SBW Magazine & History Project

MAY 2002 Print Post Approved PP 235723/01270 <note>Cover illustration signed: ALAN PRISHY</note>

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<note>Advertisement/Product Review - Inside Front Cover</note>

Amongst the vast array of day packs that decorate the shelves of outdoor shops, it's difficult to pick something with the right features, what with 101 different types of nylon, all sorts of different canvases, airflow systems, expanding pockets and neon colours.

So it's nice to know that if you're the type of person that wants simple robust functionality that reflects years of local bushwalking experience with solid locally made material then the BLUE MOUNTAINS TRIASSIC could be your best companion for many years to come.

by David Noble It's good to see a pack made in the Blue Mountains for use in the Blue Mountains. The “Triassic” features two shoulder strap sizes so that the pack can be properly hip loaded, sitting down comfortably in the lumbar region of the back. This is sometimes difficult especially if you are a taller person. The harness system also includes a thick waist belt and chest strap enabling a tight fit which is great when climbing over rocks.

The volume is large enough to allow a 50m rope and wetsuit to easily fit in and the top is made larger so that your stuff slides in and out with ease. The pack has a large front pocket for those essential items such as a torch, and a top pocket for the map and camera. The pack is large enough to be used as a weekend pack when no ropes etc. are needed. This can keep the bulk down and stop you from packing too much on those weekend bushwalks.

The “Triassic” is made from durable 12oz canvas which can withstand the abuse given to it in canyons and when walking through scrub. All the seams are double stitched and sealed to prevent failure. It is also very waterproof; on a recent trip down “Hole In The Wall” canyon, no water entered the main compartment despite a number of lengthy swims.

The pack is bush green in colour making the walker almost invisible in the bush. This is handy for sneaking up on wildlife with a camera or just blending in to the wilderness as you walk along. Good for those who like to keep the visual impact minimal too.

A quality Blue Mountains pack for our tough conditions, the “Triassic” carries a lifetime guarantee on workmanship and materials.

Overall an excellent pack for either short or tall with the 2 shoulder strap options. And great for canyons or short weekend trips.

NB: David Noble is a keen canyoner and bushwalker. He is also the discoverer of the rare Wollemi Pine (WOLLEMIA NOBILIS) found in 1994.

• Australian 12oz canvas
• Made in Katoomba the old traditional way
• 40 litre capacity
• Proper hip loading with 2 shoulder strap sizes for walking comfort
• Wide throat for easy loading and unloading
• Buckle up front pocket with internal divider
• Top lid pocket
• Extendable lid for overloading
• Padded hip belt with 38mm buckle
• Hip belt retainer for city use (conveniently holds the hip belt back and out of the way)
• Padded back (removable)
• Thumb loops on shoulder straps for more comfortable walking
• Internal compression strap for holding down your canyon rope
• Side compression straps for minimising volume
• Storm throat to keep out the rain
• Hard wearing Cordura base
• Price $159.00

ONLY AVAILABLE AT

Alpsport 1045 VICTORIA RD, WEST RYDE Ph 9858 5844

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THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER is the monthly bulletin of matters of interest to members of The Sydney Bush Walkers Inc.

PO Box 431 Milsons Point 1565.

The venue for the 75th Dinner was decided at the May General Meeting. Two venues were short-listed and their respective pros and cons were presented to the meeting. The basic premise was that the dinner should be value for money, and the venue have easy access and suited for social mixing and mingling.

The venue selected is the Harbourview Room at the Kirribilli Club. This venue is readily accessible by public transport, eliminates the drink and/or drive quandary, has good ambience, a wonderful view, and plenty of opportunity to mix and mingle.

Tickets for the evening will cost $40 each. The venue is booked from 7 PM to midnight, giving plenty of opportunity for Cinderella to have dinner and get back to the kitchen before the pumpkin happens. Nearby motel accommodation at reduced rates can be arranged. Car parking is not a problem.

Tickets can be booked now. Yes now, right now. Send a cheque made out to SBW for the number of tickets. Include your name and address. No tickets will be sold at the door (we also want to have a good time and not be bothered with money and tickets).

The Sydney Bushwalker: First Edition July 1931
Official publication of The Sydney Bush Walkers Inc.

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This year we celebrate our 75th anniversary.

The Club's main activity is bushwalking, but it has grown to include other activities such as ski touring, canyoning, abseiling, li-loing, cycling and social events.

Our Club meetings are held every Wednesday evening at 8 pm at Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre, 16 Fitzroy Street, Kirribilli (near Milsons Point Railway Station).

Visitors and prospective members are welcome. General Enquiries: Phone 0500 500 729

SBW Website www.sbw.org.au

The club now has a small pool of weekend walking equipment available for hire to Prospective Members. The rates for weekly hire are:

• Weekend pack: $15
• Sleeping bag: $15
  • (For hygiene reasons you must provide and use your own sleeping bag liner)
• Sleeping mat: $5
• Ground sheet: $2
• Tent: $20
• Complete kit: $50

All items will require an equivalent cash deposit, refundable on return of the equipment. Geoff McIntosh has volunteered to act as Gear Custodian on a trial basis and would-be hirers should telephone Geoff on 9419 4619.

Please be aware that our pool is presently still small, so give plenty of notice. We will be monitoring the demand and may, as required, expand our stocks.

The other day one of our club members exclaimed “Let's put the fun back into bushwalking!” and I thought back to my early days in the club.

I remember the social walks as well as the hard grinds. Peter Miller's themed birthday weekends on the Shoalhaven River; Jan Mohandas's gourmet walks, Maurie Bloom's “Call of the Wild” extended walks, Wine and Cheese walks with Barry Wallace. I remember the theatre evenings, the barbecues, the pre-meeting dinners and wonder where are they now?

It made me think of why SBW was formed back in the 1930's when “real men walked and women waited at home”. How SBW encouraged mixed sex walking; amalgamated the social and walking aspects to make bushwalking a more enjoyable exercise. Nowadays we seem to dismiss the social aspect and hear only the call “we are a walking club”. Well let's put the fun back into bushwalking. Let's have the social life that all can share. The easier walks as well as the walks planned for aspiring and perspiring tigers.

How about your views on the subject?

• Would you welcome more attention to developing the social aspects of bushwalking?

This month we have the regular reports of club matters; a couple of pages of history including a 90th birthday celebration, and many walks reports. One of our new members has contributed a “Recipe of the Month” and the subject of weather forecasting receives some attention.

As always, I welcome your contributions whether as letters or articles. I would like to see more promotion of walks scheduled in the coming months. Drawings and photos add to the presentation of the magazine and with today's technology can be forwarded by email and easily converted from colour to black and white.

Bill Holland

Copy for publishing in the SBW magazine should be received by the editor by the end of the first week of each month. Letters stating your viewpoint on matters of interest are most welcome.

Please send your submission in by mail (preferably typed), on floppy disc, by fax or by email addressed to The Editor. Telephone: 9484 6636 Email: billholl@hotkey.net.au Fax: 9980 5476 (phone 9484 6636 first)

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As you know last year you were invited to write to the committee with any suggestions you might have about how the club is run. Subsequently, there was a survey sent to every member which attracted a huge response.

