Here we go loop de loop, first time for four walkers
“It’s not the first time I’ve led a walk at Munibung Hill and it won’t be my last,” says Colleen, walk organiser with Hunter Area Walkabout Club.
SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY. It was working up to be a hot summer’s day. A good reason to get on the track before the heat became too intense.
Colleen had done the pre walk visit to suss out what the go was, just to make sure nothing untoward would mar the group outing on the planned day.
This included checking the Munibung Hill Conservation Society (MHCS) website which features 12 walks across Munibung Hill.
“The meeting place site was the end of Farm Street, Speers Point for a start time of 8.00am and the expectation to be on the track for three hours,” said Colleen.
There were five in the walking party including organiser and group leader Colleen. As it turned out, on this occasion, it was an all-women’s troupe.
With Colleen leading the way, the group headed into the bush taking the track to the right before the Hawkins Creek footbridge heading up through zigzag way, then a sharp left onto the southern east-west ridge. [On the MHCS Walks page this is the Booyaan (Bellbird) Nature Walk]
“This track takes walkers out to the Awaba Lookout, at the top of the Quarry Road entrance,” notes Colleen. “There are great views across Lake Macquarie to the west, overlooking the subdivision in the former gravel quarries, and further afield to the north”.
The group then doubled back, walking to the north- south ridge and heading up to the northern summit, in the general location of the telecom towers. [The Songline Heritage Walk – of high importance to Awabakal people, from where elders would have overseen country and watched Awaba fill over a 6,000 year period]
More panoramic views, this time to the east and south. For the first time visitor this is what brings on the wow factor, “we’ll be back” exclamations, or should that be pronouncements.
Another double back, to retrace the ridge track path past the rainforest area, past the southern telecom tower down to the point above Thompson Street, which we call the Biraban Lookout.
“The area around the bulrushes was dry and muddy, so no Banjo frogs were seen or heard.”
“A bench seat invites a stopover, so this was the appropriate break for a cuppa and refreshments,” noted Colleen, who then ushered the group along tracks down to a set of steep stairs, with a diversion to a second bench seat, with the opportunity to appreciate the Farm Street Reserve that has been so well cared for by local Landcarers.
“Along the way we came across crops of Formosan Lily (a dreaded invasive species, Editor) that is now in full bloom,” said Colleen. “We didn’t encounter any snakes, nor did we see many birds, but we could hear them singing, especially the bell birds”.
“Most of the tracks are well shaded, which makes for more pleasant walking when we are out on a hot day”.
“It was a great morning at Munibung Hill, all the more so because none of the group – apart from myself – had walked at Munibung Hill before, which made it a special experience.”
“Everyone was impressed with the views from the three lookouts – new eyes, as they say, and fresh thoughts about caring for this special forested area right in the middle of town,” said Colleen. “It’s not the first time I’ve led a walk at Munibung Hill and it won’t be the last”.
Walk stats: Five walkers, 6.5 km, 3 hours, Track grades: 2 and 3.
Hunter Area Walkabout Club organises walks on Sundays and Thursdays – check the website for details.
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Bringing up babes in the ways of the bush
We got word down the wood wide web vine, that a bunch of bush adventurers were heading up Munibung Hill way on the morning of Monday 12 February. Known as Babes that Bushwalk, the Instagram based group meets every week to go walking at a pre-arranged area.
Small though the group numbers were, big was the enthusiasm for the walk with friends, and for the information we were able to share, including the MHCS Map and Walks Guide and Invasive Species Awareness Guide. See the website for more.
Speaking on the group’s return, “It was an excellent walk as usual,” said Kara Agllias, who was one of the organisers of the Babes that Bushwalk trek onto Munibung Hill.
“Lots of special features – I love native hibiscus as it’s such a special plant for weaving. Also, lots of room for more people to help love and return it to its more natural state.”
“It’s extremely important to maintain the protection of areas such as Munibung Hill, it’s a beautiful place,” said Caitlen,
“The babies had a wonderful walk. It must have been very relaxing because my daughter fell asleep on the way out!”
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Thinking of going 4 a walk?
4 WALKS AT MUNIIBUNG HILL posted on the PeakVisor website.
> The green walk is from Ambleside Cct, near the Lakelands Drive entrance.
>> The red from Cardale Road, Macquarie Hills.
>>> The yellow from Main Road, near Seventh St, Speers Point and
>>>> The blue walk is from Main Road, at Third St, Boolaroo.
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“All great thoughts are conceived by walking”
This is a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, who knew a thing or two about the capacity for walking to inspire and motivate.
Munibung Hill at 251 million year old hill can help us connect with the 335 BC school of thought grounded in walking.
In: How Walking Fosters Creativity, Josh Jones, in Nature, Psychology | January 5th, 2024 says that, Stanford Researchers Confirm What Philosophers & Writers Have Always Known.
An entire school of ancient philosophy—the “peripatetic”— derives from Aristotle and his contemporaries’ penchant for doing their best work while in leisurely motion. Friedrich Nietzsche, an almost fanatical walker, once wrote, “all truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” Nietzsche’s mountain walks were athletic, but walking—Frédéric Gros maintains in his A Philosophy of Walking—is not a sport; it is “the best way to go more slowly than any other method that has ever been found.”
So the message is, go walking, it does us good from every angle, especially sorting out our thoughts. We not only walk our worries away, we expand our worldview at the top of Munibung Hill. We get a bigger picture, a wider and wiser perspective.
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We prescribe Munibung Hill as part of 20-5-3
We could all benefit from this powerful prescription.
In this day and age when we’re connected to wi-fi and hooked into social media, perhaps it’s time to be surrounded by more trees than power lines, that’s where the real magic happens.
The “20-5-3 Rule” Will Give You a Better Life, writes Tanner Garrity (Inside Hook, November 1, 2023) will help us recalibrate a part of our lives that needs regular maintenance – the indoor to outdoor equation. And Munibung Hill could be the perfect potion in the remedy mixture.
‘The overwhelming majority of our daytime hours is spent inside buildings, a little bit of it is spent in cars and whatever’s left is spent outdoors. That’s a crying shame, considering outdoor activity promotes mental health and creativity, works out the legs and lungs, and boosts our exposure to Vitamin D (great for bone health) and our production of melatonin (great for sleep).’
‘It’s a wellness feast, basically, but too many of us are starving…by choice. Why? Well, we’re too comfortable’.
‘In his book The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter wrote about how couches, screens and fast food have gotten us stuck in a negative feedback loop (which plays out, of course, indoors). Easter cites research by a then-postdoctoral fellow named Rachel Hopman, at Northeastern University. Dr. Hopman analyzed the neurological changes from multiple days spent in nature and formed a loose “rule”: 20-5-3.’
MMM Issue 43, April-May 2024
