The experience
I took the train from Sydney city center all the way to Mt. Kuring-Gai and started off there. The entry to the track is a very simple, and not eye-catchy enough to be spotted wooden sign, covered by trees and all the shadows around, just by the end of the little Kuring-Gai town. It also didn’t mention anything about going to Bobbin Head (where there seemed to be a bit more people and attractions, and potentially safer for tourism purposes). “Shouldn’t be too bad,” I thought, “maybe once I start trekking I will reach Bobbin Head soon — and en route to Berowra.”
The beginning 2.5km was, normal but not really — exactly like what was described on the governmental website, there are almost no signs or anything indicating the direction, and honestly, not so much to see aside from the trees (but if you enjoy observing the dead woods, stumps, and dried tree roots — you are at the right place). The late morning was quiet, sun shining through from the treetops, the path was somehow flat, and there were no other people around (which got a bit scary once I got deep inside the woods).
(All photos by myself)
After maybe a km or so, the rocks start to take over. Whilst the path got narrower and narrower, more and more little and bulky rocks showed up on the way. Since I was out on my own, I got a bit scared at the beginning by all these rocks with no signs to indicate the direction. I honestly didn’t really know whereabouts am I heading to on the way — will I always be among the bushes, or there would be something else that I can hold up to? At that time, I just continued to follow the only path to move forward (and thank God, there was only one path. I hate making decisions).
After half an hour of trekking and jumping up and down the rocks (fun at the beginning, yet a bit exhausted at the end and my legs started to shake a little bit), I saw water from afar (that sense of joy hit me so hard!). Later on, when I approached the edge, I checked on the map and it’s the Cowan Creek (which was MUCH bigger than what I could observe from the grasp of the bushes). I trekked all the way down from the rocks and eventually reached the water.
Going down the steps, a breathtakingly beautiful scene awaited me. “I’m so glad that I came down to the water!” I thought to myself.
After sitting near the water for a bit, another big question hit me: should I move along the water or go back up to the rocks? That was a tough question — I knew I need to stay close to the water, but how close is close? And also, the latitudes are not shown on the maps anyway. I might need to climb up, but following the water can also be an option — although the road seemed really dim. And the only sign I saw on the way was a bit misleading.
I followed the water. And YES! It led to a thorough way among. Have to admit that the scene then was much better than in the bushes. Water can indeed calm people down — which made the walk so much more enjoyable. Also, there were some boats on the creek (aka. people!). For a solo trekker like me, this is a good sign of asking for help.
As I checked online for how the upcoming route will look like, I encountered the first turn at one of the bays, after around 20 mins of trekking.
Never had I actually anticipated that climbing over the shallow bays was the most challenging part on the track. Why? Because it’s somehow on the water, and have nothing for you to hold on to. You really need to use both your hands and feet to walk through. What’s more, the rocks on the way were slippery and sharp, with quite a number of them being “empty” down under (you can’t step on them, otherwise you will fall as hard as you could imagine because there’s nothing underneath). Some hardcore techniques were needed to cross over. Before I embarked on this, to the joy of being near the water, I happily ate my (one and only) energy ball.
Luckily, I successfully survived all 3 on the way, with the trade-off of making my valuable shoes dirty with all the muds (don’t wear white shoes for the trek!!!!). One valuable rule that I followed whilst going through them was to stay as low as possible when you were out on the rocks, so it won’t be too risky if you lose your balance and fall down. Otherwise, find the most concrete step point, high or low, and stick to that.
Not only crossing over the bays were challenging, but how to go back to the route after crossing them is also horrible (I meant it!). As there were the latitude changes, to go back to the route meant climbing back to the rocks (at least for a little bit, because the water was lower). Therefore, I was really trying my luck (and potentially risking my life) while trying to climb back. There were potentially several routes to climb up, depending on which rock you step onto — therefore, only with the help of the dead woods and the stable rocks, that I got to get back to the track.
After the second bay turn (see above), I was super delighted to see that Google Map indicated the Berowra track on the map. Therefore I tried to follow it as much as I can (by sticking to that little arrow). For some reason, I was walking along the water and the track was shown a bit inside. My crazy thought at that time was to actually “follow the route” — by which I found a rock and climbed up to the higher bush. Proved to me that I was wrong.
Potentially thought the track can be up on the hills, I found myself trapped among all the dried tree roots, dirt, and wild plants, and unstable rocks (it was really steep), trying to climb up. I was so exhausted, scared, and not knowing what to do, aside from trying to hang up to the closest rock near me. I was also far away from the water. It was so quiet all around — the birds weren’t even singing. Dead quiet. No help. And not even any signals on my phone. I cried to myself, “ I think I should call SOS — I need to get back to the water.”
Figuring out that up was not the way to go, I started to walk slowly back to where I climbed up. I walked for a little bit from where I started off up, therefore, it was a bit hard for me to find my way back, because EVERYTHING LOOKED THE SAME (dead trees, shrugs, everywhere)! Knowing how steep this place was left me with no choice but to carefully figure out a way down.
I slipped down the shrugs and the hays, with a little bit of luck hanging on to a big stip. Baby steps… I said to myself. Using all my power and will, putting my weight down and staying as close to the ground as possible… luckily, I got back to the route after two minutes of thinking about giving up.
I never felt so amazing after I came back to the waterside… yet not to blame me for making the wrong decision to climb up for nothing. You never know…
Another 30 mins of trekking among the water, I started to see some boats parking near the bay — and I saw three persons standing on the inside of the bay (and there was a little beach, to my delight)! After checking on the map, I realized that’s the last bay that led to entering the Berowra inbound. I made it!
It was almost 1pm in the afternoon. After saying hi to the people at the beach, I got into the forest and walked my last 1.5km over, yet back to the rocks and climbing my way up (because I was close to the water, as mentioned before — lower than the ground).
No other people on the track, not at all, until I almost reached Berowra. The last mile of forest walk was again quiet with no indications, but luckily, with only one path to follow. My legs were burning from all the walks and climbing ups! But I was closer and closer to where I wanted to go. Nothing too exciting at this end, just like a normal bushwalk. Got to see a lot of lizards on the way as well.
When I was wrapping up the last several little twists on the track, I met a mother and her 2 kids on the track. The younger brother was running on the tiny path when I walked towards them — and fell down when I walked past them. The mother laughed, got the little boy up, and told me “he was falling for you”.
Oh, how sweet!
Walking out of the park, 2pm sharp. Accidentally got into the last tweak before I found the way out inside the bush and took a turn (and my legs again got some light scratches from the trees)… back to reality never felt so good.
