiftly taking a big dip all the way down to the water level at Waratah Bay, a gust of rain suddenly came from no where, I didn't even notice the cloud. I immediately became wet all over, fortunately it was not chill at all, and I took even bigger stide.

The rain soon died off but the condition was getting worse. At many segments the plants were so exuberant that the track had been mostly covered, I need to fumble carefully at each step. Even worse some areas became quite muddy and slippery. The track is meandering along Cowan Creek and falling into the water was quite a possibility. There were wide-leaf plants all along the track, which gathered a whole lot of water from the rain. When I walked through them, all the surface liquid running down along my shirt and pants relentlessly like mini waterfall. Each step I marched ahead, the shoe in front gushing water happily like a blocked drainage.

As an experienced bush walker (if I may say), I kept on marching ahead without much drama until I reached an open area. I felt something in my left shoe like a twig. Took off my left shoe and sock. Geez I found something stuck inside my sock happily dancing - a leech! Noticing a big drop of blood was effusing out of my instep - without any pain. My god this was an interesting experience. I haven't been bitten by a leech for more than 20 years! I didn't know how this little fella ended up into my sock but since it created no pain on me, well, gotta treat him well, maybe put him back into a small pond. He seemed quite reluctant to leave my sock. I pulled it with a big force and in afraid of sticking onto my fingers I thrust it off as if my fingers touched a piece of burnt steel.

Wrung the water out of my socks, pants and shook off water from shoes I set out again. Sunbeam cast on my body, feeling quite warm and cozy.

About to turn to Winson Bay, another gush of rain came along without any warning. I saw some boats in the bay started their engines and rushing away. Though calm enough, I tumbled myself into the ooze twice. Luckily no further drama.

In the end I decided to cut short running up the Mt. Kuring-Gai trail to catch a train rather than hike further to the Giberragong Track. And surprisingly enough, I didn't feel out of breath at all after a 2.5KM steep rise from the bottom of the valley to the Mt. Kuring-Gai Station.

Reaching home, the clock pointed at 2PM - only 4 hours after I set off.

Walking the Gibberagong

- An old post from 2007



Due to move and renovation for the past several months, I stopped bush walking for a while. Last weekend I couldn’t hold my itchy heart as well as wandering feet, stepped back to the bush again.

This time I selected Gibberagong track. Meandering from the end of Grosvenor Street, North Wahroonga all the way to Bobbin Head, Gibberagong track stretches 8 kilometres (some say 6), and it’s marked as “medium difficult”.

I started from Wahroonga side. The beginning of the track was quite boring – short bush wings with a wide, straight 4WD track. Gee that’s easy. However my sweat hasn’t come out yet, the terrain changes abruptly. At the end of 4WD track, a narrow path plunges into the steep valley. The trees are so dense that make the visibility quite low (also because it was early morning).

The track is obvious far too wild comparing with the ones I walked before. I almost lost track for a couple of times. Morning fog was still not dispersed and the track seemed to be dark and fearful sometimes. I hurried up to cheer up myself. Fortunately with iPod ear buds in my ears, I was not able to hear the morning songs of forest ghosts.

After a long parachute, I was able to hear the trickling songs of creeks. Hence after, the track was all along water. Sometimes quite wide, sometimes narrow, sometimes quite and sometimes noisy, it is so called Gibberagong Waterholes.

The path is quite rocky and bumpy. I need to pay much attention on my footpath, so I might miss some gorgeous scenes or interesting plants and animals. Even though, I was occasionally stunned by sandstone caves, lush native plants and sudden rise of flocks of birds.

I thought the creek was fresh water, however gradually, there were saltmarshes and mangroves started to appear. The water became broader and broader, and the banks turned from rocky to muddy. Eventually, it joined the Bobbin Head Mangrove Broadwalk.



The Broadwalk is a wooden board paved path, hanging above mangrove saltmarshes. Thousands of baby crabs dig holes in the mud. They come out searching for food on the surface and hide themselves in the holes whenever there are interruptions. I sat aside quietly looking them coming out and in, using their front claws pick up foods from the mud and put into mouths. That’s so cute.

All the highlights came on my way back at the same track. First, I saw axe grinding grooves left over from early aboriginals. There are around 23 grooves. They are varied of depth, width, and length. Those grooves are made from shaping stone implements such as axes or hatches.

Approaching midday, native bush animals were all coming out for food or sunshine. Colourful lorikeets stood at the edge of branches greedily licking nectar from tree flowers. They were so abundant in terms of amount. So were cockatoos. Those big naughty fella made noises so unpleasant to ears. Cannot imagine such elegant looking birds sing so ugly songs, haha.

Turning to a quite broad water pond, I suddenly found a couple ugly looking lizards lining up at the edge of a huge boulder, enjoying sun bath. Noticed human approaching, they nimbly jumped into the pond as fast as lightings. Ahh, they are so called water dragons. I patiently waited on the bank for them to float to the surface, but strangely enough, they were just disappeared. So disappointed I couldn’t take a photo for them, I can only grab one online.

Dragging my sluggish legs back to the top of slop, I were dog-tired, thirsty and sweating all over. That’s why experienced bush walkers advise don’t do hiking during summer in Australia – it’s just so hot, and you can quickly run out of water and energy. Fortunately this is only a short track. I realised till now, I hadn’t met any other hikers yet.



