Howes Valley Creek

Cheating a bit. With nowhere to walk due to the fires and trapped inside due to exhaustion and smoke filled air outside, I've gone back in time to a walk I did before my blogging days. August 2009 I walked down Howes Valley Creek  off the Putty Road to the Macdonald River. The walk lies in Yengo National Park and today would be unwalkable due to the mega fire to northwest of Sydney and the Central Coast.

The walk follows the bed of Howes Valley Creek which is described as a river of sand as the water often runs underground. However when I did it there was running water most of the way and after attempting to stay dry at the start I gave in and just plowed through the creek as needed. Just be careful when drying your shoes off at the end as they tend to melt a bit if left unattended

Aboriginal sharpening grooves in one of the few rocky sections.

The junction with the Macdonald River.

Camp for the night.

Drying out.

Back out the same way the next day.

Before GPS so unsure of exact distance but probably between 8-10klm each way. 

Got to say a walk I think about more and more lately and would love to redo with more exploration of the Macdonald River.

Tootie Creek

After camping the night at Burralow and walking out to views of the Grose River I drove out to Mountain Lagoon and the start of the T3 Track. The last time I had been here the fire trail had been closed 5klm from the track head which put my plans awry. Today I could drive out and park at the trackhead which was nice.  

I started walking just after 3pm and it was hot and humid. Sweat was pouring out of me like a tap and although I drank 2 litres of water I was dehydrated by the time I hit the river.

Views into the Colo Wilderness just minutes into the walk. 

The lookout point over the Colo. Tootie Creek and my campsite for the night are at the sandbank just visible at the bottom of the photo. The mountain on the far side of the river is Mt Townsend. 

Looking south from the lookout point down the Colo.

Home sweet home for the night. By the time I got here I was so tired and fatigued. I had a wash in the river and tried to rehydrate. All I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. It was very humid and an effort to organise dinner and eat. I was in bed by 7.30pm.

Still great views of the river from the campsite and I did enjoy the solitude. 

The next morning I was up and away early to try and walk out before it warmed up.I still didn't feel great and just had  a couple cups of coffee and lots of water for breakie.

 I walked up the river for a short way and crossed Tootie Creek before starting the climb out. 

Tootie Creek 

It was still hot and humid in the valley and it wasn't till I got to the tops that it cooled down and a cool breeze made itself welcome. It was only 20*C back at the car but strangely seemed much warmer in the valley. 

I think my tiredness/fatigue is partly due to driving up the mountains after work at 11pm and having a late night and an early morning with a midday walk thrown in before I started on the T3 Track. 

 I'd still do this walk again, as it is great country, but maybe not in the heat and humidity.

Jerusalem Bay Sunrise

I walked down after work and slept in my bivvy bag. A very hot and humid night and I was damp with sweat when I arrived at midnight. The weather app was saying 100% humidity. I slept on top of the bivvy bag for an uncomfortable night with beetles, cockroaches and mice crawling over me. At about 0230 I moved spots to beat the mice which seemed to work. 

Sunrise was just after 6 but first light was just after 5 and I started taking photos at 0515. Wasn't a great sunrise with clouds obscuring the sun but I enjoyed being there nevertheless.

After an early breakfast and a quick walk out I was back home by 0800 from my mini adventure.

Mogo Campground and the Circuit Flat Bridge

I hadn't seen my sister and her partner for xmas as they had been on holidys so we decided to meet for lunch at the Settlers Arms pub at St Albans. 

Someone with a sense of humour had visited the toilet in the park opposite.

Lunch in the beer garden with the peacocks and chooks. A half decent feed of fish a chips and a few beers under the huge camphor laurel trees. A good place to see Blue-faced Honeyeaters. I remember being surprised to see them here when I last visited 10-15 years ago. 

Typical January weather of hot and humid days had slowed my walking down, so I took the opportunity of being out this way to camp at Mogo Campground in Yengo National Park and doing a night walk of the Circuit Flat Bridge walk.

I had recently bought myself a camping recliner so I now have all the comforts of home.

Sausage curry simmering away. 

Some night photos of the Circuit Flat Bridge. I was playing with the lantern function of my torch to light up the foreground.  This was not real precise so a few over exposed shots needed a bit of Photoshop magic to help.

The torch lantern has a range of blue, red and green lights so I also had to see what they could do.  

Eventually I got the timing right

After a good sleep listening to the Koalas grunt and groan through the night I was looking forward to the birds in the morning as there had been reports of Turquoise Parrots here a few weeks prior. No luck today and very few birds around. 

A Bassian Thrush being the only bird worth photographing. And of course I had no luck locating the koalas that had been there during the night.