Full Day Hike Through Garrigal National Park

On Saturday the hiking team met bright and early for a 3-6hr hike through Garrigal National Park. There was an option half way to exit, which is why some of us did 3 hours and the rest did 6! Special mention to Kass, who had knee surgery on Thursday, but reckons she’ll be good as new for Nepal!

At 730am we were clustered on the corner or Bantry Bay Rd and Warringah Rd, and from there we wandered south towards Garrigal National Park. After about a kilmetre, we entered lush Australian bush, and felt like we could have been anywhere! After an hour or so of walking, we got water glimpses of the beautiful Bantry Bay, so we stopped for our first break.

Start of the trail

Jade and Clare relishing being in front of Trish, who traditionally HAS to be in front

An example of the descent, which was tricky in places!

A lush section of trail

LOVE flannel flowers!

Trish attempting to get stuck (again – she did this last year)

 Rest spot #1

Refreshed, a continued on through rainforest, gum forest, and then finally along the waters edge where there were secluded beaches and waterfalls. We said goodbye to 3 of our crew at the Roseville Bridge, and the rest of us stopped to use the bathroom and eat lunch (it was only 11am by then, mind you!). Trish has to be commended for managing to stay vertical for the whole hike to that point! Mags also kept her boots on for longer than usual, so they must be breaking in!

A waterfall

Some of views, arguably worth the climbs!

A particularly furry piece of flora!

The whole crew, before saying “bye” to 3 of them.

From here, the rest of us meandered through mangroves and followed streams, until made a steep climb out of the park in Davidson. We lightly debated walking back to our cars, but the argument was stifled by the arrival of a bus, in which we all got on and basked in the air conditioning! In retrospect, it would have been a hot and miserable trudge up Warringah Rd, a stark contrast to the bush and rivers of Garrigal National Park, so i am glad that we got the bus!

Some mushrooms growing out of the rock

Some of the agility required to make it around these trails

“spot the trail marker” [top right]

One of the water dragons that make Garrigal National Park their home

At last, we make it out of Garrigal National park! We are only 600m from a bus stop at this point

We re-convened at Skyline Bakery for a coffee then limped back to our cars to spend the afternoon horizontal.

Next week we have a relatively short 6k hike in Elanora at 930am!

Culminating in coffee

Remember that we are hiking to raise money for sevenwomen.org , and that you can help us by bringing $25 when you hike with us, or purchasing one of their products from our website: https://into-you.com.au/shop