A review committee was formed to consider the responses. It was hoped that there could be a written acknowledgement of each letter written but this has proved impracticable. This is not to say that your suggestions have fallen into a large black hole. They are being considered but not all can be implemented largely because of the cost or lack of the voluntary support to implement them. For example, it would be much more convenient to send in our annual subscription by Visa (or similar) or Bpay. However this attracts an additional cost, which would have to be passed onto you. Quite sensibly the committee opted not to do this.

However, the changes for prospective members to move through to full membership, which were approved at the last AGM, originated from your suggestions and were developed by the review committee. The committee has just about completed a brochure, which will help publicise our club and is working on a handbook with helpful suggestions for new leaders.

Later this month four of our members are competing in the annual Oxfam walk along part of the Great North Walk. They are required to complete 100km within 48 hours and they are busily looking for sponsors. All funds raised go to Community Aid Abroad. We have had representatives in this event for a few years now and it is pleasing to see their contribution.

The committee has taken the first step to implement the program discussed last year at various general meetings designed to trial the management of the club by a smaller committee. Under our constitution, we have a very large committee of 15 members and it was considered to be too cumbersome for a club of our size.

The constitution allows a member to be absent from meetings if the committee consents. We have resolved that, until the next AGM, the Public Officer, the Social Secretary, the two Confederation delegates, the two non-portfolio positions and the Editor may, if they wish, elect not to attend meetings. These members will continue to receive the agenda papers and minutes of meetings and may attend a meeting at any time.

As part of this process we will also try to develop a walks committee of say, three experienced leaders to help the Walks Secretary.

All of these arrangements are to be constantly kept under review and will be discussed at the general meeting in November 2002 with a report to be published in the Journal.

See you on the track.
Rosemary MacDougal

We started the month with $10,081 in the bank account.

During the month we received $7,411 in income. $7,329 of this was subscriptions from members and new members. In the month we drew cheques to the value of $1,176. The big items of expenses were Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre for $460 for rent of the club rooms, The Production Manager for $372 for magazine expenses and various other payment of expenses totalling $344. We ended the month with $16,316 in the bank.

The annual subscriptions are arriving in the post office box. So I'm busy processing the payments. Remember, if you haven't paid your subscription it is now due. If you don't pay you will lose your membership rights. Write your cheque today and mail it together with the payment advice to:

The Treasurer - Sydney Bush Walkers Inc
PO Box 431 Milsons Point NSW 1565
Maurice Smith

Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad (BWRS) is running a Senior St John First Aid course on 1st, 2nd June. The training will be 9am to 5pm both days (with the exam held on Sunday afternoon). The (heavily discounted) total cost for the course will be $100. A $20 non-refundable deposit with a stamped, self-addressed envelope will confirm your place. Cheques must be made payable “Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad” and send to:

BWRS Secretary
PO Box 22
CANTERBURY 2193

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Reported by Barry Wallace

There were some 15 or so members present when the president, presiding, called the meeting to order. Bill and Fran Holland and Gretel Woodward were unable to be present and had sent their apologies.

The minutes of the previous February General Meeting were read and received, with no matters arising.

Correspondence presented to the meeting included a booklet from Confederation advising of proposed changes to their constitution and a letter from the club's Hon. Solicitor regarding the provisions of the Federal Government's new privacy act. We also received a report of recent Confederation activities which included a notice of motion as follows.

“That clubs where the club name does not include the word 'bushwalking' be required to affirm at each annual renewal that at least 50% of the organisations activities include bushwalking”.

Confederation are to upgrade their web site to permit member clubs to maintain their own contact information on the site. Materials have been purchased to carry out renewal of the roof of the rangers' cabin at Burning Palms. There is an appeal for persons having suitable sea going vessels to assist in transporting the materials to site.

No conservation report was available to the meeting.

The walks reports began with activities for the weekend of 16, 17 March. The annual reunion was attended by some 46 or so people; conditions were clement and a good time was had by all. No report was available to the meeting for Wayne Steele's rough camp trip out from Pigeon House. Michael Bickley had 11 starters for his Bobbin Head Saturday walk which was described as an OK walk. Sunday saw Nigel Weaver and a party of 12 enjoying warm conditions and glorious views for his trip out to Mount Solitary from the Golden Stairs. Peter Cochrane was also out that day with his trip around Bargo Gorge. The walk went but we had no details.

Wilf Hilder led stage 22 of his recircumnavigation of Port Jackson as the midweek walk on the Thursday with the party of 8 getting along at such a fine clip that it was all over by 1400 hrs.

Carol Lubbers reported 4 starters for her Kanangra Walls walk over the weekend of 23, 24 March. The weekend was fine but ticks were somewhat of a problem. Zol Bodlay had 15 on his Saturday trip to the Aboriginal art sites of Marra Marra and Jim Callaway reported a party of 7 enjoying pleasant conditions on his trip from Cronulla to Otford the same day. Bill Holland was out there on the Sunday with 13 starters and a reversed route for his walk to Maitland Beach in Bouddi National Park.

Easter weekend saw Stephen Adams unavailable to lead his Blue Breaks trip, so Jan Pieters stepped in and led the party of 7, following a slightly rearranged route. Maurice Smith led a party of 8 on his extended rockhop down Ettrema Creek in good weather conditions. Bill Capon reported a party of 7 on his trip in Wollemi National Park. Apart from some heavy rain on Friday evening all went well. Ian Rennard's Saturday walk from Wondabyne to Woy Woy attracted a total of 40 applicants, 3 of whom were no-shows in the event. There was also a reference to a herd of goats but I think they were just along the way.

There was no report for Carole Beale's Saturday walk in Bouddi National Park but Maureen Carter had a party of 18 enjoying a sunny day for her Cremorne to Manly foreshores walk on the Sunday. Wilf Hilder was also out on the Sunday, with 5 walkers enjoying sunny and clear weather with a spot of training in map reading and some scratchy scrub on his walk in the Porto Ridge area of Brisbane Waters National Park.

New members Don and Lesley Read were then welcomed into membership.

The Treasurer's report indicated that we began the month with $12,065, received income of $2,716, disbursed $4,701 and ended up with a balance of $10,081.

We were advised of the passing of Chris Kirkpatrick, who had previously been a member of the club.

There was no general business for attention so the President closed the meeting at around 2043 hours.

To encourage our walks leaders to get their St John's First Aid Certificate, the Committee has offered to subsidise current Walks Leaders for half the cost of gaining an accredited Senior First Aid Certificate up to $50 and if combined with an accredited Remote Area First Aid, up to $80. This will be for a trial six-month period.

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by Don Finch

After the reunion Joan and Barbara spent time weeding and fixing water pipes. They also reported the weed, turkey rhubarb is continuing to establish itself on the river flats. This could become a major problem. Shirley and Gretel have also been weeding. Unfortunately the weeds are winning - in some cases too many weeds not enough weeders. Barry and Don have been working on some sections of the access road and have cut up some of the timber on the flats ready for burning out stumps. The walking tracks have been swept and cleared of fallen logs.

Landcare: The registration process for Landcare is likely to be completed during early May. Once S.B.W. and Coolana are registered an on-site meeting will be arranged between the Landcare officer, Mr Eric Zarrella, the Coolana committee and any members of SBW who would like to attend. The purpose of the meeting will be to plan the first steps in the Landcare project for Coolana.

All office bearers of SBW and recent past and present Coolana Committee members will be informed of the proposed date of the meeting. So that anyone who is interested in attending or being kept informed is not overlooked, (and of course all members are most welcome) please let me know by the end of May by fax, email or telephone of your interest and your contact details.

