It was founded 2,000 years ago by the lyric Roman poet Terence but gained no favour until Australians landed there in 1787 with Captain Fred Cook, then the leading agent for Cook’s tours. These tours were steadily gaining favour with rich convicts who took the waters of Woy Woy Hotel in preference to the penal settlement that charged them 10 bob a night for bed, breakfast and hanging.
Nowadays, the Old Prison has been turned into a first-class hotel with a service that any Michelin guide would be only too pleased to condemn.”
Over the last 15 years, there’s been quite an influx of commuters from Sydney, which, of course, has included us although we live about 15 minutes drive away from Woy Woy by the beach.

Anyway, the cruise was fantastic…just like the weather. It is the middle of Winter here and yet we had a gloriously sunny day and the sunlight was sparkling across the water creating a stunning diamond carpet. I was very torn between watching the historic photo presentation and talk and getting out there on the deck and checking out the scenery through my camera lens. That’s how I see, by the way.

You would think that after living here for about 15 years, we would’ve done this trip before. That I’d know our local waterways like the back of my hand.
However, you know how it is. You go overseas on a holiday, before you’ve even been around your own block. Although we’d covered some ground on the Ettalong to Palm Beach Ferry numerous times before, there was a huge chunk we’d never seen. Shame on us!

The kids enjoying my birthday lunch.
After returning to terra firma, we went out for a celebratory Birthday lunch and then popped into the opportunity shop. Our lounge is in desperate need of replacement and Geoff spotted a temporary stop gap. I love delving into op shops and going treasure hunting. There’s such a a kaleiscope of colours, fabrics and styles and much more interesting than something “on trend”. Indeed, “on trend” is usually my cue to run a mile!
After laving the op shop with lighter pockets yet heavier bags, we headed off towards Patonga to find the Warrah Trig. I am theoretically dropping the kids off there for Scout hikes during the week and we decided to to do a reconnaisance. After all, it’s not just the Scouts who need to be prepared. It’s also their parents. The drop off point, is down quite a long dirt road, which is bad enough by day and I suspect, beyond me by night.Even though I’m 21 again, I’m still a bit afraid of the dark.

The kids and I on our bush walk. Geoff is behind the lens.
Being such a beautiful day and seeing that it was only a 500m walk to the lookout, we set off for a bushwalk. This track is part of the The Great North Walk, a 250km walking track from Sydney to Newcastle. It was initially constructed as a celebration of Australia’s Bicentenary in 1988, but some sections of the track have been used by Aboriginal people or possibly thousands of years.
We mostly walked down hill towards the lookout through towering gum trees and a splattering of wildflowers adding vibrant colour through the scrub. I was thrilled to see so much pink Boronia. It’s a personal favourite, along with golden yellow wattle. I lived out bush for a few years as a child and I used to pick the Boronia flowers and ferment them, making “potions”. Boronia has an intense fragrance and I wish I could somehow capture it so you could simply click on the link, instead of having to fly all the way to Australia to smell it.
Finally, we reached the lookout which had a breathtaking view over the Hawkesbury River. Looking East, there was Broken Bay where the Hawkesbury River flows into the Tasman Sea. Having explored the Northern end of Broken Bay and Brisbane Waters this morning on the cruise, we were now soaking up stunning views of Barrenjoey Headland, the lighthouse and Palm Beach. The river was so serene. Naturally, it was moving but it wasn’t in a hurry. Was taking its time.
Instantaneously, I felt an unconscious weight lift off my shoulders. I didn’t even know it was there until it raised it’s wings, flying gracefully out of my body and disappearing somewhere in between the horizon and the trees.
However, unlike the river, we couldn’t take our time. The sun was very close to setting and without torches and my mobility issues, we needed to allow plenty of time to get back to the car before dark.

The Hawkesbury River Viewed from the Lookout.
As we were heading down to the lookout, I knew that the walk back up was going to be a struggle. Unfortunately, what goes down, also has to walk back up again. That is, unless you have Mum or Dad waiting for you at the other end to drive you home. Not unsurprisingly, I found the walk back pretty hard going at spots but had plenty of rest breaks and implemented old wisdom: “slow and steady wins the race”.

Sunset Through The Gum Leaves.
Our walk concluded at sunset, with the sun blazing through the gum trees. As much as you might think a sunset is just another sunset, for me, they never lose their magic. That intense electricity right before the sun goes off to bed…WOW!
Speaking of which, the sun has already set on another birthday and it’s time for the birthday girl to get to bed.
Goodnight!
xx Rowena
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday! How many times have you turned 21 so far?
I was reading your post and when I read “great north walk” I thought that sounds like something that might be something that could exist in Newcastle upon Tyne where I went for my bachelors degree. Well I read on and read the word “Newcastle”. I had to tell you.
Happy birthday! (Or is it an anniversary of your 21st?) It sounds like you had a great day of it!
Your birthday sounds joyful and adventurous, Rowena, and you look happy. A grand way to celebrate your birth — have a great new year ahead.
Happy Birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday, Rowena.
Happy birthday, young miss. love the sunset photo by the way and the hat is just peachy.
Happy birthday dear Rowena, you look amazing! It looks like you had a great day. Thank you so much for sharing it with us 🙂
Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had an amazing day 🙂
Happy birthday! 🎂
I don’t have birthdays, I have anniversaries of my 40th birthday 😉
Happy Birthday! What an awesome day 🙂
Thanks, Suvi.
Ha! I love that. A friend suggested I was 21 again and I loved that. It’s been so long since my 21st these days that I hadn’t thought of that.
Thanks very much, It was great!
Hi Gulara. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes. Sorry, it’s taken me so long to reply. We had a big day and I was working on a short story for a competition entry through the week and had a lot of adjectives and adverbs to kill off to meet the word limit. I will be posting the real story based on newspaper reports soon. It’s quite an intriguing story.
Thanks very much, Geoff. I love a good sunset photo and even though I no doubt have thousands on the hard drive, I still want more.
I love that hat. It feels very snug and cosy.
Sorry, it’s taken me so long to reply to your comment but I’ve been working on a short story for a local competition and had to murder a lot of adjectives and adverbs not to mention other darlings to meet the word limit. Emailed it off last night so fingers crossed.
Thanks very much, Derrick! We had a great day!
Thanks very much, Jim!
Thanks so much, Jet!
Definitely 21 again, Trent! Had a great day and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply but I was working on a short story for a long competition and was tinkering to get it ready for today’s deadline.
How fascinating! Thanks for sharing about the story, Rowena, I can’t wait to read it. Good luck with the competition.
Hi Solveig. I turned a very youthful 47. That is, until I start listening to my kids and conversing with them about technology and I realize the horse has bolted and let me behind.
Sorry that it’s taken me so long to reply. I was out for the birthday weekend and I had a deadline for a local short story competition. It had a 1500 word limit and I really wanted to create a complex multilayered situation so it was like working with tweezers in the end and I went on an adjective and adverb massacre to knock the word limit down. I can’t post it but I’ll email it through.
Our Newcastle was named after Newcastle upon Tyne..or at least, Newcastle in the UK.
Thanks very much! xx Rowena
Go you. Hope the story knocks them dead
Thanks very much Geoff. I can’t post it but I’ll post it through along with the original reports. I still can’t understand what happened that precipitated his descent into such madness that he killed his wife.