In my family’s itinerary, we were supposed to go to Chatswood for shopping today. But like in many instances in the past, last minute changes happened again which led me to doing my laundry instead. I was in the middle of my sulking, rather my soaking when my cousin invited me to try bushwalking. I read about several bushwalk tracks at Berowra but I had been doubtful if anyone from the troop would be keen to trying it. Hence, I earnestly agreed to go with my cousin (This cousin and I are odd balls in the family). Bringing along my sister and my other cousin, we left at 3:00 in the afternoon and later on realized it was not the smartest decision that day.
At the start of Berowra track is the signage which said that we were about to embark for The Great North Walk. Since it was an impromptu trip, I had no idea what it was. For my cousin who had been in Berowra for two years, this just served as his “quiet spot” and never really bothered looking it up. We almost instantly planned to visit again with aim of finishing the entire track and eventually brag that we conquered The Great North Walk.
The Great North Walk turned out to be more than 300 kilometers of interconnected tracks that goes up to Newcastle and can be explored from 8 days to 14 days. We did not realize this until after 2 hours of walking and bumping into several campers with full gears on while us were holding half-full bottles of water.
Our first stop was at Berowra lookout where we had a good view of Berowra Waters and Blue Mountains.
We walked down further and experienced lush greenery and wild life.
We were aiming for Berowra Station but it was getting dark which prompted us to go back.
As we walked back, we spotted several cabins that we supposed were open to campers to stay in. Given the trail situation, I would think beginners could easily conquer the track but I would still recommend going with proper gear, enough food and water supply and a map. Since data signal is not reliable in the area, a printed map comes handy.
It was most 6:00pm when we exited the track. My cousin decided to catch the sun set and headed to Berowra Valley National Park lookout. I have to say that it was one of the best sunsets I have seen – vivid colors of orange, blue against earthy green and how its hues changed almost instantly. Personally, I had to pause and take in the spectacular view.
We quietly walked home, each deep in thoughts. As for me, it was not a totally a whole new experience but there was something unique about it. Maybe the sunset. No, it really is the sunset.
Life Affairs 