Brooklyn & Mooney Mooney - The Hawkesbury River

Out again exploring on another Photo Safari.  The destination this time was just south of Newcastle on the M1 Motorway.  The Motorway takes you south to the Central Coast and eventually Sydney but there is a great stop off along the way.

About an hour south is where the Hawkesbury River flows into the Tasman Sea at Barrenjoey Head and Broken Bay.  The River is approximately 120 kms long from its' beginnings just north of Penrith at the confluence of the Nepean River.

Just before the mouth of the river, it widens substantially, forming small bays, fjord-like inlets and also has small islands.  Some of the communities are very remote and some can only be reached by boat. The Brooklyn Ferry Service runs regular trips between Dangar Island, Little Wobby and, Brooklyn on the mainland.  The final section of the river also hosts the last remaining River Postal Service in Australia.

The original name of the river was Deerubbun as named by the two aboriginal tribes the Wannungine and Darkinung that lived along the river.  It was renamed in June 1789 by Governor Phillip after Charles Jenkinson, the 1st Earl of Liverpool who was titled Baron Hawkesbury.

The Hawkesbury River is navigable from Windsor, west of Sydney, to the sea at Broken Bay and, the river is affected by the tides as far inland as Windsor.  The river estuary supports a very large commercial coastal fishing, prawns and, oyster farm industry.  Because of this and, given the remoteness of some of the communities, the river estuary is alive with boating activity from fishing, water taxis, ferry services and, of course, many private boats.  Some of the small communities are so tranquil and the scenery wonderful; all built amongst the bush so as to blend into the surroundings.  I can see only one problem with this bush wonderland; in summertime during the bushfire season the residents must be living on the edge, given that in some of the communities there is only one road in and out or that there are no roads and the only way out is by boat.

It was our intention to cover a lot of area for this safari but, the offerings around Mooney Mooney and Brooklyn were great and that is as far as we got for the day!  That's ok though, it leaves plenty of other safari opportunities!

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Boathouse & Wharf - Dangar Island, Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.

Brooklyn Rail Bridge - Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.

Cristobel of Broken Bay - Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia

Taxi! - Dangar Island, NSW, Australia.

The River to himself - Snake Island on Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.

Dangar Island Boat House - Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.

Mooney Mooney Bridge - Old Pacific Highway -Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.

The Bus - Brooklyn Ferry Service - Hawkesbury River, NSW, Australia.