Walk 18 - Manly Dam Wildflower Circuit

 Manly Dam Wildflower Circuit. 9.00 a.m.   

Manly Dam- a new "Best Walk"  7.5 Ks   This walk had everything ,scribbly gums, banksias, little creeks, a tiny waterfall, some ducks, Dusky Moorhens, pink and white flowers,  blue and yellow, dry shrub,woodland, grassy reed banks, sedge, swamp,freshwater lagoon, ferns, sand tracks and board walks, rocky platforms, heath.

Flannel flowers in abundance greeted us soon after crossing the bridge.  We needed a wild flower reference book but we know our flannel flowers.

 Dry old Banksais formed a dry old arch over a dust sand path but then amazingly around the corner,  a wetland with fern and  graceful green appeared.  The scenes were ever changing. The dam for the most part was hidden from us by shrub and bush.       We even had a look-up display of Warratahs, flayed out in a show-off display.    

Lovely Belaroma coffee depot cafe in Manly Vale  found for us by Marie-Claire, coffee and sandwiches and wraps.

Walkers Kate, Linzi, Pippa, Marie-Claire, Moira, Carolle.

 Good luck Jane with your ongoing dentistry treatment  and I am so sorry this has caused the cancellation of your W.A. holiday.      

Walk 17 - Warriewood Wetlands

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Warriewood Wetlands, a place hitherto unknown to our walkers -  bar one:   The area was quite dry. A massive woeful development is rising aongside -  too close by far which will surely impact adversely  on this small precious wetland.  The board walk and path walk were relatively short;  Pippa  happily  spied her little blue wrens, we saw some pigeons, purple swamp hens, coots, kookaburras, ducks,  perky wagtails and a magpie lark. Lots and lots of lilies, a skink.  True twitchers told us that they had listed over thirty birds this morning! They were keen for us to cross the road to the Irrawong Reserve to see the waterfall. Later a bit or research revealed that it is indeed quite interesting on that side of the road.  Our walk extended up the road for coffee and orange juice at Flower Power Nursery.

 A Note on the Wetlands: 

At 26 ha in size, the Warriewood Wetland is the largest remaining sand plain wetland in the northern Sydney area.  It provides a variety of habitats for local fauna and at the same time plays a vital role in flood mitigation, nutrient recycling and filtering sediments. The wetlands contain several Endangered Ecological Communtities.

During the Wran Government developers were allowed to build the adjoing shopping centre in exchange for the remainder of the land be sold to Warringah council.   A prolonged  pricing dispute followed which was finally settled 18 years later. Then the Pittwater Council purchased the land for residents to secure and conserve the land.

Walkers today:  Marie-Claire, Moira, Wendy, Pippa, Linzi, Kate, Carolle 

Walk 16 - Dee Why Beach Collaroy Plateau

See the Starfish

Pairs

Landing Gear

Dee Why Beach

Today, a day in September ,mid  Spring, the group met in front of the Dee Why  Surf Club to tramp along the length of a long beach all the way up to the headland.   The tide was in, the waves  sent us scampering, the water was incredibly clear as you can see in the photograph.    We tramped along boldly briskly although beach sand is not easy walking.   The headland afforded excellent views of distant shores, close by Collaroy Beach and  beyond as well as  the Golf Course dotted with golf ladies on Ladies Day.

The return walk skirted the golf course back to Dee Why's Sand Bar for delicious cool fruit  frappes and smoothies.

Wendy and Carolle spent a few extra minutes strolling around the Dee Why Wildlife Refuge, an area of bush regeneration where the aim is to conserve, restore and protect native vegetation and wildlife.   Both professionals and volunteers carry out the work.  (We noticed the nasty Lantana)
Walkers : Marie-Claire, Wendy, Linzi, Carolle

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Walk No 15 - Balmain/Ballast Point Park

Hi,

A walk in the Park. 
We scarcely needed more walking after Ballast Point, so good it was so well presented, well kept, fabulous views, loads of interesting history in one small peninsula spot, a massive overwhelming sculpture and then a  little glass case of artefacts to interest strollers.

Indeed, Ballast Point Park was the huge Highlight of our walk today. 
I found the following extract, which is a bit romantic but informative nonetheless, plus the link below, all worthwhile. Well worth following up after that visit today.

http://www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/sydney-Our_places_and_projects-Our_projects-Ballast_Point_Park_Walam

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Quote: Rachel C who wrote this  delightful piece .......

If there's one thing that Sydney does well, it's parks.  As a treasure trove of history and nature, Ballast Point Park in Birchgrove is up there with some of Sydney's best.

The 'green-ness' of this park is present in a few different meanings of the word:

Green (newborn)

Ballast Point was only officially rereleased as public property in 2002 and was only opened as a park in 2009 and thus is one of Sydney's newest parks.  Its lawns are pristine, the plants are but babes and the only form of graffiti (if you can call it that) is the wall of padlocks, engraved and locked to the wall by lovers and friends.  I'd previously only seen such a thing at the Pont des Arts in Paris.  Finding something so beautiful glistening in the sun and within a keys throw from my house was a delight.

Green (environmentally friendly):

With a history in crude oil, Ballast Point Park is now working towards a future fuelled by renewable energy.

A trip to this park doubles as a local history lesson, as placards and engravings around Ballast Point explain the sites timeline, from it's Aboriginal origins to its role in European Shipping (from whence it gets its name), to when it housed Menevia House and then the house was turned into a boarding home before falling into disrepair and being demolished.  The site was then bought by Texan Oil Company before being sold to Caltex and then finally being released as public territory.  Now, the park that played such a big role in Australia's energy has installed eight wind turbines, affixed to artistic structures to power all the lights of the park.

Green (the colour of grass):

Ballast Point Park's grasses are so green and pristine due not only to the newness of the park, but to the carefully carved and easy to follow tracks around the park - tracks that one feels obliged to stick to in respect to the beautiful grounds.

This place is a beautiful find.  Aside from the faint chug of ferrys, Ballast Point Park is a peaceful waterside retreat.  Perfect for fishing (lots of benches, Horse Shoe life-saver thingys and fishing line disposal points), walking the dog (on leash, you can let it off leash once you reach Mort Bay Park around the corner) or just sitting in the sun on one of their copious park benches, Ballast Point Park is a new love of mine.  Also, it smells like rainforest.   

(Quote from a review on Yelp )

Walkers: Jane, Pippa,Marie-Claire,Moira,Kate,Carolle

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