Bushwalk Australia

I recently completed the next section of my journey along the Great North Walk: Somersby to Yarramalong .
I knew there wouldn’t be views but I didn’t realise how pretty the valley bits were. The Palm Grove Reserve was a lush jungle-like treat and a descent into a valley near Yarramalong yielded a moss covered creek that was incredibly peaceful to explore.
Lots of pics on my blog (they are too big to attach here)
https://solohiker.blog/2018/06/14/great ... rramalong/

Hi Solo, great write up on yr adventures!, i'm basically doing what yr doing , I started last week, I've gottened to Lane cove national park so far, my next planned section is LCNP - Sth Turramurra, i'm doing the hikes in one day stages

awesome! It’s amazing what is hidden so close to the city. The stages through Berowra are harder but very rewarding and accessible by public transport! I’ve just done a four day stretch from Yarramalong to Teralba as I couldn’t arrange transport for day trips. I’ll write that up soon.
Feel free to ask anything about the walk if you need to and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.

Thanks, over time, I've covered from crosslands reserve to mt wondabyne,as i live in the area , but after mt wondabyne, it'll be all new territory

I had planned a full through walk from Sydney, but I only got to Crosslands yesterday (12/9/'18) after 3.5 days, and to pull the pin after one of my knees became very painful.
So it looks like I will have to come back and section hike it. I think the constant ups and downs got to the knees and despite having hiking poles and a sub 15kg fully loaded pack it was too much for the old knees (66 years young). Such a pity that the track through the rifle range is closed, as it adds extra distance and climbing for no good reason. As Arnie said 'I'll be back'.

Oh no! Those ups and downs are quite steep and it really takes its toll. The climbs become greater past Yarramalong- around 500m up and down. It’s a pity you didn’t get to Jerusalem bay at Cowan as that is lovely.
Nothing wrong with a section hike- the beauty of this trail is that public transport is available to at least half of its length so may as well break it up. Hope you recover quickly. There are some lovely sights waiting for you on the rest of the trail!

I'll be back tomorrow (19th Sept') for another go, starting at Crosslands and this time I hope the knees hold up and get me all the way to Newcastle.

Well I made it all the way to Newcastle in a total of 13 days, and wow some of those ups and downs were a killer.

I met a fellow walker who was from Estonia, at the Ridge Top campsite and we walked together until Yarramalong, where he had to hitchhike to Wyong because of time constraints and his need to catch a flight home.

Certainly Jerusalem Bay was nice, but that climb out... My longest day was 28km, I managed to average around 18km a day overall. The Watagans were very peaceful, and I had them to myself most of the time, with just a rare 4X4 occasionally, and those views on the way to Heaton Gap were magnificent, and then that unexpected descent down to Heaton Gap in the dark... One of the highlights was the final stretch into Newcastle along all of those beaches.

My knees certainly didn't like the early cold mornings, but apart from that, oh, and did I mention the hills...

Well done!
Yeah some of those climbs are horrific! And that descent from Heaton gap was definitely unexpected. I finished up a few weeks ago too and loved the Newcastle beaches. I picked up some amazing shells for the kids.
Well done agin on finishing. Such variety of terrain on this walk. I miss it already.

Certainly Jerusalem Bay was nice, but that climb out...
He he he
Steep, ennit?
I have lost count of the number of times we have been up and down it. Good practice, keeps you fit.

Cheers
Roger