The next walk for the Cartophiles bushwalking club is on 19th May in two parts.  The first part is a moderate grade walk, mostly downhill, through the beautiful Lyrebird Gully to Crosslands for lunch.  The second part is a moderate to hard walk along Berowra Creek and up the steep climb to Berowra.  Members can do either part or both.
1st Half – Mt Kuring-gai Station to Crosslands Reserve (5.7km)
This is one of the most beautiful walks in the Berowra Valley Regional Park.  It descends a very steep fire trail to Lyrebird Gully, passing some lovely sandstone caves and waterfalls along …

What an amazing walk! A gentle breeze brushed us while the Harbour sparkled under a blue skies and cotton wool clouds, and all around us was the history of the industrial and social development of Sydney.  James, Annie, Rachel, Tertius, Andrew, Sue, Kit and new Cartophile Trent continued our celebration of Sydney Harbour with the third section of the Harbour Circle Walk, from Huntleys Point Wharf, Gladesville, to the Balmain East Wharf.  This is the first walk the Cartophiles have done that is almost all on pavement.  It also marked two years since the first ever Cartophiles walk!
Our beginning was …

Heavy rain and flooded creeks forced us to defer this walk one week, so only four Cartophiles finally took part. Kit boldly billed the walk as a “great introductory walk for newcomers to hiking camping” that is suitable for children, so seven year old Gabriel cam with Michael, Sue and Kit to face the wilds of the Heathcote National Park. Kit may have overstated the suitability for beginners.

Under a threatening sky – but without any substantial rain while we walked – four Cartophiles left Cowan Station for Jerusalem Bay.  Annie, Sue, James & Kit dared the wet weather for a chance to picnic near one of the most iconic views along the Great North Walk.  We weren’t disappointed.
It had been raining hard all week, and a light drizzle persisted as we set off.  The track by Cowan station was muddy and covered in puddles, and the group of walkers we bumped into coming the other way told stories of nearly impassable creeks.  The rain let up soon …

The Cartophile’s youngest regular walker, Gabriel, was disappointed that his first hiking camp was deferred because of the heavy rain.  As consolation, his father, Michael, with Sue & Kit, staged an impromptu walk along the Great North Walk from Galston Gorge to Crosslands.  Michael and Gabriel carried their big packs as a training.
The start was delayed by a tree down across the access road to Crosslands when we went to position a car at the end point.  Fortunately for the Victorian tourist stuck on the wrong side of the tree a frendly neighbour with a chainsaw came to the rescue …