Hyams Beach - Bird Spotters Walk and White Sands and Scribbly Gum Walk

 Having done the Kiama Coastal Walk as a test for my physical recovery from cancer, Tristan and I agreed to try and do more frequent walks together. In the time between that walk and this I also did a solid walk in the Royal National Park with my friends Stuart and Megan (who I frequently go indoor bouldering with). It was a test to see how they would go hiking, to which they both did well enough that I agreed that I would begin to do more frequent hikes with them too. Seeing a post of a picture of a Snake I put on my Instagram story, Tristan again hit me up about getting together for a walk.

Agreeing to walk again with Tristan and trying to plan a day for it, one day at work I ran into Biris, who did the Forty Foot Falls walk with Tristan and myself. We had tried to all 3 get together and go for a follow up walk but had never found the time, between the covid pandemic, my cancer and Biris having a child. However as we spoke he told me he was keen to come on another walk with us so I messaged a group chat between the three of us to find a date and location for a walk (assuming we might do the Boxvale track or 60 Foot Falls walk). However Tristan, working doing bush regeneration said many of the highlands walks were closed due to damage from the excessive rain we had recently. He suggested Hare Point walking track. Looking up that area I saw there were 3 walks. The Hare Point walking track, Hyams Beach Trail and White Sands and Scribbly Gum track. We decided (without anyone really reading anything about them, such as location or distance of the walks) that we would do all 3.

We all finally locked in a date, 12th of September, and I agreed to drive, collecting Biris first. We started catching up in the car, I asked what music he wanted me to play and he said he didn't care. I put on the Celtic Metal band Eluveitie, and we began talking about music. Biris asked if I had heard of the Mongolian Metal band The Hu. I told him I loved them and that they had just played in Sydney but I didn't go because of the Covid risk. He told me he went and that it was an awesome concert.

We soon arrived at Tristan's and the three of us immediately started a thousand different conversations (difficult to remember pretty much any of them at this point) on our way South towards Jervis Bay.

As we approached Berry I told the guys I had to use the restroom, pulling up at the exact same park and toilet I had on my way to Gosangs Tunnel with Dad. I told the guys about all the Jehovah's Witness stones that had been there on that occasion before letting Tristan know he would need to GPS the way as I actually had no clue where we were going and that I was just 'heading south'.

As we hit Nowra I commented that the place was 'a shithole' (it's not that bad, but it is semi dodgy). The traffic through here was terrible and Biris asked me if the metal band I put on was actually going to do any metal (the shuffle playlist seemed to be playing all their acoustic-folk songs).

As I continued driving Tristan told us we wouldn't be able to do the Hare Point walk, as the road to get to it was closed, but we would still be able to do the other two walks.

After making our way through Nowra, Tristan began to direct me and we passed an Emu farm. I commented that there used to be an Emu farm down there that sold Emu pies and that they were really good, and wondered if this Emu farm did, saying that if they do we should stop in on the way back. Biris mentioned he had never tried Emu. I told him that I love interesting things, and that the Kiama Pie shop used to sell Kangaroo and Crocodile pies, and one day during the opening up of everything after (or really sorta still during) the pandemic my Wife and I went there to have one, but were told they didn't sell them anymore and they were more for 'tourists' who had stopped coming as our borders were shut. I then began to waffle on that I had found a place in Berry that did Alpaca burgers and that I wanted to go there to eat that.

Part 1- Bird Spotters Walk (Hyams Beach Walk)

We soon arrived in Hyams Beach, passing a cafe on our left with both Tristan and Biris hanging for a cup of coffee. We pulled into the carpark Tristan said was near the start of the walk. I pulled up, and we all walked up to the cafe for a coffee, making our way back to the car as we chatted about Star Wars with Biris saying he didn't think the 'new ones' were too bad. I thought he was talking about episodes, 7, 8 and 9 and was horrified. When it was cleared up that he meant the often ill thought-of prequels Tristan and I shrugged, agreeing that they weren't too bad. We all finished our coffee's throwing them into the nearby bin and I watched as a oversized ute tried to pull up next to my car with a young child in the back trying to open the door. I stopped and starred, making sure they didn't hit my car before we continued on down the hill to where Tristan believed the walk started.

