Thursday 2 October - A drive to Ben Hall Country.

It is Thursday before the October long weekend. We make a late start we’re in no rush and more concerned that the drivers are rested before the long drive. We take The Northern Road to the mountains. The crabapples and cherry trees all smothered in blossom. A brief stop in Leura to change drivers we decide to pull up outside Everglades for the views of the gardens from the road. Purple tulips, in a bed and swathes of bluebells under the trees making a beautiful picture. Moving on we head up through Leura Mall lined with pink cherry trees making a glorious display. The highway also is lined with spring blossoms. Next stop Hartley valley tea rooms and gallery, a favourite with daughter who visits it regularly. We enjoy browsing and they have a range of nice pieces on display.
Back in the car we are heading to Orange. It is wonderful to be on the open road once again. Through Bathurst, the elms are vibrant with their globular green flowers and other spring flowers are also in full burst. Weeping cherries are popular and we admire several in the front yards of a modest federation homes along the main drag. Past Bathurst we take the turn to Millthorpe and admire the beautiful rolling pastures before finally motoring into the wonderfully atmospheric federation streetscapes of the village. We quickly spot the Old Mill Café Restaurant and get a park close by. The gardens around the street are all looking lovely with some beautiful camellias and early iris. The Old Mill Cafe is opposite the lolly shop, which for some reason is closed today and there are no signs posted as to what the normal opening hours are.
The Old Mill café is doing a roaring trade today. Some lovely tables outside are occupied which is not surprising as it is a perfect spring day. We opt for a window seat indoors away from the other diners. As we wait for our orders we observe a dog chase a boy on a bike up the footpath opposite, yapping at the boys heels. Though he pedalled vigorously to get away, glancing down at behind him frequently, the boy didn’t look overly worried. Having escorted this presumptuous interloper a sufficient distance from his territory the dog retires. We can sense the smug satisfaction pouring from him. As he turns we can almost feel him mentally groan as he becomes aware that his none too happy owner is on his trail. She gestures at him and is clearly telling him off, but we are unable to lip read – the dog gives a cursory submissive posture as he happily trots around the back, clearly of the opinion that the woman is just one the unavoidable obstacles that just has to be dealt with in the course of his doggy profession. Afterall, the job is done, and done well.
Our lunch arrives. 3 of 4 have ordered the beer battered fish with beer battered fries. I have opted for the open steak sandwich. The food is fairly moderate in price and is good value, but we all agree not a particularly memorable meal. The service is friendly but slow. The establishment seems quite surprised at how busy they are on this Thursday. The slow service means lunch takes us longer than I had expected or hoped and it is pushing 2 oclock by the time we get away.
Another change of driver and we pack back in the car. Straight through Orange. Such a lovely town and the blossoms here are also in full flight. Elms, weeping cherries, crabapples and flowering plums particularly catching our attention.
Out of Orange we head straight through down Cargo Road. It is a beautifully scenic drive. There has clearly been some rain, but the dams have a long way to go to reach capacity. As we travel along we begin to find fields of golden flowering canola, but the blossom is not as thick as it could be. Paddocks with sheep, and paddocks lying fallow for now. The countryside is just beautiful in this region and we’re all loving the drive.
Next stop Canowindra, we come in via the quieter streets and are somewhat puzzled as to the where we will find the historic buildings of which we have heard. A few turns around the town and we reach the main street. Most premises are occupied with a range of small businesses. However pretty much every premise is overdue for some maintenance. A coat of paint would go a long way to making the town seem a bit less ramshackle. A lot of potential for Canowindra though. It is at present completely unspoilt. We note “the shearing shed hair and beauty”, and another beautician down the street. Butcher, IGA a few others. We pass a bakery and decide to continue our hobby of sampling sausage rolls. We all go in. The pies and sausage rolls look pretty average. The croissants look very good. We end up with a choccy milkshake, choccy croissant and apricot Danish. The milkshake seems to take forever to make, and it seems like the girl serving needs to remake it several times. Very odd. Doesn’t seem to have any malt in it – we had requested double malted. The croissants are every bit as delicious as they looked. First class. Son’s sausage roll smelt as average as it looked, I wasn’t tempted to take a bite. A decision he validated with his review. Disappointing.
We hit the road to Eugowra, the sun tipping down towards the horizon. It is a very pretty drive from Canowindra to Eugowra. Very very pretty. Fields of crops, golden canola, and the rich vibrant green of what we assume to be wheat. Across in the near distance low hills provide a beautiful backdrop. None cleared. Indeed there is still quite a reasonable amount of trees and cover here and the in the country side all the way from Orange – at least visually. It makes a nice contrast to the overcleared land and hills around Gundagai and south to the Victorian border along the Hume Hwy. Along the road we pass a hot spot of birds and daughter (who is driving) is instructed to chuck a U-ey and pull over so we can have a good look. A fair sized flock of fairy martins stopping to drink in a pool of standing water. Rufous songlarks (?) flying and singing enthusiastically all around. We turn back around towards Eugowra and pass down a detour where the road bridge has collapsed to a creek or irrigation channel crossing. Eugowra is a sweet little town, very small but there are a few people around at this end of the day. However it’s late and we don’t stop. Instead we make the turn up the Escort Way. It is very pretty and I find myself wondering how it compares scenically to the Cargo Road, as it is a more direct route down from Orange to Eugowra. After a few kilometres we pull over in the Escort Rock rest stop. There is a plaque describing in brief the events of the robbery of the gold escort about which I have recently read in Nick Bleszynski’s book on Ben Hall. There’s a few birds around. Mum wanders around for a bit of a birdwatching. A very coarse croaking call gets my attention and I spot an apostle bird high in a gum before it flies off. The actual site of the robbery is on adjoining private land but you can go through a closed gate for a look OK and this I decide to do.



Up a fairly modest slope a sign points out the wheel ruts from the original road (though they are not particularly easy to distinguish). I follow the path of the road as it rounds the turn before arriving at escort rock which of course provides a suitable ambush site. I enjoy walking along trying to see the original path and enjoy the solitude imagining the events of the robbery in the golden glow of the late afternoon light. I walk on past the rock into the more wooded area and return to look back towards the rock.

