It’s midday and the group met up at Cronulla Wharf. A casual easy walk like this allows for a later start where other plans can be made in the morning or at night. The coastal track starts at Bundeena which is 20 minutes away from Cronulla on a ferry, running once every hour. Some T4…
Halloween walk: Dover Heights to South Head & Camp Cove. With a 30 degree C day earlier (and with a total fire ban), I was wondering what the weather would be like in the late afternoon for this walk. The five of us got to Christison Park at Vaucluse next to Macquarie Lighthouse in a rather cold southerly wind which had developed from a gentle seabreeze earlier that day into something fairly strong and cold by 6.30pm (50 minutes before sunset). In fact…
Otford to Burning Palms Beach/Figure 8 Pool, then Helensburgh, Sunday 29/10/23. This day was chosen because it supplied a combination of good swimming weather, and a very low tide in the mid afternoon. This would make a trip to Figure 8 Pool fairly safe. There was however a moderate 1.7 metre sea swell forecast, which meant that we would still have to be careful there. With people…
A “bit” late but here we go (blame exam season) This was definitely the oddest timed trip I’ve led. We met at Central at 11:00 pm to catch the 11:24 Blue Mountains train. Although I would have usually joined from Blacktown, I thought it would be better to be with everyone at the start given the time of night. Turnout surpassed…
Royal National Park: Uloola Falls and Karloo Pool tracks, Sunday 15/10/2023. The walk started on a nice day with everyone meeting me at Central Station for the 45 minute train trip to Loftus. As mentioned in the walk description, the plan was to take a tram from here to the Royal National Park entrance to save a 45 minute walk along Rawson Road (which is strictly speaking a dirt fire trail). The prior…
Umina to Pearl Beach & Warrah Lookout, Saturday 7-10-2023. It will be a surprise to some that this walk was advertised as “Mount Wondabyne” on the trip list, but the closure of the Great North Walk where it passes through Brisbane Water National Park required an urgent change of location. I decided…
This was my first time leading a trip since I moved out west, so it was also the first time I led a trip without actually meeting everyone at the start. Thankfully this went without a hitch, everyone caught the 10:24 Blue Mountains Intercity from Central, and I got on later at Blacktown, and we all got together once we got off the train at Wentworth Falls. The ride,…
Centennial Glen & Porters Pass Loop, West Blackheath. Saturday 16/9/2023. Because I have to get up quite early to go on a Blue Mountains bushwalk, I was up early enough to see Venus shining very brightly in the pre-dawn sky. As I walked to my station, I passed a flock of cockies (White Cockatoos) with the rising sun giving a golden sheen to their feathers. (See Photos)….
Newcastle – Fernleigh Track and Glenrock Conservation Area, Sunday 10/9/2023. Most people got on the train at Central, and a couple at Hornsby, to settle in to the two and a half hours train trip to Adamstown. Tiantian only just made it because of a late running bus, yet another example of the unreliable Inner West bus service post privatisation. I got…
Katoomba to Leura via Prince Henry Cliff track. Sunday 20/8/2023 This promised to be a great day out in near perfect winter weather, and 17 had signed up. As usual I had to catch a must earlier train from my Central Coast station and thus had a view of Jupiter shining in the pre-dawn sky (see photo). A Powerful…
Mount York has been somewhere I wanted to check out for quite a while and since no one is doing trips I might as well get it off my bucket list. It’s a cold and cloudy Saturday with a reasonably early start at Central Station into Blue Mountains. With a lot of last-minute signup and dropouts we’ve got a group of 13, to which only 11 showed up. Most of…
This was a fairly straightforward coastal walk in the Eastern Suburbs. Everyone managed to get on the 9:45 ferry we were aiming for, with one person just barely making it. View from the morning ferry After meeting up with Terence at Watson’s Bay, we first made our way to The Gap Lookout, before getting back on track to head south towards Rose Bay. The Gap…
Hey everyone! This was a trip I had been wanting to lead for a while now since the Fairfax Lookouts were closed for renovation, and only recently got the chance to do so. A number of people dropped out last minute, I had 15 people signed up the day before but that dropped to 8 by the morning. Luckily, Terry…
Sydney introductory walk: Hyde Park, Botanic Gardens, and The Rocks 27/7/2023. This walk was intended as an introductory walk around certain well known (and less well known) sights around central Sydney for members joining in Semester 2. Although only three people attended, it was still a worthwhile walk (after all, we have done trips with only 3 people before and they have been OK). I recall…
Trip Report: Gooch’s Crater Hike from Old Bells Line of Road (near Clarence) I recently embarked on an exhilarating hiking adventure to Gooch’s Crater with likeminded people, starting from Old Bells Line of Road near Clarence. The journey took us through gravel roads, fire trails, and off-track bush bashing, leading to fascinating pagodas, caves, and ultimately, the breathtaking Crater Lake. Here’s a…
Castle Cove view to Middle Harbour and Bantry Bay From the bus stop we met at before the Roseville Bridge, we walked to a bush track that descended to Middle Harbour. After our short walk to Echo Point Marina we entered the hidden track that followed the shore line and exited at Willowie Road in Castle Cove after a number of ascents and descents. We then…
Katoomba Winter Magic Festival walk, 24/6/2023. Note: My photos are below (with 3 by Matthew where shown), and Matthew’s are in the link above. As I have to catch a somewhat earlier train at 7.30am from my station, I was up early enough to see the planet Jupiter rising in the morning sky (yes, it’s large and bright enough to been sighted shortly before sunrise). See the…
Wondabyne to Mt Wondabyne and Woy Woy, Sunday 28th May 2023. I got up early this morning and I took the opportunity to spot the planets Jupiter and Mercury in the predawn eastern sky, as per the first 2 photos. Before I get into the trip report, I will mention to any students who are from the Northern Hemisphere for this Semester only, to get up early and have a look, as it might be your only chance in your life time to see Mercury. It is…
Cowan to Brooklyn Walk ANZAC Day 2023. With earlier worries that adverse weather might cause the walk to be shortened to just around Brooklyn (like last year’s) the weather turned out almost perfect on this ANZAC Day, not too hot and no rain at all. A dozen members arrived at Cowan Station and off we set for the walk to Brooklyn along this section of the Great North Walk (GNW). Some people…
A Saturday was chosen for the walk despite the less optimal weather conditions. A cloudy day with a lower temperature made it easier for a long walk without all the hot summer conditions. The group was quite diverse with some exchange students from the US and New Zealand and some international students. Most members…