There was a total of nine day walks, starting with Gloucester Tops in January and finishing with Bulahdelah Mountain in October.

Along the way we visited Rocky Crossing, The Bucketts, Diamond Head and Cattai Wetlands, Woko National Park, Curracabark property and The Glen Nature Reserve.

All locations demonstrated we live in a region with an abundance of opportunities to enjoy nature up close.

In November we plan a weekend camp at Korsmans Landing in Myall Lakes National Park.

Seven walkers drove down to Bulahdelah on October 23 to walk the trails on Bulahdelah Mountain.

From the car park at the Bulahdelah Mountain Park to the lookouts on the mountain and return, the walk lasted about three hours and covered six kilometres.

We then drove to visit The Grandis - NSW's tallest tree to have lunch.

The west facing side of Bulahdelah Mountain is best walked in the morning. The tracks are in excellent condition, steep in short sections but mostly shaded as it is part of a State Forest. The walk is rewarded with sites of previous mining for alunite, views over Bulahdelah, the Myall River Valley and to Myall Lakes and Port Stephens. There are helpful signs explaining history, Aboriginal names and the flora and fauna.

The Grandis is a flooded gum specimen estimated at over 400 years old and over 70 metres in height. The surrounding wet forest is lush with other eucalypts and cabbage palms. The viewing platform has been recently renovated and the access roads from either the Old Pacific Highway or Lakes Way in good condition also.

The forests we visited that day were beautiful - it is important to keep a balance between their exploitation and conservation.

GEG is looking forward to a full walks program next year.

Contact gloucester.environment.group@gmail.com if you would like to participate in 2022.