Blue Gum Walk
Joes Mountain Circuit
4km | 1hr | Moderate
Also known as Joes Mountain Circuit this is a very pretty 4 km walk through a diverse range of environments. This beginning of the track can be accessed from Hornsby train station if coming by public transport but it does add a very steep 1.2 km to each end of the walk.
We started from Rosemead Road Park where the Rosemead Management Trail starts. The wide trail undulates through high blue gum forest and ferns for about 2km before descending stone steps toward Berowra Creek. You will pass a turnoff to Majors Road which is the GNW heading off to Galston.
Further down there is a lookout over Berowra Creek which is nice, but it is worth taking the small side trip down to the creek crossing at fishponds. Fishponds is a lovely water hole with concrete stepping stones over it. Unfortunately swimming is not allowed due to pollution runoff. This was once the GNW track but the route was changed to the Majors Road track in 2016 to avoid passing behind the rifle range as it was considered too dangerous.
From fishponds we head back up to the lookout and then follow the GNW track towards Thornleigh. After crossing a fern filled gully the track wanders alongside Waitara Creek passing sandstone overhangs and cascades that are flowing well from our recent rain. At the washpool we cross the creek and the track heads up to the top of the ridge. This section is quite steep and has a bit of rock scrambling.
Once you reach the top of the ridge the track splits with the right hand fork heading to Thornleigh and the left fork heading around the mountain and back to Hornsby. We leave the GNW track behind and follow the Blue Gum Walk sign to the left. The track is quite well signposted throughout, we did refer to our phones a couple of times to reassure ourselves, but it would be pretty hard to get lost. There are much fewer people along here. This section does not seem to be as popular as the walk down to fishponds or the GNW, although we did start quite late so maybe most walkers have finished for the day.
The track undulates along the side of the valley through a sea of ferns and blue gums, quite muddy in places. A set of wooden steps takes us down to a concrete section of management trail and before you know it the trail meets up with the road near Ginger Meggs Park. It is about 500m along the streets back to the car and as we pass the West Hornsby Water Treatment Plant we wonder if an upgrade here might make fishponds water hole suitable for swimming??
