Saturday 30 May, 2026

Heading off at the start

Looking out for whales

Helen R. tackling the rock platforms

A nice spotty

Rounding the point with a nice ‘lowering’ tide

Ladies getting to know visitor Beau

Photos courtesy of Lenore, Helen and Donna.  Walk report by Walk Leader Lenore.

Eighteen beach & bush walkers strode onto Rosedale beach on a perfect fresh Saturday morning to explore this superb coastline. The tide was high and the waves were lapping at the sharp rock platforms and rock pools. We passed Jimmies Island on our way around the point to Nun’s Beach (known as the “naughty nuns” by some). Jimmies Island (plural) is understood to be locally named from both our indigenous and settler origins.

The walk traced the beautiful small coves, beaches and headlands as we made our way towards Guerilla Bay. We walked along the cliff line with views back to Pigeon House Mountain and The Castle to the north, past the historic WW2 radar ruins and seal sighting platform at Burrewarra Point. In addition to the seal sightings, some made a successful whale sighting as we ventured around Burrewarra point with fine southern views of Gulaga and distant views of Barunguba. A morning tea break failed to deliver fresh muffins for all (as hoped), as we proceeded to navigate around Long Nose point with an accommodating lowering tide and settling swell. We passed Barlings Island, known as the place of origin of the Black Swan or Lady Berrima who became recognised as the queen of the area. Our last coastal experience took us along Barlings beach before venturing inland fringing past the recent Reflections housing development to appreciate the Bevian wetlands.

Following a lunch stop on the western edge of the wetlands, we proceeded up the trail to a knoll to take in the southern view to Broulee Island and Gulaga in the distance. Much of this close surrounding land has been zoned for residential development so it’s nice to appreciate the rolling hills and farmlands whilst it exists. A relaxed walk back through north Rosedale across Saltwater creek brought us back to our starting point. A beaut day out with all!

Wednesday 27 May, 2026

Elaine showing the way

Our visitors enjoying the morning out

Filtered views

Photos and walk report courtesy of Walk Leader Rob.

After 25mm of rain the previous day the sun emerged to give us perfect hiking weather for a short walk to Tuross Lake. There were five walkers,including two visitors who had driven past the “Lake Walk” sign many times but had never stopped, who enjoyed the walk down to Tuross Lake. I have led this local walk many times but it took a visitor to point out a kids cubby house high in a tree downslope from the walking track.

The walk time was chosen to ensure we had a low tide to walk across the mangrove mud flats to the lake and although is was a bit wet underfoot from all the rain this group was undaunted and was rewarded by great views of the Tuross Lake and nearby mountains. We were joined by Bob Thurbon for a fish and chips lunch at the Tuross Boat Shed. A pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

Sunday 24 May, 2026

Who’s got the most colourful gloves?

Steve D. and Rob in the ravines

Priya leading the way through the banksia

Climbing out from the ravines

In the rainforest under the cliffline

Gay descending down to the rainforest

Steve D. enjoying the rainforest

Steve H. at Egg and Onion for lunch

Photos courtesy of Steve H, Steve D, Helen and Gay.  Walk report by Walk Leader Donna.

Twelve hikers visited Little Forest Plateau to check out some new spots along the Tianjara Firetrail. We headed north to our first stop, and morning tea spot, at ‘The Ravines’ where we enjoyed the views out to the east. We also descended into the main ravine for some good photo opportunities.

Following morning tea we continued further north and commenced a short bush bash to the eastern cliffline where we descended down some rocks and into a beautiful rainforest. This rainforest was sheltered by dramatic rock walls and contained all types of vegetation from stunning tree ferns to moss covered rocks and fungi of all shapes and sizes. Whilst there was some debris that had to be negotiated at times, we were able to make our way under the cliffline and back up onto the plateau to continue to the next rainforest.

The next rainforest was just as pretty however the serenity was soon shattered by the screeching and screaming of Priya. Convinced that she was about to be abducted by aliens, the walk leader immediately checked on her welfare, only to discover that Priya had observed a leech on the ground!

Once we checked out this rainforest we made our way back to the firetrail and on towards Egg and Onion Lookout. The initial off track section to this western cliffline is now significantly overgrown with banksia however it was still manageable. We enjoyed our lunch with come sensational views before returning back to the cars for the drive home.

It was a great day of walking and thanks to all of those who attended.

