Jordans Crossing Gazette

This phrase came to me this week as I reprised a regular walk through Morton National Park. It came from a very wise Maori man to my question “where does your spirituality come from? His answer, “when I walk on my land it comes through the soles of my feet”. When I was General Manager of the Quest for Life Centre I facilitated regular weekend ‘time out’ retreats. A regular feature was a walk in the park – well usually two walks, so answering the call from the editor of JCG as to where to take visitors, the response was automatic… Lovers Walk commences at Bonny View and it is a short circuitous route to Echo point – or for the fitter walker, a few hundred extra metres to the top of Mount Carnarvon. It is mostly flat apart from the short climb at the end. I encourage undertaking it in silence; a sort of meditational walk. There are landscape views of the gorges and also fern-filled gullies. My favourite part is where the path passes huge towering sandstone cliffs covered in red lichen. It is one of many places in Australia as well as the Scottish Highlands where I am always reminded of the overwhelming power of landscape to connect one with ‘the other’... can I say a soul connect? If you have walked in Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) in Central Australia, there is the same feeling right here in this part of the Lovers Walk. Those who know the work of the Dominican scholar, Matthew Fox and his evolutionary Creation Spirituality movement, will immediately connect with the panentheism of this special place. In contrast, at the end of the walk there is a well-maintained BBQ area (free) so hunger of another kind can be satisfied! Erith Coal Mines Walk by contrast, requires a reasonable level of fitness - but it is well worth the effort. Via a well- maintained series of rammed-earth steps and metal stairs you gradually descend to the top of a waterfall and then continue your descent right down past the old mine entrances to the bottom where a welcoming pool and cool glade awaits. Along the way informative signs describe the local flora and benches are strategically placed set at regular intervals among a forest of dry eucalypts and grass trees. The two walks are great at any time of the year and in all weathers – I especially like it after it has rained, with glistening flora and intense colour emanating from the escarpments and boulders. In springtime the boronia and tea trees provide a blaze of colour contrast with the eucalypts. The added advantage of walking the tracks in silence is the opportunity to come across a variety of wildlife. This past week, in the course of a “Through the soles of my feet” couple of minutes, I encountered a gaggle of gang-gang cockatoos feasting on a bush, an echidna and a lyrebird. There is also often a display from the resident family of yellow-tailed black cockatoos. The Blue Mountains are justly heralded for their vast beauty; they are also inundated with hordes of day trippers, which to my mind detracts from the experience. How lucky are we in Bundanoon to have our own mini version to explore at leisure. It is a well-kept secret which we can share with our special visitors. — Thomas Andrew day breaks December 2017 23 jcg www.bca.asn.au