Bushwalk 1 - Rumbalara to Katandra

I'm kicking this story off with a series of posts about bushwalking. Yep, that's right. Thrilling stuff.

There is method in my madness though. You see, in NZ, I'm doing something I've never done before. Tramping (variously known around the world as bushwalking, hiking or rambling). I've booked into 2 multi-day tramps with my brother & a friend - the Routeburn over 3 days & the Milford over 4. Plus I'll be doing as many single day tramps as I can fit in. All of which adds up to me needing to get some training in. So, every weekend my brother & I (& sometimes just me during the week) have been heading out with our travel packs to practice.

I've been pleased with the results - luckily all my years of running & cycling & walking to work seem to have paid off & I've been able to complete all the walks so far without too much pain.

Along the way I've been taking tons of photos so get ready to enjoy some Central Coast scenery!

The first walk we tackled was Rumbalara Reserve in East Gosford to Katandra Reserve in Matcham. We roughly followed this trail, walking in the opposite direction, but started next to 2GO in East Gosford instead of back at Gosford station.

First up we did a steep climb up the Rainforest Walk:

Even though it's steep, it's quite well constructed with steel & timber steps in parts, so not too bad. Here's the view from the top looking back down:

The track levels out & pretty soon you start getting glimpses of some pretty stunning scenery like this view over Point Clare:

One quirky thing about this walk is the sculptures of famous explorers scattered along the track. Here's Charles Sturt (poor guy is missing a hand thanks to local vandals):

A pleasant view underneath the power lines looking down on Springfield with Brisbane Water in the background:

This guy - Edward John Eyre - sneaks up on you, suddenly appearing around a sharp bend. I'd advise against doing this walk in low light or you might just find yourself freaking out over a life-sized likeness of Charles Kingsford Smith or Matthew Flinders.

The terrain changes when you enter Katandra reserve - this part of the walk was really more of a pleasant stroll:

Before you know it you have reached St Johns Lookout with this pretty view over Matcham, looking towards Terrigal & the Tasman Sea:

From the lookout we followed Toomey Walk down the hill, eventually reaching this awesome Strangler Fig - it's grown right around a huge rock & into the ground:

Nearby is this strangler fig tube - the tree had grown around a large fallen log, which has since rotted away, leaving this intricate wooden root structure in its place:

Near the end of walk we came across a small group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Parrots are my favourite animals, so being surrounded by the screeching of these impressive birds topped off a great day for me.

All up, quite a successful first attempt. And guess what? I've totally caught the bushwalking bug!

The Stats
Distance: 8km one way
Time: 3hrs
Difficulty: Medium-Hard, mainly because of the steep climb at the beginning