Georges River

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Route: Guwark Fire Trail, Ridge Track, Henry Lawson Drive, Fitzpatrick Park, Carinya Road, Picnic Point, Lambeth Park, Doris Street, Amberdale Avenue, Yeramba Lagoon Loop Track, Henry Lawson Drive, Ridge Track, Cattle Duffers Flat, Burrawang Reach Road, Guwark Fire Trail

Date: 10/05/2020
From: Revesby Heights

Parking: Revesby Heights
Start Point: Georges River
Region: Georges River National Park

Route length: 6.7 miles (10.8km)
Time taken: 03:07
Average speed: 2.3mph
Ascent: 190m
Descent: 179m

Other points of interest: Georges River, Picnic Point

Georges River (or Tucoerah River to give it its indigenous name) is one of the main rivers which flows into Botany Bay (the other being our local Cooks River). It was given its English name in honour of King George III, by Governor Arthur Phillip after the arrival of the First Fleet. It was one of the many sites of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars, a series of wars between Great Britain and the resisting Indigenous clans in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Nowadays it is far more tranquil, home to one of New South Wales' smallest national parks (and, indeed, one of our closest). The park actually surrounds one of Sydney's huge electricity substations but it's craftily hidden among the trees. It's unlikely we'd have explored this area were it not for the current restrictions on travel.

While the park was open when we visited, the car park was closed to reduce overall visitor numbers. Though we did drive, we parked on a nearby street and walked along a local fire trail to reach the main gates. Safe to say, it was pretty deserted with only a few fishermen and one or two young families dotted around. Our hike, starting from the closed car park, would encompass the Ridge Track and Picnic Point.

The Guwark Fire Trail

The entrance to the national park

The Ridge Track starts adjacent to the car park where a short climb up some rock steps leads on to the bush track. The track climbs up and along the side of the ridge until it comes to an intersection of paths. From the intersection, we followed the Ridge Track towards Cattle Duffers Flats, with Georges River on our left.

Georges River

Joining the Ridge Track

The Ridge Track

Mill Creek joins Georges River

The track heads through some nice sandstone rock formations, among the abundance of gum trees and ferns. Despite the name of the track, views of Georges River are limited to fleeting glimpses now and again. After we crossed a small creek and made another short climb up the opposite bank, we found our way to a rocky area which looks out over a bend in the river.

An opening among the trees

The Ridge Track

Georges River

From the lookout, the track descends through the trees to Henry Lawson Drive. We had planned to do a quick circuit of Yeramba Lagoon but it was closed for pest control. Instead, we made for Fitzpatrick Park which sites on the bank of Goerges River.

Georges River

Fitzpatrick Park

Georges River

Boats on Georges River

The park leads to Picnic Point, a sweeping bend in the river which people call home - it's lined with large, expensive-looking properties. Carinya Road follows the course of the river, eventually becoming a boardwalk as it heads to Lambeth Park.

Georges River

Picnic Point boardwalk

Georges River

We wended our way through Lambeth Park, up onto the nearby road. A sneaky cut through got us onto a quiet side street (Doris Street) which we followed to Amberdale Reserve. Here, a path joins the north side of Yeramba Lagoon, avoiding the closed area and heading back towards the Ridge Track.

Re-entering the bush at Amberdale Reserve

Top of the Yeramba Loop Track

Re-joining the Ridge Track

We retraced our steps from earlier in the day for a short distance and then followed a short, steep descent to Cattle Duffers Flat, a large, flat area adjacent to Georges River. The term duffers essential means thief so, in other words, cattle rustlers flat.

The ridge

Cattle Duffers Flat

Cattle Duffers Flat

An access road follows the river back to the car park at the entrance to the national park. Here, we followed the fire trail back to our car, which was parked among the streets of Revesby Heights. By the looks of it, this will be our last truly restricted, local walk as Covid lockdown will be easing shortly in Australia. While it's been nice seeing some areas we probably wouldn't have visited, nothing quite beats the big national parks.

Georges River

Georges River

Georges River

Georges River