Berowra to Cowan | GNW
The Great North Walk
Berowra to Cowan Station | Approx. 6km | 2.5 Hours | Hard
Sneaking out for a Friday afternoon hike is a fabulous way to start the weekend. With only a couple of hours to spare we are keeping this one short and sweet.
J did the previous section of GNW through Berowra waters last weekend, while I was otherwise engaged, so I will have to come back to that one. If we finish the section up to Cowan this afternoon it will set us up nicely for the next big chunk from Cowan to Brooklyn on the weekend.
We met at Cowan station where we left her car and head back to Turner Road in Berowra Heights. The management trail starts near the end of this road and is an easy level walk for about 800m until you reach a marked track heading east towards Cowan Station. From this turn off the track heads steadily downhill, starting more gently and gradually becoming steeper as you descend into the valley. At the bottom there is a creek crossing over Joes Craft Creek, an easy crossing over a large flat rock, quite pretty with ferns and a small cascade.
Then the uphill starts
Many people do this section of the GNW beginning from Berowra waters. The combination of the two steep sections between Berowra and here, along with this one would make for quite a workout. This section of track is very steep with timber, stone and metal steps and a bit of scrambling over boulders. Eventually reaching a large rock platform we stop for a snack and a quick rest, but when we head of again (aware that we have limited daylight) we find we have been lulled into a false sense of completion as there is still a little more uphill to go. At the top there is another rock platform and a bench this time to rest and admire the view.
From here the track evens out a bit, winding through scribbly gum forest and then crossing Glendale Road (dirt road). A sign on the other side of the road pointing to Cowan takes us along more sandy track, eventually meeting a management trail which runs along behind some houses and up to a locked gate just before the Pacific Hwy.
This walk is never far from civilisation with glimpses of houses through the trees and road noise carrying down the valleys, but none the less it is lovely to be out and surrounded by green.
This post is not a comprehensive guide to the GNW, more resources for these walks can be found at http://www.thegreatnorthwalk.com