It is very quiet here, not even much birdsong. I look up the hill and wonder how far it is to the site where the horses were held waiting. As I return down the hill a couple arrive and start the walk up to the rock. We exchange a friendly g’day and the wife and I have a bit of a chat, the hubby having gone ahead up the hill.
Back again on the road it’s past 5 oclock and sun is dipping low to the horizon. Shortly after departing Eugowra on the Forbes-Eugowra road the broad countryside evolves into wooded country lining the road with native timber. Finally we come into Forbes and hunt around for a short while before finding our accommodation – the Lake Forbes Motel – which is clean and comfortable. Great value. Definitely at the upper end of 3 ½ star motels. We have a twin room and a family room which could actually accommodate us all, but which involves a fairly substantial set of stairs which are somewhat of a problem for mum. Once you’re up the stairs though it’s a big comfortable room with a double bed and 3 good sized singles. Very comfortable.
Our twin is at ground level and is fresh and clean smelling. A very pleasant room indeed. I dip my toes in the pool which is beautifully refreshing though too cool to really be tempting for a dip. We unload the car and head into Forbes to pick up some supplies and something for the hungry ones to eat. Forbes is a very nice town. Not spoiled by national or international chains too much. Definitely much nicer than Mudgee! LOL Plenty of evocative heritage buildings. Beautiful old street lamps. In particular the building with the bushrangers hall of fame in it is a very beautiful building. Refreshed and stocked up with some king island yoghurt and subway for Son we head on back to the motel. We have a light dinner and chill out talking – and writing this of course. A tiring and enjoyable day. And a really lovely drive through the beautiful central west. Gods own country.

Kamay Botany Bay National Park

Today we decided to go for a walk. Our choice of destination was due to a discussion on the Tripadvisor boards on this park, which made me realise it's been decades since we ventured over that way. It's a pretty inconvient park from Macarthur really and I nearly pike out on going that far today, but hubby is keen. When he was kid you could get a ferry over from La Pa (ie La Perouse) so it's nostalgic territory for him. There is also a big redevelopment of Botany Bay National Park that started in the last year or so and we're curious to see how it's coming along.

We have a couple of errands this Sunday morning, but we finally get away sometime after 9am. It's M5 towards the city and then King Georges Rd, Tom Ugly's bridge and onto the Boulevarde before Captain Cook Drive whisks you past Shark Park (local footy club and field) to the national park itself.

There's a guy manning the entry, handing out leaflets warning visitors that national parks is planning a big crack down on people failing to "pay and display". Our ticket nicely decorating the dash we make our way into the park and I'm dazzled by the beautiful mature sandy country trees so typical of coastal sydney bushland. My absolute favourite native tree - Angophera Costata (Sydney redgum or according to the parks signs Smooth Barked Apple - though I've never heard ordinary people call it that) also the sentimental favourite Scribbly Gum (eucalyptus haemostoma). How I love scribbly gums, especially E. Haemostoma my old childhood friend.. Tall and thriving. My spirit sings to greet them and I am already glad we came. The air rings with beautiful birdsong. The tinkling chime of the Crimson Rosellas, and chattering of Eastern Rosellas and Noisy Mynas.

We park in the visitor or "discovery centre" carpark. The plans look great and there are boards up explaining what's being done. First cab off the rank we go inside the visitor centre for a quick squizz. It's all a bit of a shemozzle at the moment but people unaware of the history can still access some information boards and artifacts to do with Captain Cook and the first fleet. There's a movie theaterette which is playing some nature film that looks pretty irrelevant. We don't hang around in here long.
In front of the visitor centre (facing the bay) is a huge expanse of grass with beautiful big shady trees. Perfect for a traditional Aussie family picnic with a game of tennis ball cricket after lunch. We head down across the grass and I note that you'd certainly want to be wearing something on your feet here in the warmer months as the ground is an absolute carpet of bindii and other prickles. The view of the bay smacks us in the face. You look straight at the oil refinery. Not terribly inspiring. Hubby is happy to see Bare Island a short way across the neck of the bay and snaps a photo or two. Very fond of Bare Island is my hubby. He's a Botany boy.
We venture around the foreshore, trying to ignore the cargo ship mored just offshore. The waveless sandy beach is fairly narrow but the water is clear and looks inviting for paddling, though a bit rocky a little way out. There's a line of mature norfolk island pines along the waterfront and memorials periodically. We stop at the memorials to Sir Joseph Banks and Lieutenant James Cook (aka Captain Cook)... actually writing this brings to mind the old Aussie childhood rhyme. I wonder if I can remember it correctly:
Captain Cook chased a chook all around Australia, he jumped the fence and tore his pants and landed in Tasmania..... but I digress..
Moving on from Captain Cook we note the ferry waiting terminal under construction with a rustic character and the actual rock onto which the first ashore stepped which seems to have a plaque erected on it. Four oyster catchers are taking a nap on the rock, with their pitch black feathers and red bill and eye ring. Not far way is another construction zone where they are reinstating the original fresh water stream that ran into the bay at this spot and then putting a bridge across it. We walk past and head up hill and back towards the visitor's centre coming across a bark mulch path leading over the dune forest. Signs are placed to explain the work that is evident all about in this area. Exotic trees and plants are being removed to restore the original banksia forest. Hubby and I are thinking alike and he speaks my mind when he says, "we should come back in 10 years!"
Back at the car park we head off for our walk. We've grabbed a map from the information centre. Better than nothing but it's not much good really. We start out on the Muru track which is quite substantial, however after a short while we veer off along a walking track when I hear some variegated fairy wrens calling a way in. A short distance up this track I am rewarded with two male variegated wrens perching up in clear sight with the naked eye. Glorious! There's a lot of calling in the undergrowth also.
We climb over a dune hill and start to head down the other side, admiring the wildflowers in bloom. A sulphur crested cockatoo flies down low and glides along the path with a final upswing onto a branch overhanging the path and raises his crest with a quizzical look at us over his shoulder. The bushland here is pristine and the smell of this coastal forest takes me back to childhood in an instant. This is the same sort of bushland you get around Pittwater and the northern sydney beaches.
We're not real sure where we are going as the track we took is not marked on the map but after a time we come to an intersection with what I take to be the Yena track and speak briefly with a solo bike rider passing by.
She's not sure it's the Yena track but she thinks it may be. We turn in the opposite way to that suggested by hubby - he has a terrible sense of direction - and again after a short while we find a narrow post with an arrow on it suggesting we might like to turn up another narrow walking track. It's heading in roughly the way we want to go so we take a drink from our back pack and move along that way. As we travel we are greeted by a superb display of flannel flowers which supplement the various yellow pea flowers we have been enjoying along the way. The flannel flowers are as high as I am in places and clearly thriving. What a delight!

Eventually we emerge from the shade of the forest into the heathland and are greeted by glorious views across to La Perouse and up the eastern coastline. The picture below doesn't come close to doing the scene justice of course... but just as well, you surely want to experience it for yourself.. The heath is also abundantly flowering. Along with the flannel flowers (which are shorter here in the full sun) there are the yellow pea flowers, some blue lechenaultia (?) white pimelia type flowers and various heaths with their dainty white stars in densely packed columns.

