Wednesday 27 February 2019

Broulee Beach from the Lookout

Shark Bay and the Island

Leaving the beach

Broulee Bush

Betty on another walk

Photos by Karen

Wednesday’s Batemans Bay Bushwalkers hike turned out to be much more than just an enjoyable walk.  It was also an historic event –  the last walk Betty Richards was to lead for the Club.

Betty has been leading walks for Batemans Bay Bushwalkers for over 30 years.  Being a bushwalking leader not only involves guiding a group of people through the bush.  It is also many hours on foot with map and compass, exploring forest roads and tracks and linking them together to make an interesting circuit.  Betty particularly enjoys getting off the beaten track, and she usually follows narrow trails made by dirt bike riders through gullies, along creeks and up and down hills.  And when she can’t find a track to make a circuit, she uses her innate bush compass to bash from one ridge to the next.  Betty has led us to old mine shafts, rocky outcrops covered in rock orchids, along lush creek beds and to the top of mountains for some spectacular views.

However, retiring from leading walks doesn’t mean retiring from bushwalking altogether.  In her late 80’s, Betty is a testament to an active life spent outdoors and she will continue to join us on our hikes – she just won’t be the one in the front any more.

Back to Wednesday’s walk – it was a fine day to enjoy Shark Bay, Broulee Island rock platforms, Broulee Beach Lookout, and tracks through the Bangalay Sand Forest behind the beach – complete with a sighting of 4 glossy black cockatoos perched in the banksias.

Karen

Sunday 24 February 2019

Deborah, Anne, Jan, Nancy and Jane dwarfed by nature.

Leader Mary with Heather points out a habitat tree.

A lovely nesting site for a lucky bird or perhaps a possum?

Pausing along the track.

Jan steps lightly over a tree trunk with a helping hand from Jane.

This ‘find’ was a little out of the ordinary on a bush walk!

One of two dams we came across.

Walkers disappearing from view.

Photos by Carol, Denise and Mary

Walk leader, Mary was more than a bit stunned when 30 BBBW’s turned out for an easy Sunday morning stroll through the Illawong Nature reserve. Many members had no idea that this sanctuary was hidden behind the trees that line busy George Bass Drive or that it is also an event venue, dotted with secluded cabins and even an iconic caravan that looks some what like a spaceship that has just landed.

Tall trees gave way to lower grassy land before the group wheeled around to go back into the forest. There, another surprise awaited walkers– tucked in between the trees was a Tesla recharge station. The 30 walkers were momentarily silent as they absorbed this unlikely information. Well, you never know what you will find in the bush!

Thank you Mary for such an enjoyable Sunday morning.

Denise

Thursday 21 February 2019

Leader Denise tells the group about the history of ‘Tuross House’.

One of the many views of Tuross waterways.

Jane and Deborah at Memorial Park.

Bev and Carol and some natural flotsam on the beach.

Walkers and reflections.

Different colours at the lake entrance.

Rob provides some hints on navigation using various aids.

Panorama of rocks, beach and sea.

Photos by Carol, Erika and Mary

Denise led 20 hikers on a pleasant walking tour of Tuross Head. It was a great turnout for the first club walk of the season and the weather was kind to us – partly overcast and not too hot.

Being a Tuross native Denise knows all the public lanes between homes that allowed us to see most of Tuross without hiking on the roads. Our first stop was a history lesson, “Tuross House” – the first cottage built in the area by the Mylott family in 1870. Their daughter Eva became a famous opera singer and apparently is the grandmother of the actor Mel Gibson.

From there we hiked to Coila Lake and around to the beach with morning tea at Memorial Park. The hike then took us to One Tree Point and inland along the Tuross River inlet to the Tuross Boatshed picnic area. The walk ended with a stroll through the forested Chatham Park. With all the chatting going on as hikers caught up with each other after the Christmas break no one realized they had done 8.5kms. Well done Denise.

Rob

Friday 15 February 2019

Borang Lake Paddle Route

Shady lunch beach

Giant staghorn

Another of many

Photos by Karen

Borang Lake is part of the Tuross Lake/River system and can’t be accessed directly because it is surrounded by private property.  We launched at Horse Island Bridge and navigated the narrow channel beside Cambathin Island before finding the opening to the lake.

Borang is a long narrow waterway, quite small and reasonably sheltered with a few bays to explore along the way.  The weather was fine, the breeze gentle, and our group enjoyed a leisurely cruise enjoying some sights not open to bushwalking.  About 12 km.

Karen

Thursday 31 January 2019

Lin and Karen.

Bob out in front.

Lunch in the shade.

Mary and Leader Ian.

Barry, Jenny and Lin.

Ian, Kay and Jenny.

Erika and Philip.

We beat the forecasted high winds back to shore at the end of another lovely paddle.

Photos by Erika and Mary

Monday 14 January 2019

Preparing to launch.

Jenny and Karen enjoying the tranquility of the river.

Sea Eagle patrolling on the Buckenbowra River.

Leader Ian hugs the river bank while keeping an eye out for fauna and flora of interest.

The contrasting colours and reflections on a shallower part of the river.

Kayakers patrolling on a more open, deeper section of the same river.

Disembarking at lunch time.

Lunch on one of the many sandy beaches along the river.

Photos by Erika and Mary