4:45 and half awake, as on all Anzac Days I slowly overcome the lethargy, my conscience just won't let me stay in bed on this day. I rouse hubby and get up and prank daughter on her mobile. A quick sip or two of coffee for hubby and rapid dress and we’re in the car earlier than usual. On our way to our local dawn service armed with plentiful hankies. We’ve been attending the Campbelltown dawn service in Mawson Park for many years now and have seen it grow from barely 20 or 30 mostly older people to the hordes who congregate today, emerging out of the comparative dark into the flood lit park. I had thought perhaps the weather might put people off, but no. There’s even more people here than last year. We are lucky and the rain holds off. The local RSL lays out a large area of seating for the older folk and all around behind crowds and crowds of families, people of all ages have gathered to reflect and show their respect.
A brief welcome and a catafalque party move into position and stand in honour around the memorial. We listen to a few well chosen words which remind the crowd that we are here not to celebrate and glorify war, but to reflect on the sacrifice and tragedy of war and to remember the fallen. The point is made that though war is caused, some say, by the greed and brutality of men, that sometimes such men have to be stopped.. The ode is read and the crowd repeats the promise “We will remember them”. When the direction comes, the crowd rises and faces west for the playing of the last post. All stand in silence for a minute as the local magpies sing their dawn chorus. A patriotic anthem for Australia if ever there was one. A danger period for tears as you think about the suffering that is inevitable in war and the courage and sacrifice of those who fought. The announcement comes to face the east and the crowd duly turns and stands silent for the playing of the rouse and we all repeat after the announcement. “Lest we forget”. Somewhere along the line a lone piper plays the bagpipes I’m sure I should know the name of this very moving tune. It is played every year. Anzac Day just isn't complete without bagpipes.
We dry our eyes and start to move off back to our car and amazingly spy a friend of daughter and his mum. Surprising as they live quite a long way from here and I would have expected them to attend a service closer to where they live. They have come with the friend’s uncle who is a Vietnam veteran but who they have somehow lost in the crowd. After a few minutes chat we say our goodbyes and head off.
Back home for a bite of brekkie and a cuppa and we deliberate how to spend the rest of the day. Last year we all headed in to the march in Sydney. Generally if we don’t go in we watch the broadcast on the television, which has the benefit of commentary. But there’s nothing quite like standing in all weathers in George St as the many bands and veterans march past. Posties on scooters wizzing back and forth handing out flags. Our favourite position is opposite the war widows. I like to sea the veterans salute the widows as they pass.
One year at the Sydney march I recall a very memorable moment as the crew from a visiting United States Navy ship rounded the corner into George St from Martin Place, looking very smart in their uniforms. The crowd greeted them with a rousing cheer and a shout of “good on ya yanks” at which they all to a man stood visibly taller. It was quite remarkable and nice to feel that they got something positive from their participation. Nice that they took the time to show their respects to our national day of remembrance, and lord knows Australia owes the servicemen of the United States a lot for their efforts in the Second World War.
This year we make a last minute decision to head down to Canberra for the National Anzac Day Ceremony at the National War Memorial. Just hubby and myself. Daughter is also going to Canberra but with her boyfriend. We set off at about 6:40 am. An appropriate day for listening to the oral history CD we purchased on Remembrance Day as we travel the Remembrance Driveway.
We listen to a military historian telling us about Partridge VC as we pass the rest stop dedicated to his memory. The oral history is a nice compliment to the rest stops themselves which have a board with the citation on it. The oral history tells you a bit more- where they were born; about their lives before the war – and after the war if they made it home. The next rest stop isn’t until after Berrima.
Travelling down the highway some early wattle is in bloom in the median strip. The Cootamundra wattle which is planted in abundance in this early section of the drive is budding up creating a yellow hazy effect with the promise of a wonderful show in a couple of months. As we’ve got a way to go until another rest stop, we swap the CD for some classic John Williamson – only possible when the offspring aren’t in the car. Elder daughter can’t abide listening to him anymore after having a continuous John Williamson loop playing at her work for years. A rather unfortunate side affect of working in the tourism industry. Anyway, naturally we start our listening with “Cootamundra Wattle”. Such a lovely Australian song…
Finally we resume our listening as we hear of John Mackey VC the only pioneer to be awarded the VC in the second world war, and Bruce Kingsbury VC. Who could ever forget Bruce Kingsbury’s actions saving the day at the battle of Isurava. Kingsbury’s story is of course well known to us, as is the story of Jack Edmonson VC and his amazing efforts at Tobruk. The offspring all attended Hurlstone Agricultural High School – Jack Edmondson was an old boy and is commemorated in the schools hall of valour along with other old boy veterans. The school hall is also named after him, so he feels like a member of the family. As an old school principle always said… the Hurlstone family. We enjoy also being introduced to some new stories – Hughie Edwards awarded for action commanding 105 squadron RAF having transferred from the RAAF, William Kibby of Tobruk and El Alamein …. 13 stories of extraordinary valour. We have no time or inclination to stop at every rest area of course, but today we stop at Derrick VC rest area. This is a very lovely rest area with plantings of deciduous trees, claret ash, and oaks all beautiful in their autumn colours. There are also substantial picnic huts and of course toilet facilities. The picnic area also serves an historic walk to some convict era relics. The oral history CD also points out such things about the area around each rest stop which is helpful.
We make good time and arrive in Canberra about ten minutes before 9 Oclock. The service starts at 10:15. I am prepared with directions from the war memorial website about parking and shuttle bus, but we try our luck in the little street that runs parallel to Anzac Parade (which is closed today of course). We get a bonza little spot just near the Tobruk memorial. Sandwiched between a couple of Queensland plated vehicles. The parking spots down this street are filling very fast with cars pulling in one behind the other. What a great spot, this way we can wander up Anzac Parade on one side and come back on the other, visiting each of the memorials along the way – which I’ve been meaning to do for absolutely ages – what better day to do it! The Tobruk memorial is an inspired design and incorporates the memorial originally raised in Tobruk by the Australian soldiers. The perimeter of this memorial is inspired by the defence works of Tobruk. Brilliant.
We wander up past the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) and RAN (Royal Australian Navy) memorials as well as a memorial to nurses which is surrounded by fencing and appears to be under construction. All the memorials are modern in design and very impressive. We make our way up to a tent being operated by the Salvation Army where they provide hot drinks and a sausage sizzle. Smells great. I’ve had my brekkie, but hubby has not so he is delighted to indulge. It is free. You just give a donation…. Which cost us extra of course.. I mean who that could afford to be generous would skimp on a donation to the Salvo’s on Anzac Day?
We pay our respects at the Attaturk memorial which is the final memorial as we approach the ceremonial ground. The words of Attaturk are given pride of place below a sculpture of his face. Attaturk’s generosity of spirit must surely be the bedrock of Australia’s friendship with Turkey today. How could his words not move anyone to tears?
We accept the offer of a free program from a young volunteer and head up to get ourselves a good possie for the coming ceremony. Not a lot of ground available. Several large grandstands have been erected and are reserved for veterans marching. The ground is quite damp and we lay out our picnic rug, just enough to sit on so we don’t consume too much space.
Guests of honour at today’s ceremony are, as is fitting, representatives of New Zealand and Turkey. I think of the Battle of Kapyong: an amazing feat of arms by Australian troops serving in the United Nationals effort in Korea. The Aussies called urgently to battle had to postpone their celebration of Anzac Day. They had been planning to celebrate the day together with the New Zealanders and the Turks. Instead they did the day proud following in the footsteps of their forebears serving their country. Today nothing stands in our way. We have the privilege of celebrating this sacred day in peace.
A large contingent of the Australian Federation Guard march into position. The New Zealand High Commissioner arrives followed by the Prime Minister of Australia.
The catafalque party move into position. 4 plus a commander. I am really pleased to see it is one representative from the RAAF, one from the RAN, one from the RAA and one from the NZ Army. Incredibly appropriate.
There is no sign of the Governor General and it is explained that he is overseas unveiling an important memorial and that in his absence the Prime Minister has kindly agreed to take the salute of the Anzac Day Parade. We find out later that the GG is in Afghanistan. The Federation Guard moves out of the ceremonial ground. Units have formed up down somewhere along Anzac Parade, people lining the parade also, they march up and into the memorial ground past the Prime Minister. An interesting and informative commentary is broadcast causing a bit of a dilemma to us as spectators. If we applaud and cheer as we would at the Sydney parade, we can’t hear the commentary. In the end a sort of compromise is reached with mild applause and periods in between to listen to the broadcast. The veterans are led this year by a number of units celebrating important anniversaries. Once past the PM the vets proceed out of the ceremonial ground and then back in to file up into the grandstands and take their seats.
The Australian Federation Guard move back into position in the ceremonial ground.
The Prime Minister delivers the commemorative address. I’m not a huge fan of the PMs speaking style, but today his words hit just the right note. No self aggrandisement, no inappropriate nationalism, and very inclusive of New Zealand and Turkey. Spot on.
The service moves on with a hymn I do not know, but it has very moving words printed in our program. We have laying of wreaths. Australian PM and NZ High Commissioner together – as it should be. I'm still feeling scarred by John Howards sickeningly nationalistic speech at Gallipoli for the 90th Anniversary of the landing. He didn't mention New Zealand once in his speach. Not once. I felt like crawling under a rock in shame of him. Especially when Helen Clarke (Prime Minister of NZ) was so generous and inclusive of Australia in her far more appropriate speech. ... anyway General Peter Cosgrove, Chair of the Council of the Australian War Memorial reads the requiem and we follow up with the hymn abide with me.
Finally the National President of the RSL reads the ode and we promise again “we will remember them”. The last post, minutes silence and rouse. “Lest we forget”. The national anthem and then the crowd disperses. We briefly consider heading up to the memorial, but figure it’ll be bedlam in there today, so we head back down Anzac Parade on the western side. We stop to pay respects at the Army memorial. Quite good, but the figures look a little wooden. I admire the trees that line Anzac Parade. All native trees they look brilliant. I love that about Canberra, there is plenty of Autumn colour, but the great parades use native trees. They look great and create a really Australian feel. I stop to photograph some very nice bark….and get a few reasonable pictures…though it’s a challenge to avoid getting the road, passers by or cars in the shots.
We come to the Korean War Memorial. Very striking. A lovely memorial. There is a little room where they tell the story of the Korean War. I don’t stay to read. I read a very interesting book about the Korean War that I picked up in Borders in Chicago. The battles of the Korean war should be better known by Australians… we all know Kakoda, or Passchendaele, and Long Tan and many others. How many understand what the Australians went through and achieved at Kapyong or Maryang San fighting to uphold the ideals of the United Nations?
Outside the Korean war memorial I am drawn by the sound of persistent creaky door noises coming from the trees overhead.. goodness, is that a Gang Gang? I look up and quickly spot a male gang gang cockatoo with his jaunty red head and curly feather crest. He is stuck with baby sitting a persistent youngster who continuously begs for food. After a while dad gives in and baby gets a bit of a feed. How delightful! I haven’t seen that before!
Next we come to the Vietnam memorial. Outstanding. Dedicated “For all those who served, suffered and died – Vietnam 1962 – 1973” There are snippets of comments inscribed on the interior wall and images etched in black stone on another wall. Outside there are memorials to individuals whose remains were not recovered.
Final memorial along the parade is the Light Horse memorial. This is a replica of the memorial erected in Port Said and irreparably damaged during the Suez crisis. It is the second of two, the other located in Albany WA.
Back to our car. It is still early afternoon. We decide to run across to the National Gallery and see "Turner to Monet – the triumph of landscape". As it is well and truly lunch time our first item on the agenda is some tucker. We have visions of eating at the nice restaurant out the back, but find it is closed during the construction works extending the gallery. The café doesn’t look that inspiring, and with all the emotion of the morning neither of us are feeling particularly hungry so we decide to skip the long queue and give lunch a miss for now. We head back upstairs and fork over our $20 per person entry and head on in. I’ve been looking forward to this exhibition, it’s a drag my eyes are a bit tired though. There is a guided tour about to leave, there are stacks of people at the gallery today and in the exhibition. The tour guide is surrounded by a large crowd and voice projection is not her strong point. We can’t hear a thing so opt to wander around on our own. Some interesting paintings. I find I can live without Turner or Constable… some of the ones I like best I find are from Australian public collections – do we have a national taste in landscapes or something LOL. I am pleased to find a couple by Van Gough that I like, one I would even hang on my own wall. On the whole I’m not a huge fan, but then that’s why I love coming to these exhibitions. Reproduced images of art work NEVER do the originals justice. NEVER. They just cannot capture the light or the colours as they are in the flesh. I enjoy the contrast between a Tom Roberts painting of .. Bourke St Melbourne I think it was, hung next to one of Paris … by Pissaro I believe. Both excellent, the Pissaro hubby’s favourite of the day. I felt that in their own way they were on a par for me. Tom Roberts captures the subject so well. There was an outstanding landscape of yachts on the solent.. artist escapes me. They chose this as one of the works to have made into mounted prints for sale – the prints are nice enough I guess, but only as a reminder of the excellence of the original. A pale imitation. One of the works reminded my very much of "Menin Gate at Midnight" – with quite ghostly images and that rich dark blue of night.
We head on back to our car, which is parked across the road. Nice bark on the trees in the car park, kind of like leopard seal skin, frustrating the background is totally inappropriate but I give it a shot and we head for home stopping for petrol and some snacks to the journey as a back up. Just as well as it turns out Lynwood Café is closed today. The local pub is doing great business judging by the cars outside. They have 2 up on today of course. An idea for next Anzac Day is planted. We must go somewhere for a game of two up. Maybe the pub at Collector might be the go. We skip the oral history on the return trip. Save that for next time. We just don’t have the emotional energy for any more war remembrance today.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
An Easter Break in the Central West - part 3 Dunn's Swamp
We continue to be fairly unlucky with the weather, overcast and cool again today. We make the big effort to get away comparatively early. We've booked canoes at Dunn's Swamp for about 10 am. Like putt putt, canoeing is an activity the whole family has really enjoyed. We have also booked a twighlight and spotlighting cruise for this evening... the main reason we've come to Rylstone over the easter break.
