Thursday Walkers trek between cloudbursts

AUTUMN has brought mixed results for the Thursday Walkers this year.

It began with clear, blue skies but soon devolved into some rained-out Thursdays that were better spent indoors.

The first week in May saw the walkers gather at North Haven for their annual camp, enjoying a series of walks in and around the Camden Haven area.

On the first day they drove up to the North Brother Mountain lookout and undertook a rainforest loop walk before settling down for a late afternoon tea. The vista took in a combination of sweeping views up and down the coast as well as lakes, rivers, beaches and bushland from high vantage points. These included North Brother Mountain and the headlands of Perpendicular Point and Grants Head, which are close to 500m above sea level.

Perpendicular Point rewarded the walkers with sweeping headland views across the ocean and up and down the coastline, followed by a return journey along the river’s edge.

Day three of camp started at Grants Head, offering a relatively comfortable start with a few ups and downs across the headland, but turned into a tough, very steep descent to the beach.

Not everything was mountain treks this autumn, as the afternoon return was a meander down the Camden Haven River alongside Queens Lake, and happy hour back at the holiday park.

The following week, the May rain hit, washing out a walk planned for Columbey National Park. All was not lost as a last-minute message flurry saw the “Wet Thursday Morning Coffee Club” form and meet at a local cafe.

The middle of May brought more rain, so a planned North Arm Cove trip was also postponed in favour of the Coffee Club.

May’s final Thursday started out bleak, but enough of the walkers assembled to head down to the Hunter Botanical Gardens at Heatherbrae. Their cautious optimism wasrewarded with a dry spell and even a hint of sunshine here and there.

“The themed gardens presented beautifully and of course there was a great variety of flora to capture everyone’s interest,” said Cherry Hughes.

“The nursery offered a lovely display of plants and some took the opportunity to make a purchase or two, as well as morning tea with scones baked at the on-site cafe before continuing the walks through the Palm Garden and the Forest Walk where some wandered off on the wrong path but were eventually reunited with the main group.”

The rain arrived late enough to allow everyone to get home.

The walkers’ ambitious June schedule includes a special outing to visit the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Base, a Hawks Nest “Nature Walk”, a climb up Alum Mountain at Bulahdelah, another local walk in and around the hills of Shearwater and, finally, a trip out to the historic village of Paterson.

By Thomas O’KEEFE