Thursday 8 October 2026

Above Dark Beach

Karen and Pat

Recipient of the club’s 40 year membership badge; Pat Retter

Trekking through the bush

Martin and Ed discussing the latest conspiracy theory.

Mary in her element

An awesome milestone.

Photos courtesy of Brian, Helen, and KarenM. Walk report courtesy walk leader KarenM.

There was a good turnout on Thursday for our 6km Easy grade circuit through Murramarang National Park, starting at South Durras village. We welcomed 2 visitors on their first walk and hope they enjoyed themselves enough to come back.

Our route took us through the National Park to the west of the village on good tracks, before crossing the Old Highway to meet the Murramarang South Coast Track at Myrtle Beach carpark. It was deserted so we put this forest clearing with its many fallen logs to good use by pausing for morning tea, and to make a very special presentation to Pat on her 40th year of membership with Batemans Bay Bushwalkers.

Pat is one of the Club’s original members, still walks regularly and doesn’t look like giving up any time soon. She’s also the first member to reach 40 years and the first to receive a Gold Membership Badge to mark this milestone. Congratulations Pat.

The walk continued past Dark Beach and the amazing twisted spotted gum forest, past Emily Miller Beach and the stand of unusual many-trunked spotted gums, and on to Wasp Head. We stopped at the viewing platform on the Head to admire views of Wasp Island before heading down the sandstone steps to Mill Beach and back to the start.

Several of us stayed on for lunch in the picnic area behind Cookies Beach after the walk.

Saturday 3 October 2026

Photos courtesy of Rob. Walk report courtesy of walk leader Rob.

Hikers acknowledging why it is called Big Rock Road

Brian with his umbrella capable of sheltering a dozen hikers

A colourful crowd of wet hikers all smiling with the forest tree stump

Despite the threat of a wet weekend 14 hardy walkers set out on a new 7km walk in the Bodalla State Forest. The walk starts on Big Rock Road for before joining an old logging road. We then head into the bush along a winding bike track recently marked with tape before arriving at Stony Creek.

The walk then follows the creek line both in the creek and on its banks through a rainforest environment before arriving at our destination point.
At a curve in the creek where the banks have deep soils we see tall tree stumps remnants of giants cut down over a hundred years ago by axemen. The highlight is one stump with an interesting configuration of notches made by the axemen for their springboards We see one notch close to the ground then two closely spaced notches 1 meter higher. The obvious face made for a great group photo site.

I have been informed that this spacing of the upper notches was possibly made by two axemen, one left-handed, the other right-handed. Hiding nearby was an old spotted gum that based on its girth and height could be of similar age to ‘old blotchy’. The bush hides its secrets well.

We all agreed that despite the intermittent rain it was a good hike and one to be done again in sunnier conditions.

Wednesday 30 September 2026

Photos courtesy of Donna, Helen, Glenn and Brian. Walk report courtesy walk leader Glenn.

On a sunny day members enjoyed a lovely walk through open forest in the Long Beach area.
This walk consists of two loops and follows well maintained roads and tracks.
Following a bike track down into a gully we came upon a strand of beautiful tall smooth blue gums. We spent some time discussing the blue gums while also admiring the surrounding bush.
After bit of a climb out of the gully Martin found a suitable spot for morning tea.
Continuing on, our next loop brought us to another strand of blue gums that runs close to a small creek. Some of the blue gums here were closer to the track and larger than those in the gully.
After stopping for lunch we headed back to the cars.
A pleasant walk enjoyed by all.

Group shot

One TALL bluegum

Martin with the tree

Pleasant surrounds

The tree

Thursday 24 September

Photos courtesy of DonnaG, Amanda, and Helen. Walk report courtesy walk leader Bruce.

A party of 12 (including 2 visitors) went on this walk which was timed to highlight the spring wildflowers on the sandstone heathland at Ulladulla.

This year, we started with a loop around the South Pacific Heathland Reserve; first along the coastal headlands and then back along the Old Coast Road, which was built in the 1830s. Due to warmer winter this winter, we were a little late for some of the flowers and also flowering was a little bit more extended over a longer period than previous years.

Nevertheless there were still an impressive array of flowering on the Heathland including flannel flowers, Jervis Bay grevilleas, a range of pea species, mountain devil (although a lot of these had finished) and many others.

From the heathland we headed down to Rennies Beach and then back up to Warden Head and the Coomee Nulunga Cultural Walk. This took us through coastal casuarina, Banksia and wet heathlands to the lookout at Wardens Head Lighthouse and many spectacular coastal views of beaches and rock platforms, with views south towards Bawley Point and north to Jervis Bay.

After the lighthouse we did a loop through the Bangalay forest and back to the cars.