To say a lot of other people also decided Dunn's Swamp would be a good place for the weekend would be an understatement. It is absolutely packed with both campers and day users. Truly it is absolute bedlam. We manage to find parking - the last couple of possible spots as far as we can see, have a bite to eat - cold KFC and collect our canoes. Elder daughter has also T-d up some fishing bait and gear so she collects that. Only about $5 a person I think and the bait they supplied was live! Down side of that of course was that then daughter couldn't bring herself to put a hook through the live yabbies and fresh water prawns - totally irrational really, but there you go. It was good value anyway.
We have a delightful few hours exploring downstream to the weir. We don't alight to go and view the actual weir wall. They kids have a half hearted go at fishing, but mostly they have fun singing and paddling and joking around. We're not terribly competent hubby and I at the whole paddling thing but we are getting better. The whole of Dunn's swamp is very beautiful despite the weather. There are plenty of other people using the waterway this weekend, but it's nothing like the numbers at the camp ground so you can actually get periods where you are the only craft in your section and it is just lovely. Beautiful reed beds and then bushland of Wollemi National Park on the shores. Impressive rock formations in between. There is a walk along the edges of the swamp down to the weir wall. Occassionally you can see walkers, but there are surprisingly few considering the numbers at the camp ground. Apparently it is the busiest easter in at least 20 years the wollemi afloat people told us. There is a notice on one of the toilet buildings describing what national parks are planning to do to address the issues now being experienced with facilities unable to really cope with the number of visitors.... however on normal weekends you can still find the swamp pretty quiet. Apparently the few weeks before easter were very quiet, so I guess at the moment you probably are best to pick your timing.
We break for our ploughman's luch. We enjoy our leaning oak purchases very much. Incidentally the dukkah etc are from a company called A taste of the bush which their website tells me is available at the Rocks Market in Sydney among other places.. http://www.atasteofthebush.com.au/
We still have a couple of hours left on our canoe hire, so most of us head back out and head up stream to explore. Upstream is quite different to downstream, less rocky escarpments more gentle shores bushland. Very beautiful. We wander down quiet little arms of water, listening to the birds on the shore. I've opted to leave my binoculars in the car this time, so I just enjoy seeing the birds flitting among the trees and calling. Spotted pardalotes are certainly one of my favourite birds and bird calls with their three note call. I spy a movement of something fishing nearby. I keep a watch around waiting for it to surface - it is a male musk duck!!!!!!!!! It surfaces only a couple of metres from the canoe - clearly not fussed by our presence at all. It moseys along away but no hurry. What a thrill!! A few swamp hens, coots and moorhens along the way. We go as far as seems practicable and head back to base and return our canoes. A very enjoyable day. The kids who kept on canoeing got back earlier than the oldies and all have been enjoying a few hands of cards. But collectively we're getting a bit over the crowds of people on shore. Though you don't seem to notice them so much after a while and noone is behaving in an antisocial way or anything. No boom boxes or other hideous accoutrements to a bush picnic. Just the same we have an easter chocolate football we need to toss around and an easter egg hunt to get done. We're miles from anywhere, but I want to show elder daugher Glen Davis - so we opt to fill the several hours to our cruise with a nice scenic drive down to the other end of the valley - a good hour away. The dull sunlight doesn't really show the valley to best effect, but the scenery is stunning anyway. We make it to the Glen Davis camp ground, and it is very quiet here. The camp ground in Rylstone is chocka block with people, but not here down in the services free end of the valley. The trees are full of birds, friar birds, honeyeaters and others. As you drive along interesting birds flit across and along the road as you pass. Birds of prey are perched on fence posts and dead tree branches here and there. This part of the valley is a bird watchers paradise. One of the best locations in Australia. I note the great growth on some of the tree plantings since the rain has been coming down. They are looking great. We break out the chocolate footy. It's a bit of a dud this year and our tossing game is fairly shortlived. The kids break out one of the smaller eggs and we continue with that instead. The kids decide that egg hunting is really a bit embarassing to do in public at their age so we postpone that till we get back to the cafe rooms.
Back to Dunn's Swamp, we settle in for a few games of shitkicker - I'm getting better at it and actually win a hand this time, making me king shit. ... I have renamed the head person - el presidente just doesn't feel right LOL. Anyway time for our cruise approaches so we get ready and make our way over to the launch site. We are made very welcome by Bruce our guide and his offsider who has also been looking after us with the canoes all day. A wood fire is on the go for when we come back for a break mid cruise.
We set out and Bruce gives us a very informative talk about the origins of the swamp and the cudgegong river that feeds it, the geology of the area, wildlife and of course the building of the weir and the water system to which it connects. We are hunting for eastern water dragons which apparently love this time of day, but the cold weather defeats us and the dragons have warmer things to do than check their territory over tonight, perhaps they did so a bit earlier today... none-the-less Bruce explains their habits and shows us their prime real estate. It is all very interesting indeed. Down by the weir we find our friend the male musk duck again. Apparently there is a resident pair on the swamp at the moment. A real feather in the swamp's cap.
Back for a coffee and a sit around the fire. There's an offer of a bit to eat if we hadn't had our dinner. A friendly chat. Some of us upgrade our clothes for added warmth, or take care of a comfort stop or whatever and when it's good and dark we head on back out. We are looking primarily for greater gliders. Along the way Bruce explains their habits and the cycle of predation by powerful owls. He points out the trees driven bare by glider dining. But the cold weather is putting a bit of a damper on glider night life tonight. We do find a few. They are huge actually, but well camouflaged. The boat is equipped with big red spotlights that don't disturb the eyes of the spot lightee. It is brilliant just quietly travelling along in the dark, listening to the frog calls and the birds who call at night. Occassionally the low lights on the boat lighting up the reed beds. Bruce fills us in on the aboriginal uses for the area, and tells us about the current aboriginal traditional owners and how they feel about the current uses of the swamp.... it's all connected and very interesting.. Representatives of a smaller group who's numbers now only total about 80 people. I won't go into detail on this - take the tour and hear it first hand.
The whole group of us really enjoyed our cruise with Wollemi Afloat. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, or to recommend it to anyone. You can't guarantee the dragons or other wildlife are going to cooperate on any particular night, but the talk is informative and the swamp is delightful day or night. Definitely worth doing even though we'd got a pretty good go over the area in our canoes earlier in the day. The cruise lasts a good 2 1/2 hrs so it's really good value we felt, and that fire...otherwise known as the bush television - is a really good touch.. oh and you might be interested to know they do not have mozzies at the swamp... they have some little midge like things but apparently they are not bitey, they just buzz around. Here's a broad shot of the swamp to whet your appetite.
We fall pretty much straight into bed when we get back to our rooms, it's been a long tiring day.
That easter egg hunt is conducted monday morning before departure with much merriment ... we've some errands we need to run and we need to get back to our home in Macarthur via Coogee to drop off the boys. Elder daughter's back seat is a bit too uncomfortable for a long drive....
An enjoyable weekend. ...and there's plenty more things within striking distance to explore - sofala, hill end, and of course we never did get into Gulgong.....
ah yes one more thing to note, your citified mobile phone probably won't work in Rylstone or in the valley down around Glen Davis or Glen Alice. Mudgee it should work OK. Rylstone is just a delightful little place. A truly chilled out little country town, well geard for the small numbers of visitors.
To say a lot of other people also decided Dunn's Swamp would be a good place for the weekend would be an understatement. It is absolutely packed with both campers and day users. Truly it is absolute bedlam. We manage to find parking - the last couple of possible spots as far as we can see, have a bite to eat - cold KFC and collect our canoes. Elder daughter has also T-d up some fishing bait and gear so she collects that. Only about $5 a person I think and the bait they supplied was live! Down side of that of course was that then daughter couldn't bring herself to put a hook through the live yabbies and fresh water prawns - totally irrational really, but there you go. It was good value anyway.
We have a delightful few hours exploring downstream to the weir. We don't alight to go and view the actual weir wall. They kids have a half hearted go at fishing, but mostly they have fun singing and paddling and joking around. We're not terribly competent hubby and I at the whole paddling thing but we are getting better. The whole of Dunn's swamp is very beautiful despite the weather. There are plenty of other people using the waterway this weekend, but it's nothing like the numbers at the camp ground so you can actually get periods where you are the only craft in your section and it is just lovely. Beautiful reed beds and then bushland of Wollemi National Park on the shores. Impressive rock formations in between. There is a walk along the edges of the swamp down to the weir wall. Occassionally you can see walkers, but there are surprisingly few considering the numbers at the camp ground. Apparently it is the busiest easter in at least 20 years the wollemi afloat people told us. There is a notice on one of the toilet buildings describing what national parks are planning to do to address the issues now being experienced with facilities unable to really cope with the number of visitors.... however on normal weekends you can still find the swamp pretty quiet. Apparently the few weeks before easter were very quiet, so I guess at the moment you probably are best to pick your timing.
We break for our ploughman's luch. We enjoy our leaning oak purchases very much. Incidentally the dukkah etc are from a company called A taste of the bush which their website tells me is available at the Rocks Market in Sydney among other places.. http://www.atasteofthebush.com.au/
We still have a couple of hours left on our canoe hire, so most of us head back out and head up stream to explore. Upstream is quite different to downstream, less rocky escarpments more gentle shores bushland. Very beautiful. We wander down quiet little arms of water, listening to the birds on the shore. I've opted to leave my binoculars in the car this time, so I just enjoy seeing the birds flitting among the trees and calling. Spotted pardalotes are certainly one of my favourite birds and bird calls with their three note call. I spy a movement of something fishing nearby. I keep a watch around waiting for it to surface - it is a male musk duck!!!!!!!!! It surfaces only a couple of metres from the canoe - clearly not fussed by our presence at all. It moseys along away but no hurry. What a thrill!! A few swamp hens, coots and moorhens along the way. We go as far as seems practicable and head back to base and return our canoes. A very enjoyable day. The kids who kept on canoeing got back earlier than the oldies and all have been enjoying a few hands of cards. But collectively we're getting a bit over the crowds of people on shore. Though you don't seem to notice them so much after a while and noone is behaving in an antisocial way or anything. No boom boxes or other hideous accoutrements to a bush picnic. Just the same we have an easter chocolate football we need to toss around and an easter egg hunt to get done. We're miles from anywhere, but I want to show elder daugher Glen Davis - so we opt to fill the several hours to our cruise with a nice scenic drive down to the other end of the valley - a good hour away. The dull sunlight doesn't really show the valley to best effect, but the scenery is stunning anyway. We make it to the Glen Davis camp ground, and it is very quiet here. The camp ground in Rylstone is chocka block with people, but not here down in the services free end of the valley. The trees are full of birds, friar birds, honeyeaters and others. As you drive along interesting birds flit across and along the road as you pass. Birds of prey are perched on fence posts and dead tree branches here and there. This part of the valley is a bird watchers paradise. One of the best locations in Australia. I note the great growth on some of the tree plantings since the rain has been coming down. They are looking great. We break out the chocolate footy. It's a bit of a dud this year and our tossing game is fairly shortlived. The kids break out one of the smaller eggs and we continue with that instead. The kids decide that egg hunting is really a bit embarassing to do in public at their age so we postpone that till we get back to the cafe rooms.
Back to Dunn's Swamp, we settle in for a few games of shitkicker - I'm getting better at it and actually win a hand this time, making me king shit. ... I have renamed the head person - el presidente just doesn't feel right LOL. Anyway time for our cruise approaches so we get ready and make our way over to the launch site. We are made very welcome by Bruce our guide and his offsider who has also been looking after us with the canoes all day. A wood fire is on the go for when we come back for a break mid cruise.
We set out and Bruce gives us a very informative talk about the origins of the swamp and the cudgegong river that feeds it, the geology of the area, wildlife and of course the building of the weir and the water system to which it connects. We are hunting for eastern water dragons which apparently love this time of day, but the cold weather defeats us and the dragons have warmer things to do than check their territory over tonight, perhaps they did so a bit earlier today... none-the-less Bruce explains their habits and shows us their prime real estate. It is all very interesting indeed. Down by the weir we find our friend the male musk duck again. Apparently there is a resident pair on the swamp at the moment. A real feather in the swamp's cap.
Back for a coffee and a sit around the fire. There's an offer of a bit to eat if we hadn't had our dinner. A friendly chat. Some of us upgrade our clothes for added warmth, or take care of a comfort stop or whatever and when it's good and dark we head on back out. We are looking primarily for greater gliders. Along the way Bruce explains their habits and the cycle of predation by powerful owls. He points out the trees driven bare by glider dining. But the cold weather is putting a bit of a damper on glider night life tonight. We do find a few. They are huge actually, but well camouflaged. The boat is equipped with big red spotlights that don't disturb the eyes of the spot lightee. It is brilliant just quietly travelling along in the dark, listening to the frog calls and the birds who call at night. Occassionally the low lights on the boat lighting up the reed beds. Bruce fills us in on the aboriginal uses for the area, and tells us about the current aboriginal traditional owners and how they feel about the current uses of the swamp.... it's all connected and very interesting.. Representatives of a smaller group who's numbers now only total about 80 people. I won't go into detail on this - take the tour and hear it first hand.
The whole group of us really enjoyed our cruise with Wollemi Afloat. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, or to recommend it to anyone. You can't guarantee the dragons or other wildlife are going to cooperate on any particular night, but the talk is informative and the swamp is delightful day or night. Definitely worth doing even though we'd got a pretty good go over the area in our canoes earlier in the day. The cruise lasts a good 2 1/2 hrs so it's really good value we felt, and that fire...otherwise known as the bush television - is a really good touch.. oh and you might be interested to know they do not have mozzies at the swamp... they have some little midge like things but apparently they are not bitey, they just buzz around. Here's a broad shot of the swamp to whet your appetite.
We fall pretty much straight into bed when we get back to our rooms, it's been a long tiring day.
