A Summer morning's walk
Last weekend we tried to walk from St Ives to the Sphinx Memorial in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. However, we found ourselves on a path that was hard to follow, splitting off in all directions till we weren't sure we were still on it, so we made our way back to the car.
This weekend we decided to start from the Sphinx and make our way to last week's starting point. It was predicted to reach 31° so we set off fairly early with a bottle of water and some snacks.
The Sphinx Memorial was the work of a returned WW1 soldier who had spent time in Egypt. It's pretty impressive so I was surprised I'd never heard of it before.
From there a track led down to a tiny creek and then to the river. It was downhill all the way, and our knees were feeling the brunt of it. When we reached the junction with the Warrimoo track we were going to head for St Ives when some other walkers asked us if we were trying to get to the place with all the boats, so we decided to walk to Bobbin Head instead.
The river at the junction was very shallow and we could see plenty of fish. The track followed the river pretty closely. There were shady gullies where little creeks joined the river, where it would have been pleasant to linger, but we soldiered on to Bobbin Head. There we found a marina with a café so we sat in the shade with cold drinks. The café also sold fish food, and two little girls were feeding the fish so the water was full of fish. We sat and watched them for a while then decided to head back.
Not far from Bobbin Head we came across a large goanna lying sunbathing across our path. It seemed unconcerned about us, but we were a bit concerned about it. I'd heard of goannas mistaking people for trees and running up them. Eventually we tried to edge past it on the far side of the path, and it decided to move out of our way. We saw another, slightly smaller, in the undergrowth a little further on. (We'd also seen a small one on a rock on the way to Bobbin Head.)
It was an interesting and attractive walk, but I think next time we'll do it in cooler weather.
This weekend we decided to start from the Sphinx and make our way to last week's starting point. It was predicted to reach 31° so we set off fairly early with a bottle of water and some snacks.
The Sphinx Memorial was the work of a returned WW1 soldier who had spent time in Egypt. It's pretty impressive so I was surprised I'd never heard of it before.
From there a track led down to a tiny creek and then to the river. It was downhill all the way, and our knees were feeling the brunt of it. When we reached the junction with the Warrimoo track we were going to head for St Ives when some other walkers asked us if we were trying to get to the place with all the boats, so we decided to walk to Bobbin Head instead.
The river at the junction was very shallow and we could see plenty of fish. The track followed the river pretty closely. There were shady gullies where little creeks joined the river, where it would have been pleasant to linger, but we soldiered on to Bobbin Head. There we found a marina with a café so we sat in the shade with cold drinks. The café also sold fish food, and two little girls were feeding the fish so the water was full of fish. We sat and watched them for a while then decided to head back.
Not far from Bobbin Head we came across a large goanna lying sunbathing across our path. It seemed unconcerned about us, but we were a bit concerned about it. I'd heard of goannas mistaking people for trees and running up them. Eventually we tried to edge past it on the far side of the path, and it decided to move out of our way. We saw another, slightly smaller, in the undergrowth a little further on. (We'd also seen a small one on a rock on the way to Bobbin Head.)
By now it was getting pretty hot and the uphill walk to the Sphinx was grueling. Louka began to complain and stop and sit down from time to time, though she also ran up steps to get to the end quicker. Eventually we got to the top and had a long drink from a bubbler. When we got in the car the thermometer read 39°, though it settled down to 36° as we drove away. Then I felt something crawling on my leg: it felt like a big fly. I looked down and there was a leech - ewwww! Quickly I plucked it from my leg and threw it out the window. After that Graham felt a bit twitchy but Louka had fallen asleep in her seat, which she hasn't done for years.
It was an interesting and attractive walk, but I think next time we'll do it in cooler weather.
posted by Liz + Louka at 3:05 pm
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