Date: 15/3/2025
Trip leader: Bruce Stafford
Party: Beining, Carlo, Hei Yan, Jacob, Jinfei, Leesa, Leyi, Li, Ryan, Shiyi, Tamar, Tiara, Yiming, Yingying, Yuning
Taronga (Athol Wharf) to Chinamans Beach 15th March (The Ides of March) 2025.
This walk replaced one originally planned to go to Patonga near Woy Woy, but changed because of expected hot weather. It turned out to be a wise choice as the temperature on the mostly unshaded track at Patonga reached 33 degrees C in the day. It was also an unusually later start to a walk (10.30am), because I wanted it to be not too different to the original start time of the Patonga walk, and also to avoid getting mixed up with Tim Stephens’ “Skinny dip” walk which also left the same wharf at Circular Quay but earlier at 9am.
Personal disaster was averted when I decided to re-check the departure time of my train from my local ststion; earlier it had been brought forward 5 minutes to 8.31am because it would be a modified Newcastle train because of a local train cancellation. On rechecking just after 8am I found that the departure time at my station was now 8.15am! That gave me just 9 minutes to get to the station which was enough with two minutes to spare. luckily I had ensured that everying had already been packed away in my day-pack some time earlier.
So we all met up at Circular Quay for the ferry to Taronga Zoo wharf (Athol Wharf) for the uneventful 15 minute trip across the Harbour, After checking names and finding that there were no “no shows”, we set off along the track from the Wharf to Bradley’s Head Reserve. Along the way we saw a Dragon (Eastern Water Dragon) and further along a couple of turkeys. This track is mostly in shade, welcome as the day was starting to heat up. We stopped at Bradleys Head for a break for the group to look around the mast of HMAS Sydney 1 there, and also the 19th Century old gun emplacements built to keep out the Russians.
From there the track winds its way along the shoreline of Taylor’s Bay a section without a lot of shade but we did get a constant cool sea breeze along the way. We came to some Angophoras (a type of gum tree also called Sydney red Gum, Angophora costata) when I got a text from someone asking where to meet up at Woy Woy Station! Apparently he had missed the email about the change of destination of this walk. I sorted that out, and it seems he had not yet reached Hornsby on that train so hadn’t got too far. By chance we had stopped under some trees in which some Rainbow Lorikeets were feeding their chicks in a nest in a hollow of the tree (no photos unfortunately).
From there we followed the track which continues on to reach Chowder Bay at Clifton Gardens Reserve, on the way coming across another dragon. We went up some unusual steps with large steps up and came to the top and had a short rest. Below us was the Australian Navy’s Refuelling Wharf (as part of Chowder Bay is still an active Navy installation). I advised the group not to take photos of the wharf as, even though there are no signs saying not to, it is unwise to take photos of military installations, especially in the currrent world situation. If Immigration people asked to see your phone for some reason, it would be embarrassing for overseas students to find such photos on your mobile phone! So best advice is, avoid taking photos where there are signs saying “Commonwealth Property”.
From Chowder Bay the track starts inconspicuously behind a large wooden building to start rising up fairly steeply on a series of steps (still mostly in shade) and another turkey there. We came out close to Georges Head and then had a water break. This is where we diverted from the “standard” track shown on various websites which goes straight ahead to cross Middle Head Road. Instead, at this location near “Gunners’ Barracks” (now a high-end restaurant and wedding venue) I led the group past a lane called “Gunners Lane” (a name that intrigued a couple of the guys), and onto an unnamed track with a direction sign to “Rawson Park”. This track went under more of those Angophora gum trees in shade (and still with the benefit of a sea breeze), and passed under a line of oil storage tanks built in WW2 with a roof over the top to disguise them as a large block of flats if seen from the air! I am not sure if they are still in use, although two further down the hill are. Locals know about this track but few others do; we saw only two other walkers on this track. The track winds around passing briefly across might be a hanging swamp with tall grass and then up wooden steps to the edge of Georges Heights Oval. Then through more bush to reach the edge of Rawson park and Rawson Oval. From here an unmarked track winds through Bradley Bushland Reserve to reach Middle Head Road opposite Beaconsfield Road.