We passed this little creek turning left and following in a little trail to the beach.

"Imagine if this is the walk, and it's like 5 seconds to the beach and that's it." I joked.

The path soon forked, and I wondered which way was the walking track, with Tristan believing it was probably to the right away from the beach. We walked up a short way and then believed it was a track down from somebodies property, turning back and continuing along until we hit the beach where Tristan (who had forgotten to bring sunglasses) was almost blinded by the ultra white sand reflecting the sun.

As soon as we rocked up onto the sands the two guys groaned. Just in front of us was a bikini girl standing in front of a large camera on a tripod taking model shots of herself. 

We continued down the beach looking in at the treeline to see if any walk started along there. I said "It is the Hyams Beach walk, maybe we just walk along the beach?"

So we continued along looking at the crystal clear water. All 3 of us agreed it would be a lovely spot to come back to and take a swim, but also new of it's reputation for getting insanely crowded and would never go on a weekend or public holiday. Even during the week in Summer we thought it might be packed with people. But on this day there were a few people scattered about but we mostly had the place to ourselves.

As I began to get hot wearing my beanie (which I pretty much always just wear since coming home from my Stem Cell Transplant), I swapped to my hat (having worn the beanie in case it had been to windy to wear a hat).

We passed a track finally off to our right into the treeline, however there was a no entry sign, stating it was a military zone. As we passed that and could see a little stream approaching we passed a group of young people in military clothing, before reaching the Creek and seeing the warning sign in regards to PFAS.

 

We walked up to the bridge expecting to be able to cross it, however the other side was blocked as it was also a military zone. As we stood on the bridge the young group in military clothing came back, crossing over and entering. 

"We could take them." Biris jested. 

Tristan, Biris, Myself

We were all a little confused about whether or not this was the walk, with me saying "We walked along the beach for no reason." Both were quick to correct me, as it wasn't for 'no reason' because even if it was not the walk, it was a nice walk along the beach.

As we stood on the bridge I Google mapped the walk and it was taking me back to the carpark to start the walk so we began our way back to see if we had missed the walk, or if that short walk along the beach simply was the walk.

I commented that maybe I wouldn't want to swim in the beach now knowing that the PFAS would be washing the creek into there. 

"It would be that diluted." Tristan said shrugging it off.

I began to talk about when I worked in Bush Regen with the two of them and we worked at a spot in Albion Park called 'Hargraves' right near the airport that, after working there a bunch of times got found to contain PFAS. 

"Oh yeah they still work there." Biris said "They just aren't allowed to right after the rain."

"Fuck that," I replied "Working there, in that, all spraying all the Glyphosate around and our excessive used of chemicals is probably what gave me fucking cancer." I said, then telling them about the time I worked in Green Army doing Bush Regeneration at Killalea, I told them they did aerial spraying and then let us go back in and work, saying it was fine, but I told them the air was thick with a sweet lolly smell and I definitely didn't feel safe or comfortable working in there at the time (but did because I was poor, needed money and didn't want to lose my job).

He said they had better systems now doing it with drones, as we talked about alternate methods of dealing with weeds. I mentioned steam (which Tristan and Biris said had had issues elsewhere due to people getting hurt by the steam and other incidents). I then mentioned Pine Oil, which I use at home as it's safe and dehydrates and kills the plants. Tristan argued with me that it 'didn't work', and that it 'stunk'. I told him it worked in my yard and that I didn't mind the smell and it was a much better option then dousing everything in Glyphosate and there was a reason the shit was banned in Europe.

As we walked back we started to get the stench of some seaweed, drying up on our left that we hadn't smelt at all on our way down. The conversation then became about anti-vaxxers and their weird attitudes, especially in regards to certain people at work, before moving onto people believing weird conspiracy theories about 'chem-trails'.

