The first four we learned at school. These are the uncensored versions though, which is interesting to hear! We also learned a song about a picininny sleeping in a coolamon.. I dare say that one might not be sufficiently PC to be able to locate it these days.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Mount Annan Botanic Garden - The Native Plant Garden of the RBG
Today we decide we'll lunch at the Mount Annan Botanic Gardens. It's a glorious day and the daughters are hankering for getting out of the house.
I love the entrance to the gardens. The dry stone walls and the rock gardens always look lovely.
They've had some difficulties over the years. At first the entrance avenue was planted with Angophera Costata - I guess it must be everyone's favourite! Unfortunately it simply failed to thrive. It likes a lighter soil than that which tends to dominate out here on the Cumberland Plain. Eventually they accepted defeat and replanted with local species. Eucalyptus tereticornus I think, with an understorey of Kai'mea, wattle and other flowering plants.
Along the entrance drive one of the large Kai'mea is putting on a marvellous show with multiple flower spikes. The close up is actually from another plant, but you can see the flower head is massive. I hope you can see how large the Kai'mea are.
We drive past the fenced children's playground and the restaurant and park the car. We take a brief look in the gift shop, which as always has awesome things on display. You can always count on the Botanic Gardens to have the BEST gift shop! Really classy stuff. Boronia au de cologne. Heavenly.
We decide we'd best hop to it and have lunch. We take a table outside and rue having been lured into coming out without a jacket. It's quite cool in the shade, so we head inside.
We share a bruschetta (quite good) and some above average salt and pepper squid. Soon the mains arrive. Daughter wins hands down with her crispy skinned baramundi fillet with macadamia nuts and orange sauce which was very good. Possibly the best barra I've had in a LONG time. The portions are generous and quite acceptable for the price charged with is only early $20s per main.
Dessert is half and half. Hubby and Daughter 2 have opted for the devonshire tea. I and daughter 1 have gone for the home made lemon tart.
All in all a very enjoyable meal.
Across the road at the beginning of the terrace garden there is always a lovely display of rockery plants. Kangaroo paw, and some that I now associate with Weddin Mountains National park. Paper daisies, brachyscombe's dainty purple daisy flower. Scaevola of various types. Very pretty.
Around about, again this as every year, there are beds covered with netting. This is the annual spring WA paper daisy display. It's got a way to go to come into bloom yet. They have to net the beds or the birds wreak havoc with it. In a month or so the colourful flowers will be making a wonderful display and making us all wish we could head over to WA and see the real thing across the landscape. Here we have a local paper daisy in bold yellows and whites.
I walk up into the terrace area and the revamped water features. They are progressively redeveloping the terrace garden and some sections are closed, but I don't have much time to explore. I regret it deeply. I'd forgotten what a lovely place this is.
Across a way I come to a small Eucalyptus ficifolia "wildfire" covered in young gumnuts. Another west aussie spectacle. Wildfire is a grafted cultivar to try to improve it's tolerance for being over here in the east.
From here I look over to another landscape feature and then over to the lake.
I wonder can you see the Alogyne Hueglii - sort of like a hibiscus in rich vibrant purple. These ones are only young. They always remind me of the huge specimen we saw at Shear Outback in Hay NSW one spring. It was absolutely smothered in flowers and was a spectacular sight.
The xanthorea fronds are waving in the breeze like one of those fibre optic lamps from the 70s.
Closer to the gift shop, a hardenbergia violacea is covered in it's purple pea flowers. A very versatile and tough plant and a local native, hardenbergia can grow as a ground cover or a climber. Like all creepers it needs a trim back regularly to prevent a build up of dead growth underneath.
Daughter 1 and I are both on the look out for plants for our gardens which in both cases need redevelopment. Daughter is very taken with the Hardenbergia. There is also a white variety of hardenbergia, but I don't think it's a patch on the original deep purple. If you wander in the remnant bushland of the gardens - which is endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland, which originally covered much of the Sydney area - you can see the wiry little stems of creeping hardenbergia here and there. It does it tough away from the irrigation of course and is not so boldly showy, but much more dainty.
