The Great North Walk – Day 6 – Cowan to Brooklyn, East Coast NSW

My return to the Great North Walk trail has been a LONG time coming. Nearly three years to the day, in fact! In my last post about this trail, I said I would be back in six months or so. What happened!?

Life, I guess.

Anyway, I have set myself the goal to finish all of this trail before I set foot on any new ones. That could be a case of ‘famous last words’. 😊 I will do my best to stick to the plan.

Let’s go for another stroll in the Aussie bush…

Logistics:

Day: 6

Date: Tuesday, 29 July 2025

From: Cowan Train Station             To: Brooklyn (Hawkesbury) Station

Map #: 12                                        Rated: Hard

Official Distance: 13.2km              Actual Distance: 13.8km

Progress: 93.4/277km                    Time: 3h52m

Ascent: 433m                                  Descent: 615m

Weather: Cool and clear with cloud rolling in.

Stayed At: Sydney accommodation

Getting to the Start: Regular train services stop at Cowan on the way to/from Newcastle. An Opal Card is handy for use on all public transport in Sydney and surrounds.

Finishing This Stage: This stage ends right on the doorstep of the Brooklyn (Hawkesbury) railway station and near the wharf. Regular train services connect North towards Newcastle or South to Strathfield, or south-east to Sydney CBD. Alternatively, you may be able to catch a ferry or private boat to Patonga to continue the trail from there.

General Comments:

• It felt good to be back on the trail although I did have a few early nerves being on my own. I always feel a little jittery for some reason when I set out on any trail and that soon disappears when I force myself to stay present, and become absorbed by the beauty of the Aussie bush.
• As it turned out I had the trail entirely to myself until about 1km from the end when I passed two couples walking in the opposite direction and two e-bikers who were making light work of the incredibly steep terrain. By the look of all the footprints in the dirt sections of the trail, it would be much busier when the weekend warriors lace up their hiking boots.

• Fifteen minutes after walking away from Cowan train station I remembered exactly what this path was like and when they rate something as hard, they are not kidding!
• Terrain: Down I plunged into the bush, following a very steep and rocky path that seemed intent on either tripping me up or slipping me over. In some places the path hugs the natural sandstone rock formations which are eroded away/around by water, meaning that the safest option is to sit on my butt and slide down, alternatively, scramble up on hands and knees.

• In the past, when walking with just a daypack, I have not felt the need to use hiking poles. Now, in my more mature years (cough, cough) and with knees to match, I have come to the realization that wherever I hike, my poles have to come too! They are certainly very useful on this stage of the Great North Walk.
• It is possible to walk this path in either direction and I recommend you walk northwards – Cowan to Brooklyn. My reasoning is that in this direction you start and finish with a very steep descent. Personally, I would find it pretty bloody heartbreaking to start and finish a walk with a long, severe and relentless climb. Whatever floats your boat, though.

• Track: The track varies from well-formed dirt to sections of smooth, rounded sandstone boulders just waiting for one of my two left feet to topple me over. See above notes about poles! 😊
• It also features tree roots, loose rock and stones, metal rings bolted into rock faces, and almost-vertical steps and stairs formed out of the local bush rock. Thankfully the stone steps are large enough to give me a perch to stop and catch my breath! Ah, hiking in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is not for the faint-hearted. I was only too pleased that I was carrying my daypack and not my fully-loaded hiking pack!

• All this huffing and puffing was more than offset by the beautiful views of the bush itself, and especially the water views around Jerusalem Bay. What a picturesque, sheltered nook?! It is possible to camp at the Bay, with a few small, level clearings, but there is no infrastructure to speak of.
• Noise: The only downside to this walk is the constant noise. The busy M1 motorway runs adjacent to the National Park and it is all-but impossible to block out the roar or low drone of continuous traffic. The flight path overhead doesn’t help either. I tried to treat is as a form of white noise and focussed on the birdsong instead.

Top Tips for this Section:

• Water: There are no sources of drinking water on this trail except for Brooklyn Dam and it should be treated. Make sure you carry sufficient water even on a Winter’s day.
• Signage: Do NOT trust/believe the National Parks & Wildlife Service distance signs. They keep telling us the walk is only 11km! I was quietly pleased about that until my watch clicked over 11km and I knew I still had plenty of terrain to cover!
• Reassurance Signage: There is very little reassurance signage. That was a little disconcerting at first, especially in the very rocky areas where it is hard to see footprints or a worn trail. You just have to trust the path and look for small signs, even sometimes, signs carved into the natural rock.
• Be careful in a few places where the path seems to disappear or it splits in a few different directions when people have made their own path or shortcuts. I did go wrong a couple of times, with short deviations away from the official path, but with a bit of reading the landscape, I quickly got back with the programme.

This stage lived up to its ‘hard’ description and it made me remember how challenging this trail is (especially carrying a fully loaded hiking pack), but it felt good to get the legs, lungs and blood pumping again. Now all I need to do is increase my fitness levels by about 150% and I will be ready to tackle the final eleven stages…just don’t tell my knees! 😊

Happy trails to you all!

Resources:

• The Great North Walk – Read more about it – HERE
• NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service – Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park – HERE
• NSW Train & Buses – Plan your trip – HERE

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