I like the wind eroded features on the top of the sea cliffs between Wattamolla and Marley in Royal National Park. So mid-week I wandered out that way with my camera to try and capture some of this natural beauty with the right light.
I had been concerned reading on Pawal’s nopixels.net site about people carving their initials into the sandstone in this area. I found this was true! A terrible thing indeed to such a beautiful place. Continue reading
My friend, Roger Lembit, had put a walk on the National Parks Association walks program to Goochs Crater. I joined him on the trip. Roger is a botanist, and has been studying the ecology of the area near the crater for many years. He has been particularly interested in the post fire recovery.
After meeting others on the trip at the Zig Zag Railway carpark, we headed out along the Dumbano Firetrail. On the way, we could not help noticing the vast numbers of waratahs in flower – hundreds and hundred of them! A remarkable spectacle. Continue reading
During the October Long Weekend (3-5 October) I went on the Sydney University Bushwalkers President’s Bludge Trip to the Kowmung River. This year the club president Kaushalya led the trip to the middle section of the Kowmung River.
From Kanangra Walls, we headed to Gingra Range, along it for a while, and then turned off down Hughes Ridge and this brought us to the Kowmung River at Ferny Flat. Here we camped the first night on a nice grassy flat. We had a swim in the river, but the water was a bit cool. Continue reading
I have just returned from a very good 23 day walk in Slovenia. I had long wanted to visit the Alps in Slovenia. The mountains there sounded very rugged and spectacular and a bit less crowded than other parts of Europe.
Several years ago, I had purchased a Cicerone Guidebook “Trekking in Slovenia” by Justi Carey and Roy Clark. This describes a long high level walk called the Slovene High Level Route or in Slovenian – the Slovenska Planinska Pot or Transverzala. This walk, or a section of it sounded like a worthwhile thing to do. Also, friends Ashley and Kendy Burke had visited Slovenia in 2010 and walked a long section of the Transvezala and brought back many inspiring photos and stories.
On my walk, I flew into Vienna. There I had a hiccup – my luggage (pack) did not turn up, and I was delayed there two days till it arrived. Next, a train trip to Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, where my walk would start. Maribor is a delightful city – lots of friendly helpful people, lots of bars and cafes. A nice place. My stay was all too short. Keen to make up for my early delays in Vienna, I set off for my walk the morning after I arrived. All I needed to buy was a bit of lunch food (mainly bread and cheese) and a map for the first section of the walk. Continue reading
I spent another pleasant afternoon along the Cooks River photographing the birds. I started at Cup and Saucer Creek Wetland, but there was not too much happening there, so I rode my bike to the boat harbour, and there photographed a nice pair of masked lapwings. I then continued on to Tempe and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Tempe Wetlands.
Red-Browed Finch
The Tempe Wetlands are a place that rewards patent behaviour. I waited with my camera ready in some of the more forested sections and found a few nice birds came past and settled nearby, allowing me to photograph them. Continue reading
I joined Digi Dave with our bikes and cameras and spent an enjoyable afternoon along the Cooks River photographing the birds (and enjoying a bit of cycling).
We started at the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands and after photographing there, we slowly rode down to the Tempe Wetlands. Continue reading
This was a pleasant day in the bush with Bob yesterday wandering around some seldom used passes at the end of the ridge that branches out from Hat Hill at Blackheath.
Grose Valley from Bald Head
This ridge, called the bald head Ridge, terminates at Bald Head, and on the way it passes a spot mark on the map as Bennett Lookout. On trips down the Grose Valley I had noticed two rock peninsulas sticking out into the Grose Valley near Bald Head. I had long wanted to visit them as I thought they may be good vantage points and be a nice places for a high camp. You can also see these rock peninsulas from Anvil Rock. On a recent trip to Blue Gum Forest via Pierces Pass, I and also noticed what looked like a possible pass along a ledge just under the higher of these two peninsulas. I had taken a photo of the possible passes and emailed it to Bob, and we and put this spot into our list for a future daywalk. Meanwhile we had both done a little research and found that the pass was probably the same as mentioned in “The Upper Grose Valley” by Brian Fox and Michael Keats (p 464). It was referred to as “Brownes Path” and apparently used by former NPWS ranger Kevin Browne. Continue reading
A friend, Garry Pienaar, recently lost his battle with cancer. Over the years we shared some great times climbing and mountain biking. Many memories and adventures! David Forbes has put together a moving visual tribute –
It is interesting, and disturbing, that in the discussions that have come up regarding the recent pollution spill from the Clarence Colliery into the Wollangambe River, there have been questions asked about whether one of the iconic features of that area – Goochs Crater is within Blue Mountains National Park (and the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area).
Goochs Crater
The Gardens of Stone were originally proposed for national park back in 1986 (as extensions to Wollemi National Park), and that original proposal included features that were at that time unprotected like Rocky Creek Canyon and Goochs Crater. When the Gardens of Stone National Park was declared neither of these features were included in the park, but Rocky Creek Canyon had been added as an addition to Wollemi National Park. Continue reading
I spent a very pleasant day at the zoo, wandering around with my camera. It really is a very pleasant place to spend some time and the animals are very interesting to watch. It was a cold day, and I don’t know if that makes a difference, but the animals seemed fairly active rather than sleepy.
Here is a selection of my photos – Continue reading
