Firstly a dedication...
This blog post marks the end of a certain chapter in my life. It needs a Thank You. Firstly to The Lovely Cait for suffering through all my just being Rob. I suspect her patience will need to stretch out a while longer. Also to the other Rob who put the idea in my head in the first place. It's all his fault really.
But also to a dear departed friend Anne who one day unexpectedly gave me a set of GNW maps that I have carried with me all up and down the GNW. I have cursed the little black dots that have repeatedly obscured unnecessary data just when I needed it most, but mostly they have got me through. She always chastised me for walking alone in the heat of summer, but she always asked had I been walking (before chastising me some more). I have thought of her constantly in my adventures along the dotted line.
Let us begin...
Those flicking through my blog will know that I have been painstakingly knocking off the 250km Great North Walk over many years. Technically I began whilst a young' un running around Brooklyn as the grown ups drank at the pub, before hitching us kids onto the back of the boat and water skiiing back down the Hawkesbury to Wiseman's Ferry in the dark. Good times. Then later as a teenager wandering around Cowan/ Jerusalem Bay, and walking and camping between Woy Woy and Patonga. For the past 15 years the idea of completing the GNW has slowly become something with purpose. Finally the time had come to knock off the last bit between Teralba and Newcastle, the Yuelarbah Track.
I decided that I wanted to do it for my birthday, and somehow sweet talked The Lovely Cait into joining me. An easy 6km day one, a birthday dinner at one of our favourite restaurants at Warner's Bay, then about 20km the next day.
Complications ? Who, me ?
We parked the car at Teralba, and I wandered up to the railway station to take a photo. Two old ladies at a bus shelter looked at me wonderingly as I stood before them snapping away in a slightly creepy way. Was I a weird pervert, or a confused terrorist taking photos of the local infrastructure. No ladies, just a slightly crazy middle aged man on a mission.
As we set off, it was only slightly cooler than the surface of the sun. A young couple at a bus stop were arguing.
I'm gunna f@#$%! hit ya
Dont you f@#$%! hit me ! I'll f@#$%! hit you first.
Nah, I'll f@#$%! hit you first
Go on then, f@#$%! hit me
He had children's names tattooed above his eye brows. You can't make this shit up.
We wandered past the Teralba Lakeside Caravan Park. From the outside it looked a bleak place where caravans and trailers came to die. I later found an online review describing it as "Difficult place to find and when you get there you’ll wish you hadn’t". Thanking my lucky stars I hadn't booked accommodation there for the evening, we walked on.
As we strolled along I passed on some of my experience of walking the GNW to The Lovely Cait, primarily that we needed to keep our eyes open for the infamously tricky to find GNW sign.
I'm gunna f@#$%! hit ya
Dont you f@#$%! hit me ! I'll f@#$%! hit you first.
Nah, I'll f@#$%! hit you first
Go on then, f@#$%! hit me
He had children's names tattooed above his eye brows. You can't make this shit up.
We wandered past the Teralba Lakeside Caravan Park. From the outside it looked a bleak place where caravans and trailers came to die. I later found an online review describing it as "Difficult place to find and when you get there you’ll wish you hadn’t". Thanking my lucky stars I hadn't booked accommodation there for the evening, we walked on.
As we strolled along I passed on some of my experience of walking the GNW to The Lovely Cait, primarily that we needed to keep our eyes open for the infamously tricky to find GNW sign.
The walk around the bay was lovely, but incredibly hot. It was to become a feature of this last section that there are many treeless spots in the full sun. Anyone who doubts the cooling effects of trees needs to walk this stretch in summer. At least this part of the world still believes in taps and drinking fountains for the public, so not too much a problem. Lots of great walking and cycleways. A nice part of the world. Just very hot.
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| Birthday Boy |
At Warner's Bay I couldnt locate the GNW signboard with distances and directions. Eventually it was found in the middle of a construction zone. I also wanted to check where we needed to go the next day, but again found it difficult to spot the sign post. Eventually I located it behind a sandwich board (of course !). Both harbingers of what was to come.
We stocked up at ALDI then headed off to our evenings accomodation - the lovely Esplanade Motel. The pool was freezing, but I didn't care a bit. It was my birthday and I was 20km away from the realisation of a (slightly weird) dream. For dinner I donned my finest clean shirt. The Lovely Cait had decided make up was more important than a fresh change of clothes so she rocked the crumpled look. After a great birthday meal at Sephardim's (highly recommended) it was time to hit the sack.
The next day was supposed to be cooler, but...it seemed just as hot. With trusty map in hand, we set off. The local suburbia was neat and tidy and treeless, the sky was cloudless, and the sun was blazing. A local old mate was shirtless and mowing his lawn in his shortest short shorts. A browner brown you could not wish to see. Obviously "sunscreen" is not a word or product he uses often, and melanoma is some crazy fad the young kids talk about. I walked past in my long sleeved sunshirt, neckerchief, collar up, big hat, lathered in 30+ block out and gave him a friendly nod.
Being a week day, the streets were nearly empty. We passed a bunch of Council workers mowing lawns. Along the way a car pulled up with two distressed ladies. "Have you seen a dog ? A daschund ?". Sorry, we hadn't, and they drove off.
