A kilometre down the coast is Wattamolla proper. This is an inlet with a little beach on one side…
And a magnificent lagoon on the other.
I’ve spent many summer days in that lagoon. I can’t deny that it is a popular spot, but no matter how busy it gets on land, I’m always able to find a serene spot on the water to float away.
One of my all-time favourite walks is the Coast that spans the length of the Royal National Park. Funnily enough, I haven’t walked the length of it yet, but this bit between Little Marley and Wattamolla is my favourite. Sure, there are similar sights up and down the coast line, but the cliffs here are rather more dramatic to my eyes.
I also love how the sandstone form multi-caked layers, like pancakes.
Since I’ll be travelling down the South Coast in a few weeks, I’m starting a series on its magnificent coastline. I’ll start off at Bundeena. It’s in the Royal National Park, and technically still in Sydney, but it feels like a world away, especially when viewed from the water.
All is calm at twilight. The water is still. The pool a mirror. The leaves hold their breath as we walked by. Only the birds awaken from their noon slumber, foraging against time before the sun and the cold sets in.
The banksias are flowering in force in the national park. I spotted a few different varieties around. I don’t know their scientific names so I will call them as I see them.
The tall, orange one.
The short, yellow one.
The stubby orange one.
We crossed Kangaroo Creek for the final time, at beautiful Karloo Pool. The sun was just setting as we passed, and the water was a translucent green.
It was incredible how much the water level had risen in the six months since my last visit. The lower rock platforms were completely covered with water, so perhaps the increase was 30cm or more.
In the middle of the drought the creek bed so dry that you could step over the stream. Last Sunday, you had to take off your shoes to get across, or if you choose to keep them on, step very carefully.
I hope the water stays around until my next visit next summer.
On the walk, I passed trees of all different shapes.
I love the shape of their branches, twisting and turning into the air.
This one in particular had spectacular branches.
Early winter means a profusion of wildflowers in Sydney (so is it really winter?). The most common ones are the grevillea…
The tea tree…
And the wattle.
Winter in Sydney is the best time for walking. The weather is cool and the skies sunny. On Sunday, I went out walking in the Royal National Park with the Bankstown Bushwalkers, up and down the ridges of Kangaroo Creek, near Heathcote. We stopped for morning tea at Kangaroo Creek, which glistened in the morning sunlight.
Banksias are ubiquitous to the east coast of Australia, where I live, but nevertheless are quite striking when in full flower.
Surprisingly, they are still striking even when their flowers have dried and withered.
Static and Silence 