Further along still we start to get the glorious rich crimson and white of the fuschia heath - epacris longiflora - packed with flowers and dotted all over the heathland. It is such a beautiful wildflower. There's also eriostemon with it's lovely starry white flowers. This is fantastic! When we set out I wasn't thinking about it being spring wildflower season again already. The New Holland honeyeaters are occassionally flitting over.
I never enjoyed heathland as a child. Forests were my thing and the deeper and shadier the better. Burning so easily in the sun was part of it I'm sure. As I get older I am finding I really enjoy the heathland and appreciate the delicate beauty of its wildflowers and dense green mosses. .. I still wouldn't be keen to walk through in the height of summer at this time of day though!
The path at this point is basically bare sandstone patches between the shrubbery. We start to see some decidedly industrial chimney stacks to the south, and then a huge storage tank of some sort. We can see the ocean so we are clearly heading in the right direction. Finally we come to a lookout and carpark with toilet facilities perched just behind some impressive cliffs. We have arrived at Cape Solander lookout. We spend a little time admiring the waves crashing on the rocks. Snap a few photos. A short sit at the picnic table in the whale watching shelter. A bit of a brief look at the whale identification charts. Then we're on the move again.
We choose to walk along the road to the Yena picnic area. The nicest aspect of this walk was the flowering tea trees bordering the road. The detour off the road slightly to look over the picnic area, which is shadeless and has ocean views. We thought it was pretty ugly, so we move on, heading up the Yena track when we come to it. This section passes through some tall trees on either side of the path. Still some wildflowers and tea tree. It's an immediate improvement on the main drag. We come to the intersection we passed earlier in our walk and head on down towards the visitor centre. There is a boardwalk with signs identifying some of the trees and shrubs so we follow that. Very pleasant and we enjoy it but it's not as beautiful as other parts of the walk. Back at the carpark, we take the drive out to Cape Solander to check it out from a vehicle perspective. We think the drive is pretty dull and the lookouts pretty average for coastal Sydney. From the road you would never guess the floral splendour hidden amongst the heathland or in the deeper parts of the bushland behind it. .... This is not the kind of landscape that is best appreciated at speed. If you didn't walk in this park you could be forgiven for wondering "why bother" but the walking was delightful.
We also saw some great birding sights along the way. Birds at nesting hollows and of course those fairy wrens. The beautiful call of spotted pardalotes and butcherbirds. All pretty special. We head off home for rest before lighting the barbie for dinner.. our appetites whetted by the smell of bbq smoke in the picnic grounds. We've been in the park for about 3 hrs I guess. I make a mental note to come back for a family picnic with the grandchildren.

PS the bbq dinner was delicious :o)

Bloody great shark

Happy Birthday Dad

Day 1
A long weekend to head off to Port Macquarie for a family celebration. We’re late getting away and it’s pushing 11 am before we finally head off. The signs are warning of long delays on the M7 and we’re a bit dirty on the tollways at the moment anyway (something fishy going on with our account) so we mosey up the Cumberland Highway and onto the F3 heading out of Sydney. This is an unexpected boon to daughter2 as Pennant Hills Road – the section from James Ruse Drive to the M2 intersection is her favourite Sydney road. Each to their own.
We had been planning to find a picnic spot where we could take a break and go for a walk, but honestly it’s a bit of a wasteland for quality walks without significant detours off our route and time is now short. We end up pulling over at the 12 Mile Rest Area where we tuck into our corn fritters with smoked salmon and yoghurt dressing. It’s quite busy at the time and we are lucky to get a convenient table where Mum doesn’t have to walk too far. Towards the end of our meal a family of grey butcher birds flies over to start polishing off the morsels that the picnickers have left.. The male with his clearer black plumage on his head, baby in shades of brown. Quite a treat. I seem to be finding families of birds everywhere I go lately.
As we’re hopping back in the car I get a call from daughter1. Where are we? – in Port yet? They’re a bit later than expected after stopping for yum cha for lunch in Sydney. They’re just past Newcastle.. we chat for a minute or two, then daughter announces that they are approaching the twelve mile… aah, we can’t let them overtake us… I jump in the car and dig the spurs into the driver for quick get away and we pull out with much hilarity with daughter and son-in-defacto only a car or two behind us!! At least we kept the lead LOL. We still can’t get over the incredible coincidence – we couldn’t have planned it better if we tried..
The shadows lengthen as we continue north. It’s a fairly uneventful drive though I particularly enjoy crossing the bridges up in the Manning Point area, as they raise us up to be able to see across the floodplain to the surrounding hills. We also enjoy the golden light falling on the gums lining the road. As we approach Kew I suggest that it’s the perfect time of day to take Mum up North Brother for a look at the view and visibility seems pretty good today. So we turn off to Laurieton. Hubby misses the turn as usual and we turn the convoy around – this is one of our specialities. It’s always entertaining following our car! We climb up the hill reminiscing about the time we brought the kids up here one night to look at fairyland below. The kids were mucking about scaring eachother with stories of murderers and stuff. Identifying a car parked nearby as a potential threat. Son1 had recently won a nifty little mini-maglite (went to some sort of talk with a computer professional who promised the torch to anyone who could ask him a question he couldn’t answer).. anyway before we can stop them, they’ve shone this blinking torch in the windows of the parked car, only to exclaim at finding the predictable going on inside… great way to get yourself beaten up – we herd the mob over to the lookout furthest away, with much loud castigation for the benefit of the car's occupants. Fortunately the couple in the car decided to clear off without an ugly confrontation. Phew...
Anyway today we pull up, with the place to ourselves as the sun sets. Extensive views across both sides of the hill. The lookout to the north east looks across Laurieton/Dunbogan, Lake Cathie and up the coast to Port and further. The other side to the south and west, over Crowdy Bay National Park, Harrington and south as well as the rivers and flood plain and down to Middle Brother and South Brother.
Hubby and I are still anxious for that walking opportunity so we grab at the chance to walk the 500m rainforest loop, which along the way takes in a lookout that looks to Diamond Head. Diamond Head isn’t visible from the other lookouts. As we head down the rainforest track, passing the assisted disabled access path, we plunge into darkness. Just enough light remains to be able to travel along this path which has an uneven surface and occasional roots to look out for.. typical basic bush track. We disturb a large macropod of some sort... probably a wallaby. A dark shadow thumps away further into the bush. We stop briefly to admire the view and the sunset. Nice to be alone for a few minutes. Then we power up the hill via the bitumen disabled access path and back to the car. In the coastal towns and villages the lights are starting to come on. Time to go.
We wind our way down the hill and admire the black silhouettes of the trees against the deep orange skyline which fades to deepening shades of blue. Australian trees with their light canopy are made for silhouette and sunset is such a gorgeous time of day. Rather than head back to the highway we take our time travelling up Ocean Drive to Port Macquarie through Laurieton and Lake Cathie and past the christmas bell plain, arriving at our destination after 6pm.
No flies on daughter1 – she departed when we set off on our walk to check in to our apartment before reception closes. She and son-in-defacto have nabbed the master bedroom with spa LOL. Fair enough, first come first served and she was the one who organised the accommodation and in the end negotiated us an upgrade. She’s a wizard at such things. … anyway we are staying at Ki-ea All Seasons Apartments on William street. It’s a good location. Only a short walk to either Town Beach or the centre of Port. Secure underground parking and disabled access to the lift for Grandma and Grandad. Our 3 bedroom apartment (no 50 on the 7th floor) is HUGE. Two queen beds and two singles for our party of 6. Full ensuite – with that spa as well as the bathroom and separate toilet for the rest of us. A large dining and lounge area. Fully equipped nicely appointed kitchen – smeg microwave, granite benchtops, polyurethane cabinetry to kitchen and bathroom. Full Laundy neatly concealed behind bi-fold doors. But beyond all this an ENORMOUS, yes humongously enormous balcony area with ocean views to the north east. From the rail you can see right up the coast. There is a sizeable bbq and a large shade sail and two 6 large seater tables, as well as a couple of recliners. Brilliant if you wanted to have a party. Downstairs there is a heated pool and spa and a sauna. On the roof there are more shared facilities but we didn’t get up to check those out. Only down side, a pretty average TV to those of us grown accustomed to big LCDs/Plasmas (though it does have Austar) and the carpet is a bit grubby… not bad for the $210 a night that we are paying for the 6 of us (min stay 2 nights which suits us).
We settle in briefly before piling into the one car to head around and say hi to Grandad and let him know we’ve arrived. Half an hour of chit chat and we make our way back into town to the Pancake Place which we generally find quite satisfactory – the side salads on the savoury options are always fun with lots of fruit – even in this cooler time of year we have strawberry and blueberry, watermelon, mandarine, orange, peach, grape and pineapple, and that’s before we start on the vegetables and pretzels. By the way, the potato and bacon is far and away the best of the savoury options.. trust me.. The décor at the pancake place is lairy to say the least. Bright green rainforest motif. We are in a holiday mood and back up for dessert and find they are not stingy with the liqueurs in the liqueur crepes. Very nice and we’re out of there for only $200 for the six of us which includes the two courses and multiple drinks – the soft drinks are the tiny bottle size and are a bit of a rip, so you are better off to go for the spiders or iced chocolate. Better value.
We call it a night. We’re all pretty tired – daughter 1 is wrecked having just returned from a leisure industry senior managers conference on the Gold Coast where little sleep was had over the 4 days; daughter2 is coming down with a nasty cold – both of them have uni assignments to work on as well; son-in-defacto is looking wrecked too after a long week of hard work. Hubby settles in to watch the footy and I join him, while for Grandma it’s never a bad time to rest.