Don Finch Phone: 02 9452 3749 fax: 02 94525194; email: finchros@bigpond.com;

by John Mapps

My wife and I were prospective members of SBW for a couple of years up until last September when we moved to England. We have very fond memories of our time at the club and regret that we didn't get past the final barrier to membership - the overnight walk - before we had to leave.

We are now in the UK for the next 2 years or so. We are still keen walkers and get out most weekends with the local Ramblers Club, and every now and then go off on longer trips within Europe. As you can imagine, this is a very different sort of walking to the type we did with SBW. But it is nevertheless challenging - the day walks are generally longer for a start - and the countryside here - near us, the Cotswolds and Chilterns - is beautiful and surprisingly unspoilt.

Would you be interested in an article or two about the walking we do here? The differences/similarities are fascinating in themselves, and also some walks have historical, cultural or natural aspects to them that I'm sure would be of interest. Your readers might also be thinking of visiting the UK for walking, so an article like this would be a very practical way of letting them know what to expect.

Best wishes,
John Mapps

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On Friday March 15th, 2002 Brian Harvey celebrated his 90th birthday with a lunch at his home, the RSL War Veterans Home, Collaroy Plateau. Celebrating with him were his wife of nearly 60 years, Jean, walking friend Shirley Dean, and the daughters of his old SBW friends - Kate Moppett and Nancy Pallin (daughter of Jean & Tom Moppett) and Christine Austin (daughter of Jean & Ray Kirkby).

Brian has had a lengthy and interesting career in the club. He joined SBW with his brother Perce, the Friday after Easter in 1936.

Prior to being mobilised for the Navy, Brian was on the General Committee, was a Federation Delegate and magazine producer, using an old hand operated machine. After six and a half years in the Navy, Brian built his home in Wahroonga, clearing the site for the house and creating a beautiful garden - masses of azaleas amongst the tall eucalypts where we children roamed happily and safely. Brian had married Jean in April 1942 and their home in Wahroonga was the venue for many an SBW gathering.

In 1947 Brian had the idea that a plaque be installed at Splendour Rock in the Wild Dog Mountains to commemorate the bushwalkers who died in the war. He was chairman of the committee to organize this, and the dedication by Paddy Pallin took place on Anzac Day 1948.

At the end of the war Brian resumed SBW activities, again as magazine producer and Federation Delegate 1949 - 1950 and leading test and other walks. He organised the annual SBW swimming carnival at Lake Eckerslie for some years.

Brian said that his most memorable “sprint” was leaving Carlons Farm on Galong Creek on a Monday afternoon and arriving at Richmond on a Wednesday afternoon via Blackheath and the Grose River.

In 1960 an injured nerve in his shoulder precluded Brian from carrying a pack and so active bushwalking ceased, but not his interest in club affairs. As there were many walkers who were not able to take part in active bushwalking, Brian formed the Dungalla Club on the 31st July 1968. Its aims were to provide social contact for older members.

About 5 years ago Brian was elected an Honorary Member of the SBW and continues as such.

In 1984 he and Jean moved to his present home with its glorious views of bushland and Narrabeen Lagoon.

SBW MEMBERS ALL WISH BRIAN A HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY.

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I am prompted by your printing of Ron Knightley's article on “The Golden Stairs” to forward an account of a walk through the tunnel with Greg Bridge in 1994.

Change into old shoes, transform your backpack into a frontpack, bend forward until said frontpack is jammed between chin and knees - now you can enter Rennies Tunnel.

Scarcely more than a metre high with up to half a metre of chocolate water/mud on the floor, this 700m long tunnel passes through Narrow Neck Peninsular connecting the Jamison Valley with the Megalong.

With torch gripped firmly in one hand (courage in the other) twenty walkers followed Greg Bridge into Rennies Tunnel, shuffling sideways like a chorus line of crabs.

After about ten minutes of stooping a spot is reached where you can stand erect. Blessed relief! But wait. This comfort zone is possible only because a section of roof has collapsed.

• How long ago did it fall?
• When is the next fall due?
• What am I doing here?

The roof height varies, the water depth varies, veins of coal and shale are encountered and surprisingly, considerable variety is evident. The constants are that the water is cold and that it would be very very dark without the torchlight beams.

Some twenty five minutes go by and, at the end, a further rock fall has reduced the exit to a crawl height. Out into daylight and there seems a general sense of relief, but with hints of satisfaction, as though we had passed some manner of test.

But this is not how our day started. We had walked from Katoomba Station to the Explorers Tree then descended via Nellies Glen, a beautifully scenic area despite an unfortunate attempt to build a road down to the valley floor.

Some distance along the valley a branch track climbs the talus slope to the base of Narrow Neck where the Water Board ladders are climbed - four, almost vertical, steel runged, somewhat intimidating for any unused to ladders.

Following lunch we moved along Narrow Neck to descend Golden Stairs heading towards the landslide to locate the entrance of Rennies Tunnel.

After negotiating the tunnel, we washed up at Waterfall Cave and climbed to Cliff Drive via Devil's Hole.

A road walk to return to car or train is sometimes a let down that can take the edge off a good walk; on this day however even three kilometres of bitumen could not dull the sheen of an 'adventure' that reads: -Nellies Glen, Water Board ladders, Golden Stairs, Rennies Tunnel, Devil's Hole.

In one day we had covered five of the Mountains' classic locations. Even the unusually frantic drive down the mountain I faced calmly.

Frank Davis March 1994

Correction to Photo Names Norman Rodd has advised that the three people shown in the photo of The Dance floor Cave last month were Wally Roots, Phil Chamberlain and Marjorie Hill.

Also a correction to the names shown in the earlier photo (March issue) where Rene Browne was incorrectly called Rene Bracone and Marjorie Hill, we are told, would not have been pleased at the abbreviation “Marge”.

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by David Trinder

A quick look at several problem areas.

The Carr Government is pushing logging industry plans to build three new wood fired power stations and a large charcoal plant in NSW. They will all be fuelled by our native forests.

The charcoal plant will be on the south coast at Batemans Bay near the nature based tourism centre of Broulee/Mossy Point. There have been large public rallies opposing the plant with crowds of 2,500 people or more. It will create the third major woodchip operation in NSW and will take 230,000 tonnes per year of native forest timber for the next 40 years and will supply charcoal to the Lithgow silicone plant.

Not only has Bob Carr broken his promise to end woodchipping by the year 2000, this will entrench native forest logging where otherwise it would move towards plantation supply, less intensive logging and further national parks.

The political attraction of the Carr Government is the marginal ALP seat of Bathurst which will benefit from the Lithgow plant. The South East Forest Alliance believes that conservation minded people should take strong action to prevent the Government from approving the charcoal plant. There are other alternatives.

The New South Wales coast is blessed with hundreds of beautiful clean sandy beaches but with the increased number of all terrain vehicles on our roads, there is also increased pressure from their owners to drive on these beaches. Many beaches in Sydney and north and south of Sydney have become highways for people who want to justify their purchase of an expensive vehicle, to show how well they can drive in soft surfaces or to enjoy the beaches without walking. Beaches should be quiet places where you can sit and relax or walk. Many of them are becoming dangerous, smelly, noisy places. Some drivers are even venturing into the dune areas behind the beaches. A few drivers can spoil kilometres of beach for everybody else.