Around the corner the hardenbergia are mixed in a bed with small white paper daisy plants. .. I should know the name but for the life of me I can't think of it at the moment.. something-or-other anthemoides I think....
Next in line we have the Geraldton Wax. Another spectacular WA native it does well if left alone on sandy soil. Most WA natives don't like it in the more humid east coast climate, but I've had good success with Geraldton Wax and mine is still going strong after nearly a decade and flowering beautifully this year. The wax in the name refers to the waxy character of the blossoms which make a very popular and long lasting cut flower.
I am pleased to see that the occassional revamp of the gardens has not caused the loss of the lovely prickley little ground cover wattle which like so many wattles at this time of year is going all out to look spectacular.
We take a drive around Cunningham Drive, through various arboretum. Up the hill with views across the district both east and west and down again along the water race before we and stop to commune with what must be the best specimen of Eucalyptus crebra in exhistance. Indigenous to the Mt Annan site, I think either it's thrown a branch or they've trimmed it, as it used to have branches hanging right to the ground. The branches create a beautiful sihouette as the lowering sun swings in behind the tree to the west.
The water race is a feature in itself. Happy to take a back seat to the rest of the gardens it is actually an engineering marvel. On gravity alone it transports water across vast distances between various water reservoirs. When the idea was floated they said it couldn't be done. They said Australian engineers were second rate and they'd better get experts out from the mother country. Well, the local engineers turned out to be pretty good after all.... well that's the story as it was told to me at any rate.
Just across the road, the Woodland picnic area provides electric bbqs covered shady picnic tables and a large lawn which is typically utilised for a ball game of some sort. Maybe cricket, maybe soccer or touch footy. Traditional Aussie picnic pastimes.
In the gardens of the woodland picnic area, some native clematis clambers among some native pea or other. Purple seems to be very much in vogue at the moment!
We cruise along now to the rear of the gardens. They have cleverly got things set up so that you have multiple opportunities to pass the cafe and shop and playground, but we pass by and head around for some more views and to check out the wattle garden, which should be looking a picture.
There's a lovely flowering creeper on the amenities block.
However it is, as you would expect, the wattles that steal the show here. Many different varieties, most of which will go unnamed by me! Except for Acacia cultriformis - which was a favourite of some friends of mine. It's adapted very well to life in the gardens and has self sown down along the road up to the garden's entrance.
We will close with an array of beautiful wattle blossom. The epitome of spring in Sydney.
As we depart we spy an abundance of native clematis creeping over the nearby shrubbery in the remnant bushland. This is a must for my redeveloped garden. Hardy, local and beautiful.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Just because it's beautiful
This is zig zag wattle. A well grown zig zag wattle is among one of the most beautiful wattles. I planted this one after seeing a magnificent specimen in full bloom at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens. Acacias are usually very fast growing but not generally long lived. That fabulous large shrub at Mt Annan is gone, but not forgotten by anyone who got to see it.
My zig zag wattle had an old Willow Tree fall on it. Badly damaged, it's still there and after a year or so of construction rather overgrown...but I think it's beyond help and I am looking for a replacement for it.
It is called zig zag wattle because the stem heads off in the opposite direction at each junction.
Wattles are interesting plants. They don't actually have leaves. What appear to be leaves are actually something called a phyllode.
The other interesting thing about wattles, is that they are nitrogen fixers, so they are good pioneer species. You can find wattles flowering at any time of year, but August and September is a riot of colour as the landscape lights up with the golden yellow blossoms. Some wattle has a wonderful fragrance. Some not much at all. Some people are allergic to wattle. I bless my good fortune that I am not. It is a heavenly scent to me.
And this is an unusual Grevillea. Its name escapes me at the moment but the abundant delicate white flowers smell like custard. It's also nice and prickley so it's great cover for small birds.. like the Superb Fairy Wrens that frequent my garden.
It's great living near Mt Annan Botanic Garden. As it is the native plant garden for the RBGS you can find all sorts of unusual native garden gems in the plant sales area there.