That easter egg hunt is conducted monday morning before departure with much merriment ... we've some errands we need to run and we need to get back to our home in Macarthur via Coogee to drop off the boys. Elder daughter's back seat is a bit too uncomfortable for a long drive....
An enjoyable weekend. ...and there's plenty more things within striking distance to explore - sofala, hill end, and of course we never did get into Gulgong.....
ah yes one more thing to note, your citified mobile phone probably won't work in Rylstone or in the valley down around Glen Davis or Glen Alice. Mudgee it should work OK. Rylstone is just a delightful little place. A truly chilled out little country town, well geard for the small numbers of visitors.
An easter break in the Central West - Part 2
Easter Saturday. Today we had planned to pick up some sausages from the butcher in Rylstone for a bbq at Dunn's Swamp tomorrow. Their sausages are a bit of a legend. We had not planned for them to be closed the whole weekend so that throws a major spanner into the works. Never mind we'll head back on up to Mudgee where we want to do some gourmet sampling in any case.
Breakfast at Bizzy Birds in Rylstone is delicious. Most opt for various melts and similar which we all sample. They are a superior version and all enjoy them. Hubby goes for a big breakfast - which includes some very nice sausages, so at least we don't miss the Rylstone sausages altogether... I go for buttermilk pikelets with real maple syrup and fresh fruit and yoghurt which was very light and fresh and delicious. No wonder Bizzy Birds has such a good reputation. They are also beginning a collection of celebrity signatures posted up on the walls. Which makes a bit of (brief) entertaining reading.
The only frustration this morning is knowing that today is the only day over the weekend that the wood fired bakery will be open so opting for Bizzy Birds brekky means we'll miss the yummy pasties at the bakery. They are well above average for a pastie in our opinion with mashed potato providing a much tastier base for the filling than the typical cubes of potatoe.... unfortunately I forget to pick up some bread instead which I later regret....
Delightfully sated we continue the browsing we commenced before breakfast. Daughter and I at the well above average Anglicare shop. I pick up a few cheap books a volume of Somerset Maugham's short stories $1 , a James Dobson child discipline title 20 cents (worth collecting... you need to ignore some of his evangelical christian comments at times but overall he's a very lucid teacher on child discipline issues...) and a Ngaio Marsh 20 cents ... and later a Tim Winton $4.. I'm curious to find out whether I just don't like Tim Winton's writing or if it is just the bleakness of Cloudstreet that leaves me completely cold.... after brekky Waratah has opened and I pick up A Far Country by Neville Shute an author I've had on my "must read one day" list for some time. I am strong and resist the nice pearlescent wine glasses for $35... Finally we fill up the car at Price's petrol station and retrace our steps of the previous day... elder son at the wheel for the last few required learner hours....
Mudgee this morning is absolute bedlam. Reeaally croweded. Traffic very heavy. We're pretty late again today and the farmer's market is starting to look a bit thin. We head straight for Honey Haven for mead tasting and putt putt golf. All enjoy the mead, but it's a bit wasted on me with my cold I can't really taste the flavour very well. Same with the honey. Strange as I noticed no problem at breakfast.. we spend up on some mead, liqueur and the pollen infused bee power product... then fork over the dollars to hire clubs and balls for putt putt golf. The course is pretty rough and infested with autumn leaves on the greens but that hardly matters with putt putt and a great time is had by all with much merriment and victory leaps of varying height as the round progresses. We even have son-in-law achieve a hole in one!! No easy feat on these holes that's for sure.
The putt putt has consumed quite a time and we opt rather than stop immediately for lunch we will proceed to the Cassilis road for some cheese tasting. First stop is High Valley Wine and Cheese Company. The car park is overflowing. Plenty of people out and about today that's for sure. We manage to find parking spots, being in two cars today, and wander in. We're not really interested in the wine or the cafe, we go straight for the cheese tasting counter, seems we are not alone in that this counter is pretty busy. They have a range of fetta's in various flavoured oils, tomato, pesto and the like. Some caerphilly, some Jannei Goats cheese, ashed and not.. and we set about tasting. The service was woeful. Rude and impatient. ..and they were actually giving tastings of unripened brie!!! Unripened!! what is the point of that I ask you? No respect for the quality of their own product is the only conclusion you can draw. With the fettas the girl was making a point of mushing the cheese up with the oils before scooping it up on the tasting stick, so what you got was a fairly horrid mush with no real ability to taste the cheese itself which we thought was pretty poor. I was still having some issues with my cold so after tasting a couple of things, I left daughters with instructions to get me some caerphilly and to make their own final selections..and to make room for others at the counter.. the serving girl seemed to interpret that amiss and actually said to my daughter "do you actually want to buy anything?" Really we should have told her where to stick it and just left right there, but both daughters love ashed goats cheese and they liked the one on sale.. of course they were highly amused to find that it was not a High Valley product but one from a well reputed goat dairy in the Blue Mountains.... and I was conscious of the need for food for a ploughmans lunch next day and have little experience with caerphilly so we just paid the money and got out of there.... and I'm getting my revenge here aren't I.. I will also send the company an email or something with some feedback. .. of course I've no real idea whether their caerphilly was really any good. It was ok, but nothing to travel miles for in our opinion. We won't be going back. That's something I tend to find in the big wine areas. Maybe it's because the clientelle arrive with an attitude to buy something and the service can be very arrogant. ..
Next stop Leaning Oak sheeps and goat cheese dairy up the road a bit. We muck around missing the entrance a couple of times which causes amusement and an interesting drive down a back road which was pleasant. We are the only people here on arrival. They seem to be quite new and just getting really established. The large tasting room has a big deck overlooking what will be a very pleasant large farm dam with reeds bordering the edges. The service here is the opposite to the harried rudeness at High Valley. Friendly and welcoming. There are a few Leaning Oak wines for tasting, but no offense is taken when we explain we really only like sickeningly sweet dessert wines.. but we make a bee line for the cheese and enjoy tasting the other products they carry. A bit disappointing they don't have any sheep's milk products on today. But we enjoy the goats milk fetta in pesto oil and grab one of those. No hint of goatiness about it which I understand indicates they've used ultra fresh milk. They also have native flavoured oils and balsamic and dukkah. We buy some lemon myrtle macadamia oil, and lemon myrtle infused balsamic and one of the dukkahs - lemon myrtle macadamia dukkah which was absolutely delicious. Hard to go past oils, good dukkah and bread with a ploughman's lunch.
There's an interesting gourmet butchery advertised in the tourist material, but we find it's location only to discover it is closed. But Coles is open until 10 pm so we have a back up option if we get desperate. Next stop we head for the gourmet outlet at the old railway station. This sounds great in the tourist rag, but we found it a bit disappointing and the service just terrible. Elder daughter was quite outraged at the pitiful neglect of an obvious opportunity to sell us stacks of stuff. I mean it was quite plain we'd come with the intention of buying. Younger daughter wanted to try a pesto tapenade but found it was mouldy on top. She brought it to the attention of the staff person who just took it from her and did nothing. It was obvious daughter really wanted to try it, but staff couldn't have cared less. Never said a word to us really. The mustards seemed a bit old and unpalatable. The range of hazlenuts didn't seem too fresh either. We bought some sandwich cucumbers and some roast capsicum and coriander tapenade. They have nothing that requires refrigeration, so no meats or local cheeses or other things available which surprised me given the way they promote themselves. Very disappointing and a wasted opportunity for cross promotion for a range of outlets in the district it seemed to me. On leaving daughter was pretty annoyed with the service here, if it had been one of her staff and she became aware of such an attitude they would have got a formal warning... very bad for business.. so, ultimately we're back to Coles and the bakery opposite to get the balance of our requirements for our ploughman's lunch. Salami, fruit and so on. We make a few off the cuff (and optomistic) enquiries for dinner as it's about 5:30 - 6pm but everywhere is fully booked. No worries, we head on back to Rylstone pretty disenchanted with Mudgee overall given our bad service experiences.. but we have our dinner at the Shed in Rylstone which as usual is very good and we all enjoy our meals. Especially the malted milkshakes which are truly superior. The meals at the shed are very large and represent very good value. Elder daughter is new to Rylstone and she's amazed at how excellent her prawn cutlet dinner is. .... we head back to our rooms for an evening of playing cards. Hubby and I are taught a game called "shitkicker" by the kids and a great time is had by all.
..incidentally we're still eating one of the loaves of bread we picked up at the (vietnamese?) hot bread shop in Mudgee.. that's four days later and it is still soft and delicious.... I'm impressed!! Also we opted to get some KFC for extra food for tomorrow, we have at least two picnic meals and options are in short supply. We found Mudgee KFC to be as good as the one in Lithgow, which we have always found outstanding. Mudgee KFC even has excellent chips - an aspect that most KFC outlets just don't do properly. The chicken itself was beautifully cooked... well above average!
Breakfast at Bizzy Birds in Rylstone is delicious. Most opt for various melts and similar which we all sample. They are a superior version and all enjoy them. Hubby goes for a big breakfast - which includes some very nice sausages, so at least we don't miss the Rylstone sausages altogether... I go for buttermilk pikelets with real maple syrup and fresh fruit and yoghurt which was very light and fresh and delicious. No wonder Bizzy Birds has such a good reputation. They are also beginning a collection of celebrity signatures posted up on the walls. Which makes a bit of (brief) entertaining reading.
The only frustration this morning is knowing that today is the only day over the weekend that the wood fired bakery will be open so opting for Bizzy Birds brekky means we'll miss the yummy pasties at the bakery. They are well above average for a pastie in our opinion with mashed potato providing a much tastier base for the filling than the typical cubes of potatoe.... unfortunately I forget to pick up some bread instead which I later regret....
Delightfully sated we continue the browsing we commenced before breakfast. Daughter and I at the well above average Anglicare shop. I pick up a few cheap books a volume of Somerset Maugham's short stories $1 , a James Dobson child discipline title 20 cents (worth collecting... you need to ignore some of his evangelical christian comments at times but overall he's a very lucid teacher on child discipline issues...) and a Ngaio Marsh 20 cents ... and later a Tim Winton $4.. I'm curious to find out whether I just don't like Tim Winton's writing or if it is just the bleakness of Cloudstreet that leaves me completely cold.... after brekky Waratah has opened and I pick up A Far Country by Neville Shute an author I've had on my "must read one day" list for some time. I am strong and resist the nice pearlescent wine glasses for $35... Finally we fill up the car at Price's petrol station and retrace our steps of the previous day... elder son at the wheel for the last few required learner hours....
Mudgee this morning is absolute bedlam. Reeaally croweded. Traffic very heavy. We're pretty late again today and the farmer's market is starting to look a bit thin. We head straight for Honey Haven for mead tasting and putt putt golf. All enjoy the mead, but it's a bit wasted on me with my cold I can't really taste the flavour very well. Same with the honey. Strange as I noticed no problem at breakfast.. we spend up on some mead, liqueur and the pollen infused bee power product... then fork over the dollars to hire clubs and balls for putt putt golf. The course is pretty rough and infested with autumn leaves on the greens but that hardly matters with putt putt and a great time is had by all with much merriment and victory leaps of varying height as the round progresses. We even have son-in-law achieve a hole in one!! No easy feat on these holes that's for sure.
The putt putt has consumed quite a time and we opt rather than stop immediately for lunch we will proceed to the Cassilis road for some cheese tasting. First stop is High Valley Wine and Cheese Company. The car park is overflowing. Plenty of people out and about today that's for sure. We manage to find parking spots, being in two cars today, and wander in. We're not really interested in the wine or the cafe, we go straight for the cheese tasting counter, seems we are not alone in that this counter is pretty busy. They have a range of fetta's in various flavoured oils, tomato, pesto and the like. Some caerphilly, some Jannei Goats cheese, ashed and not.. and we set about tasting. The service was woeful. Rude and impatient. ..and they were actually giving tastings of unripened brie!!! Unripened!! what is the point of that I ask you? No respect for the quality of their own product is the only conclusion you can draw. With the fettas the girl was making a point of mushing the cheese up with the oils before scooping it up on the tasting stick, so what you got was a fairly horrid mush with no real ability to taste the cheese itself which we thought was pretty poor. I was still having some issues with my cold so after tasting a couple of things, I left daughters with instructions to get me some caerphilly and to make their own final selections..and to make room for others at the counter.. the serving girl seemed to interpret that amiss and actually said to my daughter "do you actually want to buy anything?" Really we should have told her where to stick it and just left right there, but both daughters love ashed goats cheese and they liked the one on sale.. of course they were highly amused to find that it was not a High Valley product but one from a well reputed goat dairy in the Blue Mountains.... and I was conscious of the need for food for a ploughmans lunch next day and have little experience with caerphilly so we just paid the money and got out of there.... and I'm getting my revenge here aren't I.. I will also send the company an email or something with some feedback. .. of course I've no real idea whether their caerphilly was really any good. It was ok, but nothing to travel miles for in our opinion. We won't be going back. That's something I tend to find in the big wine areas. Maybe it's because the clientelle arrive with an attitude to buy something and the service can be very arrogant. ..
Next stop Leaning Oak sheeps and goat cheese dairy up the road a bit. We muck around missing the entrance a couple of times which causes amusement and an interesting drive down a back road which was pleasant. We are the only people here on arrival. They seem to be quite new and just getting really established. The large tasting room has a big deck overlooking what will be a very pleasant large farm dam with reeds bordering the edges. The service here is the opposite to the harried rudeness at High Valley. Friendly and welcoming. There are a few Leaning Oak wines for tasting, but no offense is taken when we explain we really only like sickeningly sweet dessert wines.. but we make a bee line for the cheese and enjoy tasting the other products they carry. A bit disappointing they don't have any sheep's milk products on today. But we enjoy the goats milk fetta in pesto oil and grab one of those. No hint of goatiness about it which I understand indicates they've used ultra fresh milk. They also have native flavoured oils and balsamic and dukkah. We buy some lemon myrtle macadamia oil, and lemon myrtle infused balsamic and one of the dukkahs - lemon myrtle macadamia dukkah which was absolutely delicious. Hard to go past oils, good dukkah and bread with a ploughman's lunch.