We soon made it back to the walk way near the entry point where a few more people had now gathered on the beach sunbathing.

We made our way back to the road, confused about whether we had done the walk or not, with Tristan suggesting we could just drive to the opposite end of town to just begin the White Sand and Scribbly Gum walk. However we all looked up the road, wondering if just up a bit further the walk started. We stopped on the road, with Biris and Tristan having a smoke while I sat a distance away not to breath it in and ate some protein balls. The conversation soon became about the recent death of Queen Elizabeth and about the royals and where our country would do, all three of us agreeing it was likely in the future Australia would become a Republic, I told them that my Wife (of proud English heritage) loved the Monarchy and was so upset about the Queen's death she had been looking at houses in the UK we could move to (which I had dismissed unless we won the lotto). As they finished their cigarettes and I emptied all the sand from my shoes we continued up the street finding a sign to the start of the Hyams Beach walk, which was also known as the 'Bird Spotters Walk'.

 "Well we already did a bunch of it along the beach" I said, looking at where the track marked out. But we began walking into the bush anyway.

The conversation soon became about heritage and DNA, as I tried to convince Biris (as I do with literally every person I talk to, having already got Tristan to do it) to do his Ancestry DNA. I told him my mate Stuart had done it, also being of Greek decent from Cyprus, and that it had picked him up and identified that he was from Cyprus. I asked about where his Greek heritage was from with him letting me know it was from Lesbos and that he wondered if his DNA would pick up Turkish. I told him it probably would as my friend Stuart's had picked up some Turkish. Tristan didn't get why it mattered with me informing him that historically the Greeks and Turks had sort of hated each other.

We continued along enjoying the change in scenery from the beach landscape we had been on, (with me especially enjoying a little shade). 

Tristan began voicing his displeasure of people trying to build a 'brand' off of Instagram, people who just go take photos of hikes or hiking destination or walks. I quickly moved my eyes from side to side. "Yes..." I said.

"Yours is different." He said. "You're writing a blog, you're actually doing something, you're not just doing what we're all fucking doing and trying to market it, there's time involved and you're actively doing something. It's not just an Instagram account." Biris agreed with him which made me feel a bit better. I began to sorta self justify saying my blog was really a sort of journal, and half the posts about walks or hikes were more like journal entries or my thoughts, talks and experiences. "So much of it is just shit fucking conversations and shit way say along the way." I said, proving myself 100% right with this very blog post.

We then stumbled upon this lone Warratah, and all crowded around it to get photos of it, finding it beautiful. Three guys in love with flowers, who'd think of that.

"Warratah is the NSW flower emblem right?" Asked Biris.
"Yeah it's on your driver's license." I told him.

I then asked what the other states national flowers were.

"I don't know," replied Tristan. "But I know our state bird is the Kookaburra."

"The best Australian bird is the Magpie." I said. With Tristan and Biris assuming I meant because they attack people, but I just find them really smart thoughtful birds and they have the most beautiful vocal sounds of maybe any bird I have ever heard, often telling my Wife it would maybe be the main thing about Australia I would miss if we ever moved overseas, the sounds they make.

We passed a fork in the road with Tristan wondering if we should go left towards the beach. "Nope." I said, and just took the right fork continuing into the bush, wondering where the military zone had been from the beach. Biris commented that we would know if we started being 'fired upon'.

We soon came to a section of the path that was covered in water and I asked if they wanted to go through. "My shoes will get drenched going through there." Biris said. 

We had a look around an found know way around without having to go through it.

The walk at the start had just seemed to loop around back onto the beach we had already walked down so I wasn't going to demand the two walk through and get there shoes drenched. We turned back deciding to follow the split path Tristan had initially suggested we walk down. Passing a couple walking towards us on our way back Tristan asked "Should we tell them they're going the wrong way?"

"Well we don't know that's the wrong way, we just turned back." I replied. He agreed and we soon began down the other trail towards the beach.

