Barrenjoey HeadBarrenjoey is (reputedly) an Aboriginal word for young kangaroo. Home of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse and a couple of houses. There are tracks up to the lighthouse from the ocean beach (hard to find) and Station Beach (on the Pittwater side) which are well marked. There is also a rough track around the base of the headland. Popular spot for fishing. Click here for more information on Barrenjoey HeadGreat Mackeral BeachIn 1823 John Clarke was granted land, comprising most of both Little and Great Mackerel beaches and farmed there together with Martin Burke. Subdivision of Great Mackerel beach in the early 1900s led to the gradual development of more than a hundred homes by the end of the century.
In 1910 Dr Bernard Stiles purchased land at Little Mackerel Beach and built Midholme, a house which still stands today. In 1949 the Labour Council of NSW purchased the land at Little Mackerel Beach as an affordable holiday resort for union members and their families. The resort was called Currawong, and the beach is often called Currawong Beach.
Both settlements can only be reached by water or on foot through the national park. Click here for more information on Great Mackeral BeachPittwaterPittwater lies 30km (16 nautical miles) north of Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour), it is 8 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide (at the widest part). It is an arm of Broken Bay the waters are generally deep and protected. Click here for more information on PittwaterSalt Pan CoveThis pretty cove was the site of an iron tank used to condense salt from the water. The salt would have been used for preserving (salting) meat and fish and curing hides. Not so long ago there was a netted swimming area adjacent to the jetty, but now only the posts remain. Sadly this area appears regularly on the pollution lists published by the EPA, probably due to the two storm water drains that empty into it.
Florence Park looks out on the cove - best to visit at high tide when the mud flats are covered. Click here for more information on Salt Pan Cove |