To quote the National Parks Association: “We need the freedom of the long beaches, the sands unmarked, smooth and clear. Wind, waves and seabirds the only sounds. Native creatures at home, undisturbed. The wanderer alone with nature and thought.”

There is strong pressure from outdoor recreation and fishing groups to allow vehicles on beaches.

A recent issue of our magazine was posted to members with a pamphlet to register your support for the NPA's campaign against this problem. If you haven't returned it please do.

Two months ago I wrote describing the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. In the north east of that area is the Yengo Wilderness. The extent of the wilderness area is under negotiation. I am supporting the whole of the 134,000 ha identified Yengo Wilderness area to be protected as a component of the World Heritage Area. The Crown Road Reserves should be added to the park and tracks in wilderness should be closed to reduce habitat fragmentation.

Protection should include the central feature, Mt Yengo, and the attractive wet gorges of the Mogo Creek.

On behalf of the club I will be writing to the Director-General of the Yengo Wilderness Submission to put these views.

The next regular Planning Night is Wednesday 26th JUNE 2002 in the Clubrooms at Kirribilli where the Spring Walks Programme (Sept Oct Nov) will be shown in all its naked glory.

Now while we don't expect to fill the Programme on this night, it is a golden opportunity to reserve the date and the area for your winter walk or activity as you will have the first option.

At our last Walks Planning Night we recruited two new leaders for the 2001Summer Programme and that was great news. On its own it made the night a great success.

Other agenda items for the 26th are to;

• continue to encourage the buddy system, particularly for new leaders.
• provide information ie track notes, map details etc of three areas that current and new leaders may consider including in the winter or future programmes.

The format of these evenings provides the opportunity for leaders, potential leaders, members and prospective members to discuss new walks, old walks, exploratories, new ideas, old ideas and support each other. Also, to encourage the expansion of the choice of activities and walks that appear on our Walks Programmes.

Despite all of the navel gazing currently underway within the club our Walks Programme is what it is all about!

So let's hope we see you then.

Carol Lubbers, Walks Secretary
Don Brooks, Convenor

P.S. We have it on good authority that the Club will provide tea, coffee, wine, cheese and biscuits.

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If you really want to get the best out of what you carry with you, then move up to Black Diamond, exclusive to Paddy Pallin.

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Equipping you to enjoy the Australian and World environment.

12

by Roger Treagus

“Is the walk still on?” is a common question put to an SBW leader early on a gloomy weekend morning. Ninety-nine times out of 100 the answer will be “yes”.

Sydney has a top climate. The weather is eternally optimistic. When it's bad, it soon fines up. When it's good, it tends to stay good. For computer nerds you could say it defaults to blue, whereas English weather defaults to grey drizzle. Our weather is the answer to an English walker's prayer, but we are spoilt by it and easily put off.

I worked in the weather bureau for some years, and trainee meteorologists were often told to look out the window frequently, a literal reality check. The best forecast you'll get about the day ahead is obtained by poking your head out of your bedroom window when you wake up and looking up. Nature's signs in the sky are usually good for the next six hours, which is very useful for bushwalkers at the start of a walk day.

I've compiled a short list of what you'll see and what it means for the day ahead:

• Sky completely blue = no worries.
• Bright sky but thick high cloud to the west = morning OK but there might be late rain.
• Really dark cloud to the west = stormy for the morning but likely to rapidly clear later in the day, especially in winter.
• Cloudy or showery with onshore winds = showers but always a good chance of clearing later in the day.
• Showers with onshore winds but bright in the east = it'll clear up to a great day.
• You can't see the sky because of fog = no worries.
• It's pouring but the sky has some definition, clouds look “lumpy” and it's perhaps a little brighter to the west = likely to clear up by the time you start walking.
• A southerly went through during the night and it's looking cloudy now = showers later but might just be coastal.
• It's pouring and the sky is uniformly grey = worst case scenario. You can't really tell what will happen in this case, it might fine up, but it's best to get a bureau forecast.

So you see the pattern, things generally get better, and if showers are forecast, there's a good probability they won't rain on you. The bureau is naturally pessimistic. They cover themselves better by forecasting bad weather that doesn't eventuate rather than not forecasting bad weather that does. So here goes an interpretation of what your TV forecasts really mean.

• “Showers” means some showers somewhere between the southern highlands and the Hunter.
• “Isolated showers” means one.
• “Scattered showers” means more than one.
• “Rain” technically means precipitation falling without more than a 10-minute break in every hour. This term is often avoided because it's so precise, so when forecasters actually use it, they really mean it.
• “Patchy rain” is a safer compromise.
• “Unsettled” is a catch-all phrase, used when they haven't got a clue what will happen.
• “Clearing” means fine.
• “Chance of thunderstorms” is an honest statement, covering everything from nothing happening to a full-on tornado.

We might laugh at the bureau, but they do produce lots of good information that we can interpret to complement our “head-out-the-bedroom-window” forecasts.

The weather map is really useful, provided all the action causing the weather is occurring at the surface. Often this is not the case, especially in summer where upper level troughs cause the weather. These don't show up on surface weather maps. The maps are really good for showing where the high pressure belt is - that is, what latitude the high pressure systems generally favour. There are four scenarios: the first two are normal but the second two are not.

13

Summer, and high pressure is in its usual position around the latitude of Tasmania. Sydney weather follows a well defined cycle: Day 1 - cold front and showers; day 2 - showers clearing as winds swing from south east to north east; day 3 - fine; day 4 - fine and warmer; day 5 - very warm with north westerlies and increasing cloud with late storms; day 6 - cold front and the cycle repeats.

Winter, and the highs operate at the latitude of Sydney or further north. The weather is dry and cold with excellent visibility as the winter westerlies blow. After a few days of this weather, a cold front will pass, causing some snow on the ranges and brief wintry showers, if anything, in Sydney - great walking weather.

Winter, and highs operate somewhere south of the mainland. This situation causes miserable, cold, damp weather which might last days with little respite.

Summer, and highs are operating at Sydney's latitude. This can be a disastrous situation, leading to extreme bushfire conditions, because highs in this position allow very dry hot westerlies to blow for prolonged periods. This happened in 1994 and Christmas 2001. Paradoxically, this same airstream is very cold further south, so that in both extreme bushfire periods snow fell at the same time in Victoria.

Thankfully, scenarios 3 and 4 don't happen very often.

There are two other features to look out for on the weather map: when all the systems are moving rapidly; and when there's a low off the coast north of Sydney. If Sydney's weather is miserable and either of these features is operating, don't cancel your walk plans. In the first case, the bad weather will pass quickly, and in the second case, the low is likely to move south, and once it passes Sydney the weather often miraculously changes from strong winds and driving rain to a clear crisp “washed” atmosphere with sun in just an hour or so.

On the bureau's web site at www.bom.gov.au there's a four-day weather map prognosis. Coupled with the above information, it may give you a “feel” about the forthcoming weather. The other useful info source appears in “NSW Notes on the weather” on the forecast page, which details the next four days across the State in terms of the weather map.

Finally, a couple of my pet hates. Why do TV weather people always give out the air pressure? Will all the viewers suddenly rush off to recalibrate their aneroid barometers? It's totally useless, like the indication of “dry”, “fine”, “change” and “storm” appearing on traditional aneroid barometers – all meaningless for Sydney, as they're designed for the weather in northern Europe, where the original instruments were made.

