Friday 9/04/2021 Wollongong Botanic Gardens
Wollongong, NSW
Participant: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report)
This was a short excursion to Wollongong Botanic Gardens to try out my new camera on birds. The Canon EOS R5 is a very sophisticated camera, after many hours of reading the user guide and trying to figure out the various options I needed to do some field testing. What better than picking a pretty local with a reliable presence of birdlife.
Thursday 22/04/2021 Scenic World – Furber Steps – Railway Station – Federal Pass track – Dardenelles Pass Track – Giant Stairway – Echo Point
Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
Dharug Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
All four of us may have jumped out of the car together at the Scenic World Carpark but that was a far as I was going with them! They were very keen on a trial run over the 11km Ultra-Trail Australia trail running racecourse. Scheduled for May 13 the 11km event follows Narrow Neck Plateau Trail before descending the Golden Stairs and returning along Federal Pass Walking Track and up Furber Steps. Still in recovery mode from an Achilles injury, I was off for a walk by myself, with plans to see them along the way.
1/11/2021 – 3/11/2021 Charlotte Pass – Club Lake – Carruthers Peak – Mount Lee
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Distance: 29km Total Ascent: 1865m Total Descent: 1865m Time: 15 hours
Participants: Damien Aggio, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Tim Hager (Leader), John Mickan, Stephen Poole, Peter Whittle (1 day)
So far, my family and I have been very lucky to have escaped CoVid-19. We have largely kept to ourselves, masked up when around other people and obtained all vaccinations as soon as we could. We were also very lucky to have been able to take advantage of good snow-falls in mid-June and spend six days lift skiing at Perisher Valley. Being easily excited, I spent one of my first days back home diligently going through all my snow-camping kit and packing it ready for a quick getaway as soon as the next opportunity arose. It turned out to be a long wait between ski trips.
Sunday 15/03/2021 Banksia Walk – Batewarra Point
Batemans Bay, NSW
Yuin Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
With this short walk so close to where we were spending a couple of nights in Batemans Bay it was a great option to complete the day.
Friday 23/04/2021 Jamison Lookout – Princes Rock Lookout Track – Undercliff Track – Fletchers Lookout – Wentworth Falls Lookout – National Pass Track – Slacks Stairs – Jamison Creek
Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
Dharug Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
This walk turned out to be much shorter than we would have liked as the National Pass Track was closed at the track junction at Slacks Stairs. Despite this closure, it would still provide us with the opportunity to introduce Pablo to some cliff walking in the Blue Mountains.
Wednesday 21/04/2021 Bells Line of Road – Jinki Ridge – Dalpura Creek
Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
Dharug Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
After driving up from the South Coast to Blackheath this morning we found ourselves enjoying an early lunch at Blackheath and contemplating our afternoon activities. Sue pulled out the March 6, Sydney Morning Herald Traveller section, which was subtitled “Think you know the Blue Mountains”. In this article, we noted that local photographer Gary Hayes had recommended Jinki Ridge as his favourite local walk.
Monday 2/08/2021 Maloneys Bay – Bushrangers Bay – Beaky Cove
Bass Point Reserve,
Shellharbour LGA, NSW
Tharawal Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
Being in CoVid lockdown we were restricted to exercising within our LGA. Bass Point Nature Reserve fitted the bill, so off we went for a short walk that we have completed many times before.
Wednesday 11/08/2021 Cascades Rainforest Walk – Cascade Falls – Clover Hill Road – Macquarie Rivulet
Macquarie Pass National Park, NSW
Tharawal Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
We were looking for some relief from our CoVid lockdown within our LGA. To achieve this we set out with the idea of hiking the Cascades Rainforest Walk before heading on and upward to join Clover Hill Road and walk back via Macquarie Rivulet. The reality turned out to be very different, I really should start looking up current National Parks closures!
Wednesday 27/10/2021 Byarong Park – Mount Kembla Lower Escarpment Circuit via Stafford’s Farm & O’Brien’s Drift – Mount Brisbane – Mount Keira Ring Track
Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, NSW
Tharawal Country
Participants: Paul Blattman, Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies, Trish Law, Marie Mitchell-Stanley, Peter Stanley, Dave Whitelaw (Leader, Report) and 2 visitors, Robert and Deirdre
This South Coast Bushwalking Club walk led by Dave had been postponed from a week earlier because of rain on the MTB track. Once underway we headed out along our track which starts near the public school on Mt Keira Rd. Some of us managed a leisurely pre-walk coffee in Keiraville, thus ensuring a bit of urgency down the track.
Sunday 28/02/2021 Boyds Tower – Red Point – Leather Jacket Bay – Mowarry Point
Light to Light Walk
Beowa National Park ( Ben Boyd National Park, until September 2022), NSW
Yuin Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report), Pablo Ureña Vega
We were on a short break to Merimbula so decided to sample a section of the Light to Light Walk as a day trip.
We started with a short detour to the historic Boyd’s Tower located on Red Point. It was built by Benjamin Boyd but was never commissioned as a lighthouse. The lookout was closed and appeared to be fire damaged. From Red Point there were great views of the Pacific Ocean, Eden and Twofold Bay.
17/12/2014 – 19/12/2014 Snakey Plain Fire Trail – Wolseleys Gap – Jagumba Range – Snakey Plain – Wheelers Hut – Dargals Fire Trail – Broadway Top
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo country
Distance: 35km Total Ascent: 1550m Total Descent: 1550m Time: 15 hours
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report), Geri Louis, John Louis, John Meehan, Russ Pennell, Geoff Sim
After realising that since most of the participants in our party are now retired, our traditional, annual Wheelers Hut weekend walk could be moved to mid-week. This offering less road traffic and hopefully the chance for greater solitude. We agreed to meet on Tuesday evening at Three Mile Dam, just past the turnoff to Mount Selwyn ski resort. The temperature variation on the drive down was quite extreme – moderate on the coast (low 20’s), 37C whilst driving through Gundagai and then was a cool 12C at 3 Mile Dam. The March flies were out in force to greet us as we set up camp for the evening. A rain shower saw us scurry off to bed for an early night.
23/02/2021 – 25/02/2021 Olsens Lookout – Geehi Flats – Guthega – Mount Anderson – Mount Anton – Mount Twynam Tennyson Woods Knoll
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo country
Distance: 32km Total Ascent: 1730m Total Descent: 1730m Time: 15 hours
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
It was quite an adventure just to get to the start of this walk and what enormous anticipation there was in it’s planning. Our daughter, Beth, was only home from almost three years overseas for two weeks after her mandatory fourteen-day Covid-19 hotel quarantine with her partner Pablo. They had been planning for six months how they might make their journey to Australia happen.