Brisbane Water National Park: Piles Creek Loop Experience

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My first ever serious hike undoubtedly pushed my stamina one bar higher. Thanks to my visitors: Charmagne and Nathan who toured me around, (yes, it was the other way around!). I get to discover this sweet escape which is just around the vicinity. Indeed, it was so tiring and left me sore for days but it was worth it and roughly equivalent to a couple of days gym workout– just my own estimate.. lol! I live in the Central Coast and there are so many hiking spots to choose from and it’s relatively near from the Sydney CBD area if one wants to get an action-packed but ironically tranquil landscapes.

So, the story started with my two friends who are hike experts (I can say that, as they are currently doing an Icelandic hike, I presume!) and me, a lowly housewife who dared to go out to the woods. LOL. We first went to a lookout spot and explored a bit, probably letting me warm up. On a nearby site we have seen some Aboriginal Site with art engravings. Lucky for us, there was a tour guide for a group of visitors and we listened to some historical notes about the engravings, i.e., mostly about hunting and sources of food.

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We then proceeded to the hike area. There are several trail options (see: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au or download the app) depending on how tough and ready you are with the distance, duration of hike and grade of hike. Piles Creek loop according to the site has a 4 km loop distance, with estimated duration of 2hrs 30 minutes- 3 hours, graded as 5 with gradient of steep and difficult, the quality of path was a rough track and with many obstacles. Experience required: Very experienced bushwalkers. But hey, if I can do it, anyone can too. Just with right amount of preparation and good pair of shoes (mine was Adidas ultra boost, so not advisable).

As it was my first serious hike, I was initially not paying attention to the view and was focusing on the squish mud, rocky, and sometimes slippery terrain. Moving onwards, I have gotten the hang of it and was then noticing a lot of old trees with interesting colours of trunks, which provided good shades and made the whole trip bearable. There were also wild flowers, a humongous lizard which I would only know if Charmagne yelled then compelling me to yell too (haha) and even a wild turkey. Sorry if I really sound like a newbie here with no adequate botanical information, almost like none! 😀 We passed by I think three waterfalls and streams. Onto our last waterfall is the Somersby Falls, in my opinion would be the most pristine of all. Of the waterfalls we encountered, I observed piles of rocks which made a haphazard blockage of the creeks, therefore called Piles Creek (my own theory by association). There were nice rock formations of sandstone — cliffs and mini caves in which we posed for a photo and/ or caught our breath and decreased our heart rate (should I say, intended for me 🙂 ). There was a suspension bridge that I was not able to take a photo because that was already nearing the end of the trail and I was so damn tired.

We ended our hike with a good meal in the picnic area feasting on the easy to cook foods brought by Nathan. It was such a one-for-the-books experience I must say, especially for me as it was my first, and probably a beginner’s LUCK looking it from a positive perspective with the all benefits I reaped from it. Would I do it again? Absolutely! But I have to do it with my husband tagged along next time. 😉