Yarramalong to Cedar Brush | GNW
Longest road walk of the GNW
Yarramalong Valley | 11 | Easy
This 11 km section of the great north walk is skipped by some as it is the only section that is all road walking. Others, including Jen and I, see it as a relaxing stroll through Yarramalong Valley. A lovely opportunity to soak in some rural views.
Starting from the village of Yarramalong we follow the road north, crossing a bridge over the Wyong River, and soon pass St Barnabas, the oldest church in the Wyong Shire. This church was constructed by community volunteers, from local timbers, and opened in 1885. The congregation moved to Wyong in 1977 and there is a permanent conservation order on the building. In recent years services have resumed at St Barnabas, which is now an ecumenical church. This means that people of various religious persuasions worship here at different services conducted by visiting ministers. It can also be hired for weddings, christenings and funerals.
After our brief sightseeing break at St. Barnabas the walk continues along undulating roads, past green pastures and curious cows. For the most part there are no shoulders on the road and we have to walk on the bitumen. We need to keep an ear out for an approaching traffic and keep switching from one side of the road to the other depending on which give the best view of the road ahead. The sides of the road are often overgrown with tall grasses and various flowers including beautiful pink roses. It reminds me a bit of hedge rows in the English countryside.
After about 3.5 km we take a left along Brush Creek Road, following a GNW marker to ‘Cedar Brush’. A white timber bridge takes us over the Wyong River again, past more farming properties and an olive grove. Brush Creek Road soon turns to gravel and the sides of the road become more heavily tree-ed (is that a word?). There are some lovely properties along here and we entertain ourselves by deciding which ones we would buy if we ever had the financial means to do so.
Walking on the road for hours sounds like it should be fairly easy but I actually found it quite hard on my knees and feet. The weather today was intermittently rainy which probably didn’t help. Horses standing forlornly in the fields didn’t look any more impressed with the rain than we were.
The walk finished at the Cedar Brush Creek Trackhead where there is a GNW sign and a stile to cross over. As we arrive at the car we had left here earlier, we meet a couple who had started a walk along the next section, but had to beat a retreat from the onslaught of leaches. We watch them removing the little creatures from their socks and checking each other for more. Maybe ‘Cedar Brush to the Basin’ might have to wait for next winter, when the blood suckers are less active.
