Back to the bush, and back to the office

Lesson 1 for those who wish to use a dictaphone is that, if you leave it switched on when you finish using it, you will find that its batteries are flat when you next go to use it. So once again, the reminiscences of this walk are made from memories, though I did have the camera.

Elvina Bay is a tiny little town nestled at the head of McCarrs Creek in Ku-rin-gai Chase National Park. It's just near West Head, the site of one my earliest, and favorite, walks. It is distinguished by having no road access, other than for a fire track. Locals travel in and out by boat or on foot. Which is why, when you drive into Ku-rin-gai Chase along West Head Rd, and find yourself at the end of the road at West Head, you have done this because you have looked in vain for a sign of any substantial size directing you to the town of Elvina Bay. Oh well, it's a nice drive, and you also can take the opportunity to use the toilets at West Head before heading back in search of where you are supposed to have parked the car. The sign to look for is one of those small green NPWS wooden signs marking the Elvina Track. There's a small parking lot, but the whole thing is well screened by the roadside bushes. For reference, it's 2.3 kms past the toll booth, which is once again empty and locked up on this winter Monday.

Coming by car will have you starting near the "end" of the loop track as described in the book. The official way to arrive is by ferry from Church Point, but I wasn't sure how frequent the service would be on a winter weekday. Again though, like the Bundeena walk, this would be a lovely adjunct to this walk on a warmer day, and I will come back to try this option in the summer.

The track down to the town is the fire track, so it's easy to follow. Initially flat, it quickly heads steeply downhill. A pleasant walk, but not very challenging. There is a site where there are Aboriginal engravings close to the start of the fire track, on the right as you head towards the coast. Look out for a concrete block that marks the track junction. According to the book, there are "a group of three shields, a figure with a headdress, and a large emu". I found the latter two easily enough, but searched in vain for the group of shields. I did find two kangaroo engravings though, which the book doesn't mention, so I felt we were even at that point.

Although it is early August, the spring wild flowers have started to bloom, making the stroll through the bush picturesque. I even encountered a wallaby, of the real, as opposed to the carved, variety. There are some beautiful filtered water views as you come close to the town.

The township of Elvina Bay consists of some lovely houses stretched along the waterfront, serviced by a dirt track running behind the foremost ones. At every gate, there is a wheelbarrow, testament to how the locals transport their shopping from the ferry to home. It seems idyllic, but must be a bit miserable when it is cold, wet and dark. But to counter this, the hammocks strung out in the gardens tell of other, more appealing, aspects of the lifestyle. A second wallaby stared at me from someone's garden, then went back to its wallaby life.

I sat in the sun on one of the ferry wharves - incredibly, there are two wharves for the ferry, a north and a south one - and ate my lunch looking out over the bay, pondering the imminent end to my relaxed lifestyle. Yes, I am about to be employed again, having done only a third of the walks, and none of the full-day really taxing ones. I am surprised at my lack of progress, and a little disappointed that the winter inclement weather has kept me from walking as much as I would have liked. I make a promise to myself that I will complete my original plan to do every walk, even though now they will be with the weekend crowds. I treasure the solitude afforded to me at Elvina Bay, and hope always to remember the lessons I have learnt in the last six months about what really matters.

After lunch, I headed north to the end of the town. Here, the track turns back up the hill. Just after it starts, there are two simple tombstones that tell of a lonely life here in the mid-18oos. One is for Fredrick (sic?) Oliver, the other says simply F.O. Presuming that Fredrick didn't die twice, I wonder if this is perhaps father and son.

From here, the track is fairly basic, but there is a lovely deviation to a small waterfall with a rock pool that is well worth seeking out. When I did this walk, it had been raining heavily for the previous few days, so at times I was hiking uphill straddling the temporary creek that had formed in the rutted track. This meant that, watching my step as I was in the mud, I perhaps didn't appreciate my surroundings on the way up as much as they warranted. This is a charming walk, and in a few weeks, when all the flowers are blooming and the mud has dried, it will be even better.

I sat on a fence post in the carpark at the end, and ate my orange, and was content enough with my day.