AUSTRALIA - Arrawarra - april 2004

Arrawarra is small town on the east coast of Australia north of Coffs Harbour.

 

Arrawarra Beach is a long white sand beach. The beach can have excellent waves when the conditions are right. though i've been there a few times, only once was did it have good waves.

The point at Arrawarra head holds big waves but is a little sluggish.

 

There are a number of camping areas north of arrawarra that are very family oriented with great facilities.

We stayed at Darlington.

It is a good base to explore the local area.

CENTRAL COAST - Forrester Beach - HIKE - 1 October 2009

Park the car at any access point to forrester beach.

I walked along the beach about three hours before low tide and no sea swell. The walk along the beach was easy and pleasant. The rocks at the north end are easy to navigate and there are plenty of rockpools and flat rock areas. I walked until I had a clear view of the rocks and coastline ahead. Though it was pretty, I didn't go further. The walk back was striking due to the rock platforms being exposed by the extreme low tide.

grade: easy
time : depends on how far you walk along the rocks
warnings: do the walk as the tide is going low and little wave action.

CENTRAL COAST - Crackneck Lookout to Cromarty Hill - HIKE - 22 september 2009

Park at Crackneck Lookout for easy parking and great views of the northen part of the Central Coast. The start of the walk is at the southern end of the carpark. The vegetation varies from shady trees to open coastal heath. The track winds over sand, rock and raised wooden and metal platforms. Views of the coast and Tuggarah Lake are excellent. The views at Cromarty Hill extend from Forresters Beach and south.

time: 1 hour return
grade: easy with two sections of steep steps

CENTRAL COAST - Putty Beach to Little Beach - HIKE - 20 September 2009

I parked the car at Putty Beach and followed the easily defined track. Once off the beach at Putty the path is on platforms or fenced off from the sea at cliff edges until Maitland Bay. Views are excellent along the way with the track changing from beach to wooden platforms to rocks and finally to bush.

Once at Maitland Bay walk along the beach to the northern end where the track begins again but this time it is more rugged and steep. Views are excellent again. The track becomes a fire trail from Caves Bay.

time: 3 1/2 hours (pickup at Little Beach car park)

rating: easy to moderate

CENTRAL COAST - Birdie Beach, Jenny Dixon Beach, Norah Head and Soldier’s Point - HIKE - 24 August 2009

This walk can be done following the coast along Birdie to Soldier’s Beach or short walks after driving to each location.

The weather looked good to start off but distant clouds that were fast approaching lead me to choose the latter method of getting around.

The sun was shining strong on this winter day. I ventured into the water while photographing to cool off. The water was a little brisk. Birdie Beach is a very long crescent shaped beach. It would take a good few hours to reach the northern end. It is backed by small sand dunes. There a number of places to park along the beach.

Jenny Dixon Beach is a very pretty sandy beach with a backdrop of steep sandstone cliffs.

Norah Head has a car park near the lighthouse. The lighthouse has tours on public holidays and weekends. The lighthouse is an excellent backdrop over the headland. In front of the headland is a tessellated sandstone shore platform, perfect for easy walking. To the south and north are small coves and beaches.

Soldiers Point has a large carpark. The point is connected by a sand spit. To the south is Soldiers Beach.

CENTRAL COAST - Little Bay - HIKE - 19 August 2009

I parked near Little Bay at the entrance to the National Park track. A small sign indicates the start or there is more parking and another entrance at the end of the road.

The easy track passes through rainforest with the calls of many birds echoing from the bush. Large trees and ferns dominate the vegetation. The track joins with a small fire trail that leads to Little Bay. There are toilets, buns and BBQ available. Camping is also permitted.

Little bay is a long narrow cove with a pretty white sand beach surrounded on the northern and southern sides by high sandstone cliffs. The water is shallow with good surfing waves under the right conditions. A small creek empties into the sea in the centre of the beach.

I followed the base of the northern cliffs along small rocks and tessellating sandstone. After about 20 minutes walk becomes impassable. The views are excellent on the point and the cliffs are awesome. The possibility of a rock fall is evident with the large amount of fallen rocks that litter the base.

There is a track leading upwards from the centre of the beach towards the towering cliffs on the northern side. The path is reasonably steep. Once at the top there are some reasonable views over the ocean. The track at this point becomes a sandy fire trail. It is not an exciting walk though there were a lot of flowers in bloom on the trail edge. I followed the trail and along track 72. The view at the track 72 was obscured by high and thick vegetation.

Time: 1 hour return to northern base of cliff and 1 hour return to track 72.

Warnings:

Best at low tide
Beware of falling rocks

CENTRAL COAST - Lobster Beach - HIKE - 28 July 2009

 

Lobster Beach is located in the south of the Central Coast along a track from Pretty Beach. It is a short bush, beach and rock walk. The steep track path varies from brick, steps, natural and wooden platform.

I parked my car at High View Street, Pretty Beach. There is a small national park sign indicating the start of the track on the southern side of the street.

The walk starts as a paved brick track between houses. Soon there is a junction of tracks that lead to Tallow Beach in one direction and Wagstaffe in the opposite direction. Follow the track upwards along the steps. The houses give way at this point to a pretty bush setting. On the descent to Lobster Beach there are two rest spots with seating.

Lobster Beach is a pretty white sanded beach with a backdrop of trees and bushes. The view from the beach is of Umina beach and the surrounding areas. There are a compost toilets and rubbish bins.

I continued my walk east along the rocks. In some places, the rocks had fallen so that they formed arches to walk or crawl through. There were also many sea birds and the sounds of various birds on the bush side were vibrant.

