Bushwalks

Tuesday 25 May 2021   It is unfortunate that there is so much Spanish Heath at Coningham, which was present at the start of this circuit walk and again on the top of Sheppards Hill. Apart from that it is nice and varied bushland and the walk along the clifftop track, past Legacy Beach to Coningham Beach, was good. It took us 4 hours, including lunch, for the 7.5k walk.   Legacy Beach Cave on clifftop walk Little Coningham Beach   Photo Album  

Tuesday 18 May 2021 Shirley suggested a walk to Lagoon of Islands at the Steppes, and I remember visiting there with Jack Thwaites a long time ago, but I can’t recall much about it. A little research by Sue revealed quite an interesting history. Originally it was a wetland with islands of floating vegetation but was flooded when a dam was built in 1964 to supply water for irrigation to properties along the Ouse River.  This ruined the environment, and it became nutrient rich and with the decaying vegetation the water quality was terrible.  In 2013 the Hydro removed the dam and carried out remediation work and the lagoon is gradually improving.  It is unknown if it will return to the natural state it originally was.  Lagoon of Islands The walk starts from the access road off Interlaken Road, and we went in an anti-clockwise direction.  This is the best way because the nicest parts of the circuit are found here, with good views over the lagoon and pleasant sandy sections.   One spot had