JUNE began with a special outing for the Thursday Walkers, to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service administration and maintenance base at Broadmeadow on a special Wednesday, 3 June.
“The aerial rescue service delivered a very informative talk about their activities throughout the north of the state with bases at Lismore, Tamworth and Newcastle, plus a tour of the base and a nice morning tea,” Ray Hughes told NOTA.
“They have a fleet of five helicopters to service the three bases, with four on call at any time while the fifth is rotated through a maintenance schedule at Broadmeadow, and Newcastle-based flights operate out of the Belmont (Pelican) Airport.”
Unfortunately for the walkers, the helicopter was undergoing maintenance during their and being repainted so was unavailable for a close-up inspection of the specialist interiors.
The first Thursday of the month delivered a respite from the previous slew of wet Thursdays, with a cool, windy but dry one, and even a little sunshine between the scattered clouds to illuminate a new route through and around Hawks Nest that has been developed by the local Myall Koala and Environment Group (MKEG).
The new route highlighted flora and fauna that share the habitat, with a series of information plaques placed by MKEG to provide interesting facts.
The walkers were told that MKEG plans to extend the walk soon.
Alum Mountain was next on the list. The walk offered several viewpoints near the top of the mountain that overlooked Bulahdelah, and at the southern end the walkers found views even further south over the Myall River and to the east with glimpses of the ocean. Northern-end views looked over the township and out to the Markwell Valley in the west.
The long climb up the old mining trail and the ups and downs out to the northern lookout and back kept everyone comfortably warm.
“It really is a spectacular walk passing several old quarries, highlighted by a wide range of forest including some superb grass trees plus huge boulders and rock formations scattered here and there,” Ray Hughes said.
The day was topped off with a visit to the local Indonesian restaurant in Bulahdelah for lunch.
Another local outing the following week. The walkers trekked around Shearwater’s semi-rural estates, built on the hillside acreages leading into Tea Gardens, starting and ending at the Elouera Lions Lookout.
The walk followed a mixture of streets and bush tracks, passing some very nicely presented homes and offering some magnificent views overlooking forest, farmland, the township and out to the coastline.
The walk was followed by an invitation to attend an introduction/refresher session on First Aid, conducted by Tea Gardens’ own first aid rockstar, Kelly Pietsch from Mid Coast First Aid and Safety Training.
The group was advised of the latest techniques to respond to heart attack, stroke, snake bite and lacerations – all necessary skills for a bushwalking group.
Particular emphasis was placed on CPR and the use of a defibrillator to treat cardiac arrest, with the variations required to assist young children, older children and teens and adults.
The final walk for June was a new one, discovering some of the history of Paterson, an historically important river port dating back to 1801.
“Perched on the side of the Paterson River, in the 1870s the town had four general stores, two butchers, a bakery, four blacksmiths, a tannery, a sawmill, two shipyards and five hotels plus a boarding school for girls,” Ray said.
“Later came a coach depot, which is now the Paterson Tavern, an ideal spot for lunch.”
“The early-morning rain that day delayed the start of the adventure, but a large group made the trip anyway, only to meet more rain so, it was off to the tavern for an early lunch and afterwards, after more rain, a contracted tour of the town area before heading for home.”
The Thursday Walkers have another busy one planned for July, including Boat Harbour to look for whales, along the Humpback Highway, another new walk from Lorn to Bolwarra to discover the history of both, an extension of last month’s Hawks Nest Nature Walk, a trip down to Pindimar and, finally, Bather’s Way – from Queen’s Wharf to Merewether Beach.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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