Day 2
To say we are sluggish this morning would be an understatement. Hubby and I are probably more tired than yesterday – the down side of buying a comfy bed at home – going away is never as comfortable..
We can’t even get our act together to go for a swim.. only daughter1 and I have our cozzies with us just in case. Daughter1 never leaves home without a cozzie, in fact most of the time she keeps a cozzie in the car just in case the opportunity for a swim arises…born a water baby like her grandad. Later in the morning my brother arrives. He’s flown up on frequent flyer points and left the family at home this time. He’s staying at the backpackers as he only needs a bed for the one night – turns out it’s just around the corner - how convenient. He's stayed there before and finds it quite satisfactory. We all hang about chatting on the balcony before finally motivating ourselves to get ready for our celebration lunch. Brother takes off to go and see Dad and make sure he’s ready and appropriately attired. Just as well he wasn’t any later doing this as he finds Dad beginning to tuck into some lunch.
Our celebration is at the Little Fish Café, at the winery down Major Innes Road, which has long been a favourite of Dads. My sister and her hubby, daughter and grand-daughters are in position when we arrive. They are closer so they've driven up thismorning. Sister and Niece are totally totally wrecked having stayed up all night working on the birthday book for Grandad – who has turned 80 this week. Sister is way more into party preparation than the rest of us and has come armed with silly hats which we all put on taking care to distribute the colours appropriately around the table…
Little Fish Café is generally reliable. A lovely location, big under cover verandah with disabled access. No sooner than we are settled than a heavy shower of rain comes down, but it doesn’t bother us. We start out with a selection of breads and an antipasto platter. Garlic on Turkish, pesto on toasted Turkish, a delicious tomato tapenade on toasted Turkish and warmed Mediterranean bread with caramelised balsamic and virgin olive oil. All delicious. The antipasto platter has fetta stuffed peppers; a delicious Tasmanian brie beautifully runny with water crackers; small pieces of Turkish, more of the delicious tomato tapenade, olives, salami… all delicious..
Mains were a bit disappointing on this occasion – the Pork Belly with Red Cabbage and Mash was popular, but the skin wasn’t crisp (grrr) a fairly serious failing for port belly IMHO. The steaks looked great and were enjoyed by all who ordered them. Brother was a little disappointed in his prawns and calamari finding it a bit tasteless. By the time we got to dessert some options weren’t available, however the rhubarb and apple crumble was good. The little sticky date puddings were OK too. Sticky Date is a tough choice to put on your menu these days. So many places do it, and even Sara Lee does a very good one, so you can be up against some tough competition when it comes to assessment time, but seriously, how bad can sticky date pudding get?
Finally the singing and cake and we all adjourn back to our place for the rest of the evening. Brilliant to have somewhere that accommodates everyone so well and where we can bring Dad to get him out of the hostel for the whole day. Elder grand-niece, and various grown ups playing cards. Sister, niece and daughter1 continuing work on the scrapbooking; hubby and I show Dad our house plans – ah, maximum 15 power points per circuit I’ve been meaning to ask him about that– just what I needed to know… The younger grand-niece (almost three) is having a great time playing with the men… hubby pretends to eat her arm and she giggles like crazy and struggles free and runs, but she’s back in a minute with a huge grin.. Very cute
For dinner we end up sending Brother and Son-in defacto out for “Off the Hook” (fish and chips) while the two rabid Manly fans (hubby and brother-in-law) settle in to watch the footy on Austar.
After a while I hear a light snoring and there is much merriment to find that younger grand niece is splayed out flat on her back arms and legs out like a cross fast asleep under the table. Only two speeds apparently – full go or complete stop! Her sister has done similar on the bedroom floor near her mum.. the girls are settled on the beds in the quiet room and the table is cleared for the returning hunters laden with several large parcels of paper wrapped chips and seafood. Off the Hook is always great. I haven't had bad off the hook in gosh, must be 15 years now.
Finally the gift giving. We all admire beautifully presented photos of Dad and his family through the years. Sister has done a magnificent job. Dad small and blond with his father and friends aged about 4 or 5 at (if dad's memory has it right) Whale Beach (Sydney) – must be about 1932,


a slim and muscular Pop in his full body swimmers sitting on the sand proud as punch of his little boy sitting between legs splayed out on the sand. Dad same age with friends all wearing sea-weed skirts;


A muscular and very handsome Dad standing and surfing in to shore on a wooden surf ski at south steyne 1948 (and looking just like son2) no doubt the surf ski would have belonged to Manly surf club where Dad was a member.