Making an entrance

Helen on the new boardwalk

The Crew with a View

Honey Flower Lambertia

The Lighthouse

Coastal flowers

Deep discussion

Enjoying the vista

Peaflower Fabaceae family

Sharon and Pat

Flower-lined-tracks

Some of us had lunch at South Pacific Heathland Reserve while others dropped into Lagom Bakery on the way home.

Saturday 19 September, 2026

Leave nothing but footprints

Action man Tom

A great shady spot for morning tea

Erika leading the way

Hope you’re happy now Gay 🙁

Phil making his way over the rock platforms

Phil and Tom checking out the crevice

Paper daisies

Photos courtesy of Phil, Erika, Amanda and Gay.  Walk report by Walk Leaders Phil and Erika.

Our walk started at the entrance to Narrawallee Creek Nature Reserve, just off Narrawallee Creek Road. The reserve is situated on the traditional lands of the Wanda Wandian people. We followed Buckleys Point Trail for about 500m then turned onto Mangrove Track. This track meanders through woodland that has a very dense understorey, creating the effect of a natural corridor. About halfway along Mangrove Track there was a break in the dense vegetation that allowed us to pause briefly by the banks of Narrawallee Creek.

Upon reaching the junction of Mangrove Track with Inlet Track we turned right and walked the short distance to beautiful Narrawallee Inlet, where we stopped for morning tea.

From Narrawallee Inlet we headed north along Buckleys Beach. At the end of Buckleys Beach, we scrambled over the fascinating rocks around Buckleys Point, where the relentless waves pushed torrents of water far up the passages and tunnels under the rocks.

Once past the rocks we turned slightly inland and followed the Burrawang Walking Track to Conjola Beach picnic area, where we had lunch. Burrawang Walking Track, true to its name, is densely flanked by hundreds of tall Burrawangs.

After lunch we turned onto the Silica Ridge Trail where, between WW1 and WW2, silica was extensively quarried. The silica was transported from the quarry via a tramline, over a bridge at Narrawallee Inlet, and on to Bannisters Head for crushing and shipping to Port Kembla for the production of refractory bricks for use in the steelworks furnaces.

At the junction of Silica Ridge Trail and Narrawallee Creek Road we turned left for the short walk back to our starting point.

Wednesday 16 September, 2026

Rob with what remains of an old bridge.

Rob and Steve enjoying their lunch break.

Hunting for gold in Bullock Gully where the fossickers path ended.

Crushed quartz rock left by the fossicker.

Steve couldn’t resist climbing into one of the accessible mine shafts.

Long, deep but very narrow excavations. How did they do it?

Narrow shaft. Clearly a one person job.

Clear waters.

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

Four walkers set off hiking to the old gold mines in the Clyde Ridge Roadarea. The route we had planned was modified when we started seeing a lot of pink ribbons downslope in the bush so we set off to do some investigations.

The ribbons started appearing on Mines Road South just north of some mine shafts. We discovered a recent 4WD track with freshly crushed grass and brush heading down towards Bullock Gully. The track stopped short of thecreek at a campsite with a walking track leading to the creek. There we found evidence of a fossicker who had been working the gravel beds and pools obviously looking for alluvial gold. There were many small pits and a number of piles of crushed quartz rock as evidence of the workings. We followed Bullock Gully for 500m until we met Clyde Ridge Road,seeing evidence of the workings all along the dry gravel creek bed.

We then headed up the road to the main area of mining activity. Gold was found in this area in the late 1890’s associated with quartz veins, so when the miners found a vein they dug long trenches some >10m deep and <1m wide. Other vertical shafts are 1m x 0.5m in size which were probably dug to see if a quartz vein extended to that area. When you see the size of the debris mounds and realise these were all dug by hand you can appreciate the effort involved and hope they had some good finds.

After a 4km walk back to the cars we had lunch near the bridge crossing of Currowan Creek. We all agreed this was an interesting days hike.

Sunday 13 September, 2026

A good spot for morning tea coming up

Scaring off the oyster catchers

Starting on the beach

Banks of the Congo Creek

Looks good enough to eat!

Karen G making her way through the dry swamp

Photos courtesy of Denise and Donna.  Walk report by Walk Leaders Denise and Gavin.

Seventeen walkers including two visitors, Rob and Louise, enjoyed a glorious spring morning in the forests around Pedro Point and Pedro Swamp.

The walk was 8km and began with 2km of beach walking heading south from the point towards Congo. The waves were rough, but the beach was sparkling. Sooty Oyster Catchers and Australasian Cormorants were all the living beings that we encountered on the walk.

We headed inland through some casuarina forest and after crossing Pedro Point Rd, we entered the banksia forests that line the Congo Creek. We skirted a rural property and then came back to the road. We headed north on the road for 1km and then turned west again into the spotted gum forest. Good views were had of Pedro Swamp.

We returned to the cars via some off track walking and some of the group enjoyed a sandwich on Pedro Point looking out for whales.

All in all, a lovely walk with great company.