We arrived at the end of a cul-de-sac. Bugger. We had missed a turn. The map suggested we could reconnect with the GNW by walking along the back of the houses. A sort of trail wandered through the scrub. We walked along it until we could see what looked like a park and paths and...a daschund. Using my neckerchief as a lead, we secured "Dexter" and called the number on his collar. A very confused man answered. Yes he did have a dog called Dexter, but he was being minded at his Mum's? We gave him a location, and he called his Mum to meet us at the nearest intersection which was where the Council boys had been mowing and had their trucks parked in front of the GNW sign. That folks, is how the Universe works.
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| sneaky |
Our Good samritan work done, we resumed the trail.
Parts of this section are not overly pretty, but still interesting. Crossing under major roadways, walking through the bush then being alongside manicured greens and Ladies Golf Day, lots of small waterways with birds and frogs, in and out of streets and houses - all the while playing spotto with the elusive GNW signs. Less cocky now, the Lovely Cait was more in the spirit of spying out the little buggers. In a few places road works and development had resulted in some markers being removed then placed back in new and interesting and at times confusing positions. We muddled through though successfully, but it did add time.
Eventually we arrived at the intersection with the Fernleigh Track *sigh*. If only more of NSW made such good use of unused rail infrastructure *sigh*. We stopped for lunch and assessed our water situation. Not great, but enough. A sexy super model appeared out of nowhere in a skimpy yellow bikini. I wouldn't have even noticed had not the Lovely Cait pointed out to me. Apparently there is a popular local swimming spot nearby.
About this time my lovely walking companion expressed an urge to pee, but was unwilling to avail herself of the generous facilities provided by nature. As we wandered on to the lovely Glenrock Lagoon, with a fierce sun beating down, and the walk proving way longer and harder than anticipated, the irony of having too much liquid on the inside, and not enough on the outside did occur to me. I chose not to share this thought at the time, so I have lived to tell this tale.
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| Glenrock Lagoon |
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| Glenrock Lagoon |
Walking around Glenrock Lagoon, the day did really begin to drag on, and I did begin apologising to the Lovely Cait, who admitted that yes, it was dragging on, but she was fine except for the blisters, dehydration, heat stroke and an impending bladder explosion - so all good. I will admit somehow unexpectedly arriving at the gates of the local waste facility (sewerage treatment plant) had me down, but the Lovely Cait took it all in her stride. She admits that she thought I was going to totally crack it at this point, and thought it was hilarious. I agree that I desperately wanted to lose my shit, but disagree that it was at all amusing. Once we managed to cross the dunes and coastal scrub and reached the beach and were back on track, it was plain sailing (sort of...).
A good old beach slog ensued. Walking on sand can be the pits, but it was beautiful, and it was cooler. On another day, it would have been sublime, but this day was more challenging than I had expected. Merewether Beach, though, was like an oasis. What a fantastic spot and worth a visit at a later date. Cait did a beach sprint to the facilities worthy of Grant Kenny in his prime (only with thighs tightly clenched). A pod of dolphins swam amongst the swimmers, hang gliders soared in the sky, and the shop sold ice creams. A slice of heaven.
From the beaches, we rentered the urban environment. We soon discovered that the planners of the GNW had in their wisdom decided that every local landmark must be visited along the way. We wandered up, down, around, beside, through all kinds of places. I eventually gave up and died at The Obelisk. Cait lived on and gave a GNW marker the finger.
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| Dead |
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| Take that you little f@#$%& |
The Lovely Cait returned me from the dead, and we soldiered on. To the end, our little GNW friend was playing silly buggers, and we nearly missed the final right turn down to the ferry (the Crafty Cait spotted him hiding). However, upon arriving at the wharf, nothing proclaimed that it was either the Queens Wharf, or the end/ beginning of the GNW. Of course it was, but I had to be SURE. What if it wasn't and I had to return another day ! Cait patiently trudged behind as I tried to find a clue - which I eventually did at the Public Toilets ! I excitedly posed as the endlessly Patient Cait wearily took the celebratory snap. Our 20km walk that was actually easily over 25km was done.
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| DONE ! |
Then we trooped out to the end of the Wharf for a last pic. I fiddled about with the timer as Cait suggested we ask someone just to take it for us. I don't ask for directions, and I take my own photos (eventually). After a few false starts, I got the job done.
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| Portrait of a patient wife as her husband tries (yet again) to set the timer (unsuccessfully) |
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| SUCCESS ! Journey done. Time to go home. |
To finish so abruptly would be a let down. So let us assume that when State Rail trip planner suggests a short walk to the rail interchange, it is wrong, and the planned 20km birthday stroll eventually becomes nearer to 30km, but two extremely tired but happy travellers finally collapsed onto railway bench to await a magical carriage to whisk us through the outer edges of Newcastle and deliver us to Teralba where our luxurious air conditioned vehicle waiting to whisk us home.
A poem to finish
The opening lines have been in my head and walked with me for a very long time. The rest arrived just in time, as these things usually do.
There was a woman who gave me maps
She knew that I would use them
They came in a little plastic case
so I would not lose them
Over months and years and nights and days
I have travelled up and down
Following a line upon a map
on a line along the ground
Through hot and cold and sun and rain
on days that would not end
I have walked and and run and thought of life
and of a now departed friend
We all need maps to go through life, something that can guide us
Like directions from a friend who will quietly beside us
There was a woman who gave me maps
She knew that I would use them
They came in a little plastic case
So I would not lose them
For Anne