My second hate is the unreliability of TV forecasts. There is rarely complete uniformity between channels, and SBS is now attempting forecasting the entire world's weather in two minutes with gems like “It will be fine and hot in Africa but windy around Cape Horn”!

So next time you're about to cancel a walk because of the current weather, the chances are that you'll miss out on a great day. But don't take my word for it. I used to work for the weather bureau and my office had no windows.

Don Brooks

There is a track open to the public through the old mines depot at Clifton Gardens (Chowder Bay) and the adjacent military reserve Georges Heights.

The entry is close to the Submarine Wharf at the northern end of Clifton Gardens beach. Follow the marked path past the wharf for a few steps and along the road for a short distance - the walking track goes off to the left and up the hill (adjacent to a sign about the track but no indication that this is the point you leave the road). If you continue up the road you reach the open gates to the depot and have gone too far. Just retrace your steps 50 metres and the track head will be on your right.

The exit of the track is on Middle Head Road just east of Cobbittee Street where it's just a short hop, step and jump to Balmoral Beach.

Good Hunting

Here are some coming cycling activities. Full details of these and later rides are shown in Winter Walks Programme.

• Sunday 26th May: Meadowbank to Olympic park etc and return. An easy/medium ride with extensions for the fit.
• Thurs/Fri 20th 21st June: Mid-week cycling with possible extension to the weekend. Stay overnight and cycle from Robyn's farm at Georges Plains near Bathurst.

Regular mid-week cycling activities are additional to those shown in the Club's Walks Programme. They are often scheduled at short notice so if you are free to cycle during the week please contact George Mawer 9707 1343.

Volunteers are required for a dance routine at the 75th Dinner similar to “You Can Keep Your Hat On” as featured in the film “The Full Monty”. This may be your opportunity to display your talent and start a show business career. Contact the 75th Sub-Committee ASAP.

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(Willis's Walkabouts) Russell Willis, Don Brooks, Frank Davis

Monsoon Season - “The Wet - Green Season”, call it what you will. It depends on who is telling the story and what they are trying to promote or sell.

After several 'dry season' trips to the Top End it seemed appropriate to experience what this fabled 'wet' was all about. “When it rains it pours usually as heavy, long-lasting cloudbursts from January to March” - writes Derrick Ovington.

Darwin, February 6 - smack in the middle of the wet. It's as dry as burnt toast.

On the Arnhem Highway, some 60 kilometres from Darwin, Beatrice Hill, a rare high point on the Adelaide River flood-plain, stands “Window on the Wetlands” Visitor Centre. The building and contents are impressive, the paucity of water disappointing - it is more a 'land of droughts' than 'flooding rains'. Further on, Mamakula Wetlands hint at what floodplains could be like. A bird “hide” stands at the edge of a body of water. The birds occupy small, distant islands.

Next morning we joined 'Magela', a tour company with access to Hawk Dreaming, the birthplace and ancestral home of Big Bill Neidjie (Australia's Kakadu Man, 1986). First we visited Ubirr Gallery, climbed Obiri Rock (of Crocodile Dundee fame) and gazed out over the verdant but dry Magela floodplain. There was some promise for the future for we had driven through water that spread from a Melaleuca swamp to cover the road.

The East Alligator River, running strongly over the ford at Cahills Crossing provided the background for lunch. We then moved on to Hawk Dreaming. The gallery has a fascinating range of art ranging through ancient red-ochre, x-ray (teaching) to contemporary. It rained briefly early afternoon, again at night. Maybe we'd get to experience the wet after all.

Day three took us along Baroalba Creek with its sparkling cascades which spilled and tumbled from sandstone shelves and ledges. There was water aplenty in the cascades, small tributaries emerged from lush vegetation to add their contribution - the pale, gray sky promised but delivered no monsoonal deluge. We climbed into the sandstone ramparts to view red-ochre paintings by the original inhabitants. I have heard these described variously as graffiti, casual daubs, childish.

Casual daubs they are not - the effort required to grind the dense red rock to talcum fineness ensures the artist had serious intent. They may not be pictorial, any more than Dali's 'melting' clock is. They could be cultural or instructional. They could have been painted as long ago as forty thousand years. Who are we to second-guess the artist's purpose?

Just when we needed clear skies the cloud thickened and our flight to Twin and Jim Jim Falls was curtailed by poor visibility. We did get a great view of Twin Falls, and as impressive as this is from the ground, either above or below, their spectacular grandeur is revealed only from the air.

Some fifty kilometres south of Pine Creek on the Stuart Highway we turned east to enter Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) NP. Here in this western corner of the park is Edith Falls which debouches into a large pandanus-ringed pool. A walking track provides access to above the falls.

Following the Edith upstream reveals a string of large and small pools; cascades that divide and sub-divide to skirt large solitary rock outcrops and broken rock bars that span the river. I believe this was as exciting as any body of moving water I have encountered. This area is not directly connected to the gorge section of Nitmiluk so it was a case of back to the highway and on to Katherine.

Next morning we drove to Katherine Gorge - well as far as Maud Creek and here a 200 metre stretch of water a metre deep barred our passage. Park Rangers ferried people across the flood but Park personnel only, not tourists. We occupied the morning at Katherine's Pioneer Museum.

After lunch the creek was down. We walked the Wondilk track to Pat's lookout on the gorge rim then down to water level. To return, I followed the marked track. Russell and Don took a detour to explore a waterfall. A stream we had crossed on the way in, spanned by a sturdy safety chain, was mid-calf depth. The depth was substantially the same as I returned. It rained, in fact bucketed down, shortly before I reached the car park, and persisted. A scant hour later Russell and Don forded the stream now waist deep and fast flowing.

Again, next morning, Maud Creek was up - deeper. A boat was there - the cruise operator's. Only by becoming customers could we gain a place. A full bus saw we three walk the 7.5 kilometres to the park gate before the bus returned.

The Katherine River level gauge showed a touch under 17 metres. On the way in it stood at a shade over 4 metres. We may have been fortunate to see as much of Nitmiluk NP as we did.

15

To coin a phrase, “Litchfield is a Clayton's Kakadu” - a way to sample the grandeur of Kakadu if you haven't enough time to do it properly. Buley Rockholes, Florence, Tolmer and Wangi Falls are infinitely better in the wet. The road to The Lost City was closed and that was a pity.

Finally I got a glimpse of a frill-neck lizard. Smack in the centre of the road. He scarpered as soon as I moved to exit the car. At least now I know they are more than a computer-generated image - I had begun to wonder.

We stayed this night in Batchelor at a motel called Jungle Drums. They should get this guy to rename Motor Car Falls.

We returned to Darwin via the Northern Territory Wildlife Park. A wonderful achievement with plenty of space to grow.

At last I managed to photograph a frill-neck lizard, close up. Perhaps I should confess before someone lets the cat out of the bag - it was captive and behind glass.

Overall it was an exciting venture. We did get to experience the wet. We walked in bucketing rain. At Katherine we watched reflected lightning flashes light up the clouds, accompanied by thunder that rolled and reverberated and racketed so fiercely you could feel it, not just hear it. There was no shortage of water underfoot; a camping trip would seem to be impossible. It was more comfortable to walk when it rained than in the oppressive humidity which I found quite taxing.

