Woy Woy - Umina ( Central Coast)

To commence our walk, we travelled by train to Woy Woy .

This township is 82km from Sydney and the first train line was built in 1888 ( before this the only access was by water) However when the line was electrified - ending further north at Gosford , in 1960 - what had been a popular holiday and retirement destination then became more accessible for commuters working in Sydney.

The name Woy Woy is understood to mean “ The Big Lagoon “- which refers to the deep tidal channel adjacent to the town centre. The Woy Woy Inlet is one of the few flat areas of the Central Coast.

Our walk took us along the waterfront of this inlet - we could see across to St. Hubert’s Island and in the distance across the bridge to Daley’s Point. Car travellers can use this bridge to access Hardy’s Bay, Bouddi National Park, Kincumber and their surrounds.

Because our walk was entirely flat, we were able to observe the real estate, including some lovely gardens. The weather was very pleasant and we passed lots of locals, some with their dogs, enjoying their constitutional .

We took the opportunity to walk on the sand at various points.

Both our morning tea and lunch stops were taken at spots which allowed us to enjoy the lovely water views. We could see Lion Island to the south ( Di’s photo was taken looking in that direction) and Box Head to the east.

After lunch at Umina, we returned to Ettalong on foot, and then used a local bus to reach Woy Woy town centre. There are some interesting shops in the older parts of the town centre ( some of which required our attention!) and we visited our favorite coffee shop.

A return train trip rounded out a lovely day.

Terry Hills - The Short and LongTracks

This, for us, in an annual walk. We choose this time of the year because it is the season for waratahs. However, in that respect, it was slightly disappointing.

The walk is, for the most part, easy going - just a few parts on the fire trail are stony and require a little care. However, the flowers and the views are lovely and more than compensate for that.

In the early part of the walk , and again towards the end, we saw some waratahs ( telopea speciosissima) - our state floral emblem - they were there in all their glory - just small in number. The Aboriginal legend which describes the “first” waratah is really moving - the love story of a beautiful maiden named Crooby.

The other flowers we saw were brilliant in colour and prolific.

They included Grevillea speciosa ( Burnam Burnam - our source of information - “WILDthings Around Sydney” ) tells us that they are widespread in the Hornsby plateau and Ku-ring-gai National Park) - this also applies to the Eriostemon australasius ( wax flower) and several species of boronia ( we saw lots of native roses - boronia serrulata).

We were lucky to have some of our bird watchers with us - they were able to identify the Eastern Spinebill; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Superb Fairy Wren; Pied Currawong; Australian Magpie; House Sparrow - thank you for your knowledge - it is much appreciated.

Our morning tea spot saw us looking down towards Apple Tree Bay and then at lunch time, Looking Glass Bay ( shown in Di’s photo) - which is part of Cowan Creek which leads, eventually, to the coast at Palm Beach.

This is a very pleasant walk and will no doubt continue to be on our programme.

Muogamarra Native Reserve

Our walk today took us to this wonderful reserve. It is only open to the public on 6 weekends per year ( all in the Spring ) but by special arrangement we were able to have a “private” visit - accompanied by two volunteer guides.

For the rest of the year, the reserve is used by groups for scientific and educational research.

We need to thank J.D.Tipper who leased 600 acres to protect the flora, fauna and aboriginal sites. Over time he expanded his lease to 2050 acres and he handed this over to the authorities in 1954 and Muogamarra, as we know it now, was founded.

In 2002 there were severe bushfires iin the area, but the reserve has made a remarkable recovery since that time.

The entrance to the reserve is about 3 km. north of Cowan on the old Pacific Highway.

We were met by our guides at the locked gate, and then drove 3 1/2 kms. to the start of the walk. At this point there is abundant parking, a roofed picnic shed and toilets.

Our guides gave us some general safety information, and advised us of the regulations regarding Aboriginal sites etc.

We set off on our pre-arranged route and it was obvious before we had travelled many metres that we were in for a treat. This was not only because of the abundance of flowers to be seen but we realized that we were going to learn a lot from our guides - the names and general information of flowers and plants, and also the history and geography of the area.

This spring season has produced a wonderful display - we were so lucky.

We passed a large area of tessellated rock and our guide gave an explanation as to how it may have been formed.

Our morning tea spot was reached after a short climb up to the Lloyd Trig - this presented us with panoramic views over the Hawkesbury River. It was a cloudy day, and the outlook was not as clear as it sometimes can be. Our guide pointed out the direction of the Blue Mountains, which can be seen on a brighter day.

We descended from the trig and continued along a stony fire trail - masses of flowers and trees all along the way. Then there was a short sharp climb to our lunch spot - again wonderful views of the river and its surrounds. Our guide pointed out the sites which could be seen. Di’s photo shows the road traffic bridge below. (The flowers shown are Kunzea capitata ( bachelor's buttons) and Eriostemon (pink wax flower.)

We heard lots of birds, some of which were able to be identified by sound, and we saw one snake. Many photos of the flowers were taken.

The return walk involved a bit of a climb up the fire trail and then we made a short detour to return to the parking lot by a slightly different route.

We were able to show our appreciation to our guides, Greg and Peter, by inviting them to join us for afternoon coffee at the well-known spot, The PIe in the Sky, which is almost directly opposite the reserve entrance. This rounded out a very pleasant day.

Wondabyne -Pindar Cave

Our walk began after we left the train at Wondabyne (the one station between Hawkesbury River and Woy Woy) - some of the group had not been there before and were quite amazed to see the tiny station - less than one carriage length.

The track from the station took us onto the Great North Walk . The steep climb ( approx. 100m in length ) only takes a short while, fortunately, and then we followed the main track, which at that point, is a fire trail.

After approximately a kilometre, we took the unmarked turn onto the Pindar Cave path. There is a large rocky outcrop at that point. We stopped for morning tea , and then walked about 500m on another fire trail, before reaching the bush path. This was very pleasant walking - mostly on sandy tracks. Di’s photo shows a view of the Hawkesbury River taken from the high point of the ridge. (It was quite a dull day - ideal for walking.)

The highlight of the trip was seeing the wildflowers. Those of us who had previously been on the walk felt that we had not ever seen a better display in this area. The flowers were beautiful - prolific and colourful. It was hard to choose a couple of favourites to “post” on this site ( those shown are native iris - Patersonia servica and native rose - Boronia serrulata. )

The bird watchers heard many calls and without stopping to study them carefully, were able to identify some However, the flowers were the main attraction of the day.

We passed a very pleasant waterhole - in the summertime this would be very appealing to those who would enjoy a quick dip.

We reached the Pindar Cave for our lunch break.

This is a very impressive sandstone overhang - capable of sheltering perhaps 50 people.

We were the only visitors on this day, but fireplaces could be seen, confirming that the site is used for camping.

Legend has it that the cave is named after two German brothers who had worked an ochre mine nearby. However, research couldn’t verify that story.

Our return trip followed the same track - the flowers again “distracting” us from even thinking of any physical effort on our part. There were a few boulders which required a bit of a scramble but they were quite easily managed.

Descending to the station was SO much easier then our climb in the morning.

A pleasant train trip home rounded out a lovely day. The rain had held off - just a few spots in the morning. We were extremely lucky in this respect, because most of the Sydney area had some heavy showers later in the day - around our dinner time.