Sunday, 31st May 2009
Being the first white person to die in Australia and have it duly recorded is not something you can boast about. But “Endeavour” crew Scotsman Forby Sutherland, whose grave we passed on the shores of Botany Bay on our recent expedition, at least had the consolation of Captain Cook naming the southern headland of Botany Bay after him. OK, it’s now called Cape Solander but the whole Shire to the south of Botany Bay and extending to the southern boundary of the Royal National Park (the world’s oldest park) is now remembered as being named after Forby (even though not historically correct).
Today Sunday 31 May 2009 (the last day of Autumn) marks our second expedition to the Sutherland Shire (pronounced “deshoyer”).
Our starting point will be Bundeena on the Southern Shores of Port Hacking – destination Wattamolla some 12 kms distant to the South (with no detours).
Our instructions are to rendezvous at the Car park at Wattamolla at 9.00am. The program is delayed slightly when the Weir at Audley breaks its banks and is closed by the RTA just after the Hunter’s Mazda SP23 has traversed through 15cms of water. A call to John in the Honda CRV redirects him via Waterfall.
By about 9.40am we all meet up – John & Di, John & Rose and Elvira.
We have a quick look around Wattamolla which has a beautiful lagoon fed by a quite high waterfall and a fine reasonably sheltered beach. We read on the National Parks sign how Bass and Flinders and the mysterious cabin boy Martin sheltered from a southerly buster there when returning by boat from one of their expeditions down the coast.
We leave the Mazda behind for the return trip, all pile into the CRV and John C drives us to the start of the Walk at the end of Loftus Street Bundeena.
We start walking at 10am on the dot having decided to walk via Jibbon Beach and Jibbon Headland and join the Coast Track further south.
Jibbon beach affords a fantastic view of Port Hacking, Cronulla, Bate Bay and Wanda where we walked on our last expedition. There is a very safe anchorage tucked in behind the headland where a couple of boats were moored very well protected from the strong southerly.
Around the headland was a difference story with the wind blowing considerably – enough to blow your cap off – and tossing up some big seas crashing on the rocks below under a bright blue sky. Considering the last couple of days in Sydney of sometimes torrential rain, the sunny weather and freshly washed bushland is sparkling and beautiful.
The noise of the crashing waves gives Bundeena its name - the word from the language of the Dharawal people meaning “noise like thunder”.
We walk around the headland and head south along a fairly average track through the Banksia heath at time crouching almost to the ground under the enveloping foliage. The heath shelters many small birds who twitter at us as we walk by.
We ask our leader (Di) - with just a hint of concern - when we will get to start the Coast Walk proper but about 11.30am we of little faith come across a tar sealed fire trail to the south east of Bundeena and pretty soon we are on the Walk and striding towards Marley.
The track passes along the cliff top with a fantastic view of the crashing seas below. The cliffs themselves are soft sandstone of beautiful white, ochre and rust colours and smoothed and sculpted by the wind. Above us a couple of sea eagles hover majestically in the strong southerly.
After about 2 hours we arrive in the Marley area. First there is Marley Headland which provides a panoramic view of the coast below. Then we cross the mouth of a lagoon on stepping stones and arrive at Marley Beach. A little further on we reach Little Marley Beach. From a distance Little Marley looks like a place where a boat could shelter and you could perhaps have a swim in the summer – nothing could be further from the truth. A red sign erected by National Parks warns of dangerous rips and to definitely stay out of the water.
We feel we are getting closer to our destination of Wattamolla and ask some hikers heading north how far to go. We estimate we should arrive at the car park by 2.30pm max.
After trudging on for an hour we see some buildings in the distance which we reckon are the Wattamolla Kiosk. Soon we pass a dam with a tricky jump across the fast flowing creek at the top of a cliff. In no time at all we are at the Wattamolla waterfall and the car park – arriving there at about 2.20pm.
According to the Tissot “Touch” it’s been 4 hours 21 minutes since we left the CRV at Bundeena and we reckon we have walked about 14 kms – and it feels like it!
Tired but happy, we jump into the Mazda and head for a well-earned lunch at a Bundeena cafe.
Our next mission – should we choose to accept it – will be to walk from Wattamolla to Otford.
JHH
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