Day 3 - Hornsby to Berowra Waters (Lesley & Ian)

Friday was a wet day on the Central Coast and I eagerly kept an eye on the weather bulletins about Saturday's weather. Thankfully the news was good and so I started to salivate about Saturday's walk starting in Hornsby and finishing at Berowra Waters.

My partner Lesley and I slept quite soundly the night before, and rose around 5:10 AM. After showering, dressing, final packing the backpacks and having a little breakfast, we set off for Berowra Waters around 6:30 AM. We arrived around 7:10 AM and met with the other walkers. In all we numbered 33 including the baby India.

We drove to the Rosemead Road access point and met with Helge and a number of school children who were setting out for a weekend's walk. Thankfully Peter lead us off fairly quickly so we could remain ahead of the children.

The day's first leader was Sue who must have had a good breakfast to be setting such a fast pace up the hills. This was just to get to the Fishponds. From the fishponds Sue continued to lead and soon a small cohort of six were moving well ahead of the others until the historic Steele Bridge where we stopped for others to catch up.

The first six had stretched the walkers so by the time the first 25 or so arrived at the bridge, including Peter, some people were itching to get along to Tunks Ridge for a spot of morning tea. Ian waited for Kerrie as she was carrying the snacks, while Lesley and I waited for the arrival of Donald and Bronwyn with their baby India. Bronwyn is my sister and India is their cute and angelic child. After most of the stragglers arrived the remainder of us set off up the steep and long rise to Tunks Ridge. We were pleasantly surprised to find a commodious composting toilet - single seat only, now positioned within the Tunks Ridge reserve. After morning tea in the lovely sunshine we set off for the next part of our walk - to Galston Gorge.

Most of the walk to Galston Gorge is along ridgetop and soon after leaving Tunks Ridge we could discern the traffic on the Galston Gorge Road. We soon were climbing down the steep slopes leading down to Galston Gorge and Berowra Creek. Some of the group stepped across the stepping stones while most others walked over the bridge. At the northern end of the bridge we waited with the two roosters who seem to have made a home in this small area.

Peter made us wait for all the walkers and grouped us closely together so none of us would get lost on the next stage to Crosslands. While we waited for all to arrive, Ian handed out jelly snakes for us all to indulge. This part of the GNW was very pleasant and apart from the odd car body, the bush had few weeds and was beautifully green after the bushfires a couple of year's ago. All in all, this was one of the most pleasant days I have experienced on the GNW, in this my third attempt at the walk.

At one stage, the track goes up a very steep rocky section and several intrepid walkers including Kerrie, Bronwyn, Donald (with India), Doug and Peter took the muddy option hugging the bank of the creek to remain as dry and clean as possible. The remainder of us went up the steep way and then worried about getting down to the track again. Thankfully there is a some help on the other side.

We were soon in Crossland and here we could enjoy lunch and more civilised toilets. Lunch was very pleasant, enjoying the dappled sunshine. After lunch we set off for Berowra Waters. Soon after Crosslands we walked through a wheelchair accessed area then over more uneven ground. At Calna Creek, several of us more experienced GNW walkers were disturbed that the Dept. of Lands had fixed up the bridge. No longer a bridge as Luna Park would have built, but a much safer, blander version.

Neil would have liked a group photo, but Sue again set off at such a pace we at the pointy end of the group chased after her. At the rise from Berowra Creek to Sam's Creek, we regrouped so no one would get lost at this point. Peter and I handed out fruit jellies for us all to have before the assault on the rise out of Sam's Creek. Much of this part of the GNW had been done up with new railings and stairs to make the climb easier. Still, this is a testing part of the day's walk.

Thankfully, the view from the top is well worth the effort, spotting where we had been for most of the afternoon. We then walked along the ridgeline and enjoyed the views of Berowra Creek. Soon we were descending the hill to Berowra Waters, enjoying the views of houses and boats and before too long, the day's walk was over. Most of us arrived by around 4 PM and soon afterwards, we said our goodbyes and made our respective ways home.

Lesley & Ian