CENTRAL COAST - Box Head and Tallow Beach - HIKE - 26 August 2009

To get there drive to the end of Hawkes Nest Road. The road is very rough but there is parking on the plateau above tallow beach.
The walk to box head is easy. The vegetation varies from sparse to very thick. At times there are large flat rocks with dwarfed trees growing in the spaces between the rocks. There are also views over coast, broken bay, Brisbane waters and Sydney. The track ends at the tip of box head. It is a great spot to sit rest and enjoy the views over Sydney and broken bay.
The track to tallow is a fire trail. At two points there are tracks to the right that lead to Little Tallow beach. The first track is a dry creek that leads to the centre of the beach. This is an excellent isolated beach. Strangely, the south end near shore had a large amount of dead small crabs on the shore. I followed this track to little tallow beach and then it leads onwards to the base of Box Head.
Returning back, the track stays high on the rocks passing little tallow beach and onwards to Tallow Beach. It is another excellent beach. On the return, an echidna was eating by the side of the fire trail.

Time: 3 ½ hours to box head and return to little tallow beach and Box head and return to car park.

Best: views, bird calls, isolation, beaches, dwarfed trees.