This is Grevillea "Winpara Gem"
And this is Grevillea "apricot charm"
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Coastal Walk - Otford to Garie - Part 1
Foolhardy. It's the only word for it. Delayed and delayed and delayed we finally set of after lunch headed for the Royal National Park in the south of Sydney. We have booked the youth hostel at Garie Beach for tonight and we really want to have a bit of a go at the first leg at least of the Coastal Walk.
From our home in Macarthur we head straight down the delightfully scenic Appin Road and head along beautiful traffic free fast roads through the bush down to edge of the Illawarra escarpment. It's a simple turn to the north onto the Princes Hwy before parking at the Otford lookout where the walk commences. We of course don't realise that this is where the walk actually starts and we go for a bit of a drive down in the national park before realising we've missed it. It's a beautiful forest drive through the world's second oldest national park (Only Yellowstone in the USA is older)
We're conscious that time is ticking away so we turn around and finally find where we're supposed to be.
Looking out from Otford lookout you can see the Seacliff Bridge. This is quite a new bridge that was constructed after the old narrow road, which was perched along the edge of the headland slipped into the sea. Further along are the northern beaches of Wollongong and some old coal mining communities around Coalcliff and Scarborough. With a setting like this, I'm sure you can imagine that the process of gentrification is well under way in these charming little villages. A scenic tourist drive has been established along here. They've called it the Grand Pacific Drive.
As we head off on the walk we soon find a lovely spray of native clematis or old man's beard with it's dainty starburst flowers. The flowers are followed by furry seed capsules again like hairy starburst arrangements that inspired the popular name for this beautiful creeper.
We've left it ridiculously late to be starting a 10 km walk, but we've been informed that other than the walk up from the Otford train station, others have found the walk pretty easy.
As we get going I take my time, but hubby must be trying to actually get a bit of effective exercise so on his long legs he just about sprints away...
I am entranced and as usual spend some time stopping here and there to snap photos and digital memory joggers.
The first part of the walk heads generally uphill, through a typical tumbledown arrangement of sandstone boulders among which the trees, grasses and native shrubs make a lovely scene that is typical of coastal Sydney bushland.
As the path levels we travel through a beautiful patch abundant with Angophera Costata - the sydney red gum which regular readers of this blog will be more than familiar with!!!
It's my very favourite tree and I am in heaven!
I cannot resist snapping some pics of some red gums that have bled their lovely red sap quite profusely, staining their trunks with glistening red.
Hubby and I recently came across a new young artist who is practicing in the Blue Mountains - Megalong Valley somewhere I think. He collects his own local pigments to colour intricate pyrography work. Gum tree sap is among them. His name is Scott Marr and I WILL own one of his pieces one day!! Follow the series of three videos on youtube that describe his process of Natural Pigment Pyrography.
In Sydney bushland, particularly in the south from Sydney Harbour, a beautiful element of the understory is the Kai'mia (commonly known as Gymea Lily). When the kai'mia are in full bloom and not producing nectar any more it is time for the local Dharawal people, traditional owners of this land, to visit their whale ceremony site to wish the whales and their new born babies a safe journey back to their homelands in the southern oceans #. The Kai'mea is now quite popular for landscaping in the coastal suburbs of Sydney along streets and motorways, their architectural foliage providing a perfect base for their enormous spikes topped with red flowers.
We have had a fair bit of rain over the last week, and the paths show it. Some stretches are quite good, as you get further along the walk long stretches are forming a sort of stream for the water and it's slow going picking a way along. I just knew I should have worn my old yard shoes!!
There are a range of Banksia in the area. This beautiful specimen sits just near one of the lookouts which give glorious views down the coast. Another of the groups walking part of the track have stopped on the natural sandstone ledge to admire the view.
