Ku-Ring-Gai Heritage Walk – 25 May 2023

Bob was back from an overseas holiday, and we were starting off our weekly bushwalks again. We were both keen to look for some Aboriginal engraving sites in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

With some effort, we found three very good sites.

As usual, we started by walking along a fire road for a few kilometres.

Sundew – Drosera sp.

We also saw a dead fox on the side of the road. Perhaps poisoned by 1080?

Along the way, we had some nice views.

Then we left the fire road and walked through light scrub for about 2 kms along a ridge.

We eventually reached a nice rock platform, that features a number of engravings.

Here is a large fish (or stingray) and two small ovals –

Here is another view of it –

Below is another engraving, It looks like an arm. Perhaps part of a human figure?

And a second fish or ray –

Another view of it –

Here is the rock platform –

We then headed back to the fire road and walked to a good spot for lunch.

It was quite scrubby to get to our second site, but not too far from the road.

This was the largest and most interesting site. There were lots of engravings spread out over a large area.

Here are two fish –

This is a Kangaroo –

Here is one of many mundoes (footprint engravings) –

Some of the many sharpening grooves –

This was the most impressive engraving. It is probably Baiame – a sprit figure or diety.

Here are some shields and boomerangs –

Another shield –

A dingo –

And there was a long series of mundoes that led to the spirit figure. Many were very hard to discern.

Another –

Another view of Baiame –

And more figures here –

One figure was partly wet, and that part was easy to discern, so Bob wet the other side with water from a rock pool.

It was perhaps another Baiame. And it was holding a boomerang.

Then the scrubby walk back to the fire road.

Our third, and last, site was a lot closer to the fire road. Another large rock platform.

Here is a Kangaroo –

A shield –

More shields and the Kangaroo –

And here Bob is looking at a human male figure –

Then we headed back along the fire road to Bob’s car.

On the way, I spotted this Cymbidium suave orchid –

And a Greenhood Orchid –

This had been a very interesting walk.