Day 6: Rhodes to Chester Hill
Rhodes to Chester Hill
Day 6 of my #WarraneWanderings—an intriguing walk continuing from Rhodes around the foreshores and then up the Duck River from mouth to source.
Fine, easy walking from Rhodes up Powell’s Creek to Homebush, past those freaky kid statues, then back along the western shore via Newington, the Sydney Olympics complex and Bicentennial Park. Shipwreck Lookout is always worth a diversion, with its rusting hulks slowly being reclaimed by the harbour.
Bicentennial Park, if you don't know it, provides great walking and cycling - an easy place to saunter away a morning, an afternoon, or indeed a whole day.
More riverside walking along the Parramatta River along the excellent foreshore shared path (cycling/walking) to Silverwater Bridge. If you’re planning a one-way walk to Parramatta, this bridge would be a useful crossing—there’s a great path along the northern shore all the way.
But sticking to my “no bridges” rule, I turned left and followed the Duck River to its source. While the first part involves some ordinary road walking, by 2027 the planned Duck River walkway will make this riverside all the way - kudos to Parramatta Council for their vision!
For now, I used the Melton St crossing over the M4, then joined the excellent Duck River Walkway beginning at Clyde. Most Sydneysiders wouldn’t think of Clyde as a waterfront suburb, but the 'Duckie' cuts right through it. Get in before the gentrification happens!
From Clyde, the riverside track was wonderful - and today I didn’t see another soul on it. The birdlife was incredible: huge flocks of ibis on the river islets, as well as ducks, herons and even the odd black swan - along with plenty of kookaburras, cockatoos and lorrikeets. I feel our ibis get a bad rap as “bin chickens,” for mine they’re truly majestic birds, albeit smart enough and rascally enough to stick their long beaks into any available trash receptacle. Aussies always deride them but IMHO we should realise that few cities can boast such impressive numbers of birds of this size and quirkiness.
Anyway, the final stretch of the Duck River passes next to Auburn Botanical Gardens, via an excellent bush track and protected bird sanctuary zones. I felt triumphant reaching the official source of the Duck River in Chester Hill (Boundary St, Chester Hill near the Sydney Water pipeline), where I then wrapped up a grand little adventure with a visit to both the Park Sai Hindu and the Shaolin “Kung fu” temples at Regents Park. While I'm a coast and harbour spiritual devotee rather than a 'god-botherer', I did enjoy seeing a few diverse places of worship to finish off an excellent suburban walk.