There's an interesting gourmet butchery advertised in the tourist material, but we find it's location only to discover it is closed. But Coles is open until 10 pm so we have a back up option if we get desperate. Next stop we head for the gourmet outlet at the old railway station. This sounds great in the tourist rag, but we found it a bit disappointing and the service just terrible. Elder daughter was quite outraged at the pitiful neglect of an obvious opportunity to sell us stacks of stuff. I mean it was quite plain we'd come with the intention of buying. Younger daughter wanted to try a pesto tapenade but found it was mouldy on top. She brought it to the attention of the staff person who just took it from her and did nothing. It was obvious daughter really wanted to try it, but staff couldn't have cared less. Never said a word to us really. The mustards seemed a bit old and unpalatable. The range of hazlenuts didn't seem too fresh either. We bought some sandwich cucumbers and some roast capsicum and coriander tapenade. They have nothing that requires refrigeration, so no meats or local cheeses or other things available which surprised me given the way they promote themselves. Very disappointing and a wasted opportunity for cross promotion for a range of outlets in the district it seemed to me. On leaving daughter was pretty annoyed with the service here, if it had been one of her staff and she became aware of such an attitude they would have got a formal warning... very bad for business.. so, ultimately we're back to Coles and the bakery opposite to get the balance of our requirements for our ploughman's lunch. Salami, fruit and so on. We make a few off the cuff (and optomistic) enquiries for dinner as it's about 5:30 - 6pm but everywhere is fully booked. No worries, we head on back to Rylstone pretty disenchanted with Mudgee overall given our bad service experiences.. but we have our dinner at the Shed in Rylstone which as usual is very good and we all enjoy our meals. Especially the malted milkshakes which are truly superior. The meals at the shed are very large and represent very good value. Elder daughter is new to Rylstone and she's amazed at how excellent her prawn cutlet dinner is. .... we head back to our rooms for an evening of playing cards. Hubby and I are taught a game called "shitkicker" by the kids and a great time is had by all.
..incidentally we're still eating one of the loaves of bread we picked up at the (vietnamese?) hot bread shop in Mudgee.. that's four days later and it is still soft and delicious.... I'm impressed!! Also we opted to get some KFC for extra food for tomorrow, we have at least two picnic meals and options are in short supply. We found Mudgee KFC to be as good as the one in Lithgow, which we have always found outstanding. Mudgee KFC even has excellent chips - an aspect that most KFC outlets just don't do properly. The chicken itself was beautifully cooked... well above average!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
An easter break in the Central West - part 1
Well Easter is with us once again and this year the family have opted to spend the break together in Rylstone for easy access to the aquatic delights of Dunn’s Swamp.
We (hubby and myself, our two daughters and two sons and elder daughter’s partner) are all in position in Rylstone for Good Friday morning. Most of us arrived last night, elder daughter had to work till after 10 pm last night to unpack an order of stock that arrived earlier than anticipated. It's important to have it out in preparation for the Easter trading during her absence. So a sleep at home and they departed Coogee at about 5:30 thismorning, arriving in Rylstone at about 8:30 I believe. I’m a bit under the weather with a nasty cold but what can you do? Everything is booked so I’m here….
A bit of umming and aahing about what to do and a fairly late start to the day by the time the boys muck about having brekky at the cafe. We end up deciding to run up towards the Mudgee area and do a bit of exploring in the national parks up that way, and perhaps a bit of a wander around Gulgong. It’s a lovely scenic drive up through Lue to Mudgee and we arrive at roughly lunch time. I never tire of driving in inland NSW and today the trees almost everywhere are lush with new growth. The dull green of the native cypress (callitris) has been replaced by the deep rich green of it’s new growth which is beautifully verdant and makes a lovely patchwork of dark green and grey green across the hillsides demanding that I reassess the scenic merit of this vegetation community. At times in the past I've felt it can be a bit ratty.
A bit of consultation and a meander down a restaurant strip browsing the menus we decide to eat at the Wineglass Bar and Grill at Cob and Co Court just around the corner. Ambience is very nice, though the day is fairly chilly and the barn like windows are closed on the request of some patrons in the course of our meal. The food was good. Though the establishment has misjudged and only has a single waitress on duty for the day. This proves a bit of a problem and our two course meal takes 3 hrs – ripping the guts out of our plans for the afternoon. So it being quite late Gulgong gets scrapped and we opt to run up to Hands on Rock and the Drip Picnic Area. This involves driving out past a number of wineries and up past the Ulan mine which is quite an imposing site with massive black piles of coal contrasted to the white of mine buildings and other structures. On the whole it stops short of being quite the eyesore that the Hunter Valley mines present on the landscape. More information on these sites is available at this website: Gulgong attractions.
We turn in to the parking area for the Drip Picnic Area. All the parking spaces are full – there’s only two plus a larger space that is occupied by a large 4WD and trailer. We decide to run the extra couple of kms to the Hands On Rock site. This site has an attractive parking area by a group of low pagoda rock formations. I note for future reference that there is a wood bbq available. We stop to read the information board that pays due respect to the Wiradjuri people on whose traditional land the site is situated. On the other side there is an aboriginal story about the creation of the milky way.
We set off along the path in dribs and drabs really. Elder daughter finds a large weevil type creature on a plant along the path and stops to photograph it. I am repeatedly distracted photographing the trunks of some densely inscribed scribbly gums. I have visions of framed photographs of bark and grasses on the walls of our new house. Maybe I won’t achieve anything worthy of mounting and I might need to buy things (I know a source of brilliant examples of what I'm after in Central Tilba), but I’m gradually making a collection which I can assess for enlargement later… and digital costs me nothing anyway so worth a try. I simply love the bark of native trees and it doesn't get much better than scribbly gum!
In this case this beautifully inscribed scribbly gum has had the good taste to surround itself with a beautiful arrangement of leaf and bark litter...gorgeous!!
Gradually we all catch up at the board walk that facilitates viewing and serves to manage visitors and protect the ancient hand stencils on the rock face. The hand stencils are quite faded and quite small. Most appear to be child sized. There are no interpretive boards at the art site itself which is disappointing. I would very much enjoy some cultural information similar to that they provide at the art sites in Kakadu, but later we are informed that the local people have had much more disruption to their culture than in those traditional areas of the Northern Territory, so maybe it's not possible.
The forest around the site is quite attractive. At the last stages of approach to the artwork, you are obliged to climb up some rough “natural” steps, so this is not really a site that is disabled friendly. A tree has also fallen and partially blocks access, so it currently requires a bit of effort to work your way around or through this obstacle. On our decent one of the kids draws our attention to the spider that has made a web just next to the decline from the hands. On closer inspection we see it is highly decorative with attractive black horn like protuberances from it’s body. Elder daughter’s careful tutelage by her spider loving grandma pays it’s dividends as she identifies it as possibly a christmas spider which the following website confirms. though I have to say the photo on this link doesn’t really show how this little spider shines and glimmers in the light like a Christmas ornament. Very beautiful. Quite a thrill to see one actually. Christmas Spider –
As always the return to the car seems to go very quickly and we set off back to the Drip. Noone has left so we park up closer to the road out of anyone’s way. Our boys decide to wait in the car… not great lovers of the outdoors.. We make our way along a well trod path and take a detour down to the Goulburn river. The river at this point is quite shallow and presents as beds of rushes with fairly small areas of open water. Some bright green aquatic plants running with the flow of water at shallower spots are shining in the light like bright green jewels. It is quite beautiful and a restful spot for a break and a walk.
Hubby and I leave the girls and …let’s call him son in law.. though daughter corrects me when I make such references seeing as they are not married….anyway the three of them hitch up their clothes and wade across to a rock in mid stream where they entertain themselves while hubby and I do the walk down to the drip. I’m feeling a bit better today and after days of inactivity am enjoying getting a little exercise…probably foolish in hindsight…anyway the walk along to the actual drip is mostly pretty similar to that closer to the car park, though you travel up close under the rock ledges that border the river for quite a bit of the way. Not a lot of bird activity. My binoculars around my neck ensure that.
Crossing a little side stream I take off my sandals and slosh through the shallow water which is delightful and not too cold. There are some small birds piping in the dense ferny undergrowth, but no sign of anyone coming out to be seen. My sole bird for the walk one solitary red browed finch! It’s quite late in the afternoon now and no time for dawdling. Anyway I’m conscious of the boys back at the car. I don’t want to try their patience toooo much.
We finally make it to the drip. The area is featured by large piles of massive rocks that have at some ancient time toppled away from the walls lining the river. It’s a rugged tumbledown area and as promised the rock face is actively dripping pristine water into pools below. I understand it is possible to continue on for a km or so downstream, wading through the shallow water at the edge of the rock face, but we leave that for another time and head back.
On return to the river and the kids we are met with calls for the camera. Elder daughter has found a small frog and I have borrowed her camera when my batteries died earlier. My knee is starting to hint that it’s had enough of the uneven terrain.. it’s been a bit temperamental since I sat in a stupid way in the theatre a few weeks ago. I knew at the time it was a stupid way to sit and I would regret it.. well no accounting for stupidity is there….anyway we head on back to the car only to find that the boys are having a great time! There is an ant colony by the back of the car. They have broken open some of our stash of snack food and have been experimenting with giving the ants cheese and bacon balls and watching their response. They have provided one dry ball and one wet one. There are two kinds of ants, tiny meat ants and a few larger bull ants that have muscled in on the meat ants trophies. The meat ants aren’t real empressed and are giving the bull ants what for despite the huge disparity in size. The ants aren’t coping at all well with the wet ball. The dry ball is successfully being removed by a couple or at times three bull ants and they’ve got it well across to the undergrowth. Closer to the car the wet ball is a bit of a massacre site really. Some of the ants aren’t looking at all well. This is the main site for the meat ant / bull ant dispute and there are casualties. Younger son has also entertained himself applying some of the temporary tattoos they got in lollies purchased from the café above which we are staying in Rylstone.
We return to Rylstone via a new route -the main road - and turn in towards Rylstone via lake Windemere, passing a number of fairly high profile wineries along the way. Indeed as we did coming in to Mudgee along the Lue Rd. Lake Windemere is still almost completely empty only the original watercourse has water for much of it and the floor of the lake has revegetated quite strongly. A very different sight to some years back when mum and I saw dozens of crested grebe and black cormorants on the water here. The drought is a long way from being truly broken out here and water restrictions still apply we gather from the signs around the town. The landscape has benefited from the recent rainfall though and everywhere is looking lovely. Overall we think the Lue Rd is more scenic at the moment.
Incidentally we are staying in the share accommodation above the Carlton Café in Rylstone. We have booked out the whole place which gives us four comfortable rooms and 11 beds. 3 queen and 5 single all for $350 a night which we are quite satisfied with for 7 adults mostly with our own rooms. It is pretty good value and spotlessly clean. Very comfortable. It has a kitchenette with tables, coffee, toast facility, no microwave or stove or anything like that though, and a small fairly ratty but adequate fridge. Not completely self contained, but there are several nice eateries in Rylstone so that’s no problem really. We find that the carlton café is another source of fresh cobbers…..
We (hubby and myself, our two daughters and two sons and elder daughter’s partner) are all in position in Rylstone for Good Friday morning. Most of us arrived last night, elder daughter had to work till after 10 pm last night to unpack an order of stock that arrived earlier than anticipated. It's important to have it out in preparation for the Easter trading during her absence. So a sleep at home and they departed Coogee at about 5:30 thismorning, arriving in Rylstone at about 8:30 I believe. I’m a bit under the weather with a nasty cold but what can you do? Everything is booked so I’m here….
A bit of umming and aahing about what to do and a fairly late start to the day by the time the boys muck about having brekky at the cafe. We end up deciding to run up towards the Mudgee area and do a bit of exploring in the national parks up that way, and perhaps a bit of a wander around Gulgong. It’s a lovely scenic drive up through Lue to Mudgee and we arrive at roughly lunch time. I never tire of driving in inland NSW and today the trees almost everywhere are lush with new growth. The dull green of the native cypress (callitris) has been replaced by the deep rich green of it’s new growth which is beautifully verdant and makes a lovely patchwork of dark green and grey green across the hillsides demanding that I reassess the scenic merit of this vegetation community. At times in the past I've felt it can be a bit ratty.
A bit of consultation and a meander down a restaurant strip browsing the menus we decide to eat at the Wineglass Bar and Grill at Cob and Co Court just around the corner. Ambience is very nice, though the day is fairly chilly and the barn like windows are closed on the request of some patrons in the course of our meal. The food was good. Though the establishment has misjudged and only has a single waitress on duty for the day. This proves a bit of a problem and our two course meal takes 3 hrs – ripping the guts out of our plans for the afternoon. So it being quite late Gulgong gets scrapped and we opt to run up to Hands on Rock and the Drip Picnic Area. This involves driving out past a number of wineries and up past the Ulan mine which is quite an imposing site with massive black piles of coal contrasted to the white of mine buildings and other structures. On the whole it stops short of being quite the eyesore that the Hunter Valley mines present on the landscape. More information on these sites is available at this website: Gulgong attractions.
We turn in to the parking area for the Drip Picnic Area. All the parking spaces are full – there’s only two plus a larger space that is occupied by a large 4WD and trailer. We decide to run the extra couple of kms to the Hands On Rock site. This site has an attractive parking area by a group of low pagoda rock formations. I note for future reference that there is a wood bbq available. We stop to read the information board that pays due respect to the Wiradjuri people on whose traditional land the site is situated. On the other side there is an aboriginal story about the creation of the milky way.
We set off along the path in dribs and drabs really. Elder daughter finds a large weevil type creature on a plant along the path and stops to photograph it. I am repeatedly distracted photographing the trunks of some densely inscribed scribbly gums. I have visions of framed photographs of bark and grasses on the walls of our new house. Maybe I won’t achieve anything worthy of mounting and I might need to buy things (I know a source of brilliant examples of what I'm after in Central Tilba), but I’m gradually making a collection which I can assess for enlargement later… and digital costs me nothing anyway so worth a try. I simply love the bark of native trees and it doesn't get much better than scribbly gum!