We soon came to a big pole we had actually seen in the bush from our walk along the beach and saw a small trail that led back down to the beach from here.

At this spot was an older couple who Tristan said hi to. The older lady began explaining she was going to do something and was practicing with a compass. I hadn't heard what she said she was doing, and decided against asking Tristan what it was she said she was doing. If I, as blog narrator have no idea, then neither shall you, person reading.

Just back along the trail leading into this section and down the hill on our right was a spot filled with Melaleuca (Paperbark trees), that were semi submerged in a pool of water. I found it incredible to look at. There was something about the sight of it that really spoke to me, so before we walked back the trail to head of to the white sands walk we scuttled down the slope to sit along the water and take in the majestic beauty of these trees.

While we sat enchanted by the scene I asked if they had done the ABC poll to find out Australia's favourite tree. (Saying I had voted for Melaleuca, Mangroves and Wollemi Pine). Tristan had voted in it but Biris hadn't even seen it. Soon a bird of prey some sort of Hawk or Eagle began flying overhead (I was so entranced I didn't even try to get a picture).

We finally decided we should head to the White Sands and Scribbly Gum walk and began making our way back. As we were nearing the road Tristan and Biris were complaining about their receding hairlines, with Biris saying he thought he had a few years left. I looked at his full head of hair before removing my hat to show him what true baldness looks like.

He turned to Tristan. "Can't feel bad about anything around this guy." He said.

"No, every time I go on a walk with him and I tell him to shut up and stop whinging about his cancer he writes it down in his blog and makes me look like a bad guy." Tristan said, knowing full well that in the context of the blog I do imply that it is his humour, not him being a genuine dick.

Biris questioned me about the beanie and the hat wearing, asking me if it was a self conscious thing. I said that it was, sort of, as I do think it looks dumb, but also because my hair had grown back in between my first 3 rounds of chemo and not after my Stem Cell Transplant there was a bit of trauma, and that seeing myself as bald didn't make me always just think 'hey there's an ugly bald guy', but often was just a harsh reminder that I had spent so long laying in a hospital bed, believing I was going to die, and that it was a stark reminder of what I had been through and instead of moving on with life and forgetting the trauma it often brought it back for me. "I'll have to stop wearing it at some point, but it's really become a comfort thing to me, even though I know people at work judge and question me for wearing it all the time, even in the heat."

Back at my car Tristan told Biris he could GPS us to the start of the White Sands walk as I began to drive. However the GPS soon began taking us out of town and I had to pull up while all three of us started looking at where the hell we were being taken. Tristan soon told us to ignore the GPS and began giving me directions through town with had numerous road closures and detours, which he told me to ignore telling me to go left, the right, then ignore my own GPS saying right and go straight. Soon we ended up right out the start of the walk pulling up to begin the second and final leg of our walk.

Part 2- White Sands and Scribbly Gum Walk

Looking at the map of the walk we saw Scribbly Gum was a little offshoot to the left along the White Sands walk but on the way back we could walk the White Sands walk back and not miss any.

As soon as we began walking we began seeing 'Scribbly Gums' with me asking Tristan what caused them. Turns out it's the larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth.

I wonder why it's called 'Scribbly'? (also, that's a joke)

We soon came upon a little creek along the path and stopped while Biris and Tristan again lit up a smoke.

We started talking about video games and I said I had bought the Assassin's Creed games from Syndicate to Valhalla to catch up on (the other two being Origins and Odyssey). Biris mentioned he really wanted to play Origins which is set in Egypt. I mentioned I did too as it was Egypt during the reign of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra (being avidly into ancient Roman History). We both mention we we struggling to find the time to play video games in between work and our home lives.

We continued on with the walk with Tristan making fun of those Instagrammers again at a sign post.

I don't know if Chinamans Beach is totally PC

As we were reaching Chinamans Beach (I didn't name it), we passed a woman entering the trail from the beach with Tristan telling her 'Good morning!' she said 'Or afternoon.' as it was by now, the afternoon.

