‘It’s Easter Sunday in Sydney. Boats gently nudge pontoons, tall masts point up at soft blue skies smudged with the odd wispy cloud. Trees creep down to the water’s edge, hemming the small bay in deep, lush green. A teasing breeze flits around our ankles and a family of Beatrix Potter Puddleducks “pit-pat-waddle-pat” over the sand and slip into the water. There is the creak of a comfy chair and the glorious smell of frying bacon drifting past our noses. As tiny waves lap gently below us, we gaze out over the tranquil water…
‘Overlooking the Marina at Roseville Chase, Echo on the Marina is an informal family friendly outdoor cafe, open Wednesday to Sunday for breakfast and lunch our waitresses are busy but friendly efficient and obliging the service is prompt and cheerful the atmosphere convivial.’
Thus, I began a review for my favourite north shore restaurant some fifteen or sixteen years ago, while I was studying Gastronomy. Today, it may have changed hands, but Echo on the Marina all seems achingly familiar, even though we haven’t been here in years – although this time I didn’t spot any ducks! (But that may have been because I was too busy talking to watch out for them.) As we did back then, we have arrived by car, but what fun it would have been to come up from Middle Harbour by boat and moor in the marina below at Roseville Chase. Or perhaps we might have paddled up in a kayak, planting it on the miniature beach before clambering onto the dock for brunch.
‘Echo’ is still open from Wednesday to Sunday for breakfast and lunch. And it is indeed the perfect place to meet old friends, as we have done on this calm, clear Saturday morning in late Summer. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the main drags of the north shore, thick vegetation cloaking the hills opposite, a mild breeze gently disturbs the humid air.
The menu has changed but the food is still excellent. Then, I described the creamy scrambled eggs and salmon being ‘neither too sloppy or too firm, but like Baby Bear’s porridge, “just right.” Today, I start with a sprightly Mojito Mocktail, then toss up between an omelette and smashed avocado, and opt for the latter.
Two hours pass in a flash, as we indulge in a hearty brunch, reminisce and share news. The staff remain busy, efficient, friendly and obliging and the cost is still reasonable. Last time I was able to walk briskly up the hill to the car (and it’s quite a steep climb). This time, almost two decades on, we rise to the surface in the tiny inclinator, squeezing ourselves in to its maximum capacity. There is also a stairless access along the waterfront to Echo Park on the Two Creeks Track. And dog lovers may bring their dogs on leads – but do book ahead for a dog-friendly table!
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On Sunday we drive north along the Pacific Highway and back to our old haunts of the noughties. We pause for coffee at Patina, a beautifully restored house built in 1894, and overlooking Wahroonga Park. Today, the park is filled with picnics and birthday parties. After our dry sandhill garden on the Fleurieu Peninsula, we gaze in awe at the fertile profusion of plants and flowers. We had forgotten the sub-tropical splendour of Sydney.
Then we head off to Bobbin Head in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. For $12 per car, we could while away the whole afternoon bushwalking, fishing, paddling or picnicking. We pause to chat with the ranger at the gate, and again at the visitor’ centre, where we study the maps and a plethora of stuffed animals – an albino wombat, a selection of lizards, a small rock wallaby, to name just a few.
Down in Apple Tree Bay, the tide is out. We order a light lunch at the Bobbin Head Inn Café, and then take a stroll – pausing to chat with a large iguana thumping purposefully across the lawn – to the board walk across the mangrove swamp, where we peer into the mud for the tiny swamp crabs, waving their bright orange claws at the giants above their heads.
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park was declared Australia’s second National Park in 1894. It encompasses 13,500 hectares of thick Aussie bush and deep waterways. A zig zag access road was built in 1901, from North Turramurra. Another road crosses Cockle Creek and clambers up the rocky escarpment to meet the M1 to Newcastle and beyond. Much of the credit for this beauty spot must go a heavily bearded nineteenth century Turramurra resident, Eccleston du Faur, who was keen to protect the gorge from haphazard developers.
Most of the facilities enjoyed by visitors today were created during the Great Depression of the 1930s, including the lovely “Bobbin Inn” on Apple Tree Bay, which was officially opened in the autumn of 1937. Bobbin Inn soon became very popular, and, after WWII, there was even a popular dance hall here.
The marina has grown over the years, its latest incarnation completed in 2008 as the Empire Marina. It is a wonderful place for a family picnic, a spot of fishing, a swim or a few laughs in a paddle boat. And the new adventure playground looks like fun for the littlies. Interestingly, the website suggests that it is a local secret – almost 90% of the visitors here come from the surrounding suburbs of the Upper North Shore. So I’m sharing the secret!