I asked Anna Dempsey to tell us a bit about herself and to share her 3 favourite places to get her nature fix.

I’m a coastal girl at heart, so it's no surprise I’ve ended up between the escarpment and the ocean in the Northern Illawarra. I spent much of my childhood in Dublin helping my parents in the garden, playing in the local rock pools or swimming at one of our local beaches. I’ve been enthusiastically discovering the amazing flora and fauna since moving to Australia and I'm usually armed with my phone or a camera so I can (try to) identify plants. I share some of my discoveries here on Instagram @NaturesNotes.

I’m passionate about nature and our connection to it and recently trained as a nature therapy guide to help people and organisations better understand why we need that connection.

1. Sandon Point

Sandon Point at low tide is rockpool exploring heaven. This is an amazing place right on our doorstep with some of the best panoramic views of the escarpment. It’s a special place for many reasons, including its history as a sacred meeting place for Aboriginal people with archaeological discoveries dated over 6000 years old! I’ve been lucky enough to meet some super knowledgeable nature nerds down there who share in my enthusiasm for sea slugs. 

2. Dharawal National Park 

There are so many tracks to explore right above the escarpment including long, easy tracks on both sides of Maddens Falls. There is always something to see, such as tiny carnivorous plants like Sundews, brightly coloured fungi in the leaf litter and, if you’re lucky, you might encounter the resident black cockatoos feeding in the afternoons. It is the time of Wiritjiribin in the Dharawal seasonal calendar, with Marrai'uo (Acacia floribunda) in flower, it also denotes the Lyrebird’s mating season – their calls never cease to make me stop in my tracks. 

3. Coalcliff Beach 

It’s a stony beach which probably reminds me of one of the local beaches of my childhood, with less white sand and more foot ache. But Coalcliff is something of a geological wonder and I can spend hours looking at the rocks on the beach and the huge rock deposits on the platform to the right of the ocean pool. There’s something about this place which I find quite meditative, the sound of the waves on the pebbles, the patterns of lichen, the colours and textures. It’s a perfect sit spot.

A ‘sit spot’ is a concept in nature therapy, somewhere you can go regularly, it doesn’t have to be completely wild but has some component of nature that helps you connect to your senses. From 10 minutes to an hour, spending time in your sit spot you become acquainted with the changes over the seasons, the creatures that visit the place and hopefully feel the benefits of taking time out. 

Anna, thanks so much for sharing your favourite local spots. I’m a sucker for both Sandon and Dharawal, especially around Maddens Falls. We are so lucky to live here.

You can follow Anna on Instagram.

And coming soon, nature connection gatherings and guided courses here.