It’s a sesqui walk

The new $2.52 million 515-metre boardwalk between Bronte and Clovelly was officially opened on Sunday September 6. The walk, tentatively named the Sesqui Boardwalk in celebration of Waverley’s sesquicentenary this year, starts at Calga Reserve in Bronte, skirts Waverley Cemetery and finishes at Ocean Street above Clovelly.

Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said the project had “been in the pipeline” for quite a while. “We had to do extensive community consultation and pay special attention to the surrounding environs. There were concerns for the remnant native coastal vegetation and unique fauna along this section of the coast. And it was a priority to reduce the number of people walking through the cemetery,” she said.

When former mayor Peter Moscatt announced the project was going ahead in 2005 and that the total budget was $1.3 million, he noted the new route would help protect the cemetery with its historic graves and monuments from the wear and tear caused by 700,000 people walking through it every year.

As an engineering project the boardwalk is impressive – solid piers anchored to the rock support a sturdy 2-metre-wide timber deck with high stainless steel handrails on both sides. The timber deck projects over the clifftop coastal scrub and stone. There are five viewing platforms along the walk offering views of the sea, the sandstone cliffs and surf 30 metres below. These platforms will be excellent for whale or yacht watching and are large enough for weekend and holiday crowds.

Completion of the coastal walk will allow walkers to follow the clifftops from Diamond Bay in Vaucluse down to Bondi, up around the cliffs of Tamarama, along Bronte Beach then round the headland to Clovelly – surely one of the most scenic walks a few kilometres from a city anywhere in the world. Be warned though – it is a strenuous trek on a hot day. Wear a hat and sunscreen, take a water bottle and don’t forget your camera.

Maps and route information available at www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/parks/parks/coastwalk.asp

– BY JEREMY BROWN