At the end of 2018 my poor little town was beaten up badly by a major hailstorm. Hailstones literally the size of tennis balls and shaped like medieval maces smashed skylights and roof tiles all over town. It was a natural disaster and no household escaped, including mine. The SES climbed on our roof and fixed what they could and tarped over the rest but water still came poring into the house. Fortunately, we are renters so we simply looked for a new place to live and left the destruction behind!

Now, although I’m only five blocks away from my old house I’m seeing lots of new opportunities for bushwalks! I’m a short stroll from some engravings, an hours walk from Naa Badu lookout, and have a few new firetrails within easy reach of my doorstep. Every cloud has a silver lining!

So tonight after work I set off to explore the area around the Currawong Firetrail. My first stop was an aboriginal engraving. I had visited this before so only took a quick snap before joining the firetrail.

There were some lovely rock formations and a nice view. I could see a boat on Berowra Creek in the distance and was intrigued by an enormous house that had prime position in the bushland (must be right at the edge of the National Park).

My map showed that I should be able to link up to the Great North Walk but the route wasn’t obvious. I contemplated a bush bash and looked for a way in, but found the path at the exact point I had chosen to enter. It was well hidden and required climbing down some rocks.

My goal was a point on the map that showed a lookout. Well, to be precise, there was a point in one of my maps that showed a lookout that didn’t appear on any other map.

So after joining the Great North Walk I descended toward and past the point shown on the map. I backtracked and found a little trail leading to a cliff, but there were many trees in the way. I suppose with further exploration I might find a good vantage point, but nothing was obvious.

Not wanting to leave without something to show for it I checked the map and found a line of cliffs further along that came near to the track, so I headed for them.

I could see a glimpse of water through the trees so I left the track and pushed through the bush to reach the cliffs. I walked along the cliff checking out the view from each vantage point. It was what you would call “filtered views” but it was enough. I breathed it in, took my photos and headed on back. Well, I did consider exploring further along the cliff, but I hadn’t planned for that and the sun was setting so I decided that could be an adventure for another day.

On the way back I found a spot near my intersection that had a kind of bench and enough room for a single tent. I left the Great North Walk and followed my trail back to the firetrail. I then continued along the firetrail until it met back up to Currawong Rd directly opposite the engraving site. (I did notice along the way a huge cave or overhang in the distance below what looked like Nayla Rd. I might have to investigate – hoping it’s not private land!)

It was a fun little adventure taking no more than an hour. I did fail bushwalking 101 a little though, as I was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt on an 83% humidity day. Sweat was dripping off me! Best workout ever!

Note: I am claiming this as my January walk in this year’s 12 Hike Challenge. The heatwave is preventing any long hikes. I don’t do well in the heat!