Day 10, Sunday 8th January: Avalon to Barranjoey

We set off early, catching the L90 at 7:45am from the city up to Avalon. We walk up North Avalon road and make a start at the bottom of Bangalley Head Reserve.

There is a steep but well signposted path up and over Bangalley Head. The path begins on grass, then up through bushes and over rocks, then through some quite dense forest.

Along the way we are accosted by two kookaburras.

From the top of Bangalley Head, there are spectacular views down the coast to Avalon and Newport, and up the coast to Barranjoey and Broken Bay.

On the far side of the headland is a stepped path down on to the road.

Turn left on Mona Avenue and eventually arrive at Whale Beach.

At the south end of the beach, the structure of the Narrabeen Sandstone is exposed with various clay lens and even what looks like a small intrusion.

We walk along Whale beach to a set of steep steps on the other side. These lead up to Whale Beach Road. There are some great houses along this road with views down to Whale Beach.

We follow Whale Beach Road along the headland and ultimately to some steps that lead down to the baths at the southern end of Palm Beach. 

We take off our shoes and walk barefoot along the beach. Palm beach is maybe 2 km long.

    

Barranjoey Head shows the two distinct stratigraphic layers; the Hawkesbury sandstone, lying conformally on top of the Narrabeen sandstone. Interesting.

We cross over to the Pittwater side of Palm Beach and ascend Barranjoey via the smugglers steps. This is a very steep climb along a very picturesque path.

Eventually we get to the top where there is a good looking light house and light house keepers cottage. We get our pictures taken to celebrate what is technically the end of the walk, first with the lighthouse

and then looking north across Broken Bay

We take the path down to the edge where there is a great view back along Palm Beach and Avalon towards the south

Last step is to through the rock we picked up at La Perouse, at the beginning of the walk, over the edge. Here is Alex, sizing it up.

Finally, we walk back down to the beach to enjoy a swim in the ocean.

That is it, the walk and this blog is finished! We have walked about 150km over ten great Sundays. It has been a memorable experience; we have learnt a lot, seen some wonderful scenery, better understood the history and geology of the place we live in, and had some great conversations along the way. It is sad to finish, but maybe we will do it again someday.