Wednesday, 12 December 2012

26 Greenwich/Northwood/Bushwalk

Our final walk for 2012 Walk number 26 . Since the inaugural walk in May we have managed to meet weekly.   Much territory in and around our wonderful city has been explored  with city walks, bush walks, a beach walk, the sculpture walk and many others.  These  have provided all of us with renewed interest in some fields (pardon the pun), we found new areas, discovered historical facts, enjoyed great vistas and views and we are ready for more.   Happy Christmas,   happiness to all people, our families and friends and everyone everywhere in 2013 and for our little group we look forward  to the added joy of simply taking a Walk.



Under River Road, Greenwich







Gore Hill Oval (Bob Campbell Oval)


Aquaduct, Gore Oval

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

25 Tambourine Bay Park Walk

Tambourine Bay

Hanging Rock







A goblin bridge


Ben's tee shirt passed to G.ma
Tambourine Bay
A broom
An historic well -originally  built by Thomas Duckworth


Before  embarking on the morning's walk the Group took a short stroll along an adjoining path  to view the historic well originally built by Thomas Duckworth in 1833.   Fresh water from this well  supplied water to local residents - it is located in a little dell reached by  cobbled steps. What one reads on the little plaque seems not to measure up to little bits of internet research, but no matter, an Historic well it  is.  Let's not worry too much about that now.

 From here we followed  the track along the foreshore to St Ignatius' rowing club.   That path enticed,  lined as it is with great sandstone walls and rock formations, mysterious in their grandeur and their sense of place in spite of intruding man marauders with their machinery and environment devastation;   they remain sternly steadfast if somewhat solitary .
The water , the river alongside is home to a bay-full of some of  Sydney's thousands of boats.

Very soon,  long skinny eel like pure white  boats, or are they kayaks, came in to view indicating that we were on site of St Ignatius' boatshed.   A solitary boat person was busy doing what you'd do with ropes in a boat shed. Not a lithe muscled young  student from the out of sight College but perhaps a grandpa or a long serving shed supervisor.  He was unfussed by the bevy of older gals descending on his workplace.
   Steps and steps, dark,  led up and up the hill.  Interesting remnants such as an odd arch  and a concrete bollard were  evidence of activity on the shoreline long ago.
Back through the hanging rocks and the tready soft path to the shady  park of Tambourine Bay.   Sap oozed from giant gums dotted through prickly pointy beginnings of mangroves, spindly she oaks and lantanta and noxious weeds and beautiful tree ferns and angophora and a red flowering tree lighting up the shade, flaky bark above and underfoot.
An easy path led through more shade, more rocks,  a trickling baby waterfall until a Jacaranda tree showed up and we knew we were about to enter surburbia so with an about turn we repeated the scenic path in reverse  back to cars, Blossom, a little cafe with nice coffee and iced coffee and quite the nicest Nepalese shop nearby which kept us browsing awhile.

Walkers:   Donna, Jane, Moira, Wendy, Marie-Claire, Pippa, Carolle

Friday, 23 November 2012

24 Mowbray Mangrove Walk

The  Mowbray Mangrove Walk alongside the Lane Cove River provided  Grey Mangroves (Avicennia Marina), golf balls, swamp oak Casuarinas galore, flannel flowers, fabulous sandstone caves and cliffs, boardwalks,  little crabs in the mud flats, an overgrown Aboriginal Interpretive Site,  a nerve testing ledge (four walkers taking a  lower path  experienced this), massive timber benches for resting and viewing, Sydney Red gum and Sydney Peppermint on the high ridges, the Rotary Memorial Athletic Field near  Mowbray Road West.
Coffee once again at the Frendz Cafe in Lindfield West.

Walkers: Jane, Marie-Claire, Kate, Donna, Pippa Linzi, Carolle,













 golf ball in hand
Golf ball sleuth!
 

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

23 Lane Cove National Park



Lane Cove Walk - After trial and error on this Tuesday  one group of walkers  wound up on one side of the Lane Cover River while the other  group disappeared on the other side somewhere out of sight.   After texting, mobile phone calls and some confusion getting lost we finally met close to the weir in the Lane Cove National Park near the Lady Game Drive entrance.   This resulted in a  different walk altogether being undertaken to the original one  planned.   
No bother, a beautiful, gentle, tree green, grass verged, bough canopied wide track  enticed us slightly uphill away from the water as we wandered on towards an unknown destination.   Along the way were many attractive picnic areas.   Wide roads and wide paths made for comparatively easy walking while the joy of the day was that after 3 months absence Donna was back albeit with her stick.   Not to be outdone both Moira and Carolle checked out walking poles too.  They proved to be very good for down slopes in particular.  
For most of us it has been years and years, perhaps 15, 20 or even more since any of us had walked in or even passed through the Park.   Again those words were  uttered "we should use these beautiful parks more".
Coffee proved to be a difficult commodity to come by- the kiosk in the park didn't attract  and lol  the Riverside Bar N Cafe  - loudly displaying a sign open 7 days for breakfast and everything else - was wide open yes  but  full of eerie emptiness. Not a soul. Not a cup.  Not a coffee anywhere.
A short drive to find the  charming Garden Coffee Cafe in East Lindfield once again.







Contempation




check my claw
Under Fullers Bridge 
Great North Walk beacon