Drawing Room Rocks

So Sunday the 2, September 2018 was Father's Day. So finding out how my Dad wanted to spend the day he told me he wanted me to take him to do the Drawing Room Rocks, in Berry, NSW, Australia.
Having done the walk before I warned him we would have to leave very early as this walk keeps exceptionally busy as it is a very easy short walk and highly popular with families and for "Instagram selfies".

So we left first thing in the morning turning as we got to Berry and following Woodhill Mountain Road, turning right at Brogers Creek Road and right again at a small road that looks like a driveway and parked right at the start of the walk, first people there. Which if you're not there is plenty of parking on the side along the road, or if you need to you can park down the bottom of this and just walk up, which might be easier as it is a tight squeeze and get's very packed, very quickly.

This Father's Day it was pretty wet weather so some of the photo's I'm using to show the walk are from when I went on 26, August 2017.

Our first sight was a beautiful Lyrebird on the farm to the left of the start of the walk, and the grass was glowing golden from the morning sun but the Lyrebird quickly ran before I could get a photo.
The walk begins uphill so first thing in the morning it gets your blood bumping. Along this incline the Lyrebird ran out in front of us again.

We noticed as we continued the walk up that there we holes among the ferns that we assumed were Lyrebird nests.

The route up isn't hard to find but there are some spots where you need steady footing getting up the rocks. This isn't a long walk, and it's even shorter if you're a fast walker but it is nice to stop and look back as you progress up the slope and admire your surroundings.

About three quarters of the way up there's a small path you your right you can walk up to and there is a small lookout with a little cave nearby.

After this you walk through a small path with uneven ground with lumped with tree roots. Within 5 minutes you're up at the famed Drawing Room Rocks.

It's a beautiful spot and I was lucky to be able to show it to my Dad before hordes of people appeared. After exploring around and appreciating the scenery, even pointing out Pigeon House Mountain in the distance, we walked off track exploring randomly into the bush climbing down some rocks to find a little overhang where people had either camped or at least had a fire before.

From down here we heard the first two groups of people arrive, as we climbed back up we headed back walking past at least 30 groups of people (which was unexpected in the semi-wet weather). By the time we got down to the car to head off the road was completely full all the way down to Brogers Creek Road. It's a short walk with some beautiful sights recommended to see them or get your photo at least once and if you're coming from far away and it doesn't seem worth it for such a short walk you can always make a day of it, when I first did it with my fiancée we went into Berry to the Berry Tea Shop whilst I took my Dad to Kiama to Kiama Pie Shop for a Crocodile and Asparagus Pie and a Pepper, Kangaroo and Mushroom Pie.

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Thanks for reading! - Steven

Budderoo Fire Trail - Gerringong Falls

I'll start with HAPPY NEW YEAR. Hopefully 2018 brings us all many adventures.

2017 was a good year for me. I had a few good hikes and bush-walks and went on a cruise through the Pacific Ocean to New Caledonia and Fiji, got Married and Honeymooned to Bali. So it was only fitting that I ended the year on an adventure. So on New Years Eve my Dad picked me up with our bikes, even though it was pouring with rain and took me up Jamberoo Mountain pass to Budderoo National Park for a Bike Ride.

Now I had never done this trail before, though I have been meaning to do two other blogs about Barren Ground and Carrington Falls which this trail is situated between.
Knowing I was going to get absolutely drenched and covered in mud I borrowed a pair of my Dad's work overalls, put on my waterproof jacket and we began our ride.

It was a beautiful unique experience doing it in the rain and fog. Overlooking the land covered in fog has always done something to appeal to me, there's just something serene about it.

The path is a fire trail, a road that you use to be able to drive down back in the day but now a gate blocking it which farmers and certain others have keys too. The sign on the gate states this is due to people not respecting the area, possibly people in 4-Wheel-Drives tearing the area up. While I do enjoy 4-Wheel-Driving myself I have had problems with people in the past tearing up campgrounds so it wouldn't surprise me. My Dad told me as we continued riding that he had came up the other day and that at the end there was a bit you can swim at and he passed a few people who had came down from Sydney to swim there and that all of them told him they were envious of his bike. Having done similar walks before on fire trails I knew what they meant and they can begin to get a bit monotonous.

