Past adventure.
 

ADVENTURE REPORT
Last Sunday morning 15 brave and determined adventurers meet up in the drizzly rain in Chatswood West. Each one I’m sure inwardly wondering whether it had been a good idea to come or not. The heavy overnight rain in parts of Sydney and the dubious weather forecast suggested it was going to be a very wet, muddy and slippery day.

What eventuated however was the opposite. Miraculously after our car shuffle to the start and some warm coffees shared, the weather cleared.  The remainder of the day was overcast but fine. The track was wet in spots, but the little creeks and waterfalls that had popped up overnight added to the charm.

On a side note, a few of us donned on a bit of green for St Patrick’s Day. A leprechaun was even sighted in the group.

Our walk took us a little over 5.5 hours to complete. Highlights included  … the impressive Woolwich Dock carved out of the sandstone hill, an industrial facility created in a bygone era but still operational; Kelly’s Bush a heavily wooded reserve nearby that was saved from  housing development in the late 1960s by  determined local residents and the first trade union green bans; the back streets of Hunters Hill dotted with their stone cottages and impressive homes; and the Lane Cove National Park with it’s beautiful river views and bush tracks.

After lunch, the walk through the bush continued and the group naturally split into hare and tortoise groups. The hare group were keen to finish quickly and raced ahead. A wrong turn however took them on a parallel route on the wrong side of the river and added 1.5km to their journey. They actually arrived at the same time as the tortoises but from a different direction 😂.

The walk done, most involved car pooled back to the start again and enjoyed a drink and further chatter at the Woolwich Pier Hotel.

Another great walk with the great company of Bernadette, Carlene, Carmel, Eileen, Jacquie, Jenny, Marian, Marina, Mary, Mary-Lou, Narelle, Nick,   Richard, Rosie, and Susan.

Until next time  …
Yours in adventure Rosie & Nick

DETAILS
A 14.7km urban and bush walk from Woolwich to Chatswood West roughly following the route of the Great North Walk stage 1. It’ll take about 5 hours. We’ll walk around the amazing old Woolwich Dry Dock carved out of the headland then meander through the back streets of Hunters Hill where we get to see and admire the beautiful sandstone cottages. We then hit the majestic Lane Cove River that we’ll follow for the remainder of the way. We end up at the entrance of the Lane Cove National Park. The first half of the route is mainly on footpaths, the second half mainly on dirt bush tracks.

This is a one way walk so we’ll have to car shuffle before and after. We meet at the end. Tap the Meetup Button below for directions. We’ll then consolidate into a few cars and drive to the start at the Woolwich Pier Hotel. There is street parking available at both ends. Be careful, some areas at the Woolwich end have parking meters.

As it’s a long walk, be sure to bring snacks, lunch, water, hat and hiking poles. We will stop for morning tea and lunch along the way.

>>> For a bit of craic, and a nod to St Pat on his day, you’ll be needin to wear a splash of green won’t yous, to be sure. It’d be frecken grand if you’d be considerin doing that now. <<<

Short course options: As we are in and close to suburbia there are many places along the way where you can checkout if you want a shorter course. Let me know if you plan to do this and I can advise you of your options.

Our route on Komoot.