In this case this beautifully inscribed scribbly gum has had the good taste to surround itself with a beautiful arrangement of leaf and bark litter...gorgeous!!
Gradually we all catch up at the board walk that facilitates viewing and serves to manage visitors and protect the ancient hand stencils on the rock face. The hand stencils are quite faded and quite small. Most appear to be child sized. There are no interpretive boards at the art site itself which is disappointing. I would very much enjoy some cultural information similar to that they provide at the art sites in Kakadu, but later we are informed that the local people have had much more disruption to their culture than in those traditional areas of the Northern Territory, so maybe it's not possible.
The forest around the site is quite attractive. At the last stages of approach to the artwork, you are obliged to climb up some rough “natural” steps, so this is not really a site that is disabled friendly. A tree has also fallen and partially blocks access, so it currently requires a bit of effort to work your way around or through this obstacle. On our decent one of the kids draws our attention to the spider that has made a web just next to the decline from the hands. On closer inspection we see it is highly decorative with attractive black horn like protuberances from it’s body. Elder daughter’s careful tutelage by her spider loving grandma pays it’s dividends as she identifies it as possibly a christmas spider which the following website confirms. though I have to say the photo on this link doesn’t really show how this little spider shines and glimmers in the light like a Christmas ornament. Very beautiful. Quite a thrill to see one actually. Christmas Spider –
As always the return to the car seems to go very quickly and we set off back to the Drip. Noone has left so we park up closer to the road out of anyone’s way. Our boys decide to wait in the car… not great lovers of the outdoors.. We make our way along a well trod path and take a detour down to the Goulburn river. The river at this point is quite shallow and presents as beds of rushes with fairly small areas of open water. Some bright green aquatic plants running with the flow of water at shallower spots are shining in the light like bright green jewels. It is quite beautiful and a restful spot for a break and a walk.
Hubby and I leave the girls and …let’s call him son in law.. though daughter corrects me when I make such references seeing as they are not married….anyway the three of them hitch up their clothes and wade across to a rock in mid stream where they entertain themselves while hubby and I do the walk down to the drip. I’m feeling a bit better today and after days of inactivity am enjoying getting a little exercise…probably foolish in hindsight…anyway the walk along to the actual drip is mostly pretty similar to that closer to the car park, though you travel up close under the rock ledges that border the river for quite a bit of the way. Not a lot of bird activity. My binoculars around my neck ensure that.
Crossing a little side stream I take off my sandals and slosh through the shallow water which is delightful and not too cold. There are some small birds piping in the dense ferny undergrowth, but no sign of anyone coming out to be seen. My sole bird for the walk one solitary red browed finch! It’s quite late in the afternoon now and no time for dawdling. Anyway I’m conscious of the boys back at the car. I don’t want to try their patience toooo much.
We finally make it to the drip. The area is featured by large piles of massive rocks that have at some ancient time toppled away from the walls lining the river. It’s a rugged tumbledown area and as promised the rock face is actively dripping pristine water into pools below. I understand it is possible to continue on for a km or so downstream, wading through the shallow water at the edge of the rock face, but we leave that for another time and head back.
On return to the river and the kids we are met with calls for the camera. Elder daughter has found a small frog and I have borrowed her camera when my batteries died earlier. My knee is starting to hint that it’s had enough of the uneven terrain.. it’s been a bit temperamental since I sat in a stupid way in the theatre a few weeks ago. I knew at the time it was a stupid way to sit and I would regret it.. well no accounting for stupidity is there….anyway we head on back to the car only to find that the boys are having a great time! There is an ant colony by the back of the car. They have broken open some of our stash of snack food and have been experimenting with giving the ants cheese and bacon balls and watching their response. They have provided one dry ball and one wet one. There are two kinds of ants, tiny meat ants and a few larger bull ants that have muscled in on the meat ants trophies. The meat ants aren’t real empressed and are giving the bull ants what for despite the huge disparity in size. The ants aren’t coping at all well with the wet ball. The dry ball is successfully being removed by a couple or at times three bull ants and they’ve got it well across to the undergrowth. Closer to the car the wet ball is a bit of a massacre site really. Some of the ants aren’t looking at all well. This is the main site for the meat ant / bull ant dispute and there are casualties. Younger son has also entertained himself applying some of the temporary tattoos they got in lollies purchased from the café above which we are staying in Rylstone.
We return to Rylstone via a new route -the main road - and turn in towards Rylstone via lake Windemere, passing a number of fairly high profile wineries along the way. Indeed as we did coming in to Mudgee along the Lue Rd. Lake Windemere is still almost completely empty only the original watercourse has water for much of it and the floor of the lake has revegetated quite strongly. A very different sight to some years back when mum and I saw dozens of crested grebe and black cormorants on the water here. The drought is a long way from being truly broken out here and water restrictions still apply we gather from the signs around the town. The landscape has benefited from the recent rainfall though and everywhere is looking lovely. Overall we think the Lue Rd is more scenic at the moment.
Incidentally we are staying in the share accommodation above the Carlton Café in Rylstone. We have booked out the whole place which gives us four comfortable rooms and 11 beds. 3 queen and 5 single all for $350 a night which we are quite satisfied with for 7 adults mostly with our own rooms. It is pretty good value and spotlessly clean. Very comfortable. It has a kitchenette with tables, coffee, toast facility, no microwave or stove or anything like that though, and a small fairly ratty but adequate fridge. Not completely self contained, but there are several nice eateries in Rylstone so that’s no problem really. We find that the carlton café is another source of fresh cobbers…..
Friday, January 11, 2008
A trip down memory lane - Manly
I’ve got some time to kill today in dribs and drabs and stuck in the city. Luckily I’ve been meaning to see the Sidney Nolan New Retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW but just never got to it. Today’s the day. I’m starting from Macquarie st. Luckily just near an entrance to the botanic garden, so a very pleasant and interesting walk through the gardens will get me to the Gallery. Along the way I follow the aboriginal path that tells a truncated version of black and white history. Very well done. Just the right balance honesty with a tone of reconciliation to it. With more of that sort of spirit on both sides this country would come a long way.
In the gardens round about informative labels are included to explain native uses for indigenous plants of the Sydney area. The gardens in general are so lovely and with glimpses of brilliant blue harbour and a lovely sea breeze today it is glorious Sydney summer weather. I wander down the rainforest pathway. I enjoy the chatter of the flying foxes roosting overhead, and the distinctive smell, but I can't help being concerned at how many there are now.
I mean business so it’s directly into the exhibition on arrival after cloaking my bag. There is a very interesting short film – Nolan in his own words, which gives a great insight into the works in the exhibition. I like art, but I have very little time for the expert analysis that often goes along with it, they make up any rubbish to say. The artist’s own intentions however can be very fascinating and enlightening and Sidney Nolan has very very interesting things to say about some of his major works and what he meant to convey or what he was feeling or going through in his life at the time. Fascinating and I gain a new and deeper appreciation of his work, which of course makes this a very good exhibition! There is also on display an absolutely magnificent work depicting a riverbend, 18 panels in a circular room.... fantastic. Also some very striking landscapes of Antarctica. There is also a great exhibition gift shop which I browse and am sorely tempted, but I hold strong... I’m a little weary and have a deadline so I head on back to my Macquarie St commitment.
Free again and in some discomfort, but trapped due to transport difficulties the glorious weather calls me. At Circular Quay I decide to kill the time and distract myself with a trip on the ferry to Manly. Another thing I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I’m just in time to jump on the next arriving service, and luckily find a seat outside on the southern side. The stiff breeze is making lots of white horses on the water. Not a pleasant day to be fishing outside (outside the heads that is). White horses always remind me of my Dad. When I was a kid he’d always take a run around the edge of the plateau where we lived to check the sea and whether conditions were any good for going fishing - white horses always meant no.
The ferry travels rather fast these days and the Opera House and the city slide quickly behind. I’m all nostalgia today and miss the old class of Manly ferries that were a bit slower and less slick and that had to turn around slowly before heading off to Manly. As we cross the heads a safety warning is played telling people to stay seated while we cross due to the higher swell. But it’s pretty mild today really and more fun I think when there’s a bit more movement. Now crossing when things are rough – that can be truly exciting – and there’s no colder place in this city than Manly Wharf in a stiff wind on a cold day in winter. Cuts straight through you. I’m feeling a bit cold now actually and look around and notice all the people dressed for summer with goose bumps adorning their bare flesh. Nothing too serious but my mind is drawn to the people on the internet who scoffed at the idea that you can need a jacket on Sydney harbour at night in summer. Well, they can’t have been on the harbour at night in summer very often I guess. …
Funny how you take things for granted isn’t it. As a teen a bus to Manly and the ferry into town for a movie or theatre and dinner with friends was so standard you just didn’t think about it. Totally took it for granted. After a while you simply stop noticing how beautiful the harbour is, whether day or night. It’s simply glorious and I’m just bursting with pride to be Sydney born and bred. This is MY city and I LOVE it. We approach North Head and I realise how deeply ingrained your place of birth and rearing is for someone. I’m a Northern Beaches girl and the sight of North Head really makes me realise it. Odd considering I’ve spent most of my adult life rebelling against that and the down side of living in the “insular peninsular”. We’re a tribal lot Sydneysiders with strong local prejudices. Mine are singing today and the song they are singing is northern beaches rock!!
North head had the good fortune to be possessed by a combination of the military and the Catholic church which has meant that much of the natural bushland remains. Even threatened bandicoots hang on up on North Head and those living up on the East Hill sometimes get them in the garden. How can anyone bother with Bondi when Manly is the alternative? Very puzzling.
Memories flood my senses as we approach the wharf and disembark. My baby daughter dipping chips in the sand before eating them at Little Manly beach which is visible over to the east of the wharf.. Dad’s stories of snorkelling around the shark net enclosure before they pulled it down. (The one that’s there now is newer and smaller) What a privilege he had growing up in Sydney in the thirties, a boat to muck about with in the days when the harbour was more or less pristine, money to make his own mask and spear gun in the days when they couldn’t be bought and few people could afford a boat. I can so understand the anger of aboriginal people. This was all theirs once. Pristine, perfect. Gees how cranky would you be?
It’s not so long since I’ve been at Manly Wharf, but I don’t recall the Aldi supermarket… that just feels wrong somehow and I miss the old fun pier, shabby and crass as it was. Even more I miss the old pie shop across the road that used to sell the BEST cherry and cream pies. Hubby and I would have one for brekky on the way to work when I was pregnant with our 3rd kid. So many memories. I’m susceptible today as I’m on my own. Usually I’m with a group and there’s other stuff going on.
Manly hasn’t changed much really. The old Manly icons are still here. Humphries newsagents, the chemists. There is a holiday rush on. People everywhere. Dressed in boardies and bikinis. Thongs. Bare chests and scantily clad people. I realise why I always considered it just fine to go about everywhere barefoot. It’s how it is /was over on the north side in summer. So many people are on their way to or from the beach all the time. Even at Warringah Mall, you didn’t think twice if someone was wandering around in a cozzie and a sarong, thongs or bare feet… I don’t get that vibe in other areas. An atmosphere to be treasured.
I walk down the Corso towards South Steyne (the southern end of the beach). At Darley road I make a turn and go looking for the old haunts. Ah, goodness me Wishbone chicken is still there. Probably has changed hands a thousand times, but still there. A Manly institution surely. Fruit shop still there. I duck in and buy a banana for lunch. 40 cents. Lovely. I glance up towards Manly Public School. I can see as clear as day in my mind, my sister pushing a pram and my niece and nephew in their drab brown school uniform that my sister thought was lovely, racing in or out from school, or the day my son ended up at the police station when we went to vote at the school. Sir Roden Cutler came from Manly, his family lived just up a ways from here towards the East Hill.
I cross the street and note there’s a funeral in St Matthews Church. The shining black hearse is parked in front on the paving. My head is full of my nephew’s funeral. St Matthew’s is such a public place for a funeral. So many people passing by. I can see so clearly the crowds as they gather sombrely as the tiny white coffin is placed in the hearse…something about a child’s funeral always grabs people’s attention. St Matthews is a lovely church with stained glass windows.. but I’m on my way. All along the Corso they have a water feature for kids to play with, so do yourself a favour, or rather do your kids a favour and dress then in stuff they can get wet, including footwear…
I cross over to the promenade. It’s very busy here today. The lifeguard is busy on the loudspeaker rousing at people drifting out of the flags, or others trying to paddle out of the flags. Doing a great job at keeping everyone safe. The flagged area is jam packed with people. Gosh I hate surf swimming in a crowd like that. I’d like to do the walk around Fairy Bower to Shelley Beach and I make a start, but I have a deadline still and there’s no way I can get up to the headland, so turn back. I get far enough to see that it’s still the same. Better than Bondi to Bronte LOL. You can’t see it from South Steyne, but if you go up on to the headland behind Shelley beach there are .. or were splendid views up and down the coast. I challenge myself looking north along the coast, is the north slide really less developed…. Yes… but you can see some larger dwellings are starting to intrude, but overall more green. The cliffs of the Eastern suburbs are probably a bit more dramatic.. Oh OK part of it is just severe bias I suppose, they are both beautiful LOL.
Back at South Steyne the lifeguard is still berating people who are trying to swim outside the flags. I glance up to North Steyne. I can’t see crowds up there and I wonder if any of these hoards and those struggling to find a clear space between the flags realise that there’ll be flags up there too and at Queensliff, but more space to enjoy the surf…it’s not that far to walk and the promenade is beautiful and shady. Still I suppose the locals are only too happy to have the tourists stick to South Steyne. It’s so wonderful to see the Norfolk Island Pines clearly thriving. Once upon a time not SO long ago they were dying from the detergents and pollution blowing onto them from the sea spray. Manly wasn’t a nice place to swim then. Just about nowhere in Sydney was. Too polluted back then. What an improvement, I still can’t believe it. Even the water is a different colour now.
