Seaside walk rewarding for visitors

It is sad to hear that some visitors to the Peninsula do not enjoy their walk beside the sea.

We always find that our visitors whether from Australia or overseas, find the whole experience very rewarding.

They enjoy the glimpses of the sea through the trees and enjoy sitting in the shade for a rest.

They are fascinated to watch honey-eaters with their specially adapted beaks getting into the Banksia flowers; are amazed to hear about the wonders of our native flora and fauna such as the spinifex sericeus spreading across the sand, using the fungi on its roots to hold it in place and turning its leaves under like an umbrella, to protect its stomata from the heat of the midday sun.

They are intrigued to think that Aborigines used pig-face, carpobrutus glaucescens and acacia seeds in their diet.

They understand that with no green bins, most people formerly just threw their garden waste into the "scrubby bush", not realising the devastating impact on the land, nor its cost to future citizens.

Such people didn't know enough to appreciate the wonderful biodiversity of this land.

They wanted to just have English, Japanese or cottage gardens.

Our visitors often come from countries which have been so frequently invaded that they hardly know what is indigenous to their land.

They can only mourn what they have lost.

These people understand too well that the human species is thoughtless in its disposal of rubbish, so constant education and good example are necessary.

They know that due to this human rubbish, feral rats are inevitable.

Most CBDs, including Sydney, are experiencing a big problem today with rapid increases in rat populations.

Our friends certainly appreciate the advantage of a dune system with its vegetation, when they see the sand across The Esplanade and up the side streets, where this natural system has been removed from the back of the beach.

They are aghast too at the ongoing erosion along parts of the shore, realising that it won't be long before it reaches The Esplanade.

Some of them have experienced the loss and consequent devastation of man-made seawalls which eventually have failed.

They have seen, (as we have at Wamberal), the loss of houses from along beach fronts.

Surely the devastating weather events in recent times show that nature will win in the end.

It is to be hoped that the new signs soon to be erected along part of The Esplanade will help to make everyone's visit to the area that much more interesting and perhaps lead them on to find out more and more about the wonderful area in which we live.

Email, 12 May 2011 Margaret Lund, Woy Woy Bay