Date: 19/10/2025
Trip leader: Bruce Stafford
Party: Abhiraj, Danning, Hai Son, Hemu, Lesley, Vishal, Yang, Yiran, Ziqi
Newcastle: Fernleigh Track, Glenrock Conservation Area, & Merewether Beach.
Ten of us piled out of the train at Adamstown after the 2 hours 40 minutes’ trip from Sydney, for the first time on one of the “Modern Dynamic, State of The Art, Corporate Image Enhancing” D sets with mobile phone charging points, accessible toilets, but the disliked non-reversible seats. Right on cue, after coming off this train with toilets, someone immediately asked where the “bathrooms” are (I wish I could have bet on someone saying that, a guaranteed winner!). More about this at the end.
Anyway we set off along the Fernleigh Rail Trail, starting just 5 mnutes after the end of a function that had taken over this Trail until 11am. I advised the toilet (not “bathroom”) seeker that a cafe just off the Trail might be open this morning and allow use of their toilet (open because of the aforementioned Trail function), and luckily for them it was. A couple of oters took advantage to pick up an extra coffee while we waited. We also took advantage of a bubbler (U.S. English “water fountain”) on the track to top up.
So we came to Fernleigh Tunnnel which is 181 metres long and a feature of this Trail. I got someone to pose in one of the tunnel refuges. The Trail rises along a steady 1 in 40 gradient from Adamstown to Kahibah, easy walking but would have been hard for the steam trains on this former private colliery line. After passing through nthe Tunnel, we continued on to Fernleigh Loop wehere I spotted a Dragon (Eastern water dragon, Physignathus lesueurii) sunning itself on a length of rail line. The Dragon didn’t wait around too long and quickly disappeared into the undergrowth. (Reptiles, including snakes, are attracted to the warmth of steel railway tracks).
After a while we came to where the Rail Trail crosses Burwood Road, where we turned left for the short 100m metre path to Yuelarbah walking track which starts at the car park on Burwood Road. Then, disaster! The right side lens of my glasses suddenly popped out! Apparently the screw holding it had dropped out. So we spent about 5 minutes in the car park trying to find the screw, but it is so tiny that it would be very difficult to spot, even assuming that it did fall out at that location. So I had to do the rest of the walk with only a lens for my left eye. (OPSM replaced the srew the next day at no cost).
With that, we went our way along the Yuelarbah walking track which is a boardwalk for a while until crossing the Flaggy Creek Bridge. From there on it became more of a normal bush track until reaching Leichhardt’s Lookout, with its view of Glenrock Lagoon and Burwood Beach. After a short water break there we continued along through the forest (which we called “Jungle walking”), seeing a Bush Turkey on the way, until coming out at Glenrock Lagoon. Here we were hit by a quite strong sea breeze (it was forecast to be up to 30 km/hour or 16 knots). The sea was noticably a bit rough as well (also forecast). Glenrock Lagoon opens at Burwood Beach, and after looking at the coal seams on the beach we started our walk along it to Merewether headland. From the photos you can see that no one swims at Burwood Beach as it has a 7/10 hazard raing with strong rips, and is not patrolled.
Eventually we reached the rock platform at the northern end of the beach under Merewether Headland. I had intended to reach it right at low tide at 1.30pm, and we reached it exactly at that time (any later and a rising tide plus the moderate sea swell would make the passage across the rock platform difficult – and at high tide impossible and dangerous). Some of the group briefly explored the platform and then we reached Merewether Beach and its Ocean Baths, the largest in Australia. We were fortunate enough to find a spare table and seats just as a family were departing from it, and we settle down to lunch. A couple of the guys went for a swim in the baths.
Then it was off on the final part of the walk, which as it is along a paved footpath alongside the beaches is now again a “hike”. A couple of people were dismayed when I showed them that we were to climb to the top of Cooks Hill about 1.5km away, but when we eventually reached there and took in the view south from Strzelecki Lookout, they realised that it wasn’t actually too bad a climb. And it was to be the last climb for this trip.
From Strzelecki Lookout we continueld also the ANZAC Memorial Bridge to reach King Edward Park and the “Shepherd’s Hill Complex” This is actually the remains of an old fort built here between 1890 and 1940, and it is possible to enter some of the rooms although care has to be taken to avoid rubbish in the floor. This fort was the only one in Australia to fire at an enemy vessel in WW2 in 1942. The Japanese submarine that had fired on Sydney in June 1942 then went north to Newcastle to fire on what it thought was the site of Newcastle steelworks (but was actually a swamp). Then it took pot shots at a Russian ship entering the Harbour, before diving and taking off away from the coast. Although Newcastle had several large Dornier Flying Boats that could give chase for a long way (Germany had designed them for trans-Atlantic flights) there was no chance of finding submerged submarines in the vast Pacific Ocean. Still, that was the end of coastal enemy attacks until a German U-boat showed up on the NSW South Coast in 1944.
From Shepherd’s Hill we continued down a path to the “Bogey Hole“. This is a swimming pool constructed on the rock shelf about 1820 or so (so 200 years old!). It was originally very small but enlarged to its present size in 1884. A new metal stairway was installed in 2012. The photos here were taken only an hour after low tide so it can be scary there even then. At high tide and/or rough seas lifeguards sometimes close the Pool.
From the Bogey Hole we continued along Newcastle Beach for a look around before finally returning to the tram terminus (also called “Light Rail Terminus” so as to not frighten those people still stuck in the 1950’s who don’t like trams). Then it was on to Newcastle Interchange Railway for the train trip home. Just north of Dora Creek there are wetlands which are rookeries for Ibis (“bin chickens”) and also there was a swan. On leaving Morisset we did fleetingly see some Kangaroos but you have to be quick to spot them as the train speeds past. I left the train at Gosford to change to a local train and said goodbye to the others.
I did show the group examples of petrified wood (thare’s a sample on the footpath at Merewether beach), but I am reluctant to provide the exact location, as unfortunately not everyone who reads these trip reports is conservation minded, shall we say. (It does happen from time to time that we have to omit details of interesting things to protect the interests of local residents etc).
There was unfortunately one “no show” who has made no contact with me since.
Also, I remind people to PLEASE read the walk descriptions carefully. For this one I clearly stated that there were toilets on the train, but once off the train none more until Merewether. If that cafe hadn’t been open, the toilet “option” would have been the bush! Not reading trip descriptions can be very embarrassing: one person organised a “nude walk” some years ago, and someone came who didn’t read the part about it being a nude walk!!
I hope to plan a ‘Halloween Walk” on 31st October, but the weather forecast doesn’t loo great on that day at present. If it turns out to be okay I will post the walk.
Finally, I draw your attention to SUBW President Alan Holder’s email about a proposal to allow commerical intersts to control (and charge for) camping in National Parks. I know many of you who are international students have no Parliamentary member to write to to complain (and some would prefer not to get involved in local politics, understandably) but if you are local and live in a marginal Electorate (as I do), an email to your local M.P. could be effective.
Bruce Stafford