Dad holding an absolutely massive lobster and a large crab – Harrington similar vintage. Dad with huge catches of fish and a fantastic informal pose with the spear gun he made himself– Harrington again.

Dad on his motor cycle in his riding leathers by the sign to Brisbane.


Dad bearded working at the Kiewa power scheme (electrical fitter);

snow skiing (he got good enough to go cross country on his own);
….down the years…standing in his flight gear with other flight crew on the ladder getting into the air force plane;
flying in formation in lincolns (man he loves those shots he took himself – flying way close you can even see the faces of the pilots in the plane behind); wedding photos Dad handsome in dress uniform, Mum looking gorgeous;

Mum and Dad newly married Dad manning the BBQ frame over a low fire - Dad was the best bbq cook!

Good times on Cero (my grandparents motor cruiser). Never mind borrow the car, Pop would let Dad take the boat out on his own when Dad was 16 which was quite a chick magnet apparently. Of course it doesn’t hurt to be a top looking bloke either…Dad was awesome at handling boats...

Dad with his marlin – Dad’s marlin on the wall, his fishing record certificates; Us kids; grandkids – (great and fairly recent photos of my kids I haven’t seen before – even a good one of me- now that’s rare), great grandkids… pilot’s license, whale watching, Ball’s pyramid, every photo looking better than ever before. I’ve been delayed completing my pages – so it’s good to see what’s already in the album. Mine will be more Dad but playing with my kids at Towlers Bay (Pittwater), taking them flying and teaching them to fish at Lake Cathie. Never mind blood, Dad has salt water in his veins and the sky in his heart. Two great life long passions.#
Day 3
Not quite so slow a start today. Daughter1 and I venture down for a swim, daughter2 for a sauna to try and clear her head a bit. The air is colder today after a cool change but the water is a lovely temperature – the spa even better. A few laps and we adjourn to the sauna which is only just heating up.
We dress and pack and head over to visit Dad for a while. He’s enjoying the visitors. Not too many visitors day by day as all the family is either in Sydney or the Central Coast. The downside of retiring a long way from the family. We say our goodbyes and after giving mum a bit of a guided tour around Dad’s previous Port residences we hit the highway.
I’m a bit over the highway so suggest we head in to Gloucester for lunch. We think the scenery heading up into the ranges is beautiful. We stop at Mograni Lookout for expansive views over Gloucester in a stiff breeze, then head down into the town. There’s a few eateries open. We choose to dine at Perenti arriving just in time as the tables are filling fast. Daughter and Hubby have smoked chicken and pesto penne which they both enjoy. Mum has salmon cakes which are OK, while I go for the chunky meat pie with tomato and olive chutney – well above average. Side salads have a delicious dressing. We follow up with a couple of pieces of passionfruit cheesecake to share. Very nice. We like our cheesecakes unbaked. Everything incredibly reasonable in price. Most mains under $10, the cakes $4.90. We buy some Perenti apricot and almond confiture and some Byron Bay muesli and set off for home.
We don’t’ get too far before the traffic is at a complete stop. Fatality up ahead. Local civilians are directing the traffic. As we reach first in line we are asked were we are heading and given directions for a detour. This is an unexpected bonus, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to suggest a dirt detour today, but here we are exploring the way down through Waukivory to the Pacific Highway. Interesting, but fairly standard scenery for the area – which is pretty good of course.
Once we’re back on the highway it’s a pretty standard trip home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
# I’ve been hanging out to get digital copies of the photos sis restored, but finally I figure I’d better post the text so this blog doesn't get just too ridiculously out of order, and get back to upload the photos when I get round to collecting the disc… stay tuned.

The beatification of Castle Hill

This is the story of how the saint came to be painted on the side of Castle Hill in Townsville. It is told of course from my perspective... ie mine having interviewed my Aunty...

The year was 1963***. A Townsville campus of the University of Queensland had just opened. This was a big benefit to the town as prior to the opening of this campus students from all over the far north were obliged to go to Brisbane if they wanted an education beyond high school level. My mother and my eldest aunty did just that, living in Brisbane for several years to get their tertiary qualifications during the 1950s.
The first intake of students at the Townsville campus wasn’t terribly large, say about 200. Most were drawn from country Qld. About 25 local kids attend and were encouraged to welcome those who were new to town and show them the ropes.
Among the Townsville kids was my Aunty. Youngest of my mothers siblings and evidently following in her Dad’s footsteps. My grandfather was something of a larrikin.
The academic year was divided into 3 terms. At the end of first term was an institution known as Commem Week. Commem Week was a traditional time of highjinks for the university students. My mother recalls a stunt that the uni students pulled for Commem week in Brisbane when she was there in training college. A group of students walked bold as brass into one of the court rooms carrying a long ladder while court was in session. They erected the ladder behind the judge and proceeded to remove the clock from the courtroom wall. They walked out without a murmur of protest from anyone! So you can see the students on the Townsville campus in its inaugural year had something of a challenge to live up to the standards set by their southern brethren if they were not to be labelled as pretty tame country bumpkins come commem week.