Passed through a thick tree trunk, I suddenly heard an abrupt noise obviously made by some big animals. So frightened, I didn’t look back and dashed myself out to 10 meters. Turning back, I saw a gigantic lizard crawling at the tree trunk, looking at me with funny facial expression. Stalemate for a while, I realised I need to take a photo for this guy, then I gradually approached him, stopped about 5 meters away, and took this photo.

Being awaken by such shock and surprise, I was re-vitalised and back to my car in a short time.

A lesson draw from the bushwalking of this time – carefully study your track before you start, and estimate whether you can finish with your supply (I was almost run out of water). Also, don’t do long tracks in hot summer. In summer, only short tracks in the early morning.

Walk into the woods

- My bushwalking adventures in Sydney
(an old post of mine from 2007)

People live in Sydney are just so lucky. There are so many magnificent walking tracks weaving in well preserved national parks and bushlands. After a whole week of busy work, you can easily clear your mind and your lung with an enjoyable walk into the bush during the weekends – keeping away from people, leaving your cares at home, without actually leaving the city – that’s the beauty of living in Sydney.

I’ve been addicted to bushwalking half year ago. Almost every beautiful Sunday morning I study the Sydney street directories to search for the target tracks I would be walking on. It’s so exciting to see the green tentacles of mother nature threading their way among building blocks, roads and railways. And looking for those dotted lines (walking tracks) to see where are they stretching to is just so fun as well.

To save time and petrol, I haven’t tried those tracks so far away from home yet, though I’m planning to. I probably can say I walked through most of the tracks in Lower North Shore area, and my most favourable tracks are all around Middle Harbour. Here are some wonderful tracks I’d love to recommend. Follow a few of them, I’m sure you’ll be bushed up too!

1 North Willoughby to Castle Cove (Harold Reid Foreshore Track --> North Arm Track --> HC Press Park)
It’s about 3 to 4 hours return depends on your speed, easy to medium going. This is the track I walked most, probably 4 to 5 times, the reason – it’s simply beautiful and close to my home. Starts from Sugarloaf Creek, the whole track is built along water – Crag Cove, Castle Cove and Sugarloaf Bay. Even though, from time to time, the scenery changes a lot, from shadowy forest to rocky seashores to marshy swamps. The birdlife is plenty, most of them I couldn’t recognise. Personally I believe two of the most exciting highlights are bird’s view the mangrove swamps and tranquil Castle Cove from Harold Reid Reserve, and some gigantic palm trees at a patch of flat grassland.

2 Two Creeks Track (Lindfield Oval --> Garigal National Park --> Roseville Bridge & Echo Point Park)
It’s about 4 to 5 hours in return, and medium going. This is possibly the most picturesque of all tracks I’ve ever been – the views across upper reaches of Middle Harbour are just spectacular. The Two Creeks Track drops swiftly away from the quaintly named Seven Little Australians Park and quickly descends into what can only be described as your cliched leafy glade territory. There are wooden bridges over babbling brooks, small waterfalls tumbling over black rocks worn smooth with age, a spooky but excitingly modern tunnel under the Eastern Arterial Road and a worthwhile climb up and into the Garigal National Park. The track follows the line of Gordon Creek until it joins Middle Harbour and then follows the main river around to Roseville Bridge and the Roseville Marina at Echo Point Park.

The Two Creeks Track passes by sandstone outcrops, magnificent wildflower displays, scenic water views and tidal wetlands. Each of these environments supports a different plant community. Within these communities there are a rich variety of textures, colours and shapes.

3 Forestville to St Ives (Carrol Creek Track --> Governor Philip Walk --> Middle Harbour Track --> The Cascades Track)
This is probably the most tranquil track I’ve ever walked. 6 hours along the way back and forth, I totally met 2 people. The first three sections of the track are all meandering along creeks. The highlight is birdlife along Carrol Creek. Not mentioning birds we can meet everyday, like cockatoos and magpies, there are various birds whose names are unknown to me. I saw a duck-like wading bird, with hooked beak tip and fan-like tail feather, standing on a boulder in the stream, seeing me passing by without moving a bit.

Water in the creek is so lively after some rain. It bounces and rushes all the way from valleys of Garigal National Park to join calm Middle Harbour.

4 Hunters Hill to Macquarie Park via Lane Cove National Park
This is a highlighted section of so called Great North Walk. The Great North Walk was a bicentennial project which opened in 1988 and runs 250km from Sydney Cove to Newcastle. From Boronia Park in Hunters Hill the well-marked trail skirts the edge of the Lane Cove River and emerges from comfortable undergrowth at the Buffalo Creek Reserve and the Magdala Park soccer fields in East Ryde before plunging under Epping Road into the southern reaches of the Lane Cove National Park. There's quite a climb over the rocky hills behind the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens Crematorium. From there the trail heads up into the trees and traffic suddenly drops away. Sometimes you are high above the river but at other sections the path drops down to the waterside, bringing with it a sudden musty but comforting coolness.

Diving into one of the above tracks, I’m sure you’ll be addicted too. But before departure, you’d rather tell your family and friends where you’re going, wear a pair of good hiking boots, prepare plenty water and food (if the track is long), and study your map well.