My brother and I set off at the crack of dawn on a densely misty morning from Berowra Heights down to Berowra Creek, not far from Berowra Waters. The view from the top of the ridge, down across the gullies towards Crosslands is magic:
It was dark almost all the way down, but we followed the sound of the roaring creek below and entered this amazing confluence of three creeks pouring the capacious night’s rain down into Berowra Creek. By the time we got to the bottom morning light had arrived:
And here is force of the flood, together with my ecological, environmentalist young brother who was pointing out all the amazing rare plant species hugging the washed rocks:
Amidst the rocks a single stem of a bird’s nest fern (Asplenium australasicum)struggling into existence:
Coming back up the track, now in daylight we spotted some amazing native fuchsias (Epacris Longiflora) in full flower:
And shortly thereafter we heard a lyre bird chortling behind a mass of Woolsea Pungens (beautifully odiferous white sprays of flowers:
What a feast of impressions for the start of the weekend, and what a fabulous workout coming up the 300 metres from the creek bed back to the top of the ridge, now in broad daylight with Berowra Waters below:
Michael Griffith: Home Page- Literature and Life Summer 2023 