Back at the Corso I detour up Sydney Road. Again a few changes to shops, but many the same. The buildings where Dad used to work are all changed long ago. The pub is pretty much the same. Memories still haunting! Some are unprintable LOL. Mum used to have a shop in the Marketplace, but it’s long been divided up into discrete properties. The area loses something for the loss of the Marketplace – but the wafting of incense along here is still the same LOL. Real estate agents still the same. THEY never go out of business! I turn around and do a detour into Whistler st I’m looking for the old record exchange – it’s still there!! That’s a bit of a surprise, and the locksmith too. I head back to Sydney Rd to walk around to Belgrave St and back to the wharf. Sahib’s Indian Restaurant is still going also – I went there on a school excursion in high school, but the little Chinese café where we first tried combination short soup is long gone. It was long gone long ago LOL but we still miss it.. Past the court house, Belgrave Park is still the same, even the aviary is unchanged, always reminds me of my brother in law, who knows the location of every gas main in the area LOL
I wonder if Manly still attracts the oddballs. I guess most have been priced out of the market. People like Miss Manly - an elderly lady - had to be in her 60s at least 70s maybe - she'd get around in platform shoes and a miniskirt, low cut top, her hair in pigtails tied with tartan ribbon...at least in my day, I dare say she varied over the years... She had a penchant for opening the door stark naked.. or the onion sniffer.. she was a middle aged lady who wore a flowing black dress. Her hair piled up on her head like a pony tail sticking straight up like a fountain, or something out of Mooninland. Thick black makeup around her eyes... kind of like you get if you use ponds cold cream to remove your mascara... She was often to be found in the fruit shop or in Coles sniffing all the onions one by one. She'd spend ages at it.
Back to the wharf and I’m just in time to make a dash for the next ferry as it departs. I’m determined to sit on the western side on the way back so I can see Sydney Harbour National Park. I won’t describe the sentimental value of Dobroyd Point LOL
It’s very hot and sunny on this side of the ferry, I reapply my sunscreen and check my face is out of the sun. No breeze on this side either, but I’m determined to stick it out to the end. There’s numerous little sandy beaches, totally isolated and not a soul on them. Thank God for Sydney Harbour National Park. We round HMAS Sydney and turn on the run up the harbour, shade and breeze aplenty now. The Opera House and Bridge come into view, Admiralty House (Sydney residence of the Governor General) and Kirribilli House (Sydney residence of the Prime Minister) sitting in prime position directly opposite the Opera House. Magic. My city. Just MAGIC.
In the gardens round about informative labels are included to explain native uses for indigenous plants of the Sydney area. The gardens in general are so lovely and with glimpses of brilliant blue harbour and a lovely sea breeze today it is glorious Sydney summer weather. I wander down the rainforest pathway. I enjoy the chatter of the flying foxes roosting overhead, and the distinctive smell, but I can't help being concerned at how many there are now.
I mean business so it’s directly into the exhibition on arrival after cloaking my bag. There is a very interesting short film – Nolan in his own words, which gives a great insight into the works in the exhibition. I like art, but I have very little time for the expert analysis that often goes along with it, they make up any rubbish to say. The artist’s own intentions however can be very fascinating and enlightening and Sidney Nolan has very very interesting things to say about some of his major works and what he meant to convey or what he was feeling or going through in his life at the time. Fascinating and I gain a new and deeper appreciation of his work, which of course makes this a very good exhibition! There is also on display an absolutely magnificent work depicting a riverbend, 18 panels in a circular room.... fantastic. Also some very striking landscapes of Antarctica. There is also a great exhibition gift shop which I browse and am sorely tempted, but I hold strong... I’m a little weary and have a deadline so I head on back to my Macquarie St commitment.
Free again and in some discomfort, but trapped due to transport difficulties the glorious weather calls me. At Circular Quay I decide to kill the time and distract myself with a trip on the ferry to Manly. Another thing I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I’m just in time to jump on the next arriving service, and luckily find a seat outside on the southern side. The stiff breeze is making lots of white horses on the water. Not a pleasant day to be fishing outside (outside the heads that is). White horses always remind me of my Dad. When I was a kid he’d always take a run around the edge of the plateau where we lived to check the sea and whether conditions were any good for going fishing - white horses always meant no.
The ferry travels rather fast these days and the Opera House and the city slide quickly behind. I’m all nostalgia today and miss the old class of Manly ferries that were a bit slower and less slick and that had to turn around slowly before heading off to Manly. As we cross the heads a safety warning is played telling people to stay seated while we cross due to the higher swell. But it’s pretty mild today really and more fun I think when there’s a bit more movement. Now crossing when things are rough – that can be truly exciting – and there’s no colder place in this city than Manly Wharf in a stiff wind on a cold day in winter. Cuts straight through you. I’m feeling a bit cold now actually and look around and notice all the people dressed for summer with goose bumps adorning their bare flesh. Nothing too serious but my mind is drawn to the people on the internet who scoffed at the idea that you can need a jacket on Sydney harbour at night in summer. Well, they can’t have been on the harbour at night in summer very often I guess. …
Funny how you take things for granted isn’t it. As a teen a bus to Manly and the ferry into town for a movie or theatre and dinner with friends was so standard you just didn’t think about it. Totally took it for granted. After a while you simply stop noticing how beautiful the harbour is, whether day or night. It’s simply glorious and I’m just bursting with pride to be Sydney born and bred. This is MY city and I LOVE it. We approach North Head and I realise how deeply ingrained your place of birth and rearing is for someone. I’m a Northern Beaches girl and the sight of North Head really makes me realise it. Odd considering I’ve spent most of my adult life rebelling against that and the down side of living in the “insular peninsular”. We’re a tribal lot Sydneysiders with strong local prejudices. Mine are singing today and the song they are singing is northern beaches rock!!
North head had the good fortune to be possessed by a combination of the military and the Catholic church which has meant that much of the natural bushland remains. Even threatened bandicoots hang on up on North Head and those living up on the East Hill sometimes get them in the garden. How can anyone bother with Bondi when Manly is the alternative? Very puzzling.
Memories flood my senses as we approach the wharf and disembark. My baby daughter dipping chips in the sand before eating them at Little Manly beach which is visible over to the east of the wharf.. Dad’s stories of snorkelling around the shark net enclosure before they pulled it down. (The one that’s there now is newer and smaller) What a privilege he had growing up in Sydney in the thirties, a boat to muck about with in the days when the harbour was more or less pristine, money to make his own mask and spear gun in the days when they couldn’t be bought and few people could afford a boat. I can so understand the anger of aboriginal people. This was all theirs once. Pristine, perfect. Gees how cranky would you be?
It’s not so long since I’ve been at Manly Wharf, but I don’t recall the Aldi supermarket… that just feels wrong somehow and I miss the old fun pier, shabby and crass as it was. Even more I miss the old pie shop across the road that used to sell the BEST cherry and cream pies. Hubby and I would have one for brekky on the way to work when I was pregnant with our 3rd kid. So many memories. I’m susceptible today as I’m on my own. Usually I’m with a group and there’s other stuff going on.
Manly hasn’t changed much really. The old Manly icons are still here. Humphries newsagents, the chemists. There is a holiday rush on. People everywhere. Dressed in boardies and bikinis. Thongs. Bare chests and scantily clad people. I realise why I always considered it just fine to go about everywhere barefoot. It’s how it is /was over on the north side in summer. So many people are on their way to or from the beach all the time. Even at Warringah Mall, you didn’t think twice if someone was wandering around in a cozzie and a sarong, thongs or bare feet… I don’t get that vibe in other areas. An atmosphere to be treasured.
I walk down the Corso towards South Steyne (the southern end of the beach). At Darley road I make a turn and go looking for the old haunts. Ah, goodness me Wishbone chicken is still there. Probably has changed hands a thousand times, but still there. A Manly institution surely. Fruit shop still there. I duck in and buy a banana for lunch. 40 cents. Lovely. I glance up towards Manly Public School. I can see as clear as day in my mind, my sister pushing a pram and my niece and nephew in their drab brown school uniform that my sister thought was lovely, racing in or out from school, or the day my son ended up at the police station when we went to vote at the school. Sir Roden Cutler came from Manly, his family lived just up a ways from here towards the East Hill.
I cross the street and note there’s a funeral in St Matthews Church. The shining black hearse is parked in front on the paving. My head is full of my nephew’s funeral. St Matthew’s is such a public place for a funeral. So many people passing by. I can see so clearly the crowds as they gather sombrely as the tiny white coffin is placed in the hearse…something about a child’s funeral always grabs people’s attention. St Matthews is a lovely church with stained glass windows.. but I’m on my way. All along the Corso they have a water feature for kids to play with, so do yourself a favour, or rather do your kids a favour and dress then in stuff they can get wet, including footwear…
I cross over to the promenade. It’s very busy here today. The lifeguard is busy on the loudspeaker rousing at people drifting out of the flags, or others trying to paddle out of the flags. Doing a great job at keeping everyone safe. The flagged area is jam packed with people. Gosh I hate surf swimming in a crowd like that. I’d like to do the walk around Fairy Bower to Shelley Beach and I make a start, but I have a deadline still and there’s no way I can get up to the headland, so turn back. I get far enough to see that it’s still the same. Better than Bondi to Bronte LOL. You can’t see it from South Steyne, but if you go up on to the headland behind Shelley beach there are .. or were splendid views up and down the coast. I challenge myself looking north along the coast, is the north slide really less developed…. Yes… but you can see some larger dwellings are starting to intrude, but overall more green. The cliffs of the Eastern suburbs are probably a bit more dramatic.. Oh OK part of it is just severe bias I suppose, they are both beautiful LOL.
Back at South Steyne the lifeguard is still berating people who are trying to swim outside the flags. I glance up to North Steyne. I can’t see crowds up there and I wonder if any of these hoards and those struggling to find a clear space between the flags realise that there’ll be flags up there too and at Queensliff, but more space to enjoy the surf…it’s not that far to walk and the promenade is beautiful and shady. Still I suppose the locals are only too happy to have the tourists stick to South Steyne. It’s so wonderful to see the Norfolk Island Pines clearly thriving. Once upon a time not SO long ago they were dying from the detergents and pollution blowing onto them from the sea spray. Manly wasn’t a nice place to swim then. Just about nowhere in Sydney was. Too polluted back then. What an improvement, I still can’t believe it. Even the water is a different colour now.
Back at the Corso I detour up Sydney Road. Again a few changes to shops, but many the same. The buildings where Dad used to work are all changed long ago. The pub is pretty much the same. Memories still haunting! Some are unprintable LOL. Mum used to have a shop in the Marketplace, but it’s long been divided up into discrete properties. The area loses something for the loss of the Marketplace – but the wafting of incense along here is still the same LOL. Real estate agents still the same. THEY never go out of business! I turn around and do a detour into Whistler st I’m looking for the old record exchange – it’s still there!! That’s a bit of a surprise, and the locksmith too. I head back to Sydney Rd to walk around to Belgrave St and back to the wharf. Sahib’s Indian Restaurant is still going also – I went there on a school excursion in high school, but the little Chinese café where we first tried combination short soup is long gone. It was long gone long ago LOL but we still miss it.. Past the court house, Belgrave Park is still the same, even the aviary is unchanged, always reminds me of my brother in law, who knows the location of every gas main in the area LOL
I wonder if Manly still attracts the oddballs. I guess most have been priced out of the market. People like Miss Manly - an elderly lady - had to be in her 60s at least 70s maybe - she'd get around in platform shoes and a miniskirt, low cut top, her hair in pigtails tied with tartan ribbon...at least in my day, I dare say she varied over the years... She had a penchant for opening the door stark naked.. or the onion sniffer.. she was a middle aged lady who wore a flowing black dress. Her hair piled up on her head like a pony tail sticking straight up like a fountain, or something out of Mooninland. Thick black makeup around her eyes... kind of like you get if you use ponds cold cream to remove your mascara... She was often to be found in the fruit shop or in Coles sniffing all the onions one by one. She'd spend ages at it.
Back to the wharf and I’m just in time to make a dash for the next ferry as it departs. I’m determined to sit on the western side on the way back so I can see Sydney Harbour National Park. I won’t describe the sentimental value of Dobroyd Point LOL
It’s very hot and sunny on this side of the ferry, I reapply my sunscreen and check my face is out of the sun. No breeze on this side either, but I’m determined to stick it out to the end. There’s numerous little sandy beaches, totally isolated and not a soul on them. Thank God for Sydney Harbour National Park. We round HMAS Sydney and turn on the run up the harbour, shade and breeze aplenty now. The Opera House and Bridge come into view, Admiralty House (Sydney residence of the Governor General) and Kirribilli House (Sydney residence of the Prime Minister) sitting in prime position directly opposite the Opera House. Magic. My city. Just MAGIC.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Walking Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach
We’re up for a bit of exercise so hubby and I opt for the coastal walk Coogee to Bondi. We arrive Coogee Beach about 8:45 am. It’s overcast and forecast for showers. Very rough seas and most beaches yesterday were closed. Same is expected today. We have no trouble parking down by the beach in a 4 hr slot and set off. Coogee is an attractive beach with a nice mix of landscaping and trees and no shortage of nice well kept cafes and shops across the street. Indeed there doesn’t seem to be much else besides eating places of all sorts of cuisine. IMHO Coogee is easily the nicest eastern suburbs beach. Coogee beach is actually open. We head off up to the north of the beach. The paved coastal walk is clear but not sign posted. We stick as close to the headland as possible for the views. The walk itself stays well back and the views could be better at this point. The terrain is undulating with reasonably steep inclines or stairs up and down over the course of the walk. We seem to have headed in the right direction in this respect. On balance we seem to have slightly more downhill than up. We leave the path to get the following shot looking south from the cliff edge.
Just around the headland we pass through Gordon’s Bay (photo below). The local volunteers and the council have done a stirling job of bush regeneration around this bay, which is taken up with slips supporting the tinnies (small aluminium boats) of the local fishing and volunteer sea rescue club. No sand. No swimming here. Flocks of new holland honeyeaters play and chase eachother through the vegetation chirping happily all the while.