Thursday 21 May, 2026

Leader Jenny in the ruins of the tracking station with some of her crew

Margaret was smitten with this little cow

Heading through ANU coastal campus

Last stretch along the beach back to the cars

Walk Leader Jenny showing the way

Having a pause in the forest

Gay amongst the ruins

Photos courtesy of Jenny, Seteve and Gay.  Walk report by Walk Leader Jenny.

Sixteen bushwalkers enjoyed a lovely walk and with ANU’s permission, we passed through the Coastal Campus and up the forest road.  The hike up Don Moir Hill was a slow climb, pushing through sapling regrowth.  The solid rock remains of the WW11 Telegraph Station and morning tea, were a welcome break before heading down the same route.

Continuing along the road and onto the start of the bush track, a very large black snake was spotted stopping everyone including Steve in their tracks. Again, we pushed through regrowth on old bike tracks to make our way towards better four wheel drive roads and lovely tall gum trees.

An easy gentle downhill walk to Kioloa Village and the beach, a quick swim and pleasant sunny lunch break before we continued the last kilometer along Kioloa Beach, bringing us back to the cars.

A very enjoyable walk.

Saturday 16 May, 2026

Bruce leading the way

Priya providing some perspective in front of the “big” spotted gum

Unusual tree formations in this forest

Karole, Lenore, Rosalie and Russell

Gavin finding something interesting on the spotted gum

Heather inspecting a spotted gum

Rainbow Lorikeet

Photos courtesy of Steve D, Bruce and Donna.  Walk report by Walk Leader Bruce.

Sixteen walkers set off from the South Durras Community Hall on a great walk that showcases all Murramarang NP has to offer; spotted gum forests, large trees, beautiful beaches and spectacular views from headlands accessed from the South Coast Track.

We started with a short walk through the village streets and then into the spotted gum forest; firstly along the ridgelines and then down into low lying areas, where we only found a couple of leeches. A short stop to look in awe at the “big” spotted gum and then down to Richmond Beach for morning tea. The tide was too high for the rock platform so we took the South Coast Track up over the headland, via some great coastal views, and then down and along Myrtle Beach. The water was so inviting a subset of walkers decided to go for a swim – apparently it was ‘fine once you’re in.”

The non-swimming members of the group headed onto Dark Beach where we had lunch and heard a (very brief) description of the famous geological unconformity, while waiting for the swimmers to catch up. After lunch we headed up off the beach and some more coastal views and then down along Emily Miller Beach and back to the cars.

Wednesday 13 May, 2026

A ‘standing up’ morning tea!

Getting to know visitor Gary

Margaret leading the way through some beautiful forest

Rob checking out the remnants of a logging bridge

Interesting fungus

An opportunity to don the wet weather gear

One of the ‘entertaining obstacles’ negotiated

Photos courtesy of Donna and Steve D.  Walk report by Walk Leader Margaret.

Nine walkers, including three welcome visitors, set out on our first rain-soaked walk of the year, with rain gear finally making its seasonal debut. Far from dampening spirits, the showers transformed the bush into a vivid tapestry of luminous greens, bringing the forest to life in spectacular fashion.

The walk combined sections of an old favourite with a cleverly reinvented route, adding both familiarity and a sense of adventure. Morning tea became a cheerful standing affair, while lunch was shortened and strategically timed to avoid the wetter patches underfoot. Along the way, several large fallen trees provided entertaining obstacles to negotiate, and the walk leader may – or may not – have included a very deliberate “slight detour” to keep everyone alert!

Despite the rain, the day proved immensely enjoyable, offering a refreshing return to a beautiful part of Termeil Forest that we had not explored for several years.

Sunday 10 May, 2026

Denise leading or is it tail end?

Gay checking out the water depth!!

Robin, Gay and Terry pushing through some vegetation

Tired Rob?

Terry, Gay and Robyn

Rob quite possibly talking about the Devonian period

Photos courtesy of Denise, Gavin and Gay.  Walk report by Walk Leaders Denise and Gavin.

Six walkers enjoyed this 10 km loop in spectacular autumn weather. The terrain was hilly, but the group managed a good pace and had morning tea in McCardy Creek. The creek was a series of ponds rather than a stream. Lunch was enjoyed on Black Flat Road in beautiful sunshine.

Welcome to our new member, Terry, who completed his third walk on Blitz McCardy.

