2013 October: Climb Peak Hill in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park - NSW, Australia
Prolog
This excursion is organized by Sydney Bush Walkers Club ... mostly off-track walking, plus detours to a prehistoric Aboriginal art site and to Mud Point.
Peak Hill
Peak Hill, 180 meters high, is a small hill just south of Brooklyn in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. From the top, there is a fantastic view of the mouth of the Hawkesbury River.
This photo of Peak Hill is taken from the north-west.
This one is taken from the south-west.
Timeline & Route
09:01 0.0 km - From Hawkesbury River Railway Station, head for the trail which starts at the end of William St
09:24 1.4 km - Get off trail and start bush bashing to Mud Point
11:32 5.1 km - Reach Mud Point
----- Rest for 14 min
11:46 5.3 km - Leave Mud Point, retrace some of the steps, then veer off towards Peak Hill
12:43 7.0 km - Reach Peak Hill
----- Lunch for 47 minutes
13:30 7.1 km - Leave Peak Hill
14:10 7.9 km - Reach Sandy Beach
----- Explore around the beach for 17 minutes
14:27 8.1 km - Leave Sandy Beach
14:48 9.0 km - At Dead Horse Beach
14:58 9.4 km - At Parsley Bay
15:14 10.5 km - At Angler's Rest Hotel at Brooklyn (corner of Brooklyn Rd & Bridge St) for a cold beer
----- Total 6 hr 15 min; 10.5 km
KML file
Our KML file of the route can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSYVZ0Z3FqNG1jNDA/edit?usp=sharing
The detour to an Aboriginal art site where prehistoric hand prints can be found, is edited out of both the KML file and the above map. This is to prevent graffiti nuts from going there to vandalize it.
Walk Description
09:01
10 of us meet up at Hawkesbury River Railway Station. At 9:01am, we are on our way ... 1 minute behind schedule ... all because I was late :-)
The first 1.4 km is over the same trail as the Oxfam 100km walk I did in 2011 ... refer
http://mntviews.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/oxfam-sydney-100km-trailwalk-australia.html
I had walked over this section countless times as training exercise for the 100km. Feels nostalgic now that we are going over the same trail again.
At the end of William street, 290 meters out from the railway station, there is a steep uphill stretch. One sure fire way of telling whether a person is suitable for a quick pace over the Oxfam 100km walk is to test how fast he can walk up this steep slope. Well, the guys in this group can all walk pretty fast here without the need to take a breather ... these guys are serious, they take no prisoners when walking!
09:25
1.4 km later, we turn south and start bush bashing to Mud Point. I love bush bashing ... but it would be so much nicer if there is no vegetation blocking the way while bush bashing.
Here is a termite mound built around a grass tree ... a most unusual sight.
What a view !!! The bridge at the centre of the photo is the Pacific Highway over the Hawkesbury River. Where the yachts are is the Sandbrook Inlet.
We make a detour to a prehistoric aboriginal art site.
There are a few aboriginal hand prints on the cliff face. When they leave hand prints here, we call them art. When we leave our hand prints, they will be branded as graffiti.
On our way to Mud Point ... nice scene of the rolling hills of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Very close to Mud Point now ... looking at Porto Bay
11:32
Arrived at Mud Point which is a little knoll overlooking Porto Bay
11:46
We have a bit of a rest at Mud Point, then it is off to Peak Hill ...
Here is its southern slope.
Some rock scrambling is required to climb Peak Hill.
12:43
Made it to the top of Peak Hill !
From the summit are these views of the mouth of the Hawkesbury River ... love them !
Lunch is on top of Peak Hill.
13:30
Leave Peak Hill for Sandy Beach.
14:10
Sandy Beach - a remote and lonely beach.
The beach is full of crab holes ... The crabs feed on detritus in the sand, leaving the tell-tale rounded pellets of discarded sand all over the surface.
These are culprits of the holes ... the crabs' scientific name is Mictyris.
At a nearby rock face is this tiny orchid growing horizontally.
15:14
Of course, a walk is not complete without a cold beer ... make it several cold beers. I love hiking ... especially so when it is a short hike and long drinks.
(At Angler's Rest Hotel in Brooklyn)
"There are a few aboriginal hand prints on the cliff face. When they leave hand prints here, we call them art. When we leave our hand prints, they will be branded as graffiti." - Bit of an unusual comment.
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