The Soreq River

The kids love going to the beach. I am less keen. Actually, I really do love the beach when I am there, but if I could leave all that stuff called sand on the beach and not bring it all home with me, then it would make the experience all the more fun for me! Having said that, I recently read about a hike along the Soreq River, starting on a paved footpath and leading onto a beautiful observation point looking out towards the sea, and I was keen to go. Somehow the combination of a river, Eucalyptus trees, birds and then the beach, sounded good.

The Soreq River originates in the Jerusalem Mountains and flows for 70 km, through Beit Shemesh and the Judean Plains, until it spills into the Mediterranean Sea north of Kibbutz Palmachim. Our short hike began with a walk along the riverside footpath and lead towards the Secher HaSela'im (the Stone Dam) and I HaTzabim (Tortoise Island), above. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority built this island in 2002 for the population of Caspian turtles which live in this section of the river. The turtles spend most of their time in the water - and they did indeed hide from us on the day we visited -  but from time to time they like to sunbathe along the island's banks.

We continued to follow the marked footpath to a Cormorant outlook, Tatzpit HaCormoranim. The Great Cormorant is a common winter bird in northern and western Israel, and great colonies of them nest in the Eucalyptus trees along the banks of the Soreq River. They feed on fish which they catch by diving into the water, and leave the trees covered in white from all their droppings!

Our riverside hike had now become a stroll on the beach. The footpath, which had turned sandy, continued west toward a kurkar ridge and past quarried caves, though we were not allowed to enter the caves for fear of them collapsing.
The view of the sea right in front of us was spectacular. The sky was blue. The company was good. My friend had even remembered to bring along hot soup!
We headed back the way we had come, past the Cormorants and the Eucalyptus trees and I decided there and then that I could really learn to love the beach.