One of my favourite pastimes is going on what I call a 'nature walk' - a time to get out of the city of concrete and cement, look at the trees and the flowers, and listen to the silence. Earlier this month, I went with some friends to Dangar Island, in the
Hawkesbury River, which is an hour or so by plane, then an hour by
train, and finally10 mins by ferry, from where I live.
The population of the island is about 250, although I would imagine there are a few hundred more in the holiday season. There are no vehicles on the island, apart from a couple of service vehicles, and so the main means of transport is walking, using wheelbarrows to cart your things around. Here is the 'car park' by the ferry !
You'll notice that most of the photos include rain. Rain is not
necessarily a part of my nature walks, but on this occasion, it did add
to the atmosphere.
The island was quite a haven for artists at one stage, but the natural beauty of the location, and its proximity to Sydney, have now priced it out of the reach of artists. But I could quite easily be inspired to create with a view like this....
....or in gardens like these... just look at that Spanish Moss (tillandsia) - it was everywhere. Just shows how wet it is there.
Because it is quite rocky and steep, it is not uncommon for the luscious vegetation to grow almost vertically. I am currently working with a client on their indoor vertical garden, and it was inspiring to see how it occurs in nature.
If only I could get their maidenhair fern to look like this !
The sun did come through for a moment, whilst we sat at the cafe waiting for the ferry.
But not for long ! By this stage we were wet through. But it was a beautiful walk. We took over an hour to walk around the island, but we stopped at every view, took lots of photos, and examined practically every leaf en route. Very satisfying !
Wikipedia has a good section on the island, and tells a little of its history.
