Monday, August 12, 2013

Curl Curl to Dee Why Headland Walk in Sydney

I rang Mr Beach House mid week at work, to say I was calling 'family day' for the following Sunday.  What that meant, was he was under strict instructions not to lob into the conversation on Saturday evening, a not unfamiliar bomb, consisting of him leaving me and the kids to sail all day Sunday.

Curl Curl Beach
He does that alot and it is very unfair and plays havoc with our family life.

So we decided to walk the headland track from Curl Curl Beach to Dee Why Beach.  We chose to do it in that direction, because there are more cafes in Dee Why to grab a coffee at the half way mark. I packed some chicken and roast vegetable sandwiches, made up a thermos of tea and grabbed a few punnets of strawberries and stuffed then in a back pack.  We also packed the mandatory bottle of water.

Curl Curl Lagoon
The track is actually a portion of the Manly to Dee Why walk, but we thought the 8km return walk from Curly to Dee Why, would be enough for our 10 and almost 5 year old kids.  Although it pushed them a little, they both happily walked the entire distance themselves.

Manly View
You start the walk at the northern end of Curl Curl beach at the surf club on Huston Pde Curl Curl.


The start of this portion of the track is easy to find as it is right by the "Nature Walk" sign.



The first part of the track is known as Cobbers Way.  From here you can see an obelisk on the rock shelf as you look back over Curl Curl Beach.  It was erected here in 1917 and has etched on it the names of soldiers killed in the Great War.  Apparently in 1914 the soldiers camped and trained at Curl Curl before embarkation to the front.


One can only imagine the interesting time those innocent lads had in the neighbourhood so long ago and how very different the landscape would have been then.

Long Reef Golf Club in the background
The vistas are absolutely stunning.  There are beautiful rock formations and scary cliffs, which some were happy to sit by.  I am always very respectful of Sydney sandstone as it joints vertically and you never quite know when it is going to crash down to the rock platform below.  As evidenced by this shot, it does happen. 


There is beautiful Australian Flora along the way and I suspect in another few weeks all the Spring flowers will have burst their buds.


Although I didn't spot any wild life as such, there was plenty of the human variety.


There are some stunning rock formations along the track.


The odd cave, where the kids acknowledged the first Australians,


who clearly thought Curl Curl Beach was a great place to hunt Sea Turtle.


But for grown ups like me, who love a bit of coastal style, it was about the real estate too.






Then after an easy walk of 3-4km, we popped out at Dee Why Beach and cracked open the sandwiches and thermos.


We didn't bring our cozies, as it's still officially Winter, but there are plenty of opportunities to swim at both ends of the track.


There is a great kids play area and BBQ's at Dee Why Beach.  It was very crowded however, so if you want a quieter picnic, perhaps park your car at the Dee Why end and walk to Curl Curl for lunch.  Or stop along the track for some BYO refreshments.




 Which ever way you decide to tackle it, it is a fabulous family day out and best of all it didn't cost us anything.


If you would like some more ideas for fun family days on Sydney's Northern Beach go here.

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14 comments :

  1. Looks like you all had a great day.Beautiful photos.What sort of camera do you have-love dee x

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  2. It's so important to have days set aside that are family days. We don't have them so much any more because the uni students work on weekends so we just go out with our little guy. You have to make the most of the opportunity to have family days because when the kids start getting older, it's all over! Looks like you had a great day and isn't the weather wonderful! xx

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  3. This looks like an amazing place! I love your photos, and the opportunity to see a slice of Australia. Also love that you insist on Family Day! PS - found you at the Sunday Showcase party.

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  4. Gorgeous photos! Wish I were there. It looks inviting and little or no tourists or traffic
    unlike it is here (summer or winter).

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  5. it looks like a beautiful walk and a great family day out. good on your kids for walking all the way!
    x

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  6. What a day of adventures, stunning headlands and pristine beaches. I love bush walking, may it be in the mountains r along the beach, we are lucky to be surrounded with these endless beauty. The giant candle banksia is spectacular, lorikeets love them even the budgies.

    Thank you for sharing Carolyn.

    Have a good week.

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  7. Gorgeous, and don't you love nosing into peoples' gardens and houses. Great idea to do it that way with the family. I run/walk it the other way sometimes and posted on that but much shorter version!! Dee Why is just the most lovely spot and the playground by the beach is so handy especially for the younger kids. Love all your details as well as the great shots - turtle is fantastic.

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  8. Wow that looks amazing. Didn't know that walk existed. Have to check it out. Lovely pics.

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  9. Sigh.. so stunning! It's cold here in Tassie but I think your post has inspired me enough to brace the wind to get that little bit of sunshine out... for now! haha :D

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  10. What a gorgeous area and amazing real estate!, I love the Banksia flowers, they are quite spectacular

    I'm inviting you to come link up with us for Travel Photo Mondays- the link runs the whole week starting on Mondays - hope you can make it

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  11. What a great way to spend quality time together on the Sunday. My hubby works six days a week so we like to keep Sunday for Family Time. Yesterday we stayed home and did nothing which was so nice, haven't done that in ages.
    Never thought to walk along the Dee Why Headland before, will have to add it to our to do list ;) Looks incredible from your pics

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  12. What a beautiful walk in such a beautiful place.

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  13. It's really quite a glorious walk to do on the weekends - one of my favourite Northern Beaches jaunts if I do say so myself! And I’m glad you got your husband to head out to Dee Why with you and the kids.

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