Across Botany Bay the National Park continues. Walking along the cliff line it is amazing to see that this high up it is still like a beach. Pure white sand becomes amber yellow and back again. The sandstone rocks are molded into strangely beautiful circular shapes by the wind that constantly blows around them eroding each grain over time.
Following the track into the vegetation birds flit everywhere. I seem to be surrounded by them in the dense bushes. The impenetrable scrub hums with tweets and chirps and they dash in front of my eyes at impromptu moments. Flannel flowers with their delicate petals bend in the breeze while swampy areas sing with a chorus of frogs.
This was a day when I encountered a baby brown snake. It’s something most people won’t come across in their lifetime and unfortunately this wasn’t my first. The brown snake is the second most venomous snake in the world and a baby has enough venom to kill 20 adult humans. I stood completely still and let this little sucker slide away then raced on ahead. As my grandfather says ‘where there are babies there are big ones’ and I wasn’t sticking around to find out.