We crossed over Middle Head Road also walked a block further down to Gordon Street. If you look at the photo, notice the serpentine curve of the concrete on the road surface which does puzzle some people; Mosman council copying the crazy curves on the streets of Rio de Janeiro? No, in fact it traces the route of the former Balmoral tramline where it turned left into Gordon Street from Middle Head Road, until the dunces of the NSW Cahill Labor government of 1958 destroyed Sydney’s first tram system. The bitumen strip in the middle was where the tram tracks were. Halfway down Gordon Street the tramline left the road to pass through bushland until reaching Balmoral Beach. The trackbed would have made a great rail trail, but unfortunately the said dunces sold off half of the land for housing as a way of “ensuring” the line could not be re-opened. Leesa and I had a discussion about how, if the government did decide to re-open the tram line, that all it needs to do is send resumption notices to the land owners, stating, “We want this land and we are taking it; be happy with our compensation”. That’s what happened when the Motorway was built through and under the Inner West suburbs. (BTW despite what I wrote about 1958 Labor, I am not a fan of the Liberals).
Because we can’t now totally follow the old tram line, we turned left into Drury Lane, and then right into and down Mulbring Street until its end. Then we entered Laurie Plunkett Reserve on a track which is actually the trackbed of the old Balmoral tramline, which we followed through light woodland for almost half a km until reaching Balmoral Beach. At its lower end there is a deep cutting in shade (see photos), and a short stretch of tram track. The track ends across the road from the beach, and we then walked along the strand promenade for a while until reaching the beach’s northern end. The beach was very busy and is no doubt busier on Sundays. At this point time was getting close to 2pm and I started getting the inevitable question: “Are we there yet?”. But we still had another 15 minites to go, up a short but steep track to climb to Hopetoun Avenue and then to Rosherville Reserve and Chinamans Beach. Once at Chinamans Beach we found a shady spot under a spreading tree and settled in for lunch.
After lunch a few of the group had a game of Frisbee on the sand and also went in for a paddle. I had to warn people about not putting their hands into rock crevices here (or anywhere else on the coast for that matter; a year ago here someone was bitten by a Blue Ringed Octopus (I will provide you a link below about this dangerous venomous mollusc) and nearly died. And so not pick up shells in the water, as these small octopuses often live in “empty” shells. That’s how a man was bitten by one at Balmoral Beach last month. Having said that, you are quite safe going in the water at a beach; just don’t pick up shells or put your hands into cracks in rocks.
Carlo decided to leave early back to Balmoral (we noticed that he didn’t bring lunch so no doubt needed food), and later on Li and Yuning left to get an earlier bus to Spit Junction. That left 13 of us to start the return walk to Balmoral Beach and the bus to Taronga Zoo Wharf. From the exit of Rosherville Reserve there is a more direct pathway to Balmoral but it means initially climbing a step hill so we decided we had enough hill-climbing for the day so gave it a miss and returned the way we had come along Hopetoun Avenue. Well, almost the same, as there is an alternate track down to the beach than the one we went up on, although a bit rougher. And we saw a potential risk here if you were using it at night; near the start the track it at first seems to go straight ahead, but if you do, suddenly you reach a 6 metre drop! The correct path turns to the right there. Maybe there should be a barrier there.
We got back to Balmoral Beach and the bus stop, only to find that the bus was 8 minutes late. This meant that when we got to Taronga Wharf we had only three minutes to catch the ferry to avoid a 20 minute wait for the next one. So we rushed down and just got it in time. On reaching Circular Quay I had to rush off to get a train at the station there to avoid a one hour wait for my own Central Coast train at Central, so I did not have time to properly say goodbye to everyone. Still, they all seemed to have a good day out. We were indeed lucky with the weather, as because of the long sections of shaded track and the sea breeze, we did not feel uncomfortable. I think that the temperature in the area did not reach the predicted 31 degrees C.
And NO “no shows”!
Links: Blue-ringed Octopus” https://australian.museum/learn/animals/molluscs/blue-lined-octopus/
(Just one more scary dangerous Australian animal to add to your list!).
Also, I suppose that the video posted online by that U.S. “influencer” picking up a baby Wombat did us a favour, as it gave a warning about the penalties and risks of interfering with wild animals. You should NEVER touch them. On a trip at Uloola Falls a couple of years ago, I spotted a couple of American (bushwalkers) HIKERS grab a water dragon by its tail. It wriggled free but this was so stupid; they risked not only a potential $3000 fine but also having their tourist visas cancelled. What’s more, if they had grabbed a superficially similar looking Goanna, it would have bitten them, and Goannas are thought to have venomous saliva; that’s why I call them “snakes with legs”.
My photos might look a bit fuzzy and I couldn’rt work out why. When I got home I found that a lens protector had some condensation inside, causing that slight “fuzzyness”.
Bruce Staffford.
