Middle Harbour Creek, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

Middle Harbour Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi–mature tide dominated ria, drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Au ...

, is a youthful

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

-dominated, drowned-valley

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

northwest of

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

, in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Ecology

Formed by the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of Bare Creek and Frenchs Creek, north of , Middle Harbour Creek is in the

Garigal National Park The Garigal National Park is a protected national park that is located within the North Shore and Forest District regions of Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney cen ...

and flows from Mona Vale Road in the north down to

Bungaroo Bungaroo is a locality near St Ives, New South Wales, St. Ives, Sydney, Australia. The location is thought to be the site where Governor Arthur Phillip and party camped on the night of 16 April 1788 on the first of many expeditions intended to f ...

, where the creek becomes Middle Harbour. Its catchment area is approximately . Access along the majority of the creek is easy with tracks from (the western shore) St Ives,

East Killara East Killara is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. East Killara is located 15 kilometres north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It i ...

East Lindfield East Lindfield is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. East Lindfield is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Counc ...

, (eastern shore)

Belrose Belrose is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia 19 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Belrose is also considered to be part of th ...

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

and Forestville. Day walks are popular with access to the creek along several well maintained fire trails, the better-known being the Bungaroo Track, Cascades Track, and Bare Creek track. The bushland surrounding the creek is rich in bloodwoods (''Eucalyptus gummifera''), scribbly gums (''Eucalyptus haemastoma''), and the narrow-leaved stringy bark (''Eucalyptus oblonga'').

History

Middle Harbour Creek was first explored by Governor Arthur Phillip on an expedition from Manly Cove on 15 April 1788. The intention of the expedition was to discover food. The expedition camped on 16 April at Bungaroo, where the tidal Middle Harbour finishes and the creek begins.

Access

Pipeline Track
(St Ives) starts on near the Barra Brui Scout Hall on Hunter Avenue
Bungaroo Track
(St Ives) branches off the Pipeline Track, just after Founders Way * Cascades Track (St Ives) runs from the corner of Acron Road and Douglas Street, St Ives or Stone Parade, Frenchs Forest. The track is a well maintained fire trail with an extremely steep cemented section and a creek crossing (from the St Ives side) at a ford before reaching the cascades, which is a beautiful cascading of water over sandstone. Until the 1970s the Cascades was a popular swimming water hole with local children. There are several sandstone caves in the area.. * Lyre Bird Track (Roseville) starts at the end of Davidson Reserve * Two Creeks Track (Roseville) can be accessed from Babbage Road, Ormonde Road or Wellington Road (East Lindfield) * Access track (unnamed) from the end of Koola Avenue, East Lindfield * Bare Creek Track (Belrose) runs from close to Austlink Corporate Park on the intersection of Mona Vale Road and Forest Way Road. The trail is overgrown and often difficult to find at that location. The best way to find the track is by following the trail from the end of Wyatt Avenue around the back of Sydney East Substation to find the Heath Track which meets the Bare Creek Track after a short walk. It is possible to follow the entire length of Middle Harbour Creek, or to do a circular bushwalk that covers the majority of its length on both sides of the creek.

Gallery

middle harbour creek.jpg, Middle Harbour Creek close to the source near Mona Vale Road St Ives.

References

External links

* The Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group
NoBMoB
hav
details of trails around Cascades
{{Waterways of Sydney Creeks and canals of Sydney