Marramarra & Smugglers Ridges - April 2022

Today I checked out the Marramarra Creek camping ground. The camp ground is 'walk in' and very basic, the only facilities are picnic tables, fire pits and a long drop toilet. No campers or hikers to be seen today. 

Years ago there used to be an orange grove on the creek flats where the camp ground is now situated. The orange trees persisted for many years after the farm was abandoned, National Parks have recently removed all of the fruit trees.

Smugglers Ridge as it's name would suggest, is reputed to have been secret route for smuggling contraband during colonial times. Marramarra Creek is navigable for small vessels from the Hawksbury River.

Marramarra Ridge Track

Who can spot the CCTV camera

At the creek end of the Marramarra Ridge Track

Wading through a Marramarra Creek tributary

The Tributary

Marramarra Creek from Smugglers Ridge

Start & Finish

Stats, 

distance: 13.6Km  

moving time: 2hr, 21min  

Elevation: 382metre

Calories:911

Mt Beckworth - March 2022

The pine tree on the summit of Mt Beckworth is a land mark visible from a significant area of Central Victoria. The locals often refer to it as the "Lollipop Tree", it was planted in 1918. 

Today my first encounter after leaving the Cork Oak car park was a disused feldspar mine, a small tunnel with its entrance blocked by blackberries. I couldn't find any details about this mine online. Some of the uses of feldspar are in paints and ceramics. The Beckworth State Reserve is mostly granite and decomposed granite, feldspar is constituent of granite.

The Lollipop Tree is just visible in this picture, taken from the park access road.

The Lollipop Tree up closer

A Tangle of Ancient Box trees

Looking toward Clunes & Bendigo

Ancient Box Tree

Blackberries over the entrance to the feldspar mine

Looking towards the summit from the Cork Oak picnic ground

Stats, 

distance: 13.3Km  

moving time: 2hr, 15min  

Elevation: 655metre

Calories:1011

Perrys Lookdown via Lockleys Pylon & the Grose Valley & Return - January 2022

 I was interested to have a look at the Blue Gum forest after the fires. National Parks had closed access to the forest for many months after the fires. The route I took was Lockleys Pylon Track, then a rather exposed pass, dropping from Du Faur head into the Grose Valley. This pass looks worse than it is, there is no rock climbing or scrambling required. I went up Perrys Lookdown Track on the other side of the valley, it is one of the steepest in the Blue Mountains, mostly wooden steps with a few hand rails. I took a couple of tumbles on the slippery flat bits of Lockleys Pylon Track, it had been raining, the running shoes I wore were unsuitable in mud, fine on the steep sandstone though.

You can just see the track leading to the pass on Du Faur Head

 

Looking down the Grose Valley

Fortress Creek Waterfall from Lockleys

Southern approach to Lockleys

Mt Banks shrouded in cloud

Du Faur Head from near the Grose River

The Grose River

I waded across here

Mts Banks, Tomah & Wilson

Stats, 

distance: 18.4Km  

moving time: 3hr, 47min  

Elevation: 1119metre

Calories:1988

The Great North Walk - Mt Warrawolong to Flat Rock Lookout - December 2021

This months run, an 'out and back' run, was along a section of the Great North Walk the next section North from the section I did last month. The conditions on the day was warm and humid, our first taste of summer this year. I drank almost two litres of water on route. I didn't see another person on the track, I did see a few goannas and lots of different birds and no snakes.

Damaged foot bridge over the Watagan Creek

Flat Rock Lookout

 

Stats, 

distance: 18.8Km  

moving time: 3hr, 23min  

Elevation: 856metre

Calories:1347

The Great North Walk - The Basin to Mt Warrawolong & Return - November 2021

 Another section of the Great North Walk done this time. My turn around point was Mt Warrawolong, the highest point on the Great North Walk. Mt Warrawolong is one of the many volcanic intrusions in to the Sydney/Hawkesbury sandstone. The vegetation in the igneous soil on the mountain is much lusher than in the surrounding sandstone.  I was disappointed, there was no view from the summit due to the lush vegetation. The only wildlife of note I encountered was the tail end of snake slithering into the undergrowth.

The Track

Grass Tree

Mt Warrawolong Tower

Wollombi Brook

More of the track

Who can spot the female Blue Wren

Stats, 

distance: 25.8Km  

moving time: 4hr, 48min  

Elevation: 1158metre

Calories:1958 

 

Bob Turners Track to the Colo - October 2021

After being locked down for several months I felt I needed to ease back into my bush forays, Bob Turners seem suitably short and relatively easy, and it was.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, before 1900 there was a proposal to construct a train line from Penrith to Rylstone mostly along the Colo river and further west the Wolgan river. Bob Turners Track was originally a pack horse path to the river used by the surveyors at the time of the survey. The proposed rail line was surveyed but never constructed. Bob Turners was restored in 1970 and later named "Bob Turners Track" in 1979 when the Wollemi National Park was declared.  Bob Turner was a Mayor of Ku-ring-gai who was involved with the tracks restoration.

The Track

Flannel Flower with freeloader

This Fellow raced across the track

The Colo looking down stream

My first glimpse of the Colo

This is typical of the wildflowers today

Stats, 

distance: 7.7Km  

moving time: 1hr, 28min  

Elevation: 359metres  

Calories:722

 

 

The Great North Walk - Lyrebird Trail to The Basin Campsite & Return - June 2021

 Another section of the Great North Walk completed this time. This is some distance further north from the  Cherry Lane section I did in April this year (2021). The sections between the these two tracks are mostly boring road stages, so I have been avoiding doing them and only doing the interesting bits. 

The Lyrebird Track, the first part of today's run, lived up to it's name. I sighted four male lyrebirds today, they where too quick for me to get a photograph.

In December last year (2020) I camped at the Basin Campground on the first night of the this Bike ride . Today I turned back at the Basin Campground, rather than retrace my way out along the walking trail I decided to run/walk up the steep access road to get the main road, Walkers Ridge Road. On the way up, through the trees I got a glimpse of an mangled car. I scrambled through the bush to get to it, it didn't look very old. I started worry what I might find in the wreckage, my concern was unfounded the car had been there a little longer than I initially thought. It had landed here after going over a thirty metre cliff, the main road was above the cliff. I contacted the local police a few days later. They knew about the car, it had been stolen and pushed over the cliff.

Driving through the bush on the way home a pair of feral deer raced across the road just ahead of me, I am not sure what type they were.

My start & finish

A dumped stolen car near the Basin Camp Ground

 

 

 

Walkers Rest Camp Site

 

A Novel System for opening the gate without leave the car, adjacent to the Great North Walk

Stats, 

distance: 18.5Km  

moving time: 3hr, 8min  

Elevation: 704metres  

Calories:1322