Centennial Glen & Porters Pass Loop, West Blackheath. Saturday 16/9/2023. Because I have to get up quite early to go on a Blue Mountains bushwalk, I was up early enough to see Venus shining very brightly in the pre-dawn sky. As I walked to my station, I passed a flock of cockies (White Cockatoos) with the rising sun giving a golden sheen to their feathers. (See Photos)….
Newcastle – Fernleigh Track and Glenrock Conservation Area, Sunday 10/9/2023. Most people got on the train at Central, and a couple at Hornsby, to settle in to the two and a half hours train trip to Adamstown. Tiantian only just made it because of a late running bus, yet another example of the unreliable Inner West bus service post privatisation. I got…
Katoomba to Leura via Prince Henry Cliff track. Sunday 20/8/2023 This promised to be a great day out in near perfect winter weather, and 17 had signed up. As usual I had to catch a must earlier train from my Central Coast station and thus had a view of Jupiter shining in the pre-dawn sky (see photo). A Powerful…
Mount York has been somewhere I wanted to check out for quite a while and since no one is doing trips I might as well get it off my bucket list. It’s a cold and cloudy Saturday with a reasonably early start at Central Station into Blue Mountains. With a lot of last-minute signup and dropouts we’ve got a group of 13, to which only 11 showed up. Most of…
This was a fairly straightforward coastal walk in the Eastern Suburbs. Everyone managed to get on the 9:45 ferry we were aiming for, with one person just barely making it. View from the morning ferry After meeting up with Terence at Watson’s Bay, we first made our way to The Gap Lookout, before getting back on track to head south towards Rose Bay. The Gap…
Hey everyone! This was a trip I had been wanting to lead for a while now since the Fairfax Lookouts were closed for renovation, and only recently got the chance to do so. A number of people dropped out last minute, I had 15 people signed up the day before but that dropped to 8 by the morning. Luckily, Terry…
Sydney introductory walk: Hyde Park, Botanic Gardens, and The Rocks 27/7/2023. This walk was intended as an introductory walk around certain well known (and less well known) sights around central Sydney for members joining in Semester 2. Although only three people attended, it was still a worthwhile walk (after all, we have done trips with only 3 people before and they have been OK). I recall…
Trip Report: Gooch’s Crater Hike from Old Bells Line of Road (near Clarence) I recently embarked on an exhilarating hiking adventure to Gooch’s Crater with likeminded people, starting from Old Bells Line of Road near Clarence. The journey took us through gravel roads, fire trails, and off-track bush bashing, leading to fascinating pagodas, caves, and ultimately, the breathtaking Crater Lake. Here’s a…
Castle Cove view to Middle Harbour and Bantry Bay From the bus stop we met at before the Roseville Bridge, we walked to a bush track that descended to Middle Harbour. After our short walk to Echo Point Marina we entered the hidden track that followed the shore line and exited at Willowie Road in Castle Cove after a number of ascents and descents. We then…
Katoomba Winter Magic Festival walk, 24/6/2023. Note: My photos are below (with 3 by Matthew where shown), and Matthew’s are in the link above. As I have to catch a somewhat earlier train at 7.30am from my station, I was up early enough to see the planet Jupiter rising in the morning sky (yes, it’s large and bright enough to been sighted shortly before sunrise). See the…
Wondabyne to Mt Wondabyne and Woy Woy, Sunday 28th May 2023. I got up early this morning and I took the opportunity to spot the planets Jupiter and Mercury in the predawn eastern sky, as per the first 2 photos. Before I get into the trip report, I will mention to any students who are from the Northern Hemisphere for this Semester only, to get up early and have a look, as it might be your only chance in your life time to see Mercury. It is…
Cowan to Brooklyn Walk ANZAC Day 2023. With earlier worries that adverse weather might cause the walk to be shortened to just around Brooklyn (like last year’s) the weather turned out almost perfect on this ANZAC Day, not too hot and no rain at all. A dozen members arrived at Cowan Station and off we set for the walk to Brooklyn along this section of the Great North Walk (GNW). Some people…
A Saturday was chosen for the walk despite the less optimal weather conditions. A cloudy day with a lower temperature made it easier for a long walk without all the hot summer conditions. The group was quite diverse with some exchange students from the US and New Zealand and some international students. Most members…
Helensburgh to Stanwell Park Beach Sunday 26th February 2023. The recent run of very warm weather limited where we could go in this walk, with areas away from the coast predicted to be 30 degrees C (and even 26 C in Katoomba). This walk, with its cool tunnels and largely shady tracks (except for the beach) provided a good choice on a hot day, as the predicted temperature on the coast was 27 degrees C. So many…
Video trip report available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJJXvzUoLdM Our annual pilgrimage to Tasmania’s Southwest National park started as usual with a Friday night out in Hobart, followed by a 7.30am pick up by Tasmanian Wilderness Experiences. TWE specialises in transporting bushwalkers to and from trackheads and the business is for sale if anyone is looking for a tree-change! Day 1. With breakfast…
Umina – Pearl Beach – Patonga Walk Sunday 4th December 2022. This walk is similar (but not exactly the same) as the one on 19th November; this one put on for people who couldn’t attend the earlier one because of exams or whatever. We all met up together at Woy Woy Station, and I decided on a small change of plan to save us some time waiting for a bus to Umina Beach. Instead of…
Stanwell Park Beach Helensburgh to Stanwell Park Beach SATURDAY 26/11/2022. Another nice day picked for this trip, with a warm sunny day but not too hot. We caught the 9.33am train from Central, this time from the open air platform 22 due to trackwork, and thus spared the incessant bombardment of noise from ads from the big screens at the normal underground platforms; a good omen for the day. And it…
Umina – Pearl Beach – Patonga Walk Saturday 19/11/22 Industrial action by train staff that weekend required a change of plan made with a day’s notice to everyone, as train services were reduced to one per hour at Woy Woy. With the walk starting half an hour later than planned, I decided that a car transfer to Umina Beach, and then a car shuffle leaving one at Pearl Beach would save us some time at the end of the walk. So I…
Hallowe’en walk: South Head & Camp Cove. Another lucky break with the weather on my walks, again! Although showers and a possible thunderstorm were forecast for the afternoon, they didn’t eventuate until about 9pm, by which time evryone was on their way home. Also, because of the forecast, the walk was cut short to start from Macquarie Lighthoues at 5.30pm, then further back to start at Watson’s Bay at the same time. This made…
Combined Hike & Bushwalk: Newcastle – Fernleigh Track and Glenrock Conservation Area. First of all, thanks to this group who took a chance with the weather to come, and got rewarded. I was concerned that I had made a mistake in changing the day of the walk to Sunday instead of the previous day, as the rain radar showed Saturday as being mostly free of rain in the Newcastle area, but a rain front was approaching overnight. And on…