The great thing about the 12 Hike Challenge is that it forces you to find ways to get out into nature, when you really don’t have time. This month my weekends were occupied by birthday parties and illnesses so I had to look to a weekday to do my walk. The sun sets at 4:45pm so an after work walk was not realistic. Fortunately the sun rises a good two hours before I’m due to start work so I looked for options near my place of work. I had included a river or creek walk in the challenge for just such times as the Lane Cover River passes nearby. After a bit of research I soon discovered the Terry’s Creek Walk connecting Eastwood, NSW to the Lane Cove National Park. The full journey should take around two hours. Perfect!

I woke up at half past four and was travelling an hour later. Light had begun filling the sky by the time I reached Eastwood so I wouldn’t need my head torch. After a short walk along the roads I headed into the bush. There was a natural stormwater filtration system set up at the beginning of the walk to improve the water quality of the creek. The water did look clean and it was only much further along that a bit of frothy water appeared. The bushland was just a thin sliver between apartment blocks but it was enough to make me feel That I was in nature. There was no one on the track. With the thousands of people living nearby I would have expected a few people out running or walking. The people of Eastwood are missing a trick.

I soon came upon a small waterfall. I had no idea it would be here so I lingered a little.

The vegetation along the track changed a few times and even became fern filled in places.

The traffic could always be heard in the distance and the walk soon passed under an overpass. No one was at home. I appreciated the graffiti here more so than I did on the cave further back. Some folks are just thoughtless.

There was some simple but informative interpretive signage along the way and I thought that it was a good model to use on other tracks. (It had a directional arrow with a short description of the area). The vegetation became quite lush in places, especially around Browns waterhole where the trees were dressed in greenery. Bellbirds sang out and I was so mesmerised by them that I missed my turn off, taking a Great North Walk link track rather than the main track!

Having lost ten minutes to my little side trip I decided to jog a bit. I’ve developed a low impact jogging style that is a kind off cross between a power walk and a jog and probably looks ridiculous! But it increases my speed by 50% and doesn’t hurt my knees or shins.

When the Terry’s Creek Walk ended and I entered the Lane Cove National Park there were suddenly walkers and runners and cyclists everywhere! Good on you Epping folk!

The final stretch led me across a small set of stepping stones across the river before a last climb out of the valley. I got to work on time but ended up spending ten minutes “ironing” my shirt under the hand dryer! After I changed I strolled up to my desk to begin the day a little tired but very energised!

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