Our next beach which we reach via the headland - mostly covered in a big parking lot - is Clovelly. The headland around the car park is a bit manky actually and you don’t gain much by venturing around across the rocks. Pools of stagnant water a bit smelly, bits of rubbish here and there. Plenty of crabs in the crevices though, and they creep away as you approach. Clovelly is nicely landscaped, with grass and trees and gardens. It is a deep inlet and calm water this beach is very protected and is open for swimming also. My daughter loves Clovelly as she finds the snorkelling the best she’s found around Sydney. There’s a large area of concrete on both sides of the bay, it has access for vehicles, and spoils the natural effect of the bay. I guess in the days this beach was established smothering everything in sight in concrete was seen as progress. I assume the landings must be used in rescues or something.. The water doesn’t look too inviting to me, lots of bits of weed and detritus from the rough conditions further out. We push on and climb the next headland and along the way take the photo below.
The paved walk cuts across the in from the ocean a distance with Burrows Park a bit of a grassy wilderness stretching out to the cliffs and ocean views. Sticking to the path therefore seems a bit pointless so we cut across the park and stick to the cliff edges and the rough track to maintain as much sea view as we can. Fairy wrens are calling from the scrub that lines the park. A male in his spectacular metallic blue and black perches high and calls briefly before flitting down into the protection of the undergrowth. The bushland right along is degraded and infested with weeds and invasive grasses. The further we go the more the flora is featured by all those pesky imports that diligent councils around the state once planted and are now trying to eradicate. Bitou bush, invasive grasses, lantana, morning glory, all a bit neglected and wild. This is consistently the case for the rest of the cliff track really. The native birdlife declines accordingly. Quite disappointing. There are no fences along this area and caution is needed, no doubt a reason why the paved walk travels in around the built up area. The views along the walk reach up and down the coast to the headlands reaching out to the pacific. I find the development that crowds them quite intrusive. We come to Waverley cemetery (photo below) and we travel along the narrow path between the white ocean side railing and orange construction fence supported by star pickets. The reason for this ugly orange barrier is unclear. Perhaps they just want to keep the numerous walkers out of the cemetery? Totally uninspiring.
Beyond the cemetery we are obliged to walk out and down a road cutting to Bronte beach. The least attractive beach so far, due to the degraded vegetation round about. We are in Waverley Council area now. They need to pull their finger out on the vegetation front I think, but at least it is featured by a large grassy park behind the beach. The conditions here are very rough and the beach is closed. Even the rock pool is closed.
Heading north from Bronte the quality of the walk improves considerably. No doubt this is why this section gets more promotion than the stretch to Coogee much of which is a like walking down a dingey back alley with water views on one side. Along this Bronte – Bondi section pieces of exercise equipment are conveniently placed. At intervals there are interpretative signs. The walk here is bordered by the attractively eroded sandstone of the cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other. Next stop Tamarama and we cut across the beach where they have a beach volleyball net set up. Tamarama is very small and quite pretty. I can't help but think how beautiful the area must have been before European settlement. That's so true of most of sydney. Understandable but at the same time rather unfortunate that the first settlement was selected on what IMHO is the most outstandingly beautiful harbours, and coastline on the East of the continent. At one of the beaches, I forget which, a sign marker along the walk explains that people originally were attracted (in part) by a lovely waterfall up behind the beach. We don't explore but I wonder if it's still there. Probably not I suppose. Many people congregate on the next headland. We were puzzled as to why, but I guess they are just admiring the scenery. There’s a helicopter hovering for ages out to sea a bit but finally it swings away.
Along the way we pause to take a photo of the scenery to the south.
We round the point and views of what must surely be Australia’s ugliest beach - Bondi - dominate. We stop in a viewing bay for an interpretative sign that makes it clear with photos from 1875 and 1930 just how they managed to turn what was a stunningly beautiful beach into the next best thing to an eyesore. What an achievement. All in the name of business. Once upon a time they built all the infrastructure and erected hessian screens and charged entrance to the beach.
There's still a way to go yet though and we climb up and down the hills around another rocky little indent in the coast. There's something mesmerising about waves crashing against a rocky shore...
We climb up and around Bondi Icebergs, famed for mid winter swimming devotees, then down and around the promenade to north Bondi where a surf carnival is in progress. It’s lightly drizzling now. We buy a fundraiser sausage sizzle roll, with onion and tomato sauce. All very much a cultural tradition. Finally we wander over to find the departure points for the beach runner bus. This we find leaves on the half hour from Bondi and for 90 cents will deposit us safely back at Coogee. Walking along Campbell parade I am drawn by some interesting calls and a moment’s investigation reveals a cuckoo chick being fed by a poor long suffering brush wattle bird. Now I didn’t expect to see that here! It's clear that the local council are doing their best to try to make the area more attractive. Norfolk Island Pines have been planted, but have a way to go yet. I wonder if I'm correct in recalling that some time back there was a proposal to remove the large parking lot from the beach, but there was an outcry and so it remains. They could do so much with the area to beautify it if the huge car park was removed. A legacy of the environmental vandals of early last century.
You get a good view from the Bus actually and this would make an alternative to the walk for those less mobile or energetic. On arrival at Coogee the contrast to Bondi is stark. Coogee is so much more attractive. The whole walk plus wait for the bus and return has taken us about 3 hrs. 2 hrs actually walking.
Just around the headland we pass through Gordon’s Bay (photo below). The local volunteers and the council have done a stirling job of bush regeneration around this bay, which is taken up with slips supporting the tinnies (small aluminium boats) of the local fishing and volunteer sea rescue club. No sand. No swimming here. Flocks of new holland honeyeaters play and chase eachother through the vegetation chirping happily all the while.
Our next beach which we reach via the headland - mostly covered in a big parking lot - is Clovelly. The headland around the car park is a bit manky actually and you don’t gain much by venturing around across the rocks. Pools of stagnant water a bit smelly, bits of rubbish here and there. Plenty of crabs in the crevices though, and they creep away as you approach. Clovelly is nicely landscaped, with grass and trees and gardens. It is a deep inlet and calm water this beach is very protected and is open for swimming also. My daughter loves Clovelly as she finds the snorkelling the best she’s found around Sydney. There’s a large area of concrete on both sides of the bay, it has access for vehicles, and spoils the natural effect of the bay. I guess in the days this beach was established smothering everything in sight in concrete was seen as progress. I assume the landings must be used in rescues or something.. The water doesn’t look too inviting to me, lots of bits of weed and detritus from the rough conditions further out. We push on and climb the next headland and along the way take the photo below.
The paved walk cuts across the in from the ocean a distance with Burrows Park a bit of a grassy wilderness stretching out to the cliffs and ocean views. Sticking to the path therefore seems a bit pointless so we cut across the park and stick to the cliff edges and the rough track to maintain as much sea view as we can. Fairy wrens are calling from the scrub that lines the park. A male in his spectacular metallic blue and black perches high and calls briefly before flitting down into the protection of the undergrowth. The bushland right along is degraded and infested with weeds and invasive grasses. The further we go the more the flora is featured by all those pesky imports that diligent councils around the state once planted and are now trying to eradicate. Bitou bush, invasive grasses, lantana, morning glory, all a bit neglected and wild. This is consistently the case for the rest of the cliff track really. The native birdlife declines accordingly. Quite disappointing. There are no fences along this area and caution is needed, no doubt a reason why the paved walk travels in around the built up area. The views along the walk reach up and down the coast to the headlands reaching out to the pacific. I find the development that crowds them quite intrusive. We come to Waverley cemetery (photo below) and we travel along the narrow path between the white ocean side railing and orange construction fence supported by star pickets. The reason for this ugly orange barrier is unclear. Perhaps they just want to keep the numerous walkers out of the cemetery? Totally uninspiring.
Beyond the cemetery we are obliged to walk out and down a road cutting to Bronte beach. The least attractive beach so far, due to the degraded vegetation round about. We are in Waverley Council area now. They need to pull their finger out on the vegetation front I think, but at least it is featured by a large grassy park behind the beach. The conditions here are very rough and the beach is closed. Even the rock pool is closed.
Heading north from Bronte the quality of the walk improves considerably. No doubt this is why this section gets more promotion than the stretch to Coogee much of which is a like walking down a dingey back alley with water views on one side. Along this Bronte – Bondi section pieces of exercise equipment are conveniently placed. At intervals there are interpretative signs. The walk here is bordered by the attractively eroded sandstone of the cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other. Next stop Tamarama and we cut across the beach where they have a beach volleyball net set up. Tamarama is very small and quite pretty. I can't help but think how beautiful the area must have been before European settlement. That's so true of most of sydney. Understandable but at the same time rather unfortunate that the first settlement was selected on what IMHO is the most outstandingly beautiful harbours, and coastline on the East of the continent. At one of the beaches, I forget which, a sign marker along the walk explains that people originally were attracted (in part) by a lovely waterfall up behind the beach. We don't explore but I wonder if it's still there. Probably not I suppose. Many people congregate on the next headland. We were puzzled as to why, but I guess they are just admiring the scenery. There’s a helicopter hovering for ages out to sea a bit but finally it swings away.
Along the way we pause to take a photo of the scenery to the south.
We round the point and views of what must surely be Australia’s ugliest beach - Bondi - dominate. We stop in a viewing bay for an interpretative sign that makes it clear with photos from 1875 and 1930 just how they managed to turn what was a stunningly beautiful beach into the next best thing to an eyesore. What an achievement. All in the name of business. Once upon a time they built all the infrastructure and erected hessian screens and charged entrance to the beach.
There's still a way to go yet though and we climb up and down the hills around another rocky little indent in the coast. There's something mesmerising about waves crashing against a rocky shore...
We climb up and around Bondi Icebergs, famed for mid winter swimming devotees, then down and around the promenade to north Bondi where a surf carnival is in progress. It’s lightly drizzling now. We buy a fundraiser sausage sizzle roll, with onion and tomato sauce. All very much a cultural tradition. Finally we wander over to find the departure points for the beach runner bus. This we find leaves on the half hour from Bondi and for 90 cents will deposit us safely back at Coogee. Walking along Campbell parade I am drawn by some interesting calls and a moment’s investigation reveals a cuckoo chick being fed by a poor long suffering brush wattle bird. Now I didn’t expect to see that here! It's clear that the local council are doing their best to try to make the area more attractive. Norfolk Island Pines have been planted, but have a way to go yet. I wonder if I'm correct in recalling that some time back there was a proposal to remove the large parking lot from the beach, but there was an outcry and so it remains. They could do so much with the area to beautify it if the huge car park was removed. A legacy of the environmental vandals of early last century.
You get a good view from the Bus actually and this would make an alternative to the walk for those less mobile or energetic. On arrival at Coogee the contrast to Bondi is stark. Coogee is so much more attractive. The whole walk plus wait for the bus and return has taken us about 3 hrs. 2 hrs actually walking.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Water comes up, Water goes down
Today daughter and I are off for a jaunt. The weather is a bit changeable, showers passing, abundant clouds but also periods of sunshine. The temperature is moderate forecast highs of early 20s C. Beautiful for a drive. Having considered the options and our late start (about 10:30 ish) we’ve opted for the waterfalls of the southern highlands. We head down the scenic route from Camden and the villages of Picton, Buxton and Tahmoor, Yerrinbool once again ending up on the Old South Road, and Range road, which you may have read about in the post of 13 October 2007. The scenic route from Camden is a very pretty alternative to the highway if you’re not in a hurry – or on restricted speed like my L driver. Today we’re up for Robertson’s shops. It’s lunch time more or less and we could use a rest stop. The views are tempting from the café, but we’re not in the mood for something that substantial. I follow daughter belatedly into the ice cream shop, and get my arm twisted to get some icecream. Boy, I’m glad I did! Truly superior product at very reasonable prices. Made on the premises. Full of the most authentic flavour, glorious texture. The pick of our selections was the Pear and Cinnamon. You can really taste the pear. Very unusual and delicious. I teamed that with the coffee option, which was also absolutely delicious. The lady obligingly allowed me to have one scoop’s worth with two flavours. Daughter got two scoops and selected honey almond and raspberry with white chocolate. The honey uses .. I think it was Blue Gum honey and you can really taste that authentic flavour. Plentiful almonds. The raspberry was full of fruit. Truly the best icecream product I have had in this country – I’m still nurturing fond memories of the Cold Stone Creamery in Kansas City – but this is just as good (LOL) and very very fresh cones. Superb. Daughter also buys some nougat which was expensive but high quality. Not as good as the pistachio and cranberry nougat we got at the corner store in Central Tilba though. That was nougat perfection and has yet to be beaten. Next stop we are tempted into Gallery Serpentine to look at the corsetry. Daughter tries on a lovely blue underbust corset and a few others. They’d make very attractive formal wear and she is much taken with them. Though some insight is gained as to why lady’s maids were necessary in the days were corsets were the mandatory apparel. Very interesting. Having consumed quite a bit of time we’re back on the road. To balance the sugar and fat of the icecream we opt for some more fat and head to the Robertson Pie Shop for a sausage roll to share. Fairly average. You can get better, but it was OK. We spend 25 cents of remaining spare change on a few Cobbers and gummy lollies. This is THE best lolly shop for buying a few of this or that. Everything very fresh. Fresh Cobbers. Hard to find and hard to beat. They don’t have a huge range here, but they do have a high turnover which is the most important thing. Plenty of places in these tourist prone towns have lolly shops that aim to stock every lolly made on earth, but they generally have minimum purchases and the stock could be fresher. Anyway, fortified we are off to Belmore Falls. 
View from Hindmarsh lookout. We stop first at Hindmarsh Lookout. This provides glorious views over the valley – Kangaroo Valley? We take our fill of the view and walk the brief track around to the falls viewing area. All the rain of recent times has the falls flowing beautifully and the bushland is full of new growth and wildflowers. 
