Knapsack Viaduct - Lapstone

Knapsack Viaduct, completed in 1867, was originally built as a rail bridge, and formed part of the zig-zag* railway at Lapstone, on the Sydney side of the Blue Mountains.

In 1926 this sandstone viaduct, designed by the railway engineer John Whitton, was widened to accommodate use as a road bridge. The viaduct remained part of the Great Western Highway until 1993, when it was replacing by a section of the M4 Western Motorway.

                                           Elizabeth lookout

The viaduct, 57Km from Sydney, is now a pedestrian path/cycleway which continues down the hill to the end of the Great Western Highway at Emu Plains.  Lucasville platform (left), can still be seen nearby.
When the first Glenbrook deviation was opened in 1892, the Lapstone ZigZag was abandoned, and John Lucas (Minister for Mines), lost the convenient rail link to his country retreat.                   

location map            'WildWalks' notes             

* Sometimes known as the "Little Zig-Zag" to avoid confusion with the Zig-Zag railway on the western side of the Mountains                                             

Fungi

Late autumn and early winter is a good time for observing and enjoying the different forms and colours of fungi. This post is a small collection of photos I have taken on different walks, and as you might be able to tell, some were taken on bush walks and the others on urban walks.

Amanita muscaria

Coral Fungi

      

         

Stinkhorn fungi

  Some informative blogs:  'Fungimap's Blog' and Australian Fungi Blog

Australian Botanic Garden

The Australian Botanic Garden, at Mt Annan, south west of Sydney, has plantings designed to display the diversity of the Australian flora.

The Water Garden, Aust. Botanic Garden - Mt Annan

While there we also visited the Australian PlantBank (photos below) which is located within the Garden. With an estimated 50 per cent of the world’s plant species under threat of extinction, PlantBank aims at safeguarding our plants from an uncertain future. It houses thermal efficient seed storage vaults, climate controlled glasshouses, state of the art laboratories, specialised teaching facilities etc. The photo below shows reflections in the building's stainless steel panels.

 

               Location Map                              More Photos of the Botanic Garden

     Australian Plant Society

            Aust. Botanic Garden info                          Sydney Transport Trip planner

               

Nielsen Park and Parsley Bay

This harbour walk in Sydney's eastern suburbs continues on from my last post.        map link

Shark Beach, Nielson Park

Nielson Park  is part of Sydney Harbour National Park, and while the name might put some off swimming there, part of the popular 'Shark Beach' was netted when I visited. (not in photo)

There is a cafe/restaurant (left) opposite the beach, and a walking track within the park.

Nearby Vaucluse House  is 'one of Sydney’s few 19th-century mansions still surrounded by its original gardens and wooded grounds'. It was purchased by William Charles Wentworth, colonial explorer, barrister and politician, in 1827.

A little further on and hidden from the road, is Parsley Bay, a spot I have wanted to visit for sometime.

'The Parsley Glen' pedestrian access, a cable suspension bridge between the two shores of the bay, was built in 1910 at a cost of £500.

The Parsley Bay Reserve enclosure provides a swimming area ~150m long and 95m wide (subject to tidal variations).

Parsley Bay   & Woollahra Library Local History Centre PDF
More walk information

For more photos of this area, see my Hermitage Foreshore post

I caught a Route 325 bus from Edgecliff station. These turn off New South Head Rd. at Vaucluse Rd and go to Watsons Bay