Leader: Mike Pickles

Berowra Valley NP: Hornsby to Thornleigh

22 May 2019

An 80 leaders walk

Photos from Shirley Hart

Cheerybrook Reserve

Creek crossing

Rescuing Trevor

Morning tea in bush near Westleigh

Participants:

Mike Pickles, Julie Rea, Barbara Mitchell, Sarah Hurley, Jeanette Ibrahim, Tom Dowling, Shirley Hart, Jan Mathieson, Rogo Owens, Robert Robinson, Bill Rathborne, John Hungerford, Trevor Giblin, Chris Edwards, Allison Boyle, Verne Mantova, Anne Armstrong, Mark Armstrong, Colin Helmstedt, Alan Brennan, Lydia Chua and guest Sarah Moore.

Walk description:

We enter Old Man's Valley via historic steps to Fishponds, then Blue Gum Walk to the Jungo, taking the Callicoma Track to Cherrybrook and then Thornleigh. Map: Hornsby CMA

Report:

The initial number setting off at 9.00 from Hornsby station was 22 consisting of 21 bush club members and one guest introduced by Julie Rea. Alan Brennan offered to be tail. We strode briskly down Dural Street towards the Historic Steps, then through some lovely forest to reach Fishponds.

We then continued on the Blue Gum track towards the Jungo, however there was a crossing of Berowra Creek to be negotiated. The rocks were rarely submerged so were not particularly slippery unless taking a slightly unusual route as did Trevor Giblin whose foot found a patch of moss and resulted in him sliding into a hole and grazing his shin. As he didn't feel like continuing the walk, Chris Edwards kindly offered to accompany him back to Hornsby after first dressing the wound.

The remaining 20 of us climbed the opposite bank of Berowra Creek and by 10.15 found a suitable rocky spot to sit down and have morning tea. By this time the day had warmed up somewhat and we set off again taking care to bear right (where the Blue Gum Track veers off to the left) along the Benowie Track which then descends down to the creek once more. After crossing the creek the track ascends towards Pogson Trig and becomes the Callicoma Track leading to Cherrybrook. We had lunch by the Lakes fountains where those of us with GPS who were measuring the trip announced that we had already covered about 9.5 kms. This meant that the leader's estimate of 12kms total was likely to be somewhat short of the mark.

We resumed our journey along the Callicoma Track about 1.30pm. After some tedious street walking the track traverses some spectacular rock formations. The fallen trees in this area have not been cleared completely and require some agility to negotiate. We eventually rejoined the Benowie Track arriving at The Jungo after about an hour. The track to Thornleigh was straightforward and we arrived at the station by 3.30pm. All said they enjoyed the walk and were tolerant of the leader's underestimation of the distance which eventually turned out to be almost 15kms.