"You know how I know someone's a dick?" Tristan asked. "If you say good morning to them in the arvo and they correct you."
"I think most people would have corrected you," I replied. "I would have corrected you."
"Yeah but you're a dick." He insisted.

As I made it across the sands and up the staircase I felt a tightness in my chest. I informed the two that over the last few weeks I'd had a tightness in my chest and some pain in my lungs and had struggled taking deep breaths. I said I didn't know if it was related to my treatment but that my Wife believed it was being caused by anxiety because of all the stress I had been under of late. I mentioned I had just done a blood test the previous Thursday and was due for a follow up with my Doctor, not that Thursday but the one after (which was now a one off public holiday due to the Queen's passing).

It was a short walk from the top of the staircase until we turned off left heading uphill along the Scribbly Gum walk.

The two began discussing Bush Regeneration and work stuff as I walked along enjoying the view, while tuning out of the conversation a little and fixating in my head and worrying about my lungs.

I found myself really out of the conversation now and really enjoying being outdoors and in the sun. The scent of Spring was in the air. It's one of those things where if I were a better writer, I could poetically explain, but it's just all my years of being alive I could feel, and smell the change. I knew by instinct it was Spring.

We soon passed our first walker on this track and I pulled to the side out of her way as Tristan loudly said hi to her, to which she awkwardly responded. If I hadn't pulled out of her way I would have missed the sign above about sword grass which I stopped to read. Just ahead of us was a bridge of a little stream and Tristan and Biris stopped on top while talking.

"Move will you." I said to them wanting a photo of the bridge without the two of them in it.

Over the bridge the path leaded of to the left and up before bending around again to the right and leading us into a picnic area near a carpark.

Reading this sign along the way (the other two had walked past it), I asked if they knew about the Rhizome of Bracken fern and that it was edible. Neither knew. I told them I had heard Bracken fern causes cancer and that farmers were worried about it breaking down in water and ingesting it. (I can't verify where I heard that or if it's true.) They mentioned they knew about the rubbing it on insects stings to alleviate pain though. I mentioned it would be nice to try the damper made from Lomandra seeds, and that I had heard of them being roasted into an almost sort of popcorn by an Indigenous Bush tucker guide who came to visit our team while doing Bush Regeneration at Killalea. I mentioned he showed us how to remove the seeds without getting spiked. Biris mentioned seeing someone doing that and being shocked that they didn't get their hands all spiked up. I mentioned I was planning to go to an Indigenous Cafe in Sydney for my birthday later in the year as my Wife had bought me tickets to go see my favourite stand up comedian 'Louie C.K.' in Sydney for my birthday. (And silently wondered to myself if they would have Lomandra flour damper there).

As we entered the picnic area I thought the grass area looked nice, taking photos of the ground just because I thought it would look good. I mentioned to the guys I had once made a damper (which I had always been raised to create using a beer, though some online recipes ask to use milk). I told them I once made it with a Guinness Stout and that it had 'tasted like an RSL club'. They didn't think that sounded very good at all, but I insisted it was.

We stopped to eat at this little shack and 'shit-talked' some more. There was a path back that Tristan was ready to walk down, but I pointed there looked to be a trail continuing on where the car park was and so we continued onwards.

As we walked along with views of the water Tristan pointed in to our left, an Echidna that we would have otherwise walked past. It was at least 3 metres in the bush off the track, well hidden and I was genuinely impressed he had spotted it.

We came upon another beach that we looked down at and angled ourselves to get a photo of it while avoiding getting sunbathing girls in the picture lest we look like creepers. I informed them I had had the same trouble once at Carrington Falls and you want to take a photo of a beautiful spot, but have to try and avoid snapping photos of bikini-wearing females.

No bikini's, just nature

The walk continued on around behind this beach (though there was a path down to it), we continued following the path that led to another car park.