The hairy grey Kuritjahs sit on the branches of the banksia trees. These kuritjahs seem to have their eyes closed, but if they open their eyes watch out because it means the Dooligah men are awake and trying to escape from their prisons in the trunks of the kurrajong trees. The Dooligah were imprisoned by the kuritjah a long time ago when during a very severe drought food was scarce and they developed a taste for eating Dharawal children. I don't notice any kurrajong trees around for the little Kuritjahs to guard. You should always warn children, just in case the kuritjah fall asleep, or some foolish man comes along and decides to cut the kurrajong trees down, or the tree is blown over or struck by lightning and damaged, it is always a good idea to behave yourself in the bush and do what your parents say...
The indigenous stories are at odds with the imaginations of European settlers when they see kuritjah sitting on the branches. May Gibbs imagined the kuritjah as the big bad banksia men who try to run away with Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
Clearly these tales of big bad banksia men are a baseless slander against the Kuritjahs, reminiscent of the images of ape-like germans running away with defenceless women that were painted in the Great War! :o)
.... but I digress... I continue along the track, travelling through the littoral rainforest. Cabbage palms and dark clear streams, moss and ferns abound. The path is still quite boggy in places. This ancient patch of protected forest includes some amazing examples of the tenacity of the angophera. Look at this one who's base has grown around a large boulder.
Here and there attractive fungi are at work breaking down the fallen or damaged vegetation.
We emerge from the rainforest onto open headlands covered with clumps of what looks like some sort of lomandra. The path has eaten deep into the ground and as I head across to Burning Palms it's very slow going trying to pick my way though or around the very slippery, de facto creek. Oh how I wish I was wearing waterproof hiking boots! Looking south the view is amazing.
To the north the communities of beach shacks are visible. Hearsay tells me that these shacks cannot be bought and sold. In the past it has been possible to inherit them, but I am told that this has also been stopped and that they will be progressively removed.
As I snap the photo to the north my camera batteries give up the ghost. Hubby is somewhere ahead with the spares, but in any case the light is dying and we still have a way to go.
We meet up at burning palms and move along. The the paths improve and there are metal boardwalks here and there. The path isn't all that obvious to start with and in the low light conditions we stop to ask a shack holder for directions. Just there he points. You can't miss it. I look across... I look. ... oh... yeah.. (???) We head off. He sings out.. no over there you can't miss it! Redirected we stumble down the hill. None the wiser as to the actual location of this alleged path..
My knee is getting pretty sore and I now have to favour one leg for the down stairs. Up stairs isn't so bad. It gets progressively darker and darker. Thank god the track visibility and signage improves. We take our time up over headlands, down the other side, across the camping grounds and across sandy dunes with healthy dune grasses. At the camp ground the frogs are singing very loudly. There must the hundreds of the little guys and I pity the campers. How on earth will they sleep with that racket going on!
Eventually we round the headland just south of Garie Beach, with it's level path quite firm footing where the pace can be a little quicker and the knee is not so annoyed. What a welcome sight that car park is. Still a lot of cars. We admire the very modern surf life saving club building. Very swish! We locate Daughter and her friends who are joining us in our exclusive occupancy of the hostel.
First on the agenda is to go and collect our car, so we pile in the car, pushing aside the collection of teenage detritus. A jolly conversation ensues. We transfer to our vehicle and head back to Garie. The Hostel is a km up a dark bush track so we're not keen to cart more than we have to. A picnic in the car is called for we decide. Friends have brought delicious and elaborate salads to go with my quiche. Yum.
Eventually we meet up with the caretaker. Hear some stories about foreign visitors who didn't much appreciate his references to the YHA being "spooky" - the spooky is generated by the sound of the wind in the she-oaks.. we load ourselves up and start to feel our way up the dark bush track. Amazingly we make it up OK with noone breaking anything. Great teamwork.
The shack was built in the 1950s. It's a great spot. Fires are prohibited but there's a nice inviting fire pit on a concrete slab and clearly people use it.. we didn't. While the prohibition in summer is understandable in winter it seems a bit like over-kill and I can't help feeling a LOT of sympathy with the rule breakers. We open the door and flick the light switch. .. again.. hmm. Torch please. flick, flick.. hmmm. looks like an early night.
