Berowra to Mt Kuring-gai Walk – 30 October 2019

I once again joined Brian Everingham on one his walks for the National Parks Association. This one was from Berowra to Cowan Creek and then and ascent to Mt Kuring-gai.

In the party was Brian, Sue, Paul, Valerie, Amanda, Andrew and myself. We left Berowra Station and crossed the railway line and the motorway and entered Ku-Ring-gai Chase National Park and followed the track down to Waratah Creek. This is a pleasant descent as the track takes  gentle incline with a number of switchbacks. In places there are fine views.

There were also many wildflowers.

Lower down the track crosses Waratah Creek, and it is obvious that this route was used to transport water. There are the remains of several old pipes. We also noted a conduit with old wires – perhaps old telephone cables.

Along the track, we saw a Swamp Wallaby –

At the bottom, we arrived at Waratah Bay. This is the site of a wreck – an old houseboat, now just a steel frame. It was the site of the Windybanks houseboats. They could be hired from a business at Cottage Point around the time of WWII.

We continued along the track. It follows the shore of the inlet and on the way there are three more bays. The walking is pleasant and varied. At each bay, the vegetation changes to rainforest for s short distance and there are rocks festooned with orchids (Denrobium linguiforme)

There were also some birds –

Little Pied Cormorant

Rock Warbler and Golden Whistler

Golden Whistler

Some more scenes –

Along the way we spotted a nice Lace Monitor –

We then started the climb up to Mt Kuring-gai which starts a short way before Apple Tree Bay is reached. A the second bend, we found a shady place to stop for lunch. From there it was not too far to Mt Ku-ring-gai Station. Thanks to Brian for organising and leading this pleasant walk.