CENTRAL COAST WALK – epic lookouts, crags, wild flowers, beaches – 11km easy-mod

This is just the most fantastic and easy trip up to the Central Coast, and an amazingly beautiful wilderness walk with truly epic lookouts and some of the most stunning spring wildflower displays in the region.

• Chill out on the easy 1 hour train trip or drive from Sydney, through the scenic Hawkesbury river valleys and ancient sandstone bluffs.
• Breath deep at gorgeous coastal villages, perfect beaches, and the fresh air of the open ocean.
• And reward yourself with jaw-dropping scenery after jaw-dropping scenery of coast, forest and mountains on this easy walk across the very best of Brisbane Water National Park.

Your head will be spinning with so many epic views that you will need to nap on the trip home!

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THE PLAN

Getting to Woy Woy station

By train:

• Bring your breakfast, a book, head phones, or chat with the group while you enjoy the 1 hour 15 minutes journey through the huge landscapes of Kuringai, Hawksbury, and Brisbane Water.
• Take the Newcastle Interchange via Strathfield service, departing Strathfield station at 8.31am, Epping station at 8.43am, or Hornsby station at 8.56am, and arriving at Woy Woy at 9.29am.
• Important note on track work on Sat 13 Sept: Buses will replace trains between Central station and Strathfield that weekend. So if you are starting from one of the inner west stations between Central and Strathfield, you can either (i) catch a bus to Strathfield and connect with the Newcastle line there at 8.31am, or (ii) catch a bus to Central, then a train up the T1 North Shore line to Hornsby and connect with the Newcastle line there at 8.56am.
• See the trip planner at www.transportnsw.info for public connections from your area.

By car:

• Woy Woy is 80km or 1 hour 15 mins from Sydney.
• Take the Pacific Highway M1 north, then Central Coast Highway A49, Woy Woy Rd, and Railway Parade to arrive at Woy Woy station.
• There is free parking in the commuter carpark at the station.

Formal start
Meet the group directly in front of Woy Woy station (bus stand E) at 9.30am to wait for the Patonga bus.

Bus from Woy Woy station to Patonga
We'll take bus route 54 from Woy Woy station (bus stand E) at 9.50am, arriving at Patonga village (at Patonga Drive, opposite the Patonga hotel and adjacent to the ferry wharf) at 10.21am.

The walk
- At Patonga we take a quick toilet break, and start our walk slowly up a magical forest trail. The ascent is 150 metres, but is very gradual, and we'll stop lots to check out many stunning coastal view points.

- At the top of the escarpment we circle the plateau along flat fire trails full of flitting birds and spring wildlflowers - many waratahs! A tiny secret trail leads to our lunch spot perched on a dramatic rock citadel with seriously impressive 360 degree vistas of the ocean, Hawkesbury river valleys, rich bushland, and mountains.

- After lunch we weave through another secret trail to emerge at more rock platforms with ancient aboriginal carvings.

- Then it's 2km on a good wide trail back over the crags to the escarpment, emerging onto a lookout with the biggest coastal views you’ve ever seen, no exaggeration!

- We descend 2km on an easy and very beautiful forest trail, passing a big sandstone overhang full of ferns, and a lush botanical reserve, to emerge at the idyllic Pearl Beach village. There is a general store here to grab refreshments, ice creams, snacks, water refills, and have a toilet break.

- Finally we take the easy path along Pearl Beach and a short rocky trail around the headland to finish at Umina Beach.

Afternoon bus from Umina Beach to Woy Woy station
Depending on our walk speed from Patonga, we will catch the

• route 50 bus at 4.34pm, arriving at the station at 4.56pm, or
• route 54 bus at 4.49pm, arriving at the station at 5.11pm, or
• route 50 bus at 5.04pm, arriving at the station at 5.26pm, or
• route 50 bus at 5.34pm, arriving at the station at 5.56pm

Trains from Woy Woy to Sydney

• depart Woy Woy at 5.16pm, arriving Hornsby at 5.49pm, Epping at 6.02pm, and Strathfield at 6.16pm
• depart Woy Woy at 5.41pm, arriving Hornsby at 6.19pm, Epping at 6.32pm, and Strathfield at 6.46pm
• depart Woy Woy at 6.16pm, arriving Hornsby at 6.49pm, Epping at 7.02pm, and Strathfield at 7.16pm

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IS THIS WALK RIGHT FOR ME?
This 11km walk on excellent trails is an easy to moderate effort for walkers with basic fitness and mobility. If you have previously done walks of at least 8km with some easy hills, you will handle this one just fine.

There is a short gradual ascent from Patonga of 150 metres over 2km – this is on a good trail of stone steps, and we will stop lots to admire huge views and you can take as many breaks as you like, so you will find it easy.

There is a short 100 metre section of poorly defined trail over uneven ground to reach our our lunch spot on the rock citadel, but no dangerous scrambling or exposed edges.

There is another 100 metre section of poorly defined trail pushing between dense vegetation for a few moments to leave the rock citadel, but nothing dangerous or hard work. Wear long pants through the slightly scratchy vegetation and go slow and you will be fine.

The 2km walk from the citadel back over the crags to the escarpment is on a good wide trail, including 10 minutes of ascending and descending on built steps - take as many rests as you like and enjoy the stunning wildflowers and huge views.

The 2km descent to Pearl Beach is on a gravel fire trail with a significant downslope along much of it, so you might feel it if you have bad knees, but it can be done pretty easily if you go slow.

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GRATUITY
Please contribute $15 to help offset the group's operating costs.
You can either

• bring cash on the day, or
• make a PayID bank transfer to the organiser's phone number 0411 600 717 in the morning BEFORE you arrive to the event.

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BRING

• Opal card for buses and trains
• your lunch, snacks for a full day (you can pick up extras as we pass Pearl Beach late in the afternoon, but have plenty of supplies for lunch and snack breaks on the trail before that)
• water bottle, at least 2 litres (once we start walking at Patonga there are no water sources until we reach Pearl Beach)
• sturdy walking shoes
• short pants are fine, but long pants are better recommended for this trail (we will step through 200 metres of slightly scratchy vegetation getting in and out of the rock citadel)
• hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent
• warm inner layers, jacket and long pants for later in the day (the Central Coast train is often air conditioned way too cold)
• beach towel or pad to sit on at lunch time

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LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
By your RSVP to this event you agree to the conditions of membership and participation which you can read in the "WHAT WE'RE ABOUT" section HERE.