Pat and I have now hiked through 69.1 challenging miles of the Great North Walk. Repeatedly it winds steeply downhill to creek beds and then back up steep ascents to bluebird skies. There are multiple rock stairs one could tumble down. And we constantly keep our eyes out for venomous brown snakes.
We’ve yet to take our backpacks for another whirl; thank goodness much of this trail has access to the local train stations. Planning that for hikers was brilliant. The Great North Walk was created as a means to celebrate Australia’s bicentennial in 1988. Much like what we discovered four years ago when we cycled the Great American Rail Trail, however, this walk is pieced together from many prior existing tracks and forest management roads. What hasn’t been brilliant is the fact that there is little to no maintenance, no one to reach for assistance and much of the information we access is no longer current.
On day five, after good food and brews the previous evening, we called for an Uber to return to the bottom of the Galston Gorge. We now had to trek from the other side. The driver shook his head; he’s a hiker. “Why would you attempt this trail? You should have called me. There are much better hiking trails, especially in Tasmania.” Though there were no extreme climbs, I was filled with anxiety because of the multiple creek crossings on slick rocks. The worst was attempting to cross the raging Calna Creek above the top of a waterfall. After completing the day’s trek, it was back to the Blue Gum Hotel.
On day six, with our backpacks, we caught the train to Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, in the early a.m. We dropped off our packs at a motel, and caught the train back to Cowan. This part of the trail began at the top of a ridge and we descended over several miles to Jerusalem Bay. On the way back up from the bay, we ran into two hearty looking guys with full packs who reported camping overnight and then partying in Brooklyn. We wondered how they found their way back up the steep management roads in the twilight.
We popped into the bar at the Angler’s Rest and were over the moon because they had Toohey’s Old, a dark beer, on tap. It’s our new best brew. The band, with members, our age, or older, played classic rock songs, and a few people danced to the tunes. Our room, above the bar, was fairly noisy but that didn’t matter to me; I quickly fell out.
Day seven was a race of sorts. The goal was to pack up our backpacks, move them to the motel across the street, grab a decent breakfast, and catch the train back to Cowan, which only runs once an hour. We successfully moved our packs, grabbed an omelet and coffee and caught the train We then hiked another 8.5 miles to Berowra.
The hike to Berowra Waters was arduous; full of steep descents over rocks. Four hours later, five miles in, at the water’s edge, we discovered house boats, a sea plane and large cabin cruisers. A cable-operated ferry also hauled a few vehicles across Berowra Creek. Unbelievably, we also found an Italian restaurant and splurged on fried prawns, buffalo mozzarella with pesto and tomatoes, and Italian bread with black truffle butter. This was a highlight, given that we usually wolf down a a few slices of cheese and salami at lunch on the trail.
As we had four more miles of hiking, we chased down Italian Colas, which were cherry red. And regardless of this oasis in the bush, as we attacked our last ascent of four more miles to the train station, we were quickly parched but our stride was much improved.
After learning that we could catch a ride on the postal boat around the Hawkesbury River, on the next day we went for it; taking a day’s break from hiking. Mail arrives at a variety of the small Hawkesbury River islands five days a week via this boat; the postman leaps off the boat with a bag or box of mail, hands it over to another person on land and then shouts all clear to the boat captain. The captain then returns to telling facts and stories about many of the settlements. We basked in the sunshine as the captain took the boat upstream.
On day eight, we were back on the train, heading north to Gosford. It was early morning and the train was packed with high school students. They were either reading, doing their homework or putting on makeup. We learned later that many of the students come from Sydney to go to a selective high school here; it’s public; doesn’t cost parents anything.
We dropped our bags at the Gosford Hotel and grabbed an Uber to the Mooney Mooney Creek track head. It was a fairly easy day’s hike. When we arrived at the top of Mt. Scopas, we had 360 degree views of the surrounding hillsides. For the first time, we ran into a young man, attempting to do what we are doing. He was the only individual we passed on the track yesterday and he, too, is having several challenges. At the trek’s end, we arrived at a train station platform and had to flag down the conductor. The platform is so small, only one door of the train opens. Back at Gosford, we enjoyed an incredibly delicious dinner at the hotel and were then invited to play their weekly trivia. I was astounded by how it operated and plan to share some ideas with my library colleagues back home.
On Day nine, after after a light breakfast and another Uber back to the same location, we hiked in the opposite direction to the Somersby Store. The trek was easier but as we crossed one set of rocks in the stream, there was nothing to prevent us from falling. It was like being on ice. And quickly thereafter, the trail disappeared requiring some exploration to find it once again. We treked through two rainforests. The last few miles were on roads taking us through the horse farms of Somersby. Tomorrow we do plan to hike with our packs for three or four miles.
Lastly a shout out to Kate Dellner for recommending we purchase Wright Socks. Best socks we’ve ever used for hiking several miles.
Cheers
Shevonne and Pat