Gosford, just over an hour north of Sydney, offers the bushwalker a wealth of variety on uncrowded trails that lead to secluded glens and cascading waterfalls, coastal cliffs above exploding surf, ridges covered in trees, rainforest and open bush, sheltered lagoons and quiet estuaries. It's a great place to leave the mobile phone behind while searching for a bellbird serenade.

The bellbirds that inspired Henry Kendall to pen one of his most famous poems - the same birds that for decades serenaded motorists winding down the Pacific Highway from Kariong to Gosford - carried with their song the promise of something elusive and beautiful, mysterious and unseen. The bird's haunting call seemed to beckon the listener into the bush, beyond the noise of passing traffic to a place of tranquillity, a shady glen or a cool waterfall, where the source might be revealed.

But for most Gosford City residents - and an ever-growing number of Sydneysiders who flock to beachside retreats like Terrigal to be serenaded by mobile phones while sipping lattes - the source of the song remains a visual mystery. Who knows what a bellbird looks like?

Similarly, the bush that conceals the song bird remains a place rarely visited - perhaps with the exception of an attempt to retrieve a wayward hub cap.

There are those, of course, who have followed in the footsteps of the lumberjacks and kangaroo hunters who pioneered the area's bushwalking trails, but compared to the Blue Mountains, they are few.

This is a pity because the Gosford area does offer the bushwalker a rich medley of trails which access formidable coastal cliffs, skirt around sheltered lagoons and quiet estuaries, plunge into valleys and climb along ridges covered in trees. Dense rainforest and open bush, swamp and barren heath, rock platforms blasted by foaming surf, and secluded glens are all to be found in the vicinity.

Bounded to the south by Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River, much of the area is characterised by sandstone ridges and shallow, sterile soils that hampered our early settlers' attempts to farm.

However, in late August and September the display of wildflowers is said to be second only to Western Australia with up to 50 species of flowers growing in some small patches of heathland.

To the west rises a plateau dissected by deep valleys through which the Patonga, Mullet, Mooney, Popran, and Mangrove Creeks flow. Generally known as the Somersby Plateau and rising to about 330m, panoramic views extend from the Blue Mountains in the west to Sydney's CBD in the south and the Pacific in the east.

Some of the most popular walks in this area can be found at Girrakool, aboriginal for 'meeting of waters'. The Mooney Nature Trail starts at the picnic area and passes under rock ledges where fern grottos shelter before descending steps with handrails to a bridge across Piles Creek. Circling back towards Girrakool, a side track points the way to Pearl Beach, a walk of about 30km.

Most people, however, continue back to Girrakool passing a luxuriant patch of rainforest, a cascading waterfall and a cliff-edge lookout that provides a good view of the gorge.

The walk takes about three hours and in spring reveals a wealth of wildflowers including boronia, native rose and eriostemum.

Among the most striking features to be seen from the Somersby Plateau is Brisbane Water, a saltwater estuary that lends its name to the surrounding National Park.

Between the estuary and the spectacular coast are thickly-wooded ridges and fertile valleys including Rumbalara Reserve, the starting point for a ridge-top route to Mount Elliott. Steep cliffs, Brisbane Water views, rainforest, spreading suburbia and even the distant Pacific - denoted by a decapitated Terrigal Skillion - are features of this walk.

By comparison, Bouddi National Park offers a stark contrast with classic coastal rock platforms, towering cliffs and secluded beaches to be explored. This is one of the best spots on the Central Coast to see whales and dolphins during their migrations along the East Coast.

Little Beach to Killcare Beach is one of the most popular walks in Bouddi and the starting point is at Grahame Drive - turn left off Scenic Drive 1km south of McMasters Beach.

After a short climb and blessed with clear weather you will enjoy a vista spanning from Manly and North Head in the south to Palm Beach at the northern end of the peninsula. Up here on the exposed escarpment, vegetation is stunted and gnarly - eriostemum bushes that can grow to 2m in height near Girrakool struggle to reach 0.5m. Nevertheless, rice flowers, coral heath, wedding bush, flannel flowers and native iris will provide the botany enthusiast with much to admire.

The track clings to the cliff edge before descending to Caves Creek and then it's on to Maitland Bay - the scene of one of the Central Coast's most famous shipwrecks. The rusting remains of the paddle steamer, Maitland, can be seen on the rock platform at the northern end of the Bay. It sank in 1898 and some of the bodies that washed ashore are buried above the cliffs.

Maitland Bay is a good place to break for lunch before continuing on to Killcare but be aware that nudity can be encountered.

Spectacular coastal views from a number of vantage points will reward those who carry on to Killcare rather than exiting the rather steep stairs at Maitland Bay. However, even if you have arranged to be picked up at Killcare, on your way home it's worth stopping at the ranger's residence above Maitland Bay to see the bell from the ill-fated ship.

Like the birds that used to sing to motorists on their way into Gosford, the bell is silent these days, but in the surrounding bush there is still much to inspire the poet in anyone willing to walk in Henry Kendall's footsteps...

"By channels of coolness the echoes are calling
And down the dim gorges I hear the creek falling."