Sunday 15 September 2024
Photos courtesy of Tom, KarenG and Helen. Walk report courtesy of DonnaG.
An impressive twenty four walkers joined Jenny for her inaugural walk as a walk leader for the Club. It was a great way to kick off the start of the final program of the year and the walk didn’t disappoint. The coastal leg of this circuit walk is the final part of the newly constructed Batemans Bay Coastal Headlands Walking Trail, which stretches from Batehaven to McKenzies Beach. We started at Malua Bay Beach and headed south. The surf was quite rough following a storm the previous evening which meant that a deviation was required to take us over the headland rather than along slippery smooth rock platforms. As well as being a route that many of the walkers had not walked along previously, we were also afforded some spectacular views from the cliff line of the huge swells out to sea. We made our way down to Pretty Point Bay and along some dry rock platforms until we arrived at a lovely protected area for morning tea.
Following morning tea we continued up to some stunning lookouts at the aptly named Pretty Point. Along the way it was obvious just how much work has been done to construct walking platforms, bench seats and viewing platforms for the new walking track. It was also pleasing to see the regeneration of native vegetation that had been decimated in this area following the fires.
Before too long we made our way to McKenzies Beach (the end of the Batemans Bay Coastal Headlands Trail) where a crossing of George Bass Drive was required to make this walk into a circuit. Jenny did a stellar job, ably assisted by Margaret our Tail End Charlie, getting twenty four walkers across the road and into the adjacent bush without incident. Of course no walk is complete without a little undulation so with a bit of huffing and puffing we headed up an incline where we continued along some nice bush tracks. These tracks joined a street with lovely elevated views to the east of Malua Bay which led us back to the start at the beautifully renovated Albert Bamman Memorial Park for lunch.
Many thanks to Jenny for showing us some new areas on your first walk as a leader. The impressive feat of completing the walk with the same large number of walkers that started was duly noted and we look forward to you leading more walks in the future!