As you can imagine, in the early days of the campus there were many questions and uncertainties hanging in the air. Directions to be decided and pursued in all sorts of areas as the character and spirit of the campus was established. There was an air of questions and possibilities abroad including how the establishment of the local university campus would impact the town.
For those unfamiliar with Townsville, it is important to know that it lies on a fairly low lying flood plain surrounded by mountains. Dominating the town itself, solitary Castle hill rises above the town and shows a prominent face of pink granite to the sea and over the Strand which runs along the ocean frontage. Castle Hill was not a subtle landmark for small 1960s Townsville, as indeed it is not today. It has always provided a popular lookout with expansive views that locals are rather proud of. Castle Hill
It was a collective burst of brilliance by a group of students that had them decide that the perfect commem week stunt would be to paint a huge question mark in whitewash on the side of Castle Hill. The stunt was to be carried out prior to the Commem week ball.
First of course they needed transport and for this purpose three students were able to provide vehicles. An oldsmobile, a morris oxford and my aunty brought along my grandfathers Vanguard. Next of course you need a volunteer to go over the side with the paint brush. A mature age student (who will remain nameless in this publication) put his hand up. This plucky fellow also supplied a very long rope. To be sure the rope was strong enough, the students tested it prior to going up to the hill by tying it securely and having a large group of students grab it and run like mad give the rope a hefty tug. Satisfied that it would not send their trusty volunteer plummeting to his death the students with their whitewash and gear assembled at the top of Castle Hill in the dead of night to do the deed.
One end of the rope was tied securely to a very large rock . The other end was tied to the volunteer artist around his waist and through his legs and he was lowered over the side of the hill. In the midst of the proceedings a car came up the hill and a flutter of alarm ran through the students who were up to no good. However it turned out it was just a couple who had come to go parking.
In my aunty’s recollection the question mark must have been something in the order of 15 – 16 feet high. She recalls quite a bit of rope went over the side during the course of the work..
As my mother recalls it when the citizens of Townsville awoke to find their beloved Castle Hill so shamelessly vandalised there was a public outcry. The citizenry was outraged. Feeling ran very high and the activity was a criminal offence to boot. It is only in recent years that we youngsters of the family even became aware of the scandal let alone the deep dark family secret of my Auntys suspected involvement. It was the evil that dare not speak its name… But of course this is only part of the story we are still left with a whitewashed question mark ….patience dear reader.
Of course the hillside artwork was only an element of the artistic hyjinks, another touch was to paint little footsteps coming out of the sewer grate along the footpath and up to the nightsafe of the bank and then back to the sewer…
Now one night of large scale public vandalism does not a commem week celebration make. There was also a parade where the students pushed the boundaries of decency to an extent that went somewhat above the heads of the local police officers…parade highlights that went ahead after police vetting included three guys dressed up in sheets with a placard saying – “Did you see the three huns walking - down the vue de mond with Ginger Rogers*?” and another group with a placard reading “Is there life on Uranus? If not check on Mars.”
There was also a wheelbarrow full of horse manure entitled “passed by the censors”. .. actually that one is quite subtle - I only just got the additional level of meaning now..LOL
A third rather clever placard requires more explaining. The local mayor was named Angus Smith. Among to other council dignitaries were a Mr Thrust and a Mr Parry. The students managed to acquire a black Angus calf and lead it along with a sign saying “Aberdeen Angus: it’s the bull that gets you there. Politics is full of Thrust and Parry.”
Unfortunately there was a price to pay for all the efforts of preparation. My aunty had a date for the commem week ball, but having been out all night decorating Castle Hill and preparing the floats for the parade etc she went home to bed the morning of the ball and slept through until the next day. Her date arrived to pick her up and my grandmother was obliged to report that aunty was still asleep. He decided he’d go home to bed too… so both missed the ball.
About 8 days later was Anzac Day. It was decided that the students would march in the annual parade. As they started out they softly repeated the question “who put the question mark on Castle Hill?” creating a low hum. As they went along the chant became progressively louder.
….so you can see the students of the Townsville Campus of the University of Queensland were doing what they must to fulfil their obligation to needle the older generations..
As is the way with whitewash, after a few months the rains came and the question mark was fading away. By this time the students had become rather fond of it however so later in 1963, flushed with their earlier success the same group repainted the question mark in durable paint. The deed was done in broad daylight this time.
Clearly things were getting beyond the pale from the point of view of the local community in general and the Air Force (who have a substantial base in Townsville) who went in and painted out the question mark with a large green square of paint.
The following year, not to be beaten, and no doubt keen to make the stunt their own, a group of students, whom my Aunty believes were from Mackay, painted the first saint on the side of Castle Hill over the green paint. This group of students has come forward now and there names are a matter of public record. Clearly the student body collectively considered this to be something of an enhancement to the statement of student rebellion. It became a tradition that the students would repaint and maintain the saint. Over time the green square faded away. We don’t know if the students at what is now James Cook University (JCU) maintain this tradition today. Certainly the saint is still there, so someone is maintaining it.
The saint took on a life of its own over the years. At JCU all the sporting trophies had the saint on them. My grandfather was active in the community and a stalwart of the local football club and was presented with a plaque of appreciation which was also adorned with the saint. Unfortunately we don’t know what became of that plaque. I imagine one of my northern cousins may have been given it as a momento of him.

..so that dear reader is the story of the beatification of Castle Hill as told to me by my Aunty and with input from my mum who was also resident in Townsville at that time …

Further information on the saint of castle hill may be found here

*** as Aunty tells the story.. but when we think about these events in relation to other dates that are more concrete 1963 doesn't quite add up... for example my parents moved to Sydney late in 1962.. my sister was born in Townsville in May 1962 and mum helped aunty collect sea creature specimens at Cape Palarenda for the Uni when it opened .. discovering a new creature along the way.. ...now as mum recalls it she was living in Townsville when the graffiti outrage took place.. though she had no idea her sister was involved at the time....

*for the younger generation or others baffled by this placard: "roger" in this context was a euphemism for "penis"

..and if you are still puzzled by the horse manure reference, the subtle insinuation is that the censors are a lot of horses arses... not just that the stuff they allow to be shown is horse shit.

This is working?

