Walking around Waverton and Wollstonecraft

Date: 14 March 2010 06:14:07

Two suburbs in Sydney's Lower North Shore and where I went walking yesterday afternoon. They are about 50 minutes drive from where I live; I may live in Sydney but I am nowhere near the harbour or a beach. Both suburbs have extensive harbour foreshores and I imagine the cost of houses or units there reflects that. They are also very pleasant suburbs to wander around in, and Waverton has a fine collection of shops around the railway station. It was a pleasant autumn day in Sydney, though rain did come later -- but I was happily unaware of it as I was by then reading a book and enjoying an Earl Grey in a bakery a Waverton.

One of the joys of Sydney for me is that there are a great many "green spaces": certain areas have more than others but they are around. There are also large areas of bush within or between suburbs [though of course this brings with it the threat of destruction by bushfire] -- so you often do not need to go far to feel as if you are escaping the city, even though you may be still in it geographically. And that feeling of being away from it all was one of the great feelings I had yesterday, even when staring at the city across the harbour -- I could see it, but felt a long way from it mentally being surrounded by grass, trees and cliffs.
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And the view streches south-west and out west too, where Sydney Harbour becomes the Parramatta River. Another, less famous, bridge is the ANZAC Bridge, also known for reasons I am sure you can see as "Madonna's Bra".
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Of course, there are some sights in Sydney that make you shake your head. Imagine a view from the north, looking to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. What a view. Ah, but don't forget the very large, and in my view very ugly, building in front:

There are of course many other views you can get without it in the way, but even looking at it, as well as many other harbour-front properties, I am curious as to who thought that was a nice building in itself, let alone whether it fits in with the surrounds.

The bush of Australia has its own beauty; while there are trees and ferns of lush green, a great deal of Australia's bush, as Australia is in general a very dry land, has the khaki and brown colours, and where there is green it is of a light colour. Often, as here, the lushness and the dry are at times not far from each other. This is for me beauty in uniqueness. From trees with peeling and scraggly bark to trees with branches stretching out in all directions to trees growing on cliffs I truly want to cry out in the words of Psalm 8: "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Reminders of the various Aboriginal peoples are also present, in signs [informatin signs on the history as well as the plants present and the general area have helpfully been provided on the trails] as well as through rock carvings on Berry Island [no longer an island: it is reachable by land]. These make me consider how old and ancient this land I am blessed to live on is. The photo below shows only some small ones and a pool dug for water; there is a larger one to its left which, sadly, is showing the effects of time both natural and man-made.

Sydney Harbour is still a working harbour, and many of these bush reserves were once sites of industry. Just across from Berry Island is a refinery and HMAS Waterhen, home to the Australian Navy Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group, is next to Balls Head.

Birds, introduced as well as native, are a constant feature of bushland, with their varying songs. As are lizards, snakes and spiders; snakes I cannot -- thanks be to God! -- recall seeing much of in my walks [more scared of us so they say]; spiders are ever-present such as in this photo. As I was wandering out of the Gore Creek track, when what should dash in front of me but, I believe, an Australian Water Dragon; managed to take a semi-okay shot of it as I did with a magpie and a rather blurry one of a pied currawong [? -- I think; I am terrible at bird names as well as flowers] I saw earlier.

As well as fauna there is flora. While I know the banksia below is native, I have no idea about these flowers I saw on my wanderings.

And then you have the flowers in people's yards and gardens which brightened up my day as I pass them.

And, while I enjoy walking, it was nice to stop and relax and read, and eat and drink, on beaches or atop rocks with views.

A very pleasant afternoon. I hope to head back to North Sydney again soon for more walks; the council's very helpful website has a lot of information on walks and bush reserves. And I'll have to get back to the Grumpy Baker at Waverton for more wonderful Early Grey and a wide range of baked delights [I also had a very nice organic cola made by Phoenix; I'll have to keep an eye out for more of their products].