Save for one ravine hidden in Randwick.

The Fred Hollows Reserve, tucked between Clovelly and Alison Rds is a lush respite from the congestion, noise and pollution of the city.

It’s a bushy, somewhat tropical paradise, complete with a treetop boardwalk.

Both entrances to the reserve are narrow and inconspicuous and as I drive around trying to find them I imagine many people would be none the wiser about the reserve’s existence.

It’s a true hidden gem.

Due to its unique position and the sandstone ridges which protect it, the 2-hectare reserve supports a very special microclimate.

The gully is protected from the salt-laden coastal winds, allowing for taller trees to provide a cool basin for a wide variety of ferns.

Even after an unusually dry winter, the reserve is still an inviting oasis and I’m eager to escape the afternoon’s depressing heat and the nose-to-tail traffic on Alison Rd.

DISCOVERING FRED HOLLOWS RESERVE

The boardwalk is sensitively built into the environment and at each turn there’s a new species of flora to admire.

Coachwood, lilly pilly, magenta cherry, five-leaved water vine, and the locally scarce corkwood and Sydney peppermint can be found, supporting a range of birds, lizards, frogs, and the local Glebe Gully skinks.

The reserve was named in 1993 after Fred Hollows, a local resident renowned for his tireless sight-saving initiative, and a member of the community group which helped to save the gully from the hands of developers.

His wife Gabi said saving the gully was his passion.

“Fred Hollows Reserve is a very special piece of bush with native plants and wildlife that Fred fought to protect,” she said.

“Fred and a group of friends and the lovely local residents got together to protest the development, because there was already housing, private and public, all around this uniquely quiet green space in the middle of Randwick.

“It’s an untouched piece of fresh, cool bush in the middle of a busy residential area and a great place to simply spend time in nature.

“Fred and I had many good times there and it’s really special to everyone in the Hollows family.”

Randwick Council continues to protect the rare slice of bushland, constructing the timber walkway so people have access to the whole reserve without damaging the gully’s floor.

Volunteers also continue to support to the unique biodiversity found in reserve.

It’s creek is the last remaining open creek line left in the eastern suburbs, the others long diverted into the city’s stormwater system.

A natural spring feeds the creek at the north end and at times there’s a bright orange plume of algae in the water as a result of iron rich deposits in the sandstone.

Prior to European settlement the creek would have joined older creeks and entered a wetland located at Coogee Oval.

As I make my way out of the reserve and enter Bligh Place I give a silent salute of thanks to Fred, Gabi and all those who saved the reserve from the hands of the developers.

ACCESS TO THE RESERVE

Entrances to the park are at either end of the walkway.

The south entrance is on the north side of Alison Rd, about 150m west of Carrington Road.

The north entrance is via a small dirt road at the end of Bligh Place.