Middle of winter in Sydney and end of the working year. It’s time for a divisional planning day and team building after a couple of years of work on some big projects. Time to reward and refocus. A couple of colleagues have done a brilliant job sussing out the options and democratic vote has us heading off to Q-station on north head at Manly. Q Station is the old Quarantine station. A beautiful historic setting with a collection of heritage buildings.
We meet at circular quay on the western side near the Museum of Contemporary Art and the water taxi jetty. The weather is looking cold and it’s raining. We are all loaded up with luggage as though we’re going away for the weekend which causes much laughter and comment. Unavoidable as we voted to go kayaking in Manly for our team activity so will need towels and change of clothes. Mostly we are coming to the conclusion that we must be mad and will likely catch our deaths of cold. None have piked it though.
We pile into a large water taxi and head off to the Q station. This is the way to travel! The conversation is excited and there’s lots of laughter. Our driver cuts across in front of the Narrabeen (Manly Ferry) and is rewarded by a couple of loud blasts on the ferry horn. A colleague takes a few snaps of the ferry from out in front. Great perspective. If you have a group water taxi across to Q station is brilliant. We all loved every minute..We pull up at the Q station jetty and as we approach several great cormorant and little black cormorant are disturbed and fly off into the harbour.
We are met by the Q station shuttle bus and all pile in for a ride up to the conference room where tea and coffee is waiting. I’ve been to the quarantine station before for planning and team building days, but it’s a while and before the lease to a private operator. The new operators are doing a fabulous job with the place and it's apparent immediately upon landing. There's a waterfront restaurant and theatre down here near the beach. All over the site the buildings are being restored and refurbished, the turf and landscaping restored. We settle in and do a bit of a checking out of the refurbished accommodation. 4 star. It looks lovely. From the top of the hill here is a wonderful perspective on the harbour.
We knuckle down to work. Morning tea is provided and we are all blown away with the quality. Everything is made on the premises, they even bring in their own pastry chefs. The pain au chocolate is crisp and still warm from the oven. Outstanding! Skewers of seasonal fruit with yoghurt for dressing – delicious, and vegetable samosas with mango chutney. Nothing is left over and we all decide it’s just as well we’re getting some exercise this afternoon!
We continue our discussion of divisional priorities and projects for the next year and finish up right on time for lunch. This requires a walk down to the dining room where a beautiful buffet of delicious salads and various panini, mini bagels, and bruschetta is laid out. Everything is delicious and just the right amount of food. Delectable mini bread and butter puddings with a velvety custard cream to dress it and lovely fresh squares of gateaux. We linger after lunch chatting with our host about the development plans for the site. The food and beverage manager comes out to take our compliments on the quality of the catering. The plans for the site all sound great and so wonderful to have a competent operator making the most of this fabulous community asset, increasing access but protecting the heritage and natural environment of the site – including the endangered bandicoots. I am very relieved - years ago when the site first stopped operating there was talk of selling the site off for development. That would have been a crime against the community, so you can imagine the outcry at the time.
Lunch over, with much trepidation we change into our clothes that we can get wet and head for the meeting place for the bus down to the beach. They are in the process of putting a stairway down to the beach but for now there's only the roadway as far as we know. We are all anxiously observing the weather which is still threatening rain. I’m dreading taking my shoes off…there is much excited laughter and discussion along the lines of OMG what were we thinking?! We meet the fellow from Manly Kayaks at the jetty and are directed to the gate in the fence that has been erected to protect the penguin habitat. There’s an array of get ups, everything from leggings, jeans, shorts. Some have waterproof shoes most are bare foot. The men in the party are congratulated on their fortitude heading out in bare legs! I’ve got my waterproof jacket over a thick tracky top and an old pair of comfy stretch jeans. We listen intently to our paddling instructions, though everyone is pretty excited and there is also much laughter. We don our lifejackets (surprisingly comfortable) and launch our kayaks. Your bum definitely gets wet! However it’s not cold. We still can’t believe we’re doing this in the rain in the middle of winter. Most are in double kayaks, but I’ve volunteered to go in the single kayak, as I’ve paddled before – and I find it easier on my own anyway. We were supposed to practice skills for a bit, but everyone is feeling pretty comfortable so we paddle off around to Store Beach. In one of our kayaks the team just isn’t working so our guide in the rescue boat suggests they head in to the beach and swap places. This does the trick and they are right from then on. We are given a run down on Store Beach, part of the national park and only accessible by water. Along the shore of the small headlands the rocks are crusted with oysters and the kelp beds are clearly visible through the crystal waters. There’s a bit of rubbish floating in the water. No doubt washed into the harbour by the rain. As I head in towards the beach a tern flies overhead which makes me smile.
Back in from the beach a small waterfall is running onto the sand. This beach has a penguin colony, and so our guide emphasises that if you come to this beach on the weekend you must absolutely not bring pets or the smell they leave on the beach will stop the penguins breeding. We don’t see any penguins at this time of day of course. I’m sure most of us forget to even look for them in the water along the way as we’re having so much fun paddling and trying to perfect our technique.
This water level perspective on the national park and the harbour generally is brilliant. And in this weather we’ve got the place to ourselves. It is AWESOME. I can’t believe I’ve never done this before. I’m in heaven. Along the way from time to time showers of rain pass over, but we hardly notice and it certainly doesn’t bother any of us.
Next we paddle around to Collins beach. I stop to watch a large sea bird fly over, by the shape I’d guess an Australasian Gannet. Congregating in the bay near the beach we have a chat about a proposal by the NSW Police Force to upgrade their training facilities that we can see up on the hill. It’s a controversial proposal. One thing about residents of Manly and the northern beaches, any proposal like that, which could negatively impact the local bushland or parks areas will be met by vigorous scrutiny and very active community comment and lobbying. You won’t find apathy on such matters in this part of Sydney that’s for absolute certain. The local rag, The Manly Daily is read by just about every local and it’s also very active in leading community dissent on such things.
Now confident in our technique we head across towards Manly cove and into the bigger swell. Up to now we’ve been in the calmer more protected areas. It’s a little harder going, but it is a very calm day on the water and it’s great fun. There’s some people fishing from the water’s edge, but mostly it is pretty quiet with few people around. We gather for group photos and proceed down to gather again outside the skiff club where a fur seal has taken up residence for the last few weeks. It looks like a brown blob. One colleague had mistaken it for a bag of rubbish. We laugh, it’s good to see but a bit underwhelming at the same time. We alight at the beach in Manly cove collect our valuables which have been kept safe and dry in the rescue boat. One group manages to catch the only wave around and arrives in great style sort of side on, with much laughter. Lots of excited chatter and mutual teasing and we head off to the skiff club where arrangements have been made for us to have a shower and change. The paddle has only taken us about an hour. If the weather had been better we probably would have stopped on the beach for a bit of a game or something and that would have taken longer naturally. When we're clean and dry we spend a couple of hours having a chat and a drink in the waterfront bar which is warm and cosy with a great casual ambience looking out over the boats to Manly wharf.
As the sun sets we make our way around to the wharf and loiter in the outside bar of the Wharf Hotel. It's quite a mild night and we are all quite comfortable outside. The taxi is a smaller boat this time giving a more bouncy ride over the swell and we have a fun ride with cheers and laughter as we ride the waves. The lights of Sydney are always beautiful, though for some reason none of us understand, the opera house and bridge are not lit up tonight. Safely deposited back at the taxi wharf, it’s a short walk to the old sailor’s mission and dinner at Sailors Thai. As we disembark we all agree that next year we should go to Q station again, but stay the Thursday night and take the ghost tour.
At Sailors Thai the ambience is very nice with the bare convict hewn sandstone a dominating feature. Service was very good and nicely casual. Thai is not really my scene as a whole and the preordering process we undertook internally was a bit odd resulting in a strange way to have a thai meal ( which is no fault at all of the restaurant of course) but the deserts are unusual and delicious. It’s not your average thai – very upmarket. Everyone enjoyed their meal. You’re looking at $40 a main, close to $30 for starters and about $14- 14 for dessert.
It’s been a long but fabulous day. Once a sceptic on corporate team building activities from the first time I actually went on one I've been a total convert. It has such a clear payoff in productivity, motivation and team functionality... and boy we really needed this one!
Q Station is definitely on my agenda for a weekend break sometime soon. I would highly recommend the kayaking and if I were doing it again I’d probably choose to do it in winter. The only thing that would really put me off is if the water is too rough. I wasn’t cold for a single moment the whole time. The coldest part was getting around wet to the skiff club, but even that wasn't bad. It was absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended.