Don handled the conditions and walking with aplomb, but then doesn't he always.

Frank Davis

Mark Patteson

I recently had the opportunity to explore an area that has always appealed to me: Mt Canobolas State Recreation Area located south west of Orange in Central West NSW. I was joined by Henry Roda, a strong walker well known to many in the club.

We began our walk at the mountain tea house at the base of Mt Canobolas (the apple pies are legendary here). The road from the car park rises steeply at first and gets the heart rate up early. After walking a kilometre or so we diverted onto a track called Fern Gully Trail which does a loop of some 4 kilometres before meeting the main road again further up the mountain. The track skirts the lower northern slopes of the mountain and passes numerous apple orchards where harvesting was in full swing. We managed to pick a few of these juicy beauties and encountered several quite large grey kangaroos before reaching the road. Once back on the road we continued along until we reached another track called The Spring Glade Trail which takes one to the summit of the mountain.

I have walked this track in snow and it had the appearance of a winter wonderland. Today however we had to endure the blackberry bushes which had overrun large portions of the mountain.

Finally we arrived at the summit 1,400 metres above sea level. It is the highest point from east to west in a straight line across the continent (remembering the location of our highest peaks). Morning tea at the monument was welcome on a quite warm day.

Next stop was Federal Falls where little water was falling. We then headed to Boree Creek above the Falls to see if it was possible to follow it back up the mountain. However we were thwarted by the blackberry bushes which choked the creek. An hour later we arrived at Federal Falls camping area for lunch.

After lunch we explored the eastern slopes of the mountain with lots of little ups and downs before taking an old four wheel drive track back down to the Mountain Tea House.

It was a great day walk. Stay tuned to a future walks programme.

Extended Walk - Later this Month
26th - 30th May
Yerranderie to Katoomba: Roger Treagus

This walk is in the Autumn program from Sunday May 26 to Thursday 30th. It is an opportunity to see the real wilderness sections of the southern Blue Mountains, the Axearch Range, near the Blue Breaks, on the pristine Kowmung, and up the Wild Dog mountains.

It starts in Yerranderie which is a private town, unusual in itself, being restored to its former glory as a 19th and early 20th century mining town with the drive and vision of one lady, Val Levede. Normally one way walks do not start from here because of the difficult logistics with car shuffles, but the Great River Walk has many supporters and some walkers will be ferried in by vehicles and dropped in the town. A few others will be flying in from Camden airport to the small airstrip at Yerranderie, a spectacular 20 minute flight over Lake Birragotang.

It will be another great experience, like each previous stage has been. If you are contemplating coming I would recommend the flight on the Monday morning, what a way to start a walk and it's not expensive. We will be having a party in Yerranderie on the Monday night prior to the start of the walk on Tuesday morning and Val, the Queen of Yerranderie will be there. Contact Roger Treagus on 9995 5784 or 0461 017 289.

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by Maurice Smith

The Easter walk that I had the privilege to lead was one that I had wanted to do for quite some time indeed. Our former President Wilf Hilder has since told me that to his knowledge the last time that this trip was done as a club walk was when he led it as a six day Christmas walk in about 1960.

It's now a week since the trip ended and I'm still on a “high”. How do I describe and do justice in a few paragraphs to the highs and lows of four days of walking?

Anyway here goes.

For readers not familiar with the area, Ettrema Creek is located in Morton National Park, about 60 kilometres west of Nowra. Its headwaters are near the Braidwood Road and it runs for about 50 kilometres in a generally northerly direction, emptying into Yalwal Creek about 3 kilometres before Yalwal Creek in turn empties into the Shoalhaven River not far from a property called Coolendel. Any walking in the area requires a large amount of rock hopping and frequent wading with consequent wet feet.

To overcome what looked like being an awful car shuffle, we parked our cars near the end of the walk and I arranged to have a mini bus from NSW Wilderness Transit Service (I support them as they advertise in our club magazine) to collect us at our cars at 8 a.m. on Friday morning. Robert, our bus driver arrived at our designated meeting point about 1 minute after we arrived, as we were starting to unload our gear from the cars.

In planning for this trip I had considered using several camp sites previously used by me in earlier trips into Ettrema Creek. I also considered “bail out” options at various points along the way in the event of disasters or absolutely foul weather. In the end none of the contingency plans were required, but also none of the planned camp sites were used either.

Day One: The bus shuffle worked well, Robert drove us to our starting point without hassle. Although at one point along the way a heavy rain shower was looking ominous, but it turned out to be localised.

When we started off down Bullfrog Creek it soon became evident that the previous night's heavy thunderstorm had also dumped some of its load in this area too. The rocks were quite slippery indeed. With a four day pack on our backs at times the slippery rocks forced us to take it slowly. So jelly legs were the result by the time that we arrived in Ettrema Creek itself. The rock hopping along Ettrema was slow that first day. Even though it wasn't raining there was still a fair amount of damp slippery rocks around. So in the end it was agreed to camp early in a pleasant spot, about 3 kms from our intended camp site. My concern for the following day was whether we would be able to make up some of the lost kilometres or at a minimum not fall any further behind our walking schedule. Overnight we had some more rain but the rain cleared and by the time we were away from our camp site the rocks were dry and were to remain so for the entire trip.

Day Two: Along the way that day we met a CMW group at the junction of Jones Creek, several SBW members in that party were greeted. Several deep pools were avoided by scrambling around them. Camp that night was on a beach alongside the creek. In all, that day we managed to claw back one of the three kilometres we had lost the previous day. This day's walking involved about 10 hours from camp site to camp site. So there were quite tired walkers sitting around the camp fire that night. However, it is amazing how everyone quickly recovers after dropping their packs and a camp fire is started, a billy is boiled and hot wholesome food replenishes the energy levels.

In the early hours of the following day (Easter Sunday) the Easter bilby visited and some quite edible droppings were found near our tents.

Day Three: Once again an early start saw us up in the dark and we were under way to what was to be a warm day. Despite one of our number not feeling very well all day his walking speed did not noticeably suffer. At the junction with Tullyangela Creek we found a largish python snake draped in a small tree. Our estimate was that it was about a metre and a half in length. My photos of it don't really do it justice. It treated us with total disdain, ignoring us completely, probably because we weren't part of its potential food supply. In mid-afternoon we met a group of eight members of Canberra Bushies who were camped at the junction of Manacle Creek. They were enjoying the water and the mid afternoon sun. Without putting too fine a point to it none of them were wearing much in the way of clothing.

By the time we found a pleasant camp site, we were all quite tired after walking for about 10 hours. We didn't manage to make up any of our lost kilometres. However, we didn't lose any either, so I was a reasonably happy camper. The swim that afternoon was quite pleasant indeed washing off the sweat and dust accumulated.

Day Four: Again an early start was the order of the day. But already our thoughts were turning to where we would stop for dinner on the way home and what we would order there. I'm convinced bushwalkers are merely stomachs with legs.

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As we progressed along the lower section of Ettrema there was more evidence of weeds. By the time we reached the junction of Yalwal and Ettrema Creeks I was elated, we had achieved the trip's objective. Then followed the walk along Yalwal Creek for about two kilometres. This was followed by a fire trail walk back to our cars. We arrived there anxious for our meal on the way home.