There were stickers placed in this car park on a couple of signs that were anti-mask and anti-vax making us laugh. The thought occurred to me and I asked Biris if he had had Covid yet, (know Tristan and I both hadn't). He mentioned he hadn't had it yet but had thought he would get it at The Hu concert but didn't. He said he had been very sick though from his kid going to day-care and that having a kid brings home everything and makes you all sorts of sick, but he had not had Covid. 

I asked how many vaccines he'd had. "Just the two he said." Tristan had also only had two. Too afraid to get more after hearing how viciously sick I had gotten after my subsequent ones (having being Covid vaxxed 5 times due to my immune worries from the cancer treatment).

Tristan again suggested to turn around but I insisted it looked like the walk continued on past this car park, and so we continued, coming to a little built lookout next to the entry to Stuart King reserve.

As we continued along Tristan mentioned he was planning a trip to New Zealand with his girlfriend, or more, she was planning it for him, with an itinerary he would like. I mentioned that we had been planning to go to Japan at my 2 year post Stem Cell Transplant (having booked the trip before Covid cancelled it, but I ended up getting cancer anyway). But now my Wife had though Japan might be nice to go to with a kid one day, and now we were looking to go to Iceland. (Honestly it's been that long since I've travelled, I'd be happy to go anywhere).

We soon it a sign to Nelson's Beach and further continued on the trail with each mark post me having to convince Tristan to continue further along.

We continued along with Tristan talking about he's too lazy to read and just listens to audiobooks.

I suggested he listen to Mythos by Stephen Fry (as I was an am currently reading it), explaining that it was retelling Greek Mythology (which was the very first mythology I got into as a kid, and reading the novel you can see what a massive impact on our modern world these stories have had). He said he had plus his other books 'Heroes' and 'Troy'. Which I had already marked down on my Goodreads to have to read.

Soon we reached the actual end (or alternatively the beginning), of the White Sands walk. I looked at Tristan with an 'I-told-you-so' face and he turned to Biris and said "Could you imagine if we turned back when this guy wanted, we wouldn't have done the whole walk!"

I scoffed at him, before the completionist in me convinced them to walk the extra 500m along a concrete footpath to 'Plantation Point'. 

"We drove all this way, might as well do it all!" I insisted. As we reached the area there was a big toilet block for us to go to the bathroom. I went for my whizz coming out to find no one around. I did a lap of the block before coming across Biris just out the front of where I had started my loop.

"I hate when you go to the toilet, and someone before you had pissed on the floor, and then you go to leave and someone comes in after you, and then they're going to think it was you who pissed on the floor." I said and he laughed.

"Or worse still, someone pisses on the floor, so to avoid standing in the piss you had to stand further back, and you piss more on the floor, and then it's and endless cycle."

We waited for a while and there was still no Tristan.

"He's probably taking a shit." I said. "Let's leave without him."
"Oi!" He called out from inside the toilet block, able to hear our every word.

He soon exited and we were finally able to begin our walk back, Tristan commenting that we was hanging out for a 'Battered Sav' as it was 'Savtember'. (A holiday I made in jest many years ago, the month of September but dedicated around the eating of the Australian Fish and Chip ship food, the Battered Sav).

Biris agreed he could go a Sav and I promised if we passed a fish and chip shop on the way home we would stop for Savs.

The bridge heading back along the White Sands walk from the initial picnic ground

We soon found ourselves back at the picnic grounds and took the new track back towards my car.

We continued talking (about god knows what, I can only remember so many conversations had in a day). Before finally arriving back at my car and beginning the drive home. Tristan, tracking our walking on his phone declared we had walked about 20km, which seemed excessive to me, because it definitely hadn't seemed so far.

Arriving at Tristan's as he left he mentioned to Biris it was good to catch up, and hopefully there wouldn't be a three year wait next time. We agreed that the three of us definitely needed to catch up for more walks together, and I dropped Biris off home arriving home just as it was getting dark, taking my socks off to putrid smelling feet and eagerly hopping in the shower, feeling content with a good day out with friends.

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Thanks for reading! - Steven