52 Blessings - Week 16

Up until this morning, I really didn’t have an idea for this week’s photo at all. I thought I would go for another wander in the bush for some inspiration. So water bottle, trusty dog and my other half in tow, out we headed into a patch of bush called Karawatha Forest. I’ll admit right here that I have never been there before, well not inside the forest itself. I have driven past plenty of times on Illaweena Street, Compton Road, Wembley Road and of course roaring past on the Gateway Motorway. I thought it would be nice to get to know this little patch of bush on a closer level.

It’s not as small as it appears. That’s the thing about travelling on foot, you gain a much greater appreciation for the actual size of things. And the thing about going somewhere new that is much bigger than you give it credit for, you gain a very good appreciation of having a reliable track map - something which I did not think to obtain before setting out. Of course, had I looked at the track map before going out, I would have taken notice of the disclaimer that states that not all tracks are finalised. Fortunately, my trusty dog has better sense of direction than I do and quite often would refuse to go down a signposted path which I would have preferred to take. Having looked at the map, now that I’m home, I’m glad she has a bit of a stubborn streak in her or else I would have been headed into the middle of nowhere - albeit in spectacularly good company.

To cut a long story short, we did get a little misdirected. I refuse to say lost because I knew where I was - on a well-maintained track in the Karawatha Forest that had to lead somewhere. LOL But boy were we eternally grateful to see the grassy picnic area, the bridge over the creek and above all - the car park. We were back to where we started….we just took the extremely scenic route.

Having said that, it is a really lovely area and I’d like to spend a little more time there to get to know it better. If you decide to go yourself, it’d be a good idea if you take this map with you.