I went on a very pleasant photo walk though Bicentennial Park at Homebush Bay. I have visited this park many times, but mainly on bike. This time I took a slower option hoping to see more.
I concentrated on the wetlands and the birds feeding there. But there were also birds along the foreshore, the mangroves and on the many wrecks close to the foreshore. Continue reading
This was another very pleasant day spent at the zoo. The main focus of this visit was to practise some animal action photography – e.g. birds in flight. The Bird Show is good for that.
I always visit the Blue Mountains Bushwalk section to see what animals are showing themselves. No rock wallabies this visit, but I did see a platypus going from a higher pool to the lower pool. It did this very quickly and in the low light it is hard to get a good photograph. Continue reading
Wendy was keen on a walk and she suggested a visit to Muogamarra Nature Reserve. Muogamarra Nature Reserve is only open to the public for a short time each year – six weekends during the wildflower season.
The reserve is just north of Cowan and accessed from the old Pacific Highway. When we arrived, a NPWS worker at the park entrance was stopping cars saying the main carpark at the visitor centre was full, so if we wanted to visit the park we would have to park close to the highway and walk in (2 km). We did this, and it prove to be blessing in some ways as some of the best wildflowers were close to the road and we also were able to see a large area of aboriginal engravings that we would have missed if we had driven in. Continue reading
I spent a very pleasant day cycling along the Cooks River Cycleway, from the Boat Harbour to Botany Bay and back stopping along the way to photograph the birds.
I spent most of my time at the Landing Lights Wetland at Barton Park on this visit. Continue reading
Ian Brown has produced a stunning calendar of photos taken in the Blue Mountains for his 2018 Wild Blue Mountains Calendar. Copies can be ordered through his website or from selected retails outlets in the Blue Mountains (such as Gleebooks at Blackheath).
I was delighted to get a copy of The Springwood Bushwalking Club’s 50th Anniversary Book – “Adventures, Friends and Memories” in the post a few days ago. The club was my first serious introduction to bushwalking. The Club was started in 1967. I was a member from 1973 to the early 80’s and still have many good friends and memories from that period, and we certainly had some extraordinary adventures.
The new publication is trip down memory lane and a credit to the Club and the group that produced the book. Its a substantial publication – about 250 pages and contains many photos. I do not know who the editor was – no credit is given. Perhaps a committee of the club? There are a number of errors that have crept in – such as a house used by some early members being in Valley Heights in one section and in Faulconbridge in another, and “Erina Beach” in Royal National Park? But these a minor in the scheme of things.
If you have ever walked with Springwood Bushwalking Club then grab this book while you can. It has had a limited print run. I had pre-ordered my copy from the club website – Details for ordering it are still on the front page. It is only available from the Club, not from any Blue Mountains bookshops.
This was another pleasant walk with Bob. I had suggested it a couple of weeks ago as a good walk to do if there was bad weather higher up the mountains. But on that occasion, the weather turned out better than we expected, so we put this one off.
Blue Gum Swamp
We drove out to White Cross Road at what used to be North Springwood. The town’s name was changed, during a period when place names with “North”, “East”, etc where all changed (Except for places like North Sydney and North Ryde. I wonder why?). Anyway, they had a survey of residents for a new name and I remember the most popular choice for the new name was the pretentious sounding “Springwood Heath”. However that name was not accepted, perhaps because there is no heath in the area and the name adopted was “Winmalee”. Continue reading
I had never visited Malabar Headland. For a long time it was military land and a rifle range. Now, the military land is Malabar National Park. The rifle range unfortunately remains.
Malabar Headland is on the south side of Maroubra Beach. When it became a national park, a high quality track was constructed (or reconstructed?) out along the coastal cliffs past Magic Point and out to Boora Point – the furtherest part of the headland. It is possible to continue around to Malabar Beach. Continue reading
Possible thunderstorms were predicted for Sydney in the late afternoon. I had been keeping an eye on the rain radar and watching a storm moving up from the south west. I thought that a trip out to Balls Head may be worthwhile. It would at any rate be a good break away from my computer.
I caught a train to Waverton and walked the short distance out to Balls Head. On the way, it started raining. It looked like I may have been a little late. The conditions were by now a bit drab. Continue reading
Wendy was keen on a daywalk on the weekend. I had been in the bush close to the Mt Hay Road two days before, which had been nice, and had suggested another walk in that area – this time near The Fortress. Wendy had not visited Dr Darks Cave, so that was once place we should go to.
Lower Arethusa Canyon from a side ridge of The Fortress
We headed out the Mt Hay Road and parked at the Fortress Car Park and set off along the fire road. At the first junction, we took the left branch and walked out to a nice lookout overlooking the upper section of Govett Gorge. This lookout offers great views, but it not as good as another on the next headland to the west as that one allows views right into the lower part of Arethusa Canyon. Continue reading
