Past adventure.
ADVENTURE REPORT
Last Sunday 8 keen walkers strutted their stuff through some obscure green corridors in the unlikely Sydney suburbs of Carlingford, Northmead, and West Pennant Hills. Despite obscurity these tracks provided such variety and beauty and yet were only a short distance from downtown Parramatta. Quite a hidden gem.
We enjoyed pleasant and quiet tree filled gullies and followed meandering paths and tracks, all hidden and under the noses of the populated areas above. Towering sandstone walls, huge overhangs, calm babbling streams. In one section lush vines draped from tree to tree like curtains, and glittered in the random sun rays that pierced the canopy above … quite Jurassic-esque.
It was mainly an easy track along concrete and dirt tracks but there was a section of medium and challenging undulations.
We followed Hunts Creek down stream past Balaka Falls eventually emerging from the tree canopy at Parramatta Lake with it’s stunning reflections in the open and bright sunlight. We then switched gullies and wandered upstream along Darling Mills Creek, a major feeder tributary to the Parramatta River.
A short distance up this second gully we came across an unusual manmade edifice, the huge 30m high flood mitigation wall. It’s a high dam wall like structure built in 1996 that spans the valley. It’s purpose is to limit the downstream water flow in times of heavy and sudden upstream rainfall. Without it Parramatta CBD and nearby areas would suffer bad flooding during heavy rain events. It was weird seeing this grafetti covered dam wall in the middle of the bush with no body of water beyond, then walking through a tunnel at the base to get to the other side.
Lunch was enjoyed on route at a picturesque spot on the DM Creek. On the final leg of our 16km journey, the group split in two with a few keen to do an additional 2.5km deviation.
Well done team, it was a great walk shared with the great company of Sue, Joanne, Jacquie, Alex, Carmel, Chantal, and Barb.
Until next time …
Yours in adventure Nick
ADVENTURE DETAILS
Extensively revised & added to on Sat 07 Jun 25.
An easy to medium 16km loop walk along some green corridors in Sydney’s north west linking Carlingford, Northmead, and West Pennant Hills. We follow docile creeks and pretty bush tracks all but hidden in deep ravines from the the suburban sprawl above. It’s mainly on narrow dirt tracks, some paths and maintenance trails, and a short urban stretch at the start and finish.
It’ll take 5 to 6 hours to complete including lunch. Depending on progress, there’s an extra 2.5km bush track option we can take towards the end if we can’t get enough.
Bring poles, snacks and a picnic lunch. We’ll stop and eat along the way.
Meet at the Tilted Cafe, opens at 6:30am. Tap the Meetup Button below for directions on Google Maps. From there we’ll drive a short distance to the walk start & end point. Free street parking is convenient at both cafe & start.
The cafe is not particularly easy to get to by public transport. Yell out on the whatsapp group if you need a lift. I can take 4 passengers from West Ryde Station. Others may be able to assist from other locations.
TRACK NOTES
After meetup at cafe, refer above, drive & park here. This is where we start & end the walk.
Our walk route on Komoot. The extended route.
PART 1: Hunts Creek Reserve, Hunts Creek, Balaka Falls Circuit, Hunts Creek Reserve Trails.
MID POINT: North Rocks Rd
PART 2: Speers Rd Reserve, Darling Mills Creek, Darling Mills Basin, Murri Yanna Walk, Bidjigal Reserve, Darling Mills Track.
EXTENSION: Bidjigal Reserve, Excelciser Creek, Darling Mills Track, Bald Hill Track.