We nominate our selected sleeping spots. Hmm. Beds and bedding are all slightly damp...hmm. Glad I brought the sheets they said we should. Clearly others don't. Sand on bed, sand on floors that clearly haven't been swept by each occupant as is requested, but it's not toooo bad. A ground sheet would be useful to sleep on. I decide maybe if I turn the mattress (also supposed to be done by each visitor). Hmmm. mouldy underneath. I might leave it as it is then. We use spare jumpers to cover the pillows. We've forgotten pillow cases. Jumpers are better anyhow. Thicker. Feels cleaner and drier.
The young'uns trek their way across to the composting toilet.. clearly it gets a bit more use than it can ideally cope with.
The night is not as bad as it could be. We rise, breakfast and discuss the day ahead. Hubby and I are off. My knee will prevent any thought of completing (the even longer) Garie to Bundeena section of the walk.
the weather is rather damp looking. Showers of rain continuing as they have done for a week or more. We leave the young things to their day after following all the instructions and sweeping out all the rooms.
In closing I would say the walk is great. Maybe better in drier conditions perhaps, however it is varied and interesting. The first half of this section through bush though, don't expect to feel much like your walking along a coast for much of that bit, but it is lovely bushland. Imagine the hoards of people living so close who have no idea this is on their doorstep... maybe that's a good thing!
# Information about the traditions and knowledge of the Dharawal people is sourced from Dharawal seasons and climatic cycles, compiled by Frances Bodkin and Illustrated by Lorraine Robertson. I bought my copy from the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Gift Shop. It is packed with fascinating information and traditional stories of the Sydney Region.
Frances Bokdin is a Dharawal educator. If you do a bit of digging on the web about her all sorts of interesting tidbits can be found ..like this article about the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project. Seeing her photo I realise it was she who gave a talk about indigenous plants we went to at the gardens some years back. She is an absolutely fascinating person so if you ever get the chance to attend one of her talks - don't miss it!!
From our home in Macarthur we head straight down the delightfully scenic Appin Road and head along beautiful traffic free fast roads through the bush down to edge of the Illawarra escarpment. It's a simple turn to the north onto the Princes Hwy before parking at the Otford lookout where the walk commences. We of course don't realise that this is where the walk actually starts and we go for a bit of a drive down in the national park before realising we've missed it. It's a beautiful forest drive through the world's second oldest national park (Only Yellowstone in the USA is older)
We're conscious that time is ticking away so we turn around and finally find where we're supposed to be.
Looking out from Otford lookout you can see the Seacliff Bridge. This is quite a new bridge that was constructed after the old narrow road, which was perched along the edge of the headland slipped into the sea. Further along are the northern beaches of Wollongong and some old coal mining communities around Coalcliff and Scarborough. With a setting like this, I'm sure you can imagine that the process of gentrification is well under way in these charming little villages. A scenic tourist drive has been established along here. They've called it the Grand Pacific Drive.
As we head off on the walk we soon find a lovely spray of native clematis or old man's beard with it's dainty starburst flowers. The flowers are followed by furry seed capsules again like hairy starburst arrangements that inspired the popular name for this beautiful creeper.
We've left it ridiculously late to be starting a 10 km walk, but we've been informed that other than the walk up from the Otford train station, others have found the walk pretty easy.As we get going I take my time, but hubby must be trying to actually get a bit of effective exercise so on his long legs he just about sprints away...
I am entranced and as usual spend some time stopping here and there to snap photos and digital memory joggers.
The first part of the walk heads generally uphill, through a typical tumbledown arrangement of sandstone boulders among which the trees, grasses and native shrubs make a lovely scene that is typical of coastal Sydney bushland.
As the path levels we travel through a beautiful patch abundant with Angophera Costata - the sydney red gum which regular readers of this blog will be more than familiar with!!!
It's my very favourite tree and I am in heaven!
I cannot resist snapping some pics of some red gums that have bled their lovely red sap quite profusely, staining their trunks with glistening red.
