Walk: West Head

The West Head area is one of the most florally and geologically diverse in the whole of Ku-ring-gai Chase as well as being scenically superb. More than half of the 20 to 25 eucalypt species recorded for whole the park grow in this small area. The whole peninsula has heaps of other natural attractions including fantastic tesselated pavements and petroglyph sites, and we’ll visit probably one of the best of these at the start of the outing. 

A dyke of dolerite (a form of basalt) that crosses beneath Pittwater from Barrenjoey, swells and branches on West Head creating perfect soil conditions for a broad mix of littoral rainforest plant species. We’ll do a short wander down a little used trail that takes us through the best part of this. This will be followed by a 1.5 km return walk from the Resolute Picnic Area to Koolewong Lookout which will bring us back past Red Hands Cave,  and then we’ll have a lunch break at the picnic area. The actual West Head lookout isn’t on the menu because it’s usually too busy on Sunday lunchtimes and it is hard to find parking for several vehicles, but in the unlikely event that you haven’t been there, or you want to renew your acquaintance, feel free to make your own way following lunch break.
 
Date: Sunday 23 August
Time: 8:45 for 9 am start, finishing approx 2 pm
Length: short walks totalling approximately 3 km
Grade: easy to moderate: some short steep sections, but nothing the average bushwalker can’t cope with
Meet: Elvina Trailhead car park – you can’t miss it, on the right hand side of the West Head Road about 1 km after right turnoff 
How to get there in general: from Terrey Hills, wind down McCarrs Creek Road to West Head Road left turnoff. The park entry kiosk will be open as it’s a Sunday so you might have to buy a day pass if your car registration doesn’t have an annual one (be sure to turn right with care at bad visibility hilltop junction after 1.5 km, then follow initially for 1 km to Elvina Trailhead on the excellent West Head Road)
Safety risks: mainly the usual sun and wind exposure (August can be windy)
Bring: plant ID books, camera, snack for lunch at picnic area plus water or drink
Footwear: what you usually wear on bushwalks — mostly easy track surfaces though with short rocky sections
Limit: 15
Food: tea and snacks (provided)
Leader: John Martyn (0425 830 260)

 

Eucalypt forest with littoral rainforest understory, growing in soil on weathered dolerite.

 

You can find the occasional piece of highly weathered dolerite, but mostly there’s a moderate to deep soil cover. Dolerite is effectively of basalt lava composition but is coarser grained because it has cooled more slowly and grown bigger crystals. The red colour of this weathered piece is iron oxide staining from weathering breakdown of silicates.

 

Sydney red gums can grow anywhere their seeds drop. We’ll visit this one that germinated in a hollow or cleft on the sandstone cliff of Koolewong Lookout, quite a long time ago.