Belmore Falls 
I am particularly taken with a clump of grasses replete with seed heads picturesquely nestled at the base of a tree on the edge of the cliff. The white tea tree flowers are particularly cheerful here and all over the highlands, but there’s also broad leaf geebung in cheerful yellow tubes, and the sentimental favourite – the red mountain devil which will form a seed pod shaped like a horned devil’s head from which little devils are, or used to be, made to sell to tourists in the Blue Mountains. There are also lovely tiny star daisies in clumps, another creamy flower which looks like some sort of pimelia type thing, and another rather like a bottlebrush in soft red. The isopogon flowers of spring have given way to the drumstick heads that give it it’s common name. Even some beautiful purple pea sprays of a hardenbergia climbing up the wire mesh of the fence on the way back up the path. It’s starting to spit lightly with rain so we head back to the car to resume our journey. We’re winging it today so now we have to decide where next? As the falls are flowing very well, we decide to back track through Robertson and visit Carrington Falls. To get there we go back down to the Jamberoo Mountain road, opposite the Pie shop. We don’t stop at the lookouts over the escarpment and Lake Illawarra today, but head determinedly to the falls area. All day we’ve been travelling through verdant pastures with beautiful cattle and expansive views with our spirits soaring. The highlands is beautiful at any time , but in a good year for rain it’s spectacularly lovely. It’s quite a while since we’ve visited these waterfalls. 
Carrington Falls The kids always liked Carrington Falls when they were small, they were harder to get to back then. Now the roads are better and the facilities a bit better maintained/constructed. The path is paved and even making access to the lookout to the falls easier, though it is a reasonable slope for anyone with a disability or mobility problem. The falls look gorgeous. There are interpretative signs along the paths identifying the plants. Having admired the falls, we follow the path around. It leads to a section of steep metal grill steps that lead down a sharp gully by a natural tunnel in the rock and back up to the upper falls area where there is a rocky area that’s fun for kids to play. I enjoy watching a little boy chasing water skinks with great enthusiasm. (He’s got no chance…. Well I always thought so with my younger son too, but he was extraordinary and could generally catch them – even when they were right near their favourite crevice!. Most kids have got no chance! Those lizards are FAST.) Daughter recalls coming here when she was little and there were dark frogs in the pools. Is there any better way to spend a day with young children than taking them out to run wild in the bush? Ah, how I look forward to taking the grandkids places like this when they come along. There’s a deep waterhole here where swimming is possible, no signs prohibiting. Most people here are geared up to get wet, but noone is swimming in the deep pools. You need to be very cautious in such locations as the swimming is innately dangerous where underwater snags are unseen – and the water is probably very cold LOL. 
The picnic area back at the cars we note has wood bbq sites. A good spot for a picnic in a few weeks if the weather is good. We reckon my little nephews would enjoy it. An alternative to Leura Cascades which is hard to beat for a fun picnic and bushwalk for the littlies. Last Australia Day weekend picnic, my older daughter caught a yabby in Leura Cascades and the preschooler and baby had a ball letting leaves go to race like boats down the cascades over and over! Great fun! We tear ourselves away yet again and suddenly wonder if the seas are still huge – perhaps the Blowhole at Kiami is putting on a show? It’s just a hop and a skip down the road from here. Recently the cyclones forming off Queensland had enraged the seas so much all the Sydney beaches had to be closed. On new years day, the surf at Coogee was very rough and dangerous and daughter got a big fright, narrowly escaping having to be rescued. So it’s down the Jamberoo Mountain Road we go. There is no end to the beauty driving around this part of NSW and this road is no excepting. Steep, hairpin curves, but a very very lovely drive. Daughter is well practiced at downhill challenges by now LOL. We head in to Kiama, noting the tempting outlets for fish and chips. The whole place is very tidy and up-market. We do the obligatory thing and head first to Blowhole point. Park and wander over to the (very dangerous) blowhole, which finally after several fatalities on the one day they completely fenced. It’s hard to think of anything else looking at this site. If you fall in this hole, you are dead for certain. No chance of rescue in time. How anyone could let their kids get close enough to fall in is beyond me. But one day that’s exactly what happened. A couple of little kids fell in then adults tried to save them by jumping in. All dead. Very sad. Anyway, the unfortunate thing about this blow hole is the entrance faces the wrong way for the swell today at least, but I’d say most of the time really. But we can see the little blowhole performing down to the south and we decide to take off there. Back in to town you turn at the post office and follow the signs. The next turn is signposted just before the caltex petrol station. The little blowhole is at a reserve in a mostly residential area and it is much more fun that the big one on Blowhole Point. Angled to catch the swell it sends up regular jets of water high in the air. Well worth a look and there’s a coastal walk you can talk around the headland. The shadows are lengthening so we get back on the road. We have a choice to go home the quick way or head back through Berry and Kangaroo Valley… no competition. We choose the most scenic route and head south to Berry. This stretch of the coast is I believe our favourite part of coastal NSW. It is simply spectacular. Glorious ocean and lush rural views, the massive escarpment and brooding clouds a magnificent backdrop to both. Stunning. Berry is a busy popular spot, but we don’t stop today. We take the Kangaroo Valley road, shaded and green after the rain. It becomes apparent we have provided more schooling on steep downhills, than on steep uphills, so that’s good. A handy opportunity for tutelage. We can feel the cold nip in the air as we climb the mountain. A welcome relief from the steamy heat of the coast today. The break in the rain and dull light has brought the birds out and we thrill as we disturb a male lyrebird scratching on the side of the road and he scuttles slowly off into the undergrowth not overly fussed. Not far along and what looked like a female satin bowerbird is disturbed from a roadside post. An Eastern Whipbird calls from a gully alongside the road. I’m not the only one who loves the rain! Normally we would turn to Cambewarra lookout and head in along the main drag into the valley for the expansive views all along the way, but today we’re in the mood to explore and so we follow the back road down shady avenues and then into the valley itself. No views to speak of but very lovely just the same. It’s about 6pm by now and we pull up for another break and call home. A drink at the Friendly Inn. Deserving of the name we found. Humourous ditties from the Rutles spinning in both our minds tonight and making us smile we can’t help singing softly to eachother … “I have always thought in the back of my mind - cheese and onions…..” I swear Eric Idle is a comedy genius!. Daughter is frustrated we don’t have time for a game of pool. Ah, if hubby was with us I’d walk into that classy looking motel across the road and enquire about a room. Why don’t we spend whole weekends down here? The down side of being an easy day trip away I suppose. It’s clearly been raining in the valley, I just love this kind of weather. Life would be so dull if you only ventured out on days that are fine and sunny and cloudless. You’d miss the clouds and sunbursts across the landscape. Next pause Fitzroy Falls, but it’s raining more heavily than I’m prepared to withstand and we neglected to pack our rain jackets or an umbrella. Oh well, maybe next time. I bet it’s flowing even better than usual with it’s artificially maintained flow. We punch straight on back in to Bowral and Mittagong and given the time, daughter hands the controls over for a fast run up the highway to home, arriving back at about 7:45. What a great day. Oh how we love a scenic drive and it just does not get better than the southern highlands and Illawarra coast in a good year for rain!
View from Hindmarsh lookout. We stop first at Hindmarsh Lookout. This provides glorious views over the valley – Kangaroo Valley? We take our fill of the view and walk the brief track around to the falls viewing area. All the rain of recent times has the falls flowing beautifully and the bushland is full of new growth and wildflowers. 
Belmore Falls 
I am particularly taken with a clump of grasses replete with seed heads picturesquely nestled at the base of a tree on the edge of the cliff. The white tea tree flowers are particularly cheerful here and all over the highlands, but there’s also broad leaf geebung in cheerful yellow tubes, and the sentimental favourite – the red mountain devil which will form a seed pod shaped like a horned devil’s head from which little devils are, or used to be, made to sell to tourists in the Blue Mountains. There are also lovely tiny star daisies in clumps, another creamy flower which looks like some sort of pimelia type thing, and another rather like a bottlebrush in soft red. The isopogon flowers of spring have given way to the drumstick heads that give it it’s common name. Even some beautiful purple pea sprays of a hardenbergia climbing up the wire mesh of the fence on the way back up the path. It’s starting to spit lightly with rain so we head back to the car to resume our journey. We’re winging it today so now we have to decide where next? As the falls are flowing very well, we decide to back track through Robertson and visit Carrington Falls. To get there we go back down to the Jamberoo Mountain road, opposite the Pie shop. We don’t stop at the lookouts over the escarpment and Lake Illawarra today, but head determinedly to the falls area. All day we’ve been travelling through verdant pastures with beautiful cattle and expansive views with our spirits soaring. The highlands is beautiful at any time , but in a good year for rain it’s spectacularly lovely. It’s quite a while since we’ve visited these waterfalls. 
Carrington Falls The kids always liked Carrington Falls when they were small, they were harder to get to back then. Now the roads are better and the facilities a bit better maintained/constructed. The path is paved and even making access to the lookout to the falls easier, though it is a reasonable slope for anyone with a disability or mobility problem. The falls look gorgeous. There are interpretative signs along the paths identifying the plants. Having admired the falls, we follow the path around. It leads to a section of steep metal grill steps that lead down a sharp gully by a natural tunnel in the rock and back up to the upper falls area where there is a rocky area that’s fun for kids to play. I enjoy watching a little boy chasing water skinks with great enthusiasm. (He’s got no chance…. Well I always thought so with my younger son too, but he was extraordinary and could generally catch them – even when they were right near their favourite crevice!. Most kids have got no chance! Those lizards are FAST.) Daughter recalls coming here when she was little and there were dark frogs in the pools. Is there any better way to spend a day with young children than taking them out to run wild in the bush? Ah, how I look forward to taking the grandkids places like this when they come along. There’s a deep waterhole here where swimming is possible, no signs prohibiting. Most people here are geared up to get wet, but noone is swimming in the deep pools. You need to be very cautious in such locations as the swimming is innately dangerous where underwater snags are unseen – and the water is probably very cold LOL. 
The picnic area back at the cars we note has wood bbq sites. A good spot for a picnic in a few weeks if the weather is good. We reckon my little nephews would enjoy it. An alternative to Leura Cascades which is hard to beat for a fun picnic and bushwalk for the littlies. Last Australia Day weekend picnic, my older daughter caught a yabby in Leura Cascades and the preschooler and baby had a ball letting leaves go to race like boats down the cascades over and over! Great fun! We tear ourselves away yet again and suddenly wonder if the seas are still huge – perhaps the Blowhole at Kiami is putting on a show? It’s just a hop and a skip down the road from here. Recently the cyclones forming off Queensland had enraged the seas so much all the Sydney beaches had to be closed. On new years day, the surf at Coogee was very rough and dangerous and daughter got a big fright, narrowly escaping having to be rescued. So it’s down the Jamberoo Mountain Road we go. There is no end to the beauty driving around this part of NSW and this road is no excepting. Steep, hairpin curves, but a very very lovely drive. Daughter is well practiced at downhill challenges by now LOL. We head in to Kiama, noting the tempting outlets for fish and chips. The whole place is very tidy and up-market. We do the obligatory thing and head first to Blowhole point. Park and wander over to the (very dangerous) blowhole, which finally after several fatalities on the one day they completely fenced. It’s hard to think of anything else looking at this site. If you fall in this hole, you are dead for certain. No chance of rescue in time. How anyone could let their kids get close enough to fall in is beyond me. But one day that’s exactly what happened. A couple of little kids fell in then adults tried to save them by jumping in. All dead. Very sad. Anyway, the unfortunate thing about this blow hole is the entrance faces the wrong way for the swell today at least, but I’d say most of the time really. But we can see the little blowhole performing down to the south and we decide to take off there. Back in to town you turn at the post office and follow the signs. The next turn is signposted just before the caltex petrol station. The little blowhole is at a reserve in a mostly residential area and it is much more fun that the big one on Blowhole Point. Angled to catch the swell it sends up regular jets of water high in the air. Well worth a look and there’s a coastal walk you can talk around the headland. The shadows are lengthening so we get back on the road. We have a choice to go home the quick way or head back through Berry and Kangaroo Valley… no competition. We choose the most scenic route and head south to Berry. This stretch of the coast is I believe our favourite part of coastal NSW. It is simply spectacular. Glorious ocean and lush rural views, the massive escarpment and brooding clouds a magnificent backdrop to both. Stunning. Berry is a busy popular spot, but we don’t stop today. We take the Kangaroo Valley road, shaded and green after the rain. It becomes apparent we have provided more schooling on steep downhills, than on steep uphills, so that’s good. A handy opportunity for tutelage. We can feel the cold nip in the air as we climb the mountain. A welcome relief from the steamy heat of the coast today. The break in the rain and dull light has brought the birds out and we thrill as we disturb a male lyrebird scratching on the side of the road and he scuttles slowly off into the undergrowth not overly fussed. Not far along and what looked like a female satin bowerbird is disturbed from a roadside post. An Eastern Whipbird calls from a gully alongside the road. I’m not the only one who loves the rain! Normally we would turn to Cambewarra lookout and head in along the main drag into the valley for the expansive views all along the way, but today we’re in the mood to explore and so we follow the back road down shady avenues and then into the valley itself. No views to speak of but very lovely just the same. It’s about 6pm by now and we pull up for another break and call home. A drink at the Friendly Inn. Deserving of the name we found. Humourous ditties from the Rutles spinning in both our minds tonight and making us smile we can’t help singing softly to eachother … “I have always thought in the back of my mind - cheese and onions…..” I swear Eric Idle is a comedy genius!. Daughter is frustrated we don’t have time for a game of pool. Ah, if hubby was with us I’d walk into that classy looking motel across the road and enquire about a room. Why don’t we spend whole weekends down here? The down side of being an easy day trip away I suppose. It’s clearly been raining in the valley, I just love this kind of weather. Life would be so dull if you only ventured out on days that are fine and sunny and cloudless. You’d miss the clouds and sunbursts across the landscape. Next pause Fitzroy Falls, but it’s raining more heavily than I’m prepared to withstand and we neglected to pack our rain jackets or an umbrella. Oh well, maybe next time. I bet it’s flowing even better than usual with it’s artificially maintained flow. We punch straight on back in to Bowral and Mittagong and given the time, daughter hands the controls over for a fast run up the highway to home, arriving back at about 7:45. What a great day. Oh how we love a scenic drive and it just does not get better than the southern highlands and Illawarra coast in a good year for rain!
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