Hubby and I recently came across a new young artist who is practicing in the Blue Mountains - Megalong Valley somewhere I think. He collects his own local pigments to colour intricate pyrography work. Gum tree sap is among them. His name is Scott Marr and I WILL own one of his pieces one day!! Follow the series of three videos on youtube that describe his process of Natural Pigment Pyrography.
In Sydney bushland, particularly in the south from Sydney Harbour, a beautiful element of the understory is the Kai'mia (commonly known as Gymea Lily). When the kai'mia are in full bloom and not producing nectar any more it is time for the local Dharawal people, traditional owners of this land, to visit their whale ceremony site to wish the whales and their new born babies a safe journey back to their homelands in the southern oceans #. The Kai'mea is now quite popular for landscaping in the coastal suburbs of Sydney along streets and motorways, their architectural foliage providing a perfect base for their enormous spikes topped with red flowers.
We have had a fair bit of rain over the last week, and the paths show it. Some stretches are quite good, as you get further along the walk long stretches are forming a sort of stream for the water and it's slow going picking a way along. I just knew I should have worn my old yard shoes!!
There are a range of Banksia in the area. This beautiful specimen sits just near one of the lookouts which give glorious views down the coast. Another of the groups walking part of the track have stopped on the natural sandstone ledge to admire the view.
The hairy grey Kuritjahs sit on the branches of the banksia trees. These kuritjahs seem to have their eyes closed, but if they open their eyes watch out because it means the Dooligah men are awake and trying to escape from their prisons in the trunks of the kurrajong trees. The Dooligah were imprisoned by the kuritjah a long time ago when during a very severe drought food was scarce and they developed a taste for eating Dharawal children. I don't notice any kurrajong trees around for the little Kuritjahs to guard. You should always warn children, just in case the kuritjah fall asleep, or some foolish man comes along and decides to cut the kurrajong trees down, or the tree is blown over or struck by lightning and damaged, it is always a good idea to behave yourself in the bush and do what your parents say...
The indigenous stories are at odds with the imaginations of European settlers when they see kuritjah sitting on the branches. May Gibbs imagined the kuritjah as the big bad banksia men who try to run away with Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
Clearly these tales of big bad banksia men are a baseless slander against the Kuritjahs, reminiscent of the images of ape-like germans running away with defenceless women that were painted in the Great War! :o)
.... but I digress... I continue along the track, travelling through the littoral rainforest. Cabbage palms and dark clear streams, moss and ferns abound. The path is still quite boggy in places. This ancient patch of protected forest includes some amazing examples of the tenacity of the angophera. Look at this one who's base has grown around a large boulder.
Here and there attractive fungi are at work breaking down the fallen or damaged vegetation.
We emerge from the rainforest onto open headlands covered with clumps of what looks like some sort of lomandra. The path has eaten deep into the ground and as I head across to Burning Palms it's very slow going trying to pick my way though or around the very slippery, de facto creek. Oh how I wish I was wearing waterproof hiking boots! Looking south the view is amazing.
To the north the communities of beach shacks are visible. Hearsay tells me that these shacks cannot be bought and sold. In the past it has been possible to inherit them, but I am told that this has also been stopped and that they will be progressively removed.
As I snap the photo to the north my camera batteries give up the ghost. Hubby is somewhere ahead with the spares, but in any case the light is dying and we still have a way to go.
We meet up at burning palms and move along. The the paths improve and there are metal boardwalks here and there. The path isn't all that obvious to start with and in the low light conditions we stop to ask a shack holder for directions. Just there he points. You can't miss it. I look across... I look. ... oh... yeah.. (???) We head off. He sings out.. no over there you can't miss it! Redirected we stumble down the hill. None the wiser as to the actual location of this alleged path..
My knee is getting pretty sore and I now have to favour one leg for the down stairs. Up stairs isn't so bad. It gets progressively darker and darker. Thank god the track visibility and signage improves. We take our time up over headlands, down the other side, across the camping grounds and across sandy dunes with healthy dune grasses. At the camp ground the frogs are singing very loudly. There must the hundreds of the little guys and I pity the campers. How on earth will they sleep with that racket going on!
