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
On a recent trip to Butterbox Point near Mt Hay, I had seen what I thought might be a good lookout on the far side of Rocky Points Ravine. It was a rocky outcrop that I thought may provide a good view into the main slot of Mt Hay Canyon. I was keen to visit this spot, and so was Bob.
Rocky Points Ravine
We set off from The Pinnacles along the Lockleys Pylon Track. About half way to the Pylon, we turned off to the north and followed a ridge out along the Lyon Plateau to the vantage point. We were surprised to find signs of an old track along the first part of the ridge. It went past an area used as a campsite and seemed to continue on towards Walford Walls. We only went a short distance along this track before it left our ridge. The rest of the way was quite scrubby. Continue reading
Here is a good video on the campaign to keep Radiata Plateau at Katoomba in a wild state. It is from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society –
Leave Radiata Plateau Wild from BMCSNSW on Vimeo.
I spent an enjoyable day with Digi Dave photographing along part of the Illawarra Coast mainly near Wombarra and Coledale.
We headed through Royal National Park and our first stop was the lookout at Otford. We there proceeded a little further along to Stanwell Tops for a few more photos. Continue reading
Another visit to my local river to photograph the birds. It was nice to see a spoonbill searching for food in the mudflats near the mangroves in the Boat Harbour area.
Here is a selection of photos – Continue reading
