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On what turned out to be a beautiful sunny spring day 12 Plus Walkers, having prearranged a car shuffle, set out to walk 9kms from Duffys Forest to the Sphinx Memorial in North Turramurra. Our leaders Clive & Celia guided us along the Cooyong/Neverfail Trail, the Ryland, Warrimoo & Sphinx Tracks, crossing Kierans Creek & passing Christie's Waterhole along the way. The bush was a riot of colour & alive with birdsong. We saw many beautiful flowers in bloom, including boronias, grevilleas, native iris, drumsticks, hibbertia scandens & even some waratahs. The terrain was really varied with many hot challenging uphill climbs & descents to cool creeks. We had to scramble up one particularly tricky steep rocky section. Nick demonstrated his domestic skills at this point by brushing the loose leaves out of the way to make our ascent less dangerous. Then Steve, who'd come prepared with a rope, as you do, helped haul us up, with the assistance of Clive & a push on the backside from the person behind us in the line! Team work is often required on our walks, as well as perseverance & sense of humour!
Morning tea was on a ridge overlooking a lovely view, close to a gorgeous waratah. Continuing on our way we found that the track had disappeared since the recce. We had to traverse a large area that had been cleared & looked rather desolate. Our newly elected President informed us that this had been done to protect the drooping copper power lines above us in the event of a bushfire. Fortunately it wasn't long before we located our path again.
Lunch was 15 minutes precisely after we joined the Warrimoo track, at a small beach on Cowan Creek surrounded by trees & mangroves. As mullet swam by Sheila enjoyed a paddle in the cold water before tucking into her well earned lunch like the rest of us. Having refuelled we started our last ascent, during which some of the walkers spotted what looked like a dead antechinus, or broad-footed marsupial mouse. We presume a bird must have dropped it.
Our walk ended at the Sphinx Memorial. This was carved out of the sandstone by a returned soldier in the 1920s in memory of lives lost in the First World War. Pte. William Shirley was a patient at the nearby Lady Davidson Convalescent Hospital & the memorial, 1/8th the size of the Great Sphinx in Egypt, took 18 months to complete.
After another car shuffle we enjoyed coffee & post walk conversation at Flower Power on Mona Vale Road, before heading back home in the busy Friday afternoon traffic.
Walk leaders: Clive & Celia
Plus Walkers: Barbara C, Celia, Clive, Guenter, Hazel, Jenny T, Nick S, Peter T, Polly, Sheila, Steve, & visitor Michael
Walk Report: Hazel
Photos: Barbara C (5,6,9); Hazel (1,2,3,6,7,8,9,11)
View from morning tea stop Searching for track beneath the power lines
Cowan Creek beach - great spot for lunch The group, after climbing up from Cowan Creek
Pattersonia Boronia ledifolia Grevillea spp
Waratah bud Hibbertia scandens Antechinus - he died of exhaustion but probably happy (Google the species life cycle)
End of the line!