Would I do this trip again? Yes. Would I do it as a four day trip? No. With the benefit of hindsight I'd do it as a six or seven day walk, with a lay day in the middle and more time to enjoy swims along the way.

Every day involved wet feet all day, with lots of wading, rock hopping and frequent scrambling around the sides of the creek to avoid long deep pools. Often at night, our feet were quite sore and had a strong “burning” feeling as result of the day's exertions. At the risk of starting a war between those for and against wearing Dunlop Volley shoes, they are the ideal shoe for this sort of walk, the water drains quickly and they have excellent grip on the rocks.

My thanks to fellow members, Pamela Irving, Cathryn Ollif, Grace Martinez, Caro Ryan, Peter Love, Bill Smallwood, Nenad Stilin. Each of these members helped me immensely and made this trip a truly memorable experience.

This was the official version of Maurice's walk - but Maurice asked for another report of his walk from a participant's perspective and two obliged - their stories will be in next month's magazine… …… Ed

by Stephen Adams

With my Easter walk cancelled due to a shortage of starters, I decided to join Jan's walk in the Kosciusko National Park.

All the arrangements were made, we were to depart on Thursday night. On Wednesday Jan called me, “Steve, I'm sick, can you lead the walk?”. I was happy to oblige - the walk was on. I travelled down with the other Steve and we met up with Joni, Helene and Norman on Friday morning.

We started from Leather Barrel Picnic Area with a perfect, blue, sunny sky and that is how it stayed for the duration of the walk.

The plan was to descend to the Murray River, follow the river upstream, if possible, then climb out and return via the Cascade Trail to Dead Horse Gap, where we had left Joni's car.

If as I suspected, the river section was impassable, due to thick scrub and the dreaded blackberry, we would climb out of the river valley and use Davies Plain Ridge, to the west to bypass the river section, descend to the river near Tin Mine Creek, climb out and meet the Cascade Trail which would take us to Dead Horse Gap and the end of the walk.

Lo and behold, upon arrival at the Murray River, we found a well-travelled trail, which contoured wonderfully in the direction we wanted. We concluded that this must be man-made and would take us all the way down the river and we could avoid the 1000 metre climb to Davies Plain Ridge.

The first night was spent at Tom Groggin Flat, a nice, flat, grassy camping spot by the river. The water from Dan Creek, nearby, was crystal clear and delicious. We were on the move at 0730 the next day, following the river trail. There was much evidence of brumby activity along the trail and eventually it led us to what appeared to be their dried up watering hole. At this point the trail disappeared, we had been tricked by the brumbies, it was just a brumby trail, leading to their watering hole.

The scrub and blackberry was plentiful and progress was painfully slow, we would have to make the climb out to Davies Plain Ridge after all. A scrub bash and a river crossing then we were ascending the ridge out of the river. It had taken us two hours to do one kilometer through the scrub.

We needed to get back down to the river that same day as it was unlikely we would find any water up on the ridge. By the time we made it to the top of our ridge it was clear we were not going to make it to the river that day and we would be spending the night on Davies Plain Ridge, possibly with no water. Three of the party had already run out of water and it was getting late; we would have to camp within the next hour.

Steve found a hint of a soak, there was moisture there, in the tiniest little puddles, but how to get it into our bottles? Norman saved the day. He had a water pump with filter attached and after much furious pumping we had the prize; two litres each of precious drinking water. We camped at 1,800 metres, weary but happy. Day 3 dawned and most of us only had a cupful of water left and it was a good half day walk to the river. Luckily it was a cool morning, we were going downhill, but by the time we reached Tin Mine Creek at lunchtime there were scenes reminiscent of the movies, where the desert traveler finally stumbles into an oasis and drinks for the first time in days - no champagne ever tasted better than that deliciously cool creek water at that moment.

18

Having drunk our fill, and with an hour off for lunch, we loaded up with four litres each and set off up the ridge that would take us to the Cascade Trail. We were traveling at the hottest part of the day and had a 900 metre climb carrying four litres of water each. The ridge was scrubby and there was plenty of fallen timber to impede our progress. It felt like we were never to stop climbing; just when we thought we could see the top, there would be more.

Finally, the prize was ours, we had no more mountain left to climb and we raced on towards the Cascade Trail, now just 1.5 kilometers away. This would be our last night out in these magnificent mountains before returning to civilization and the complexities of urban living, despite all the hardships, life is a lot simpler on an extended walk in the bush.

Monday morning, our last day, 17 kilometers to the car and we needed to do it by lunchtime. Heads down and away we went, going for it. We had seen not another person for the whole four days, now we started meeting fresh, clean daywalkers, smelling of soap and deodorant. I wonder what we smelt like?

Back at the car by 1.00 p.m. and with the welcome news that the clocks had gone back one hour, giving us time to get back to Sydney at a reasonable time. It had been a wonderful walk with an excellent party. I heard not one whinge the whole four days despite some hard walking in adverse circumstances.

Roll on next Easter.

by Bill Capon

The Anzac 4-day, 8-member Nullo Mountain trip turned out to be quite a specialist production. Anzac day itself saw our steering committee demonstrate to the mortals in the party how best to negotiate Cedar Creek.

Next morning the blackberry detail consisting of two masochists spent an hour negotiating a route through blackberries surrounding Emu Creek. My role that day was to find water in Turon Creek having earlier told the party only to carry a couple of litres. I found only dry sand.

On Saturday the consulting hydrologists worked on the spring under Mount Pomany and produced much needed water. That night under the full moon on Mount Pomany we were treated to a reading of the full transcript of a paper due to be presented on the Monday. Bring back the song books!

Despite all this, people said it was a great trip.

by Roger Treagus

This was meant to be a summer walk but NPWS closed Garigal NP to all walkers so the walk was postponed to March. We had about 16 starters and the major hurdle for the day was in getting to the start with the inevitable track maintenance stopping all trains. But determination won out and we were able to get going around 8:15am from the northern end of St Ives.

The first feature was a small manhole in a gutter 100 metres north of Kitchener Street on Mona Vale Road. “This was the source of Middle Harbour” I said. Skeptical looks all around. Then we forged through the bush opposite the manhole heading east and within 50 metres we were in a small steep valley next to a little brook.

Once we hit the fire trail at the bottom of the hill it was all easy going to the Cascades for morning tea. Middle Harbour Creek was broad and impressive in this impressive rocky area. In one of the deep pools we spied an eel. The most beautiful part of the walk I think is the section from the Cascades to Bungaroo, the head of navigation where the track follows the left bank of the creek running through quite lovely gallery rain forest. This upper section of the navigable Middle Harbour is a very tranquil waterway with white beaches and forested hills that few Sydney Harbour boaties have ever seen. Kayakers seemed to be the only people enjoying the water on this day. We made Davidson Park near Roseville Bridge for lunch. But the main fun came when we attempted a wet crossing of Bantry Bay. The tide was out but a little knee deep water seemed the main challenge until we were 20 metres from the other side when suddenly we were sinking in thick gooey mud up to our knees and beyond. Then came a 10 metre cliff to scale (funny, it wasn't there for the reccy) before a well-earned afternoon tea at the welcome Bantry Bay reserve.

The old bullock track took us up to Seaforth Oval and then it was a plod through suburban Seaforth and the Spit Bridge with a final push to the lookout above Grotto Point with the marvelous views of Balmoral, the Heads and Grotto Lighthouse, a spectacular end to Middle Harbour that began so modestly below a manhole. These source to mouth walks are very satisfying as those who made it to the end will testify.