Sunday 26 April, 2026

Old Blotchy

Photographing Old Blotchy

Climbing out of the creek stop

Morning tea by the creek

Walkers on a sunlight track

Photos and walk report by Walk Leader Mary.

The wonderful autumn sunshine and warm temperature enticed a good number of walkers, 14 members and 2 visitors, for a pleasant forest walk followed by a visit to the iconic large spotted gum, known by locals as Old Blotchy. A walk along the tracks of Brooman forest took us down to the creek, the site for morning tea. A climb up out of the creek led us back along Wire Trap and Fletchers Roads to our cars.

We then travelled a short distance along more forest tracks to another beautiful forested area to visit Old Blotchy, a famous, ancient Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata) over 400-500 years old. This magnificent Spotted Gum reigns supreme being the largest in diameter but not quite the tallest in the area, measuring approximately 58–59 meters tall with a 10.7-meter circumference. Not surprisingly for its age, several large limbs from the tree lie on the forest floor nearby. Along another track lies a group of large gums nearby which were also visited.

The group enjoyed lunch in the sunshine near ‘the’ tree, before driving back to the Bay.

21 – 23 April, 2026

Canowie Brook is in the Budawangs Wilderness Area of Morton National Park. It is a tributary of the Corang River which flows westward to the Shoalhaven River.

The BBBW visited the headwaters of Canowie Brook in August 2014, soon after a bushfire ran through the area. At the time, the absence of undergrowth made off track exploration of the long clifflines easy but the ash and charcoal soon made us very sooty! (see photo of Bronwyn Dunn, David Sledge and Wendy Matheus – they became very grubby but they were very happy to be there).

On this occasion five Club members attempted to repeat the exploration – a day walk and set up camp for two nights, a day of off track exploration, and a day’s walk back out. The weather was perfect – mostly cloudy, mild temperatures, cool nights, light winds and (almost) no rain. The campsite was very comfortable.

The first day’s entry of 12km along the established track from Wog Wog was straightforward and included a visit to the top of Corang Peak, always worth the 360 degree view.

Ian leading the way in the stunning Budawangs

Descending into Canowie Brook valley

Julie ascending Corang Peak with the Yadboro wilderness in the background

Panorama of Canowie Brook valley

Steve, Bruce, Lenore and Julie at camp

Three joyful hikers in 2014 soon after a bushfire in the same area

The plan for the second day worked very well except for one problem. It is six years since the 2019-20 bushfires and the undergrowth has come back with a vengeance! Our bush bashing up the western side of the Brook’s valley was, in places, horrendous – regrowth whipstick eucalypt, wattle, banksia, dense tea tree, cut grass with fallen dead timber mixed in. In places we could hardly see five metres to pick a route.

The vegetation was so thick it slowed our progress to a fraction of what we achieved in 2014. When we finally arrived and gazed down on the first target of the day’s exploring, the rainforest headwaters of Freemans Creek, we hesitated. We had to adjust our plan and decided, in the time left, to visit our second objective.

We returned down the eastern side of the valley, hugging the base of the cliffline, visiting the series of magnificent overhangs found there.

The overhangs were enormous, each one different in length, height and depth, some retreating up to 40 metres into the rock to almost cave like darkness. Many had extensive “beaches” beneath. The honeycombing in the conglomerate rock was spectacular, some of the best in the Budawangs. Many openings were accessible. One very cosy “room” had three windows, two with balconies, as well as a door.

The overhangs were a welcome respite from the morning’s bush bashing and we delayed our departure of each.

On the way back to camp we checked out the Burrumbeet camping area for those who had not visited it before.

Walk leader Ian

The deepest overhang and an extensive ‘beach’

Spectacular cave like honeycombing in a conglomerate overhang

Lenore and Julie ‘on the beach’ below the caves

Ian amongst some stunning formations

On the ‘grassy’ watershed between Canowie Brook (Shoalhaven) and Freemans Ck (Clyde)

Ian checking out the cave-like honeycombing

Emerging from thick tea tree scrub

The third day’s walk out was also uneventful but pleasant. We visited the Corang Arch, a traditional stop for any walker into this end of the Budawangs. We gathered upon its arc and another “Oh, what a feeling” photo was taken for the Club record.

Julie leaps yet another gap while Steve and Lenore wait

Corang Arch – ‘Oh What A Feeling’ group pic

Photos courtesy of Ian, Steve H. and Bruce.  Walk report by Walk Leader Ian.