The road bending and winding

Explaining to Dad to not hold the camera button as it takes a million photos

The landscape along the beginning of the trail is similar to that of Barren Ground, although as you go further along the landscape shifts and changes and you soon find yourself in woodland.

Dad admiring the landscape

Around this area the rain began to slow and it began to become quite humid, especially in all the clothes I was wearing. I was quick to take my wet jacket off and guzzle half a bottle of water. Soon we exited the woodland and again entered into a foggy clearing.

This goes on for a while so if you're walking you should take the time to admiring the sights, and nature around you as there are many beautiful flowers.

Unsure currently

 Stylidium lineare

Blandfordia nobilis

Xyris

You will eventually come to a point in the road where you turn right down Hersey Fire Trail.

It was here that things took a turn. While doing exactly what my Dad is doing in the photo above my left ankle gave way, I heard a snap and instantly dropped to the ground. It was killing. I hadn't lost my footing or anything it just didn't want to hold me. I eventually got up and rested on the log next to me and put some cold water on it. The pain didn't go away but lessened.

We waited to see if I had broken it because it was a long ride back, while all downhill towards our destination. Determined I told Dad to just give me a bit, got back on my Bike and continued to pedal.... with my right food mostly, lightly pushing with my left every time I did so getting a huge piercing pain in my ankle.

This particularly rocky bit sent vibrations through it that hurt like hell

We soon reached the water where we left our bikes and continued on foot.

Looking right

Looking left

Crystal clear waters

Wasn't even cold

Resting my Ankle

We headed left and followed the creek along. You'll reach the end of this and there is a spot you can swim at right by a big dead tree.

However you can turn left and follow a little path through the bush and keep walking.

This will take you through to another area with a big swimming area.

And if you turn around and face the other way.

You've reached Gerringong Falls! Which I didn't even know was on this track. It was a walk I had been meaning to do after hearing about it through the grapevine but I had just assumed it was down in Gerringong somewhere. So I'll definitely have to go back and walk it (even if it will be a little tedious) and make sure I have a swim. If you walk around to your left more, you can get some stunning views of the waterfall. 

I'm not miserable to be here, but my ankle sure hurts

The area here is beautiful and it's a journey you can make on foot or on bike. If you do go, please leave this area looking as beautiful as when you found it.

We sat for while, just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. It was beautiful in the rain and fog and there wasn't a person in sight. We saw some Wallabies and some beautiful Dragonflies and Butterflies.

The ride back was painful, and harder as it was mostly uphill. The ground was softer and it began to pour heavily with rain. Finally we made it back and I was able to strip off my wet clothes for dry ones.

I proceeded to have a fun New Years Night with my Wife and 2 close friends. However the next day I realised how swollen my ankle was, but was still determined to go to work the next day, after some convincing from my Wife I went to the Doctor. He sent me in for an X-Ray, however as I wasn't sent to the hospital I can assume it is not fractured or broken just sprained. It is still swollen today and I have to see the Doctor later this afternoon.

Extra tidbits: WE JUST HAD CHRISTMAS. Hope you all had a good time. Just continuing from my last blog post where I talked about Escape Rooms, we ended up going to Mission Escape in Sydney and did the Dr. M room which we succeeded in Escaping! We are booked in to do 2 more rooms there this very Sunday! The Vampire's Castle Room and the Lost Mine Room hopefully we can escape those too. As for Christmas my wife surprised me with a boarding pass to go Hang-Gliding at Bald Hill, Stanwell Park. So I'm excited for the adventures ahead in 2018!

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Thanks for reading! - Steven

Brokers Nose

So yesterday I went for a bushwalk to Brokers Nose. Now, I've lived in the Illawarra my whole life, and while I had heard of it, I had no idea where it was. So after some googling, Dad and I set off to Wollongong, driving up Mount Ousley we took the Picton exit and took the first right to turn around and pull into the stopping bay just on your left, right at the top of Mount Ousley on the Princess Motorway.

Right off the side of the road

We began walking along the dirt track, curious as to how the walk would be.

We soon came to a split in the track, where the track either continued straight or turned off to our right. We decided to continue straight, assuming that would lead us to Brokers Nose and saying we would explore the other path on our way back.