Q Station
Manly Kayaks
Water taxi
Manly wharf hotel
Manly Skiff Club

Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk et al

Posts are a little out of order. This trip was undertaken on 29 June 2008.

We’ve had a long period of quiet hibernation at home and I’m starting to climb the walls. The lack of opportunity to walk whilst in the mountains with the nephews has led to a back up jaunt today for sanity’s sake. It was a possibility for our anniversary trip, but what the heck, we decide to take a run down to the southern highlands and check out the Illawarra Fly Tree Top walk.
We’re late getting away it’s 12:45 pm, so we don’t dilly dally with scenic routes today and just head off to Robertson via the quickest route – though that’s not too shabby for scenery in any case. It is again glorious sunny winter weather and as we pull up at the carpark we shouldn't be so surprised to see the huge number of cars in the carpark displaying number plates from a range of States and the ACT. They’ve built a very large carpark, and clearly their estimate of what would be required is pretty much on the mark, though there’s no need to hunt for a space at this stage.
When last I was here very shortly after opening it looked like some aspects of construction weren’t quite done with with trucks and so on still on site. Today things are clearly rocking along, but it gives off a strong whiff of tourist trap. On a busy day this late in the afternoon it’s looking a bit tired with the heavy patronage. There are still people lining up for tickets and after a quick check of the café we join them and say goodbye to $19 per adult. We are given a map along with a brief verbal description of the walk and are advised that the walk should take about 45 minutes.
We head off down the track lined with recent plantings. Along the way are a series of numbered information points with brief text in our map brochure to match the numbered points. The number signs are positioned fairly hastily and though I’ve done this kind of walk a number of times in similar vegetation communities I don’t find it easy to identify the particular plant they are talking about. As we round a corner the path heads suddenly downhill quite steeply and I am very glad I didn’t bring my mum. There is a roar of noise of people coming from the direction of the walk, which doesn’t bode well I think to myself. We commence on the suspended walk itself and I’m a bit bemused by the level of noise the whole contraption makes. It creaks and groans with ours and other peoples activity along the walkway. The forest below shows the signs of the construction process, but has been planted out and mulched in the disrupted areas and they seem to have kept the disruption to a minimum. It’s kind of interesting looking down on the tree ferns from above, but it’s not mind blowingly awesome and anyway I don’t like looking down very much…so maybe I'm not a good judge. The views along the walk itself are very lovely, but fairly typical for the area. We climb up Knights Tower which is a sort of crows nest and the views from there are about as good as it gets over lake Illawarra and the ocean as well as inland to the ranges. To the east and slightly south is Bass Point. As I emerge from the staircase I run straight into a work colleague and his family – small world, but then he does live not so far away from here. We take our time over the view and climb down. The next viewing spot is out to the eastern extremity of the walk and the views are fairly similar. Knights Tower is the killer view though. Nothing much to detain us so we head on up the hill and notice that there is a collection point for people with mobility problems. These people are collected in a kind of golf buggy type vehicle. As predicted we are done and dusted in about 45 minutes. Not a bird in sight in the treetops. Can’t blame them. If I was a bird I’d keep well away. Perhaps in time it will all settle down a bit.
I decide to show hubby the competition and take him down to Illawarra lookout in Barren Grounds Nature Reserve. This is more my style for interacting with nature. There are already – or should that be still – flowers in the heath. Bright little tea tree stars brighten the greyish green of the heath land and banksias are flowering in profusion. Along the walk we suddenly come across a hot spot of birds. A grey shrike thrush, the ubiquitous New Holland Honeyeaters, eastern spinebills, thornbills, yellow faced honeyeaters. After a while I spot a lewins honeyeater. After watching the spinebills and the new hollands flitting about the lewins looks huge, though it also is not a very big bird. Crimson rosellas fligh past to alight on a low tree about 20 metres off. Maybe nothing terribly unusual but this is heaven to me anyhow. Last time I came here on this very path I happened upon a conference of spotted pardalotes. Dozens of spotted pardolotes, close enough to see with the naked eye males, females, youngsters. Unreal. They have to be up there with the most beautiful Australian birds, though this exquisite little bird is also very tiny. They were landing on the ground in front of me, perching in groups of a dozen or more in one small open branched shrub, then gradually flitting of to another nearby perch. I was absolutely transfixed with sheer joy in watching them.
After a little while I catch up with hubby who a little way further on at the turn off to the lookout. We take in the wonderful view. Naturally I say – see – this is the competition. Free.
We set of back to the car. As we walk the views to the west are expansive. We set a course for Berrima to check out the eating options. It’s 5 oclock and we’re a little early for the Journeyman with reopens for dinner at 5:30. The restaurant across the road is closed Sunday night. We couldn’t be bothered waiting around, though Berrima is quiet with the day trippers and weekenders having departed. There is the sniff of woodsmoke in the crisp mountain air. It is delightful. We hop back in the car and head home.
Along the way we spot a wombat walking towards the road. We slow and hope he doesn’t venture out. He’s safe as we pass but there is a steady stream of cars behind us. Hopefully they will keep their wits about them at this dangerous evening time period.
Travelling back along the highway the sky is a fairy floss confection of pale orange, pink and purple. We watch as the orange fades out and the deeper purples blend in with the pink and then that ruddy smudge at the horizon behind the silhouette of trees and finally the darkness.
Another lovely afternoon in the highlands.
Thinking about the Illawarra fly I conclude that it is, and will be a very valuable additional to the local scene. You can do a day trip down from Sydney on the Cockatoo Run – a heritage rail trip on an old scenic rail line no longer used for the main stream railways. It stops with views over the coast also and has an option where they provide a coach to take you to the Illawarra fly then back for the return trip on the train. Not everyone can hire a car while in Sydney and there’s no need to go into the Barren Grounds as well as the visit the Fly. This is good. Not everyone appreciates the beauty of the heathland, whereas many enjoy the rainforest. It reduces pressure on this critical wildlife habitat that the reserve protects. So I would encourage visitors to support the fly… and you really won’t see a better view of the coast than it provides.
The website for the fly says it is awesome in the mist and I can well imagine that would be true. Like walking suspended in a cloud.

http://www.illawarrafly.com/

http://www.3801limited.com.au/

barren grounds link