Mt Myall Wakefield to Watagan Rd: Great North Walk

The Waratah (Telopea speciosissim) was proclaimed the official floral emblem of New South Wales on 24 October 1962. These flowers re native tot eh Hawkesbury sandstone and grow throughout the Sydney Basin. Once in serious contention to be the national flower of Australia (a title later taken by the golden wattle) the crimson waratah is a splendid native and one greatly prized by gardeners.

The exact location of these registers is a secret but if you manage to find them all and write in your name and dates of your hike, the NSW Land & Property Management Authority will send you a certificate of completing the "Great North Walk". Go to
http://www.lpma.nsw.gov.au/about_recreation/walking_tracks/great_north_walk

The terrain north of the new British settlement of Sydney rises rapidly to a high sandstone plateau on the northern bank of the Hawkesbury River falls away into the Hunter River Valley still further north. This high terrain posed an impenetrable barrier to establishing a land route from Sydney to Newcastle. Heaton Gap or simply “the Gap”, named for Richard Heaton, an English convict who became a timber cutter in the area, is geological formation that was first known as Brunkerville Gap, Broken-back Gap and remains to today an important saddle between the Watagan Mountains and the Awaba Forests.

There are many viewpoints along the track offering splendid panoramas over the Hunter Valley. As well as the magnificent natural landscape there are power stations and coal mines such as the Pelaw Main and Richmond Vale collieries.
Richmond Main Colliery, once the largest shaft mine in the Southern Hemisphere, is heritage listed. Visit the administrative centre, the powerhouse and the blacksmith’s shop (+61 2 4936 1124). Off Leggets Lane, Richmond Vale, NSW, about 17 km northwest of the Great North Walk at Wakefield.

The Great North Walk trail is well marked but sometimes you have to look around for older trail sings - like this one painted on a fallen tree. Mind your head as you scramble under cliff overhangs and downed tree trunks.

Watagan Mountains: The Watagans provide an important habitat for over 150 native animal species including wallabies, gliders, brush and ring-tailed possums, amphibians and reptiles and more than 130 species of birds. Echidnas, although rare, can be frequently seen foraging on the verges of the forest tracks. The Watagan Mountains has been a NSW state forest for many years, but part of the area is now in the new Watagan National Park.

Walking off-track in the valleys is challenging due to the thick rainforest vegetation, and leeches. However, there is a good network of roads and walking trails. Lookouts offer stunning views to the north down into the Hunter Valley west towards Paxton and east towards Newcastle. From here you can view the new industrial life of Newcastle – built on coal and powering the state. Mines and power stations with their linear power-lines criss-cross and undermine the area. In 2008, this region became the centre of an anti-coal, pro-greenhouse action protest in Australia. Interestingly, the state forest here was the first in the world to realize the potential to sell to a carbon trading market the benefits provided by capturing carbon in new planted trees.

Both are common in this area. Ticks have to be removed with care –use small tweezers and grasp the head of the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull it away from the skin firmly without twisting. Seek medical advice if any flu-like symptoms ensue. Remove leeches by sliding a fingernail (or a credit card corner is you are squeamish) under the mouth-parts. As leeches release an anti-coagulant, hirudin, into the host that prevents blood from clotting, blood will flow for some time after removal. They is messy but not dangerous.

This large campsite between Watagan and Bakers roads, provides ample room for pitching a tent as well as a water tank, fixed seats and tables, camp barbeques and a garbage bin. There are echidna in the bushes nearby - they are shy so be quiet if you want to meet them. While seeming to be an ideal point for those camping and hiking to stop for the night, you need to watch out for leeches.