Peter Ogden, Drifting (PLACES 2021)

I went out looking for inspiration and drove into it at 80kmph. Just when you think you’ve seen everything that Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park has to offer, you drive into a wall of mist. The road to West Head Lookout often throws up surprising pockets of early morning sea mist that drift across from Cowan Creek to Pittwater. The mist clings to the land and often refuses to leave…transforming usually serene bushwalking tracks into something not too far short of ‘Burtonesque’. Just to further add to that sensation of ‘uh ho’, the temperature drops considerably in these pockets and the mist ensures everything is covered in dew. Did I mention the spider’s webs? The mist adds a sprinkling of magic to each and every one…and this morning, there were a LOT. As you walk along the track, you can hear water dripping from every tree and bush. Heaven...

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