Eventually we round the headland just south of Garie Beach, with it's level path quite firm footing where the pace can be a little quicker and the knee is not so annoyed. What a welcome sight that car park is. Still a lot of cars. We admire the very modern surf life saving club building. Very swish! We locate Daughter and her friends who are joining us in our exclusive occupancy of the hostel.
First on the agenda is to go and collect our car, so we pile in the car, pushing aside the collection of teenage detritus. A jolly conversation ensues. We transfer to our vehicle and head back to Garie. The Hostel is a km up a dark bush track so we're not keen to cart more than we have to. A picnic in the car is called for we decide. Friends have brought delicious and elaborate salads to go with my quiche. Yum.
Eventually we meet up with the caretaker. Hear some stories about foreign visitors who didn't much appreciate his references to the YHA being "spooky" - the spooky is generated by the sound of the wind in the she-oaks.. we load ourselves up and start to feel our way up the dark bush track. Amazingly we make it up OK with noone breaking anything. Great teamwork.
The shack was built in the 1950s. It's a great spot. Fires are prohibited but there's a nice inviting fire pit on a concrete slab and clearly people use it.. we didn't. While the prohibition in summer is understandable in winter it seems a bit like over-kill and I can't help feeling a LOT of sympathy with the rule breakers. We open the door and flick the light switch. .. again.. hmm. Torch please. flick, flick.. hmmm. looks like an early night.
We nominate our selected sleeping spots. Hmm. Beds and bedding are all slightly damp...hmm. Glad I brought the sheets they said we should. Clearly others don't. Sand on bed, sand on floors that clearly haven't been swept by each occupant as is requested, but it's not toooo bad. A ground sheet would be useful to sleep on. I decide maybe if I turn the mattress (also supposed to be done by each visitor). Hmmm. mouldy underneath. I might leave it as it is then. We use spare jumpers to cover the pillows. We've forgotten pillow cases. Jumpers are better anyhow. Thicker. Feels cleaner and drier.
The young'uns trek their way across to the composting toilet.. clearly it gets a bit more use than it can ideally cope with.
The night is not as bad as it could be. We rise, breakfast and discuss the day ahead. Hubby and I are off. My knee will prevent any thought of completing (the even longer) Garie to Bundeena section of the walk.
the weather is rather damp looking. Showers of rain continuing as they have done for a week or more. We leave the young things to their day after following all the instructions and sweeping out all the rooms.
In closing I would say the walk is great. Maybe better in drier conditions perhaps, however it is varied and interesting. The first half of this section through bush though, don't expect to feel much like your walking along a coast for much of that bit, but it is lovely bushland. Imagine the hoards of people living so close who have no idea this is on their doorstep... maybe that's a good thing!
# Information about the traditions and knowledge of the Dharawal people is sourced from Dharawal seasons and climatic cycles, compiled by Frances Bodkin and Illustrated by Lorraine Robertson. I bought my copy from the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Gift Shop. It is packed with fascinating information and traditional stories of the Sydney Region.
Frances Bokdin is a Dharawal educator. If you do a bit of digging on the web about her all sorts of interesting tidbits can be found ..like this article about the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project. Seeing her photo I realise it was she who gave a talk about indigenous plants we went to at the gardens some years back. She is an absolutely fascinating person so if you ever get the chance to attend one of her talks - don't miss it!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Some Aussie Anthems - and other iconic tunes.
So I got distracted on Youtube today.. tickled to find some great aussie tunes thereon. I will post the links to the best of them, but I can't be held accountable for any comments by shameless bogans in relation to the clips.. sigh..
I'll start with the anthems, and I'll also post links to some others that may be mentioned in other posts, but I think it will be convenient to have one collection here of the ones I love best.
First of all, will have to go the offical National Anthem - Advance Australia Fair. No-one sings it better than Julie Anthony. This long version she's towards the end, but you get the full lyrics. This one is the abbreviated anthem that is very popular.
