Blowhole to Fossil Cove 2016

Today we're parking at Blackmans Bay Beach and walking from (near) the Blowhole to Fossil Cove and return. Bob is leading us.

You can tell Bob's our leader because we start off in the completely opposite direction, going north before heading south. Anything to build up the kilometres.

Heading north to go south

Blackmans Bay Beach

Flowerpot Point

A couple of locals

They look suspiciously like a couple of Haematopus longirostris or Pied Oystercatchers. They were very good at posing for photos.

On we go, heading for the start of the Suncoast Headlands Track, but before we get there, I spot this unusual track.

Either the very rare one-legged single toed wallaby or a walking stick

Looking back

We leave the beach and walk along the track which runs between the houses and a steep drop.

Soldiers Rocks

This is easy walking and we pass several people with their dogs.

Disregard the map, we're walking with Bob, and we head off through a scrap of bush. We're soon back on track, however, and passing the off-lead dog area where we come to the next sign.

This takes us to the top of a hill and back down to the road leading to the dog area

Scrubby bush

Difficult to miss the track

The other end of the dog area

We walk up the road, past the scout hall and turn left on Tinderbox Road.

Best bit of colour we see

 Wattles may fall over if you sneeze near them, but they do provide a lift to the view.

Tinderbox Road

There are a number of houses in the bush along this road, look on Google Earth and it's amazing what's back in the trees.

The one below is built just behind a large rock, but does have three happy goats.

Good climbing if you're a goat

On we go

We turn off onto Fossil Cove Drive, which seems to have lost its sign and head down towards the channel.

You can't miss the start of the track to the cove.

It's a steep incline with a number of steps and switchbacks so before we start, we have Morning Tea.

The bush is dry and there's little colour, so I took the photo below to brighten it up a bit.

Tea finished, we start down into the gully.

Heading down

Small cave on the way down with animal track leading in

Looking down into the gully

The track levels out at the bottom

We walk along this next to a dry creek bed, and soon reach a set of rough steps leading down to the cove.

Fossil Cove

The fossils are impressions in the rock layers

As you can see here

Interesting vein passing through mud stone layer

Bob and Gail make a discovery

If you look upper left, you can see a plastic pipe

This appears not to be just jammed in the cliff opening but coming down from above. If it is, it would have been drilled down quite a way as it's very high here, and there is a house up above.

Bob tells me there's a blowhole around the corner

I have a look and find a channel leading into the cliff. You can hear the water entering some sort of cave and it would act as a blowhole with higher tides.

Looking towards South Arm

A small dot in the previous photo becomes the Iron Pot Light

The last fossil

Before we leave, the tide is further down then it's been before on our past visits and Tas and a couple of others take the opportunity to pass through the  opening below and look at the other side. It's much like this side but with more overhang.

The other side is much like this side

 
 We made our way back up the trail a short way and then took this old track that passes over the dry creek and up the other side. There are some rough steps carved in the side of the gully from many years ago.

Taking an alternate way

We've been on this track before and it leads up to a picnic table and a dilapidated fence. It then follows the edge of the cliff.

Looking down at Fossil Cove you can see how high we are now

The track skirts the edge of the cliff

We pass a large house at the top, set well back from the cliff. Some concern was expressed to me about how close to the top of the cliff the track goes. As it's slippery and sloped towards the cliff and there are few reliable handholds, I was concerned as well. Also I wondered what the property boundaries were.

I had a look and uploaded the GPX track on to the government List site. The map below shows we're not on private property, so I wonder if we could make a track higher up the slope as it's just open bush. Maybe next time.

 
We enter the bush again in a short while and follow animal tracks towards the channel. These meander around so you have to keep your sense of direction. 

This is the easy part

Finally, we find a steep descent that takes us down to the foreshore. This is marked as Public Reserve on the map. A short walk takes us past a very, dry gully and a scramble track that takes us back to the Suncoast Headlands Track.

Everyone has their own method

Looking up from the bottom. Spot the track

The foreshore

This cutting is much larger than it looks

Southern view

This track leads us up to civilization

No one seemed to notice that we ignored the track markers

Instead, we walked up to the top of this field, along and back down to the official track. More distance added. Now we head for lunch.

Mt. Wellington in distance

We stop for lunch at a small grassy area with a picnic table and a view. After lunch Bob leads us on another indirect route before returning to the beach and our cars.

Another way to the trail. Adie holds the branch back so we can read the sign

This is a good and interesting walk and Bob did his best to stretch it out.

We had 11 walkers and covered 9.31km in 3:41hrs. The weather was great.

Click Here to Download GPX file