Woodford - Transit of Venus

We started this bush walk at the end of Clearview Parade Hazelbrook (below)

The track is so called, because an observatory was set up not far from the Woodford Academy, to house a 114mm telescope and other instruments, needed for the observation of the 9^th December 1874 Transit of Venus.

The passing of Venus between the Sun and Earth, was an important event, as it enabled scientists to better calculate the distance from earth to the sun.
The most recent Transit of Venus occurred in June 2012, and will not occur again until 2117.

Along the way we passed Waratahs (Telopea) in flower, and visited Edith Falls (below right) and a side trip to Mabel Falls, where we ate our lunchs.

 

Our walking track crossed the fire trail (above) in Mabel Falls Reserve. The track ended at Woodbury Street with a steep climb back to the highway. We finished at Woodford station.

Location Map
 
My thanks to Judith and Jenny for showing us this lesser known track, with its historic connections. 

Centennial Park

Centennial Park, situated in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was dedicated as a public open space in 1888. The park's construction was implemented by Charles Moore, then Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, on what was then  "coastal shrub land and swamp." The land was "cleared and sculpted into an open, undulating expanse to provide recreation in an idealised setting,"

The Parklands now support a diverse range of activities including horse riding, bike riding, rollerblading, bird watching, and a range of sports.

The Federation Pavilion (above) is located within a huge 'dog off the leash' area (although the dogs are not permitted within 10 metres of the pavilion). Built in 1988, it was designed by Sydney architect Alexander Tzannes as a Bicentennial refurbishment, after he won a competition to design a permanent monument to commemorate the Federation of Australia.

If you plan to visit, it would be well worth reading 'About the Pavilion', which explains the dome's artwork and the inscription.







The woodland of paperbarks (below) is part of Lachlan Swamps, which became a source of fresh water for Sydney (from 1837 to 1859). This difficult task was a  achieved with the completion of Busby's bore; a tunnel running from the marsh to Hyde Park.

Busby's Pond, Centennial Park

Black Swans

Formal gardens, Centennial Park

I was surprised that it took us less than 15 minutes to walk to the parkland from Bondi Junction station, after a 10 minute train ride from the city.

               Location map                                     Transport                                   Parklands map

Bonnie Doon Cliff Walk

We started this Katoomba walk at the Explorers Tree near the Great Western Highway, at Nellies Glen Road, about 2.5Km from the railway station.

View from Norths Lookout, Katoomba

Nellies Glen Road, which we turned off to follow this cliff top walk, leads to the start of the 'Six Foot Track' and into the valley. Our walk featured Norths Lookout, which overlooks Nellies Glen and the Megalong valley.

Returning to the town centre through Catalina Park (Walford Park) we saw what remains of the Catalina Racing Circuit (below left), which closed in the 1990s. It has a disturbing history, as in 1957 "the traditional owners were forcibly removed from the Gully to make way for a racetrack". This site, known as 'The Gully' was declared an official Aboriginal Place in 2002.

Enlarged photos of the sign the walkers are reading

Location map

WildWalks link


Our thanks, as always, go to our walk leaders.

Watsons Bay and Sydney's South Head

  We arrived by ferry at Watsons Bay on Sydney Harbour, as an extension to our visit to Garden Island.

Watsons Bay, Sydney Harbour

          We walked along the beach, passing through Green Point Reserve to Camp Cove, then followed the South Head Heritage Trail which starts at the end of the beach.

Camp Cove, Sydney Harbour

The Hornby Lighthouse at South Head, was built following the loss of many lives from two ship wreaks in 1857.

The gun emplacements, completed in 1854, were never equipped with guns. In the photo below we are looking across to North Head.

Location Map             Wildwalks info.