Our bush care group – Enmoore, Su Li, Brent, Martin, Steffy, Wendy, Mary and myself were going to spend a day at Lion Island in the lower Hawkesbury River doing some bush regeneration.
Enmoore had organised the day with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. We set off from Bobbin Head in the NPWS boat, accompanied by the Matthew, the skipper, and Steve, the ranger responsible for Lion Island.
Lion Island is surrounded by quite high cliffs except for one small beach on the western side. This beach is used by penguins as a rookery and this is one reason why the Island is rather a special place. Access to the Island is restricted to the general public.
We unloaded our gear and set off up the hill through a jungle of lantana. We were going to weed from the top down so not to disturb penguin breeding areas. As well as dealing with lantana, there was quite a lot of asparagus weed to remove.
We worked hard till lunch, and then after lunch climbed to the top of the Island for some great views of Barrenjoey and the Central Coast. Then it was back down to our gear and tools as the boat was coming to pick us up.
This was an enjoyable day. It was very interesting to visit the island and it was quite pleasant to work with friends. Much of the island is in very good condition, the weeds seem to be concentrated near the small beach, with a few on top at the lookout.
More photos from the day can be viewed on my website here.