Archive for April, 2010
18 April, 2010 @ 5:11 pm | Comments (0)Kiama Coastal & Hoddles Track
I’d hiked the Kiama Coastal Walkway earlier this year, but to get to it on that occasion, we’d first had to
walk (where mates had dropped us off) from Gerringong to Princes Highway,
then hike alongside the train line, getting the 10am horn sounded at us for good measure….
then trudge through a fly-infested, marshy paddock…
across a barbed wire fence
and all because the Werri Lagoon (where you normally cross over to hike the track) was up to our necks!!
Not recommended for all punters, but hell, we survived.
Attempting a lagoon crossing would have been more treacherous; it was an outgoing tide plus we had no wet bags for the phones and camera…
The day itself had been drizzling, but it was still a memorable walk, even in the rain. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time; I was just very glad we hadn’t brought bikes that day… but I really wanted to ride next tim e…
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And as you’d expect, on a bike it was a completely different experience (ie helluva lot better).
I drove down Easter Sunday and though there was a bit of rain about it was mostly fine and quiet on the roads, being the middle of the busy weekend.
I got to Elanora Street in South Kiama about 8am and was in the mood for a quick dash to the lagoon and back (only about 12 kms return) and after unloading the car and bike I was ready to go….just one thing held me back: the great scenery!
Being an enthusiastic photo-hack, I was awestruck by the views that opened up as I biked down into Love Beach Bay: smashing waves with salt-laden air swirling above the rocks… huge cliffs on both sides silhouetted in the distance…sun rising over the cattle-specked peninsula… hell, I spent over 10 minutes just shooting pics! And this continued throughout the morning. I guess the coast is so different from my usual bush-filled vistas, I really got into it.
As such, the ride out took me twice as long. But heck, I figured I’d ride it at pace on the way back instead.
100M before the trailhead I saw a lone cyclist heading downhill from the trail, presumably having done it there and back already. He raced past, smiling, before I could ask him about his ride: obviously on a mission.
At the trailhead is an informative signboard, along with an obligatory set of warning signs, advising the uneducated, unwary and innocent tourists that straying on rocky or grassy cliff edges can be an exciting but potentially life-ending experience.
From the trailhead it’s up the first of several grassy ridges. The trail is 90% on grass, so take care – it can be slip-n-slide in the wet, which we discovered wearing running shoes on the previous occasion …
At the top of the peninsula: the aforementioned cattle, blackbirds, terns and a few gulls heading inland from the roiling ocean. Idyllic. Snapped off a couple of hundred more shots. Yes, I admit got a little carried away, regretting it only when I had to review them all later at home.
Also at the top: the first of about 5 or 6 plaques, mounted on rustic metal stands, telling the history of the walk and the area; early land ownership; the land use, aboriginal history and the geology of the cliffs. Interesting stuff if you’re hiking.
Across the ridge and down a steep but smooth track you reach a section of bare dirt – this one more mud than grass – and then head up the other side of this unnamed bay.
Most of the ascents are more of a challenge than normal, as you usually have mud/rocks/sand to slow you down at the nexus of the valley so you can’t really build up enough pace for the next rise.
On the next ridge; a couple of fairly hefty wooden pedestals, blocking you from a near-invisible cliff drop beyond: yet another useful reminder of the risks in the area.
Most of the way you pretty much hug the coastline – about 10 -20 metres from the cliff edge except where the trail drops into the bays. In a couple of bays you can leave the trail and get to the waters edge but the beach areas don’t look that inviting, given you have to climb over rocks with a bit of kelp … but it may be better at high tide.
The next cliff top has a unique stand of trees - a remnant of the original cedar bush that covered the hills in the area until settlers cleared them for housing. Just before you enter into this 30 or 40 metre stand, you get the sense it’s almost Lord of the Rings territory, coming in as you do, to a tree-lined room, with a leafy canopy and dozens of poles (tree trunks) all swathed in an eerie greenish light. Can’t go more than 10 metres in as it gets tangled, but a very interesting feel nonetheless. I imagined it in the moonlight as something like a wizards den… maybe an idea for a great night ride one moonlit eve.
