Discovering the Hawkesbury River

A new experience this time, travelling with Em and Jac.  Both my daughters work incredibly hard, both of them at work they mostly love but that constant being in demand, being responsible, can take a toll.  Good then to plan a short break with Em while I'm in Sydney, her first since going into lockdown. Just one night so we didn't want to travel too far.  Em decided to leave her doxies at home but we took Jac.

We chose Dangar Island, found an Air BnB, Very Special Place Dangar Island and headed off, with Em driving so a bit of a break for me.  If we went the most direct way it would be about 1.5 hours from Sydney.  We did not.  Chose to head to Berowra Waters Fish Cafe for lunch.  Once we got out of the worst of the Sydney traffic the drive was delightful.  Through mildly windy and tree lined roads and coming out at a tributary of the Hawkesbury River.  Short walk along the river, past small jetties with so many boats around, tree lined hills and fish and chips on the deck on the water.  The cafe is a fish and chips place but the chips were good and the fish (whiting) was moist with a light crisp batter.

Next to the cafe is a river crossing by what I would call a punt, but here they called it a ferry.  A flat barge with a cable that takes cars across the water - for an interesting read about car crossings see Our Rivers, Our History.  Em was a little nervous at first as it was her first time crossing the river on a punt, but it is very straightforward, if a little disconcerting when the punt takes off and creaks its way over the water.  

Then on to another windy, narrow tree and rock lined road, with occasional views of the river and the valleys.  But after ten minutes or so, into suburbia again, built up areas, lots of houses.  Em explained that throughout the suburbs of Sydney there are National Parks and state reserves so you can be minutes away from what is a hugely built up area and you are in the middle of natural bush.  Now I understand one of the joys of living in Sydney. As well as the harbour, in a very short time you can be at wild ocean beaches or immerse yourself in a National Park.  Short drive to Brooklyn and we were at the public wharf where the ferry was waiting

All prepared for pandemic with sitting spots at appropriate distances marked on the bench seats and a limit on the number of passengers, luckily, despite a bunch of primary school aged kids, they were under the passenger limit.  Poor old Jac had to wear a muzzle - one of the conditions for dogs being allowed on the ferry.  The sun was shining and it was a perfect day for it.  The island is a 15 minute trip, there are no cars on the island except for one or two with permits for safety purposes, it's boast is it's the only Sydney suburb where cars are not allowed.  Lined up near the ferry wharf are a bunch of wheelbarrows which the 300 or so people who live on the island use to cart their goods around.  Ann, the host met us near the ferry and it was a short walk to our residence for the night.   

The house is actually the last bit remaining of the original house built on the island by Henry Dangar, a surveyor with a checked history but who was successful in gaining licences for he and his brother to settle  land all the way up to Armidale as well as buy the island and rename it after himself.  Lots of history about that and him using the island to store the equipment while a nearby railway bridge was built, but again very little about the traditional owners who came to the island seasonally.

The key thing that stood out apart from the vast expanse of water, was birds, birds birds and more birds.  From the Pelican we saw catching a fish as we got on the ferry to Lorikeets, Galahs, Cockatoos, Kookaburras, Butcher Birds, Herons, Oyster Catchers and little swallows flitting around near the 'beach'.  There is not a lot of activity on the island apart from walking and then only two reasonably short walks (15minutes to the beach and maybe up to 45 around the top of the island) but a whole different world.  

Our host Ann Howard was a wealth of knowledge, having lived on the island for 47 years and written extensively about its history as well as publishing lots of other books including some about women in wartime.  The house itself was a bit like a museum with some original furniture, the original ceiling and walls in the main area and Ann's extensive food garden where some of our brunch the next day was sourced from.  The only downside was Ann did not like people being in her kitchen so we could not help ourselves to a cup of tea or make a coffee or snack which I found a bit disconcerting.   She had some lovely touches like providing a sheepskin for Jac which Jac actually loved, so might consider getting one for her at home.  Would go well in front of the fire.   

Following Ann's suggestion we went for the short walk to the beach, the river is so big and wide, I can't think of anything like it in Victoria except maybe up around Lakes Entrance.  It's immense, the water was so still and one end of the the beach is rocky and covered in open oyster shells (a midden perhaps).  Had wine on the verandah watching the birds, including very curious Lorikeets who came for a gander at us until Jac barked and off they went.   

We had decided to eat in the only choice for eating out, the Dangar Island Bowling Club which was a 2 minute walk from the house.  Had Jac with us so sat on the veranda with a very welcome heater as it was just a tad nippy.  Menu was mainly burgers, with vegetarian options, but a good wine list and an incredibly helpful sole waitress.  Best to book if you go there as it is a very small place and a group of young people who had booked a house there to celebrate a birthday arrived without a booking 15 minutes before the end of the 'dinnertime' and the kitchen had closed.  They did scrape together something for them so they did not go hungry but choices were extremely limited.  It was actually good to see them because, in the dark of night, being so cut off by being on an island and realising we clearly stood out as outsiders, it felt for a short time, a little creepy, like maybe you could be imprisoned by a cult or somehow cast into the wilderness for breaking some unwritten rules.  That group made the place feel a little more normal and it was actually very welcoming and felt quite safe.   A few of the locals who were of course, taken in by Jac, sitting quietly with us, said hello.  

We stopped on the walk back to look up at the clear night sky and enjoy the stars.  My bed was a water bed, shades of the 70s!  I found it a little disconcerting every time I moved though it was generally comfortable and warm.  I had a door out to the verandah, so it was easy to let Jac out for a wander and there was a good, deep bath for me to enjoy.  

Next day had a most sumptuous brunch, prepared by Ann. Sitting on the verandah overlooking the water, watching the mist slowly rise over the water and surrounding mountains, and the ferry putter in and out again was pretty remarkable.   There's a small cafe/grocery/art gallery down at the ferry, so we had coffee after brunch, Em walked up the hill while I sat around at the cafe and then the ferry back to Brooklyn to pick up the car.

I had researched a walk to stop at on the way home to try the walk to Bujwa Bay from Cowan, however when we found it, there was a steep and rocky descent down to the Bay (on the river) so we just walked a short way in to a place where we could sit on the rocks and look out at a view of the river winding through bushy hills.  Just in that very short distance there were so many different wildflowers, Happy Wanderer winding through the bushes, a beautiful plant with small pink flowers, from a distance I thought it was heath but it was a bit more orchid like up close, Wattle, Flannel Flowers, old Banksia trees and a range of different eucalypts.  As we walked back to the car through an oval, some Oystercatchers were dive bombing Jac and we noticed they had chicks wandering around the oval so tried to get past there as soon as possible so as to alleviate their anxiety.  Jac was not perturbed at all by the dive bombing.    

My verdict on the trip was it was a great thing to do.  apart from enjoying travelling with Em, something about being on an island with no cars and  just one quite basic place to eat felt like a real escape from the City madness.  The whole area around the Hawkesbury was a discovery for me and I plan to go back and explore it more.  The abundance of National Parks and Reserves so close to the city was an eye opener and there is a long walk one can do through the connected National Parks.  Couple that with the harbour and ocean pools, Sydney I could learn to love you!