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by Heike Krausse, New Members Secretary

These boots were made for walking….

In a future article I will talk about how to get away with keeping initial bushwalking costs down but one of the essentials that you really should not be stingy on in your spending is that for your footwear.

50 million years ago we evolved from an anthropoid four-legged crouch to a two-legged stance, the feet had to adjust from supporting one-quarter of the body weight each to one-half. The thumb-like 'opposable' toe moved to the same plane as the other toes, the heel dropped to support the vertical position and the arches lifted to propel the stride efficiently.

The feet take a severe beating on their path through life, on average an equivalent of twice around the equator. Bushwalkers probably a damn sight more.

Your feet are fragile, made up of no less than 26 small bones, 114 ligaments, 33 muscles joined by connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves and covered in a layer of skin. This is all balanced into 2 arches one running from the heel to the base of the little toe, the other from the heel to the big toe. Leonardo da Vinci thought the foot an engineering masterpiece, and it is and should be treated with respect.

The common phrase “Oh my feet are killing me” can usually be rephrased more appropriately to “you are killing your feet”.

The structure of the foot can be easily damaged from years of excessive stressors such as running, incorrect gait, and ill-fitting shoes. An imbalance in the alignment of the feet causes a change in the centre of gravity; other areas then overcompensate stressing ankles, calves, knees and hips. Ill-fitting shoes lead to foot deformities, ingrown nails, areas of friction, possible blisters, ulcers, infections, bunions, corns, and callus formation.

If your choice of bushwalking footwear is hasty all these factors can be very apparent on an average day or weekend walk, the trip can be a misery or in fact not manageable at all.

Boots or good walking shoes should be wide enough to comfortably accommodate 2 pairs of socks for blister prevention (take your bushwalking socks in with you when trying on footwear), remembering also the feet will swell and spread when you are on them for long periods and in heat.

They need to be long enough that on steep downhill slopes the tips of the toes (with nails cut) are not being pressed against the toe of the footwear. (Several members of the club have lost the occasional toenail in this way). Most people have one foot larger than the other so be aware of this.

The sole should be stout and yet flexible with good tread. I advise that there is ankle support.

Good shops will take the time to find the right pair that fit correctly for you and will best serve your type of walking. The better ones will also allow you to take them home and wear them around the house inside for a few hours before your final decision.

“Life would be serene and sweet no aching or abrasion, if shoes were bought to fit the feet instead of the occasion”

Wishing you comfortable walking!!

Please make welcome on your next walk our new members:

Christine Innes, Kim Stokeld, Kate Ratcliffe, David Ingham, Edward Walters, Pat Austin, Kevin Songberg, Matt Cudworth, Michael Thai, Rob Gollagher, Maxwell Prince, David Le Page, Marianne Watt.

Please refer to the Winter Walks Programme for additional details.

• Sunday 26th May: Sydney Urban Walk
  

Walk the Cooks river Cycleway from Tempe station to Bicentennial Park. No big hills.

• Sunday 9th June: Scheyville NP 15km
  

Easy walk mostly on old tracks, woodland and wetland. Interesting landscape on Sydney fringe.

• Tuesday 25th June: Cape Bailey Coastal Walk
  

Easy 10km midweek walk from Kurnell with spectacular views of rugged coastline.

• Sunday 30th June: Kuring Gai NP
  

Pleasant and interesting walk along river and creeks from St Ives to Wahroonga via Bobbin Head.

Have you Changed your Address?

If you have changed your address or phone number recently, please advise:

• Members: Pam Morrison
• Prospectives: Heike Krausse

The advice should be in writing directed to the Club's postal address. This will ensure that our records show your current address and prevent delay in receiving the magazine each month.

20

On March 20th Vivien Dunne presented her solo walk of Yorkshire Dales National Park (England). A small gathering attended, nonetheless, we enjoyed the pretty pictures, and valuable information to those intending to do the walk. Thank you Vivien.

This was followed by a pleasant Cheese & Bikkie evening on the 27th.

In April Jan Mohandas presented his slides of Patagonia on the 17th. A great turnout - there were approximately 50 or so in attendance. Amazing photos.

We look forward to Part 2 (15th May) which will be of Peru. Thank you Jan for sharing the experience, and also the leader of the walk Oliver Crawford (without whom there wouldn't be any photos). Thank you also to Heike Krausse for baking a cake for us, keep them coming.

Wilf Hilder presented a New Members Training evening on the 24th outlining things to consider before leading that first walk. Basic navigational skills were also covered. Thank you Wilf. More leadership talks from Wilf & Don Brooks to follow next program.

May:

• Wed 29th The Club's Insurance
  

Come along and hear Maurice Smith give details of our insurance cover. Both Public Liability and Personal Accident covers will be discussed.

June:

• Wed 5th Committee Meeting
  

Observers welcome as well to see their Committee members at work.

• Introduction to SBW
  

Introducing new members to the Club

• Wed 12th General Meeting
• Wed 19th Winter Solstice Feast
  

Bring a plate of goodies, Club will supply the beverages.

• Wed 26th Leadership/Walks Planning Night
  

with Don Brooks

Any suggestions, ideas or questions about the social programme should be directed to the Social Secretary: Vicki Garamy: 9349 2905
You can find this social program (and updates) on our web site www.sbw.org.au

One day a cat dies of natural causes and goes to heaven. There he meets the Lord Himself. The Lord says to the cat, “You've lived a good life and if there is any way I can make your stay in Heaven more comfortable, please let me know.” The cat thinks for a moment and says, “Lord, all my life I have lived with a poor family and had to sleep on a hard wooden floor.” The Lord stops the cat and says, “Say no more,” and a wonderful fluffy pillow appears. A few days later, six mice are killed in a tragic farming accident and go to heaven. Again there is the Lord to greet them with the same offer. The mice answer, “All of our lives we've been chased. We have had to run from cats, dogs and even women with brooms. We are tired of running. Do you think we could have roller skates so we don't have to run any more?” The Lord says, “No problem,” and fits each mouse with a beautiful set of roller skates. About a week later the Lord stops by to see the cat and finds him snoozing on the pillow. The Lord gently wakes the cat and asks him, “How are things going since you arrived here?” The cat stretches and yawns and replies, “It is wonderful here. Better than I could have ever expected. And those Meals On Wheels you have been sending by are the best!!!”

by Caro Ryan

Ingredients:

• ½ cup plain rice (arborio/risotto rice takes too long to cook)
• 1 crumbled chicken or veggie stock cube
• ½ cup dried mushrooms (from Asian supermarket)
• Sprinkling onion flakes
• Sprinkling garlic flakes
• Good grind of pepper
• 2 tbs dried peas
• Optional: 1 tsp finely chopped dried chilli

Place all ingredients into 1 snaplock bag before the trip - dinner in one bag!
Bring 3 cups of water to the boil in billy.
Tip in bag and simmer until rice is cooked (approx 12 mins).
Stir occasionally to stop rice sticking.
Voila! Bon appétit!

I recently read a book on mountaineering and thought the following quote might interest our members:
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams, with open eyes, to make it possible” - T. H. Lawrence, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Vicki)

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Also in Canberra and Jindabyne
Website: www.paddypallin.com.au
Mail order: 1800 805 398