Didn’t expect to see a goat | GNW
Hornsby to Galson Gorge | Approx. 9.2km | 4 Hours | Hard
Starting from Rosemead Park, the walk down the Rosemead Management trail is beautiful, all ferns and Blue Gums. At the three way intersection with a GNW signpost you can divert down to have a look at Fishponds, a lovely waterhole surrounded by sandstone cliffs. Although tempting, this is not a suitable swimming hole due to underwater dangers and urban runoff.
Back up at the intersection take the path marked alternative route. This track replaces the original great North Walk trail to avoid passing behind the Hornsby Rifle Range. The track zigzags up a steep hill to a metal staircase on to Manor Road. The surprise of the day was finding a goat tethered behind one of the house near the trail. Made me feel much better about finding the track a bit mountain goat like.
Manor Road skirts around Mt Wilga hospital and when you reach the end of Clarinda Street you go back into the bush. A lot of this walk is on management trails which makes for a more relaxed walk. There are a few spots where you are back to bush tracks and a couple of steeper sections just to keep it interesting.
Crossing Berowra Creek is via the historic Steele Bridge. This is actually just north of Fish Ponds and we are now back onto the original walking trail. The bridge was built in 1965 and is typical of bridges used during WW11 in the South West Pacific.
Just across the bridge we hear something rustling in the bushes and are excited to see a Lyre bird running through the undergrowth. We stopped to watch him for a while but can’t get any good photos as he is a bit camera shy.
The management trail continues climbing up to the top of the ridge to Tunks Ridge Rest Area, a nice camping area if you are the kind of camper who likes to carry all their gear. From the end of the management trail the track is quite steep down into the gorge, involving a bit of rock climbing and at one point metal steps drilled into the rock.
When you reach the road level the track heads down under the bridge and across the creek via concrete stepping stones. Many of the concrete posts were missing or loose so the crossing was a little tricky. We ended up stopping half way over to remove our shoes and wade the rest of the way. I guess the alternative of using the road bridge might have been better, although you are taking a chance with the cars as there is no pedestrian crossing.
This post is not a comprehensive guide to the GNW, more resources for these walks can be found at http://www.thegreatnorthwalk.com
