Maureen's Meander to Melbourne

SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE WALK

STAGE 10 (31 JANUARY 2009)

Port Kembla - Berkley by bike

Another early start to travel to Berkley where the “cycling group” was to meet. A pleasant morning that was promising to meet the weather forecast of being a very warm day. We had 9 cyclists for today's adventure and it was good catching up with John from FNQ, who was still on his way to SA, and Brian Holden from one of our previous walks who had so very kindly welcomed us into his home for our lunch break as well as guided us up Mt Mitchell through those wonderful Sydney Red Gum stands and the exhilarating views from the lookouts which opened up the coastal views both north and south of that point at Coalcliff. In addition, George from the previous bike stage was also with us and I was able to observe his great little set up with the motor on his bike. A very good piece of engineering as it allows George to still get out on bike outings and tackle some of the more strenuous areas of the various tracks.

From Berkley we travelled, by bike, back to Pt Kembla where stage 9 had finished but unfortunately I could not complete stage 9 at that time. Travelling through the industrial complex of Pt Kembla took me back to my school days and excursions to the steel producing site for history and general studies lessons; also the fact that my father had worked there for a time when the owner of the farm that we were on could not afford to pay him but allowed us to live in the old farm house until times were better and “the boss” could afford to pay.

We rode out past the Port Manager’s ( or Harbour Master) tower where a new Port Administration centre is being built and observed some very interesting sculptures of which Maureen took some photos. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take my camera, a newly acquired Christmas present from Sally. We rode on around the coastal outskirts of Kemblawarra to eventually join up on King St at Primbee where we stopped for a short break. Following on along the bike track we pasted through Windang and onto the southern side of the entrance to Lake Illawarra and followed the southern side of the lake, through the suburbs of Lake Illawarra and Mt Warrigal to the suburb of Blackbutt. This track provided very scenic views of the lake which by observation appears to be very well used by fishermen, swimmers and sail board riders. Several small boats were observed operating there as well.

Riding through Blackbutt presented a bit of a challenge as there were a couple of steep hills where “yours truly” was obliged to leave the saddle and walk the bike up a few metres to the top of these hills. However, the down side was great and managed to build up incredible speed needing to apply the brakes on several occasions. We passed over the main road, Shell Harbour Road a little south of Barrack Point and continued on to Shell Harbour where we stopped for lunch and a swim for a few of us. Shell Harbour is an idyllic spot with an area within the small boat enclosure to swim or at the man made rock pool which is serviced by the incoming tide and wave action. Beside this area is a caravan park which I am aware of and that provides good service and is close to use as a base for other walks and outings as well as the latte set if so desired. Just up from where we stopped in the park is the shopping centre where a particular fish and chip shop was doing a roaring trade and by the smell of the food passing us by I can understand why. Certainly this area deserves a return trip and possibly a few days in the camping/caravan park.

Around about 2:00PM we headed back for the return trip to Berkley by following some of the earlier track but cutting back to the coast line at Warrilla, following the lake circuit back to Windang Bridge and across Lake Illawarra. Once again this was familiar territory to me from 35 years ago when I used to go prawning in Lake Illawarra, but my how the landscape around the mouth of the lake has changed in those 35 years. However, the coastal and lake views were as wonderful as ever I could remember them.

After crossing Windang bridge and again travelling some of our earlier route we deviated through some back streets of Primbee which ran around the south eastern part of Lake Illawarra. From here we were able to keep to the Lake shore virtually all the way back to Berkley. Although, at one point we had to travel by the side of King Street where the police had a breathalyzer set up. I made a comment to the police that if they came around home in two hrs and tested me that I would most certainly be over the limit; this gained a smile and a bit of a chuckle from both of the police officers.

We had saved a bit of a treat until last as we had passed a fish and chip shop at the start of our journey and of which Maureen had spoken highly so there we decided to stop for afternoon tea before arriving at our vehicles and subsequently heading home. As Maureen had said the food was great and how was I going to explain to Sally that I was not hungry when I got home after a 51.4 km bike ride!!!

The ride was great and I realized that I was not as unfit as I thought I was. There were splendid views both around the lake as well as along the beach front of the ocean, some wonderful houses and exacting hills to ride up. The cycling maps provided by the RTA are great and I certainly recommend these publications. There are several area maps available, some of which are:

Illawarra Cycleways,
Southerland and Campbelltown,
Liverpool and Parramatta, and
Hornsby and Pittwater.

There maybe other cycleway maps available but I am not aware of them.

Well, after bidding farewell to John foe a safe trip to SA I headed home not being brave enough to tell Sally that I had already had a feast and enjoyed another hearty meal of one of my favourites, curried savoury lentils.