My intention was to traverse the rocks until I reached Iron Ladder Beach and return via the bush track from Tallow Beach. Unfortunately, the rocks became impassable at a small cove before Iron Ladder Beach. I climbed the small sandstone cliff at this point but the bush above was extremely thick and also impassable. Luckily, the small cliff I had scaled had a concrete survey marker and from this marker there were uninterrupted and excellent views across to Pittwater, Broken Bay and Umina.

I returned the way I came via Lobster Beach and to my car. The journey was appropriately a 1 ½ hour leisurely walk.

Best: views, easy walk, quiet

Warnings: best to walk rocks at low tide, can be slippery in parts, steps are steep

CENTRAL COAST - Warrah Trig to Patonga - HIKE - 24 September 2008

Driving towards Patonga on Patonga Road turn left at sign for Warrah Trig. The road is unpaved until the end at Warrah Trig where it is paved for parking spaces.

The first part of the walk is the Tony Doyle track. A sign indicates the sandstone walkway to Warrah Trig. It is only a short distance to the Warrah Trig marker (176m). At this point, there are views over the Hawkesbury River. The track itself is a well defined paved path, mixed with some wooden walkways. The sounds of insects buzzing and butterflies flittering amongst the profusion of flowers are present along the higher part of the track. The track descends for about ten minutes, between a number of small sandstone overhangs and boulders that break up the vegetation. The track crosses a fire trail which leads to Patonga on the right and Pearl beach on the left.

Straight ahead is Warrah Lookout track. It starts off paved but after a short distance becomes a natural track passing by small, scribbly gum trees and banksias. After two minutes, a flat sandstone area announces the lookout with its glorious views of Broken Bay, the Hawkesbury River, Barrenjoey and Patonga. The edge cliff is fenced from a near sheer drop of 100 metres. This is a nice place for a rest while taking in the breathtaking scenery with its dizzying height to the water below.

Continue back along the track until the fire trail and turn left towards Patonga. The trail ascends for a short distance passing overhangs of sandstone. At one spot on the right, there is a large scribbly gum growing improbably from under an overhang with its root system spread over the rocks and deep within rock fissures. After five minutes, there is a signpost indicating a track on the left leading to Patonga. The track gradually drops for ten minutes until the last steep drop to Patonga. There is a great variety of flowers and small tea trees, gums and banksias along the way with a number of small tracks that turn off to the left towards the cliff. The views from these various points are awe-inspiring but care must be taken as there is a steep drop and no protective fences.

journey time: 1 1/2 hour return

best points: views, natural bushland, flowers

worse points: none

special note: This can be started from Warrah Trig or Patonga and in warmer weather, a pleasant swim could be had at Patonga or Dark Corner (a small beach to the left at the end of the track).

CENTRAL COAST - Captain Cook Lookout to Winnie Bay - HIKE - 9 August 2009

There is car parking at Captain Cook Lookout at Copacabana. The lookout isn't very impressive as trees and bushes obscure most of the view.

Walking from the carpark to the lookout there is a small track near the end of the wire fence. This track leads to Winnie Bay. It is heavily overgrown with bitou, which tends to make the track more like walking through a maze. The vegetation changes towards the bottom of the hill to native trees and bushes and eventually to cleared land dominated by grasses. While walking down the hill there are some fantastic views overlooking the ocean with shear drops to the water below and unobstructed views north to Winnie Bay, Avoca and the Skillion. The views alone are worth the walk.

Winnie Bay is a sewerage outfall, which is indicated by the sign saying don't swim and don't eat the crustaceans and don't eat the fish. I got the message. Once on the rocky beach there are headlands to the north and south. The north is an easy rock walk that can be traverse nearly as far as Avoca. The south walk only goes only a little further than the headland. The wave action here sends up plumes of whitewater and the backdrop of cliffs is very steep. A rock landing on your head is possible at a number of spots.

There are two other entry points for this walk. One is a fire trail and the other is a better maintained walking track that leads through the bush straight up the hill behind Winnie Bay. The track I followed though poorly maintained is more breathtaking.

journey time: 3 hours return

good points: views north, standing on the edge of sheer drops, isolation

worse points: lack of native vegetation.

CENTRAL COAST - Terrigal to Skillion - HIKE - 21 July 2009

Terrigal (skillion) walk July 2009

The walk can be started at Terrigal Beach or from the Haven. It is an easy 1 hour walk. This walk is best done at low tide with a small swell. The waves are more spectacular when the swell is running but it becomes too dangerous to proceed on the full walk.

Starting from Terrigal there are two directions either via the rock pool or follow the footpath above it. Via the rock pool, there is a short difficult climb from the rocks above to the rocks below that lead to the beach at the Haven.

Follow the haven beach, then along the rocks around the small cliff face. Eventually, a small bay is reached just before the skillion. From here, you can walk some distance around the base of the skillion until the water and rocks become impassable. Rocks falls on this part of the walk is a possibility.

Walking towards the road which winds around the skillion and to the left is a steep climb to the top of the skillion. There are excellent views from the top as far north as Crackneck Point and the Cape Three Points to the south. Surprisingly, there is a lot of bird life around the outer bushes of the skillion climb.

Follow the footpath back to Terrigal or via the haven beach and the rock pool.

CENTRAL COAST - Pearl Beach to Umina - HIKE - 5 July 2009

This is an easy 30 minute return walk. Park your car at either Umina Beach carpark or the street at the northern end of Pearl Beach. The walk follows the base of Mount Ettalong. The path is clearly defined and winds through vegetation, open rocks and along the side of the roadway. The walk has excellent views of Ocean Beach, Broken Bay and Pearl Beach.


Warning: watch wave action, falling rocks and slippery path.