We continued along the path which had slight inclines, and enjoyed the scenery.

After a while of walking you enter a clearing for powerlines, with a view over the city to your right.

You continue straight, following the dirt path, entering the bush again, and continue walking through here until you once again enter another clearing. We noticed to our left, a small little cross, which made us feel like we were in a Western Frontier.

And to our right, heading down the hill we noticed a track too, however we didn't take it knowing that the way to Brokers Nose was straight ahead.

After entering the bush and walking again, we soon came to another split in the road, one heading up to our right, the other staying flat on our left. Dad said he believed they would both lead to Brokers Nose, but the one on the right probably had some spots for sightseeing over the city, so we turned right, walking up the path, trying our best not to slip due to the incredibly loose top soil.

Soon even this path split again, we took the right path (that does lead you up to some spots where there are some views over the city), so it's worth the little walk up there before you cut back and continue up the other path.

The path continues uphill and we came across a big open area, which we believe that initial left turn would have taken you up to, however we never walked down either way so I can't say for sure.

Continuing up, the path then split again, 3 ways this time, much to our frustration, as we are the sort to like taking and walking every path, however we continued on straight.

Panorama view to show all 3 paths in the picture

There will soon be another path to your right, or you can continue straight (yes another split in the path!) however, both these will lead you out onto a dirt road which you follow right.

You continue up here to find yourself at some sort of radio tower, and then you're less then a minute away from Brokers Nose Lookout.

Coming up on the Lookout

There's an amazing view from up here of the Sea and the City and it's obviously been a popular spot of the years as the rocks are carved up with peoples names and dates.

Brokers Nose Marker

Panorama from the Lookout

There are some amazing looking rocks up here too.

Enjoying the Sights

We began our walk back, but rather than taking the first or second left, which would take us back the way we came, we waited and took the third which began leading us a different way, heading right through the bush. This walk went on for a while, until it opened us up into the clearing with the powerlines.

We followed this left, believing it would take us back to the point with the Cross. However it leads into scrub and we were unable to continue following along this path.

So we headed right, seeing another small path through the bush, which we followed. This leads you down into bush that was more like a rainforest.

We contiued along here, unsure of whether it would lead us back, or just head off to somewhere completely different.

Eventually after some ups and downs the path begins to steadily go down, while the rainforest gets thinner and becomes more like bushland before opening into a dirt path clearing which you can follow left towards the powerlines.

This path is lined with beautiful wattle and beautiful little yellow flowers.

This road soon splits, believing if we followed it left it would lead us back to the cross we continued straight, which has some steep sections to walk up, when you reach the end of this it heads both left and right, we followed it left for a short while which took us back to the very first clearing that the walk opens up to. Back on the original path we headed back, until we got to the very first split that this walk had given us, so we turned left to explore it a little before we headed off home.

You walk past a termite mound, which if you've never seen one you must have never walked in Australia. You soon come to a drop off, as the rest of this walk continues very steeply downhill.

As if going downhill wasn't bad enough, the path is littered with piles of leaves which slip under you as well as incredibly loose top soil, if you don't go extremely slow it would be very easy to slip and fall and roll downhill.

Dad sliding down the loose top soil

Also incredibly dangerous along here is that all around you are heaps of Dendrocnide. A stinging tree, so watch out and try not to touch its leaves as it grows along the side of the path and leaves litter the path too.

Dendrocnide

If you choose to walk here keep your eyes open for Deer, we heard a couple and only saw one which was running away from the loud noises we made as we slid and ran down the dirt slopes.

We eventually came to an open road with a sign by the side.

Just down the road from here this is a gate blocking it off saying private property.

Seeing it also had a sign on the other side I quickly jumped the gate to see what the other sign said.

Although there was still more dirt path heading down we assumed it would only lead into the backs of peoples houses, and after already having been walking for 3 hours we decided we'd try and make our way up the steep, slippery slope and draw our walk to a close. Again, I think it's amazing that so many walks exist just off the side of a road that you can live your whole life in an area and have never done it.

If you have enjoyed this post, or my blog in general, please follow it, or like my page on facebook or follow me on Instagram.
Thanks for reading! - Steven