New Zealand / Australia Trip

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3/07/2010

A local bushwalk is planned for today. After breakfast the Aussie 4 (John #1, Norah, Barbara and John #2) open the Best Bush and Coastal Walks of the Central Coast guidebook. John#1 suggested the Gerrin Point Circuit (situated in the Bouddi National Park) not far from their home. The book covered the walk in great detail. The estimated time of the 5.0 kilometer walk is 2 and one-half hours. We parked the car in the car park at the far end of the trail and set out to see the Aussie Bush and Water. The trail descended into the bush. The native trees were very interesting (see photos). We encountered several wildflowers, a nice surprise for late summer. After some time we walked out of the bush. At this stop we had a good view of Maitland Bay. On our way down to the Bay, Norah noticed a leach on her sock! That created a lot of excitement! As it turned out, we all had leaches on our shoes and socks! After ridding ourselves of leaches (the leaches were blamed on the extremely wet weather), we had a snack and resumed our walk. The Bouddi Coastal Walk then continued across the boardwalk an re-entered the bush. We continued walking over gentle rises and declines. Eventually we arrived at Putty Beach. At this point we were close to John and Norah’s home. We made a right turn off the beach and ascended a hill to their neighborhood. From that point it was just a short walk to their house. After a short rest, the two Johns’ drove the second family car to the car park and retrieved the car parked at the trailhead.

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