Long! Challenging! Beautiful! Rewarding!
All of the above describe our walk.
However - let’s take a step back.
We made an early start from Cowan Station and began our descent to Jerusalem Bay (this is part of the Great North Walk ).
There has been some improvement to the track in this part - man-made steps have replaced some of the natural stone ones. Steady rain overnight had made some parts a little slippery, but they were quite able to be managed.
Annette’s photo captures the peacefulness of the Bay.
We climbed( around 180 m) to our morning tea spot on Govett Ridge.
Not far along the track, we left the Great North Walk and took an unmarked path to head to Taffy’s Rock. For some time this was reasonably level - there were lovely boronia and wattle bushes all along the way. The “challenges” were simply that our path took us down, up and over quite a few huge sandstone rocks. These required a little bit of scrambling, but we made it!
Along the way we looked on one side across to the Hawkesbury River and on the other to Cottage Point - this is where Coal and Candle Creek meets Cowan Creek. There were many yachts moored at the marina.
Taffy’s Rock - was it worth the effort? Most definitely - the views were simply magnificent. We looked across to Lion Island with the Central Coast beyond. Because it was a perfect day weatherwise, everything sparkled in the sunshine. Although not a lot is known about “Taffy”, we understand that she was an inveterate bushwalker, who apparently visited the spot many times.
Our lunch break was shorter than usual as we were facing a lengthy return walk.
This went well - arriving back at our cars, however, was nice!
A change of footwear, a drink, a sugar hit, and off home.
We owe a special vote of thanks to our leader - her local knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement made it all possible.
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