by Diamonds Coach Kalina

What are three different words that can describe this day? If I could use just three words I would have said muddy, muddy, muddy. But I would also need to add challenging and stunning.

After a few weeks of pretty solid rain, I have to say I was feeling a bit anxious about leading this hike if the rain continued. We were taking on 17-20km of a track with a little bit of everything, including some rather challenging (and fun) sections.

There would be waterfalls, sure but what about the condition of the notoriously muddy track? What about the views? And what about lunch? So much to think about for a Diamonds coach and hike leader.

2IC Jacq Conway and the promised waterfalls.

In the end, the weather pulled out all of its best cards for us that day - clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. The day was a hit!

Blue skies, amazing views and a wonderful team!

We started at Forestville Oval with an acknowledgement of the Garigal people whose country we would be spending the day on, followed by a safety briefing and introductions to find out the incredible goals our fellow diamonds were working towards and getting to know everyone.

The area of Bantry Bay and Manly Dam has a rich indigenous history and it did not take long before we happened onto one of the signs of this with some rock art of a kangaroo/wallaby on a rock platform. The recent rain meant there was still water flowing over the carving which made it really stand out.

The track then took us down over the Natural Bridge and towards Flat Rock Beach, where we had morning tea. While the distance may not be great this was a fun and challenging section with a little bit of everything - from fire trail to rock scrambles under waterfalls.

The well-earned morning tea break saw everyone enjoying the sunshine on Flat Rock Beach with a cuppa and a piece of the famous Diamond Slice.

Recharged, it was time to take on the challenging Magazine Track towards Bluff Point. We had not anticipated the trail running race which was on at the same time so this section involved a lot of “RUNNER” stop/starts.

Bluff Point is a stunning rock platform lookout that allowed us to map out where we had been and where we were going. It’s so easy to fall into the meditative “every step, every step” aspect of hiking, and while there is a lot of value in this, it’s also good sometimes to look at what you have managed to achieve (before lunch!). This was a beautiful reminder of this.

We could also see the sunny pier where we were to have lunch, which I think added a little bit of extra motivation for the team in the next section.

The section from Bluff Point to Bantry Bay Picnic Area meanders across a number of ridges and creeks with all the expansive views, creek crossings and undulating track underfoot this entails.

The menu for lunch was burritos, with your choice of bean, chicken or naked. The protein and carbohydrates were well placed to get us through the next section - Timbercuters Stairs. Some of the 2023 Oxfam50 team remembered these very well (unfortunately there was no delicious chicken ginger soup waiting for us at the top this time).

Manly Dam is a beautiful, if lesser known, part of Sydney. The extra rain meant that a lot of the beaches along our way were underwater but it also meant that we had some stunning wetlands and waterfalls along the way.

By 3.30pm on a winter’s day the shadows around us were growing long. It was time for the final push - in true Diamond style we took a lesser-known trail back up the ridge and, after a short interaction with suburbia, we dropped back into the bush for one final rock scramble before reaching the cars right on schedule.

By the time we reached the cars most trackers pointed to 19-20km. After a thorough leech check, it was time to head home for a well-earned bath and delicious dinner.