Day 2 – DeBurghs Bridge to Hornsby (Neil)

From the view of a first timer:

Today’s walk will take us up through the remainder of the Lane Cove National Park, over the railway bridge at Thornleigh, and down into Berowra Valley Regions Park, the highlight being the Fishponds, a deep water hole with flowing water that had shaped large boulders “sink holes” along the river bed. The day will finish with a tester right at the end of the walk, the old sandstone steps that take you up out of the valley to Hornsby Railway Station .

For those living north of Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle it was another early but much anticipated start to the weekend. 5.30 am, a whole 30 minutes later than the previous week “what a luxury”. Filled with some confidence that I had survived the previous week, but a little apprehension about the new challenges of the day, today is 17km !, surely there can’t be much native bushland in suburban Sydney between Gordon and Hornsby!

This was real Aussie bush from the start, and before long there was the familiar steep rocky climbs following a clearly defined trail chiseled into the rock, each step there in front of you “somebody had to make these steps! How long would that take? Its long enough just to walk on them!”.

This was obviously familiar bush walking territory for many, over many years ‘an historic track’ yet the environment remained rugged and unspoilt. You could have been walking in remote bushland except for distant traffic noises and the site of some homes that enjoyed the luxury of facing onto a National Park. The morning break was taken at an elevated sports oval in South Turamurra (Thornleigh Oval) with the luxury of a toilet and a sausage sandwich for some.

Here comes another steep climb, followed by the reward of even ground or even a fire trail. Yes there are some new faces that joined the day, old friends from previous treks for some, new friend for others 27 in total today.

A much earned lunch was taken on an elevated rock platform, time to restore spent energy and dry the socks. Time to take in the surroundings, while a smaller group took a short tour to what was formerly known as Blackfellows Head.

The day finished with a strong sense of accomplishment and reward for the efforts of the day “I have made day 2!”. There are moments in the day when those climbs just keep coming, when you may not have felt so enthusiastic, those zones of discomfort, but its all in perspective now. The contour map handed to us during the day indicates that there are much greater challenges ahead.

Neil


Fishponds


Fishponds






Height Chart