I was keen to return to Mt Annan Botanic Gardens to see what birds were out, and was joined by Sue and Valerie. We had a pleasant day, but we didn’t see tooo many birds – it was perhaps a bit hot.
Here are some of the birds we saw at the Gardens – Continue reading
I was keen to get outside and look for fungi after some good recent rain falls. I did want to head up to Sassafras Gully at Springwood, but the weather forecast was not the best, so I decided to do a shorter trip to the Lane Cove Valley. I caught train to Thornleigh and walked down the river to Browns Waterhole, then up Terrys Creek to Eastwood.
All along the way, I found nice orchids, fungi and birds. Continue reading
For many years, while travelling on the Inner West Rail Line between Lewisham and Summer Hill, I had noticed a “spare bridge” sitting low down next to the railway line on the south side. I wondered what it was doing there. Thanks, to Chris from the Greenway Bird Group, I now know. She had given me a copy of Mark Sobolch’s book – “Hawthorne Canal, A History of Long Cove Creek“. It was a very interesting book to read and it also solved the mystery of that bit of bridge. It was a remnant of the Whipple Truss – a bridge built for the railway line that spanned Long Cove Creek at the bottom of Taverners Hill.
When the railway was constructed between Sydney and Parramatta, an impressive sandstone viaduct was built for the line to cross this valley. But, this bridge proved to be too expensive to maintain, so it was replaced with a truss type bridge. Rather than was typical of the times, an American design truss was used instead of a British design. Continue reading
I headed up to Springwood with the intention of checking out the fungi in Sassafras Gully. It is very early in the fungi season, but there has been good rain recently and I though thee should be some out. However, when I arrived, it was raining lightly, so I decided to visit Birdwood Gully instead.
Both gullies do offer some shelter – in sandstone overhangs, but Birdwood Gully is a much shorter walk in and out. Continue reading
Again the forecast was for rain, so another local trip. This time by bike. I cycled down to the Cooks River and then checked out the local Tawny Frogmouths and other birds. The rain held off, so I continued to Tempe and along the cycleway to Barton Park. There, I spent some time at Landing Lights Wetland before riding home.
At the Boat Harbour, it took me a while to spot the family of Tawny Frogmouths. They were roosting quite high up in a tree, and I dint bother to photograph them. I continued on to Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands. I could see a few chicks – Australian Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens. Continue reading
With a forecast of more rain, I thought it wise not to venture too far from home, but I was keen to get outside, at least while I could. So I set out for Bexley North and walked own the Two Valleys Track.
My original plan was to walk down to Tempe, and then walk up the second valley – the Cooks River to home. But when I arrived at Tempe, it started raining heavier, so I walk to Tempe Station instead and headed home. Continue reading
I had never been to Engadine Falls before even though it is very easy to reach, being close to a fire road between Engadine and Loftus. I thought after recent rain, that it may be worth a visit. My plan was to catch a train to Engadine, then walk along the track from the station to one of the fire roads and then follow that to Engadine Falls. Then after that, if the going looked OK, to follow the creek downstream to Horseshoe Falls. There were several options to return to either Engadine, Heathcote or Loftus.
Horseshoe Falls
It was pleasant going from Engadine Station along the track and fire roads. There was a lt to look out for, particularly orchids. Continue reading
I had spent the night at Blackheath with the remnants of the canyoning party from the day before. We had thought about doing another canyon, but the weather was cooler and thunderstorms were predicted for later in the day. So after some discussion, we decide a walk would be nice and decided to do the Waterfall Walk on the south side of Lawson.
Adelina Falls
In the party were Martin, Steffy, Rick, Robin and myself. We were soon on our way. At the top track – we were surprised by all the cars parked there. It looks like these walks have become very popular. The path first took us to Adelina Falls. Continue reading
After canyoning, some of us stayed the night at Blackheath, enjoying Enmoore’s hospitality. I got up early in the morning and wandered down the road a sort distance to Govetts Leap for sunrise.
The sunrise was a bit of a fizzer. The Sun soon hit a thick band of clouds. Continue reading
Martin and Steffy had proposed a canyoning trip on Sunday. I was one of those invited, and I was not too fussy about what canyon we visited – and it ended up being Yileen Canyon. The party was Martin, Steffy, Rossco, Rick, Robin, Tony, Kate and myself.
Yileen is not one of my favourite canyons – it has always seemed to offer not that much canyon for the effort involved. It also has logistic issues – a car shuffle is a good idea, but that often means a large and slow party, and two long ropes must be carried – and only used for the last abseil – the only one which requires the two ropes. The canyon formation is not very deep nor sustained. But – on the day it was a very enjoyable trip. Recent rain had promised a nice water flow. Continue reading