Around the corner and you get your first sight of Gerringong, framed with a series of rock pools along the cliffs. Pretty soon you see the Werri Lagoon.
I’d already made up my mind to take a few shots of the Lagoon and then turn back and ride, iPod at full blast…. And just as I climbed aboard for the return journey I saw a couple of bikers heading down the slope I’d just descended.
I continued to photograph them as they approached, and the first guy – Ben – stopped for a natter.
He and his mate Matt, were out for the day to ride this one and another track – Hoddles.
“See that ridge line in the hills yonder?” (I looked up) “That’s Hoddles Track. Wanna join us?”
Having no particular plans for the afternoon, I barely hesitated and soon we were crossing the lagoon – luckily only thigh deep this time…and riding through the back streets of Werri Beach.
We then headed south along Princes Highway for 7Km until Foxground Road, near Broughton Village. This looked like a long and very straight road heading very obviously uphill. At the Princes Highway corner, we stopped for a drink and I looked at the ridgeline again. It looked even higher than it had from the coast. At that point I wondered if I’d consumed enough Easter eggs to cope with the climb…
One of the guys recalled, “We had couple of roadies along last time and about halfway up, one of them got off her bike and screamed at us, “THIS IS TOO MUCH!”
At this, we all laughed, thinking, “Those weak woossie roadies!!”…
By the time we got to the same point, my own legs seemed to be screaming much the same message (only internally; no bloody way did I want to be seen as a woossie roadie!:)).
But it’s definitely steep; reminds me of the Wall along the Red Track at Wingello: only about 3-4 times longer: or the steep section at Manly: maybe 15 times that height. Ouch.
About halfway up Foxground Road, it finally starts to wind around the hill and, since it’s a dead end, there was only one car all the way, so we pretty much owned the road. A small creek crossing then the turnoff to Hoddles Road itself which again rose up to test the thighs. Right now I was thinking I should have brought a couple of energy gels or some of those Easter Eggs I’d lusted after in Coles… hell, I NEVER pack enough food!
Then we headed through open paddocks dotted with cattle and finally a nice flat (at flamin’ last!) stretch with a view along the Southern Coastline. It was a bit overcast but I snapped a couple of shots anyway.
Just one more rise and we were in a clearing. This is where Hoddles Road turns to Hoddles Track and becomes a X-country singletrack through the bush.
Hoddles was an explorer who forged this trail across the ridgelines in the early-mid 1800’s to get produce up the coast to Sydney. Turns out the plains back then were pretty much all marshy until they were drained a few years later
Matt & Ben told me that if you turn left at the clearing you can carry your bike up the escarpment and ride the ridge at the top, for what was said to be excellent views, and it went for miles, though neither had done it themselves, so perhaps worth an explore….
But the Hoddles Track to the right was definitely rider heaven. Though we saw three groups of walkers along the way, there was plenty of room to step or ride off the track so it worked out fine. Saw an Origin Energy van parked precariously (actually stuck & temporarily abandoned) halfway up a very steep, ie unrideably steep, firetrail . A good cloudburst would have swept the van downhill, so lucky it wasn’t raining…
After about 2 km of bush track, you come up top of Saddleback Mountain above Kiama Heights. No view on the day: all fog, but usually a great lookout on 3 sides. I’d ridden up there a few times when I’d stayed at Kiama, ignorant of the MTB trail off from the top, otherwise I would have explored earlier… Actually it would be interesting to do the ride in reverse and I promised myself I will do so…
The downhill to Kiama was steep, fast & furious (and dangerous as hell after a few light showers had greased the road)… but we survived and the boys went off to Kiama while I headed back to Love Bay, happy to have met the guys when I did otherwise unlikely I would ever have found the well-hidden Hoddles Track.