The lyrics for those not familiar:
Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free
We've golden soil and wealth for toil
Our home is girt by sea
Our land abounds in natures gifts of beauty rich and rare
In history's page let every stage advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing: Advance Australia Fair
Beneath our radiant southern cross, we'll toil with hearts and hands
To make this commonwealth of ours, reknowned of all the lands
For those who come across the seas we've boundless plains to share
With courage let us all combine to advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing advance Australia fair.
Well of course there's Waltzing Matilda. There's various versions, but Slim Dusty's has to get the nod.
For those who would like to understand Waltzing Matilda and what it means to us as Australians there are a couple of early blog posts about it. One by the Prime Minister at the time of the 100 year anniversary of the song and some notes for interpretation of the lyrics by yours truly.
Another more recent tune that seeks to capture modern Australia in a more inclusive sort of way is I am Australian - this is the original Seekers version. Try watching school kids sing this and not cry!! Oh heck, try not crying any time at all!! Even the tune will make me a jibbering mess LOL.
the seekers sing the lyric very clearly, but for those who miss something here they are, thank you Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton:
I came from the dream time, from the dusty red soil plains,
I am the ancient heart - the keeper of the flame,
I stood upon the rocky shore, I watched the tall ships come,
For forty thousand years I'd been the first Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I came upon the prison ship bound down by iron chains
I cleared the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains.
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run
A convict then a free man, I became Australian.
I'm the daughter of a digger who sought the mother lode
The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road
I'm a child of the depression, I saw the good times come
I'm a bushy, I'm a battler, I am Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I'm a teller of stories, I'm a singer of songs
I am Albert Namatjira, and I paint the ghostly gums
I am Clancy on his horse, I'm Ned Kelly on the run
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda, I am Australian.
I'm the hot wind from the desert, I'm the black soil of the plains
I'm the mountains and the valleys, I'm the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock, I am the sky, the rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land, I am Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I am the ancient heart - the keeper of the flame,
I stood upon the rocky shore, I watched the tall ships come,
For forty thousand years I'd been the first Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I came upon the prison ship bound down by iron chains
I cleared the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains.
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run
A convict then a free man, I became Australian.
I'm the daughter of a digger who sought the mother lode
The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road
I'm a child of the depression, I saw the good times come
I'm a bushy, I'm a battler, I am Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I'm a teller of stories, I'm a singer of songs
I am Albert Namatjira, and I paint the ghostly gums
I am Clancy on his horse, I'm Ned Kelly on the run
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda, I am Australian.
I'm the hot wind from the desert, I'm the black soil of the plains
I'm the mountains and the valleys, I'm the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock, I am the sky, the rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land, I am Australian.
We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
but what about
Great Southern Land - Icehouse - a classic by a band of my youth. Saw them at the Manly Vale hotel in Sydney years ago.
Land Downunder - Men at Work. Always played in sporting contexts. I recall it for the America's Cup when we finally beat the Yanks in 1983...wow that was some day. It's the only time I can remember that they had the radio playing over the loudspeakers at Sydney Central train station. As the trains pulled up the passengers where sticking their heads out the window to find out what was happening... and we'd won. It was an amazing day. .. and of course Land Downunder was almost the anthem at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Great song.
This is Australia - Gangajang
or My Island Home performed by Christine Anu. The lyrics taken literally are about indigenous people called the saltwater people.. (note the reference to holding the long turtle spear) ... but it has been adopted by everyone as it really captures that longing and love you feel for your home.. and Australia is an island afterall. This version they have amended the original version, adding an additional verse to make it more a "national" song.
..and Chris Martin and Coldplay at least see this one as an Australian anthem. Can you doubt it when you see this clip of Australians singing along to John Farnham singing You're the Voice fundraising for bush fire victims in 2009. Backing is by Coldplay. Good one them for joining in the fundraising.
Songs that speak to the ANZAC legacy
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. By Eric Bogle. This rendition by John Williamson and it's good, but Eric Bogle sings it better.. unfortunately the misinformation provided in the clip to the original on youtube just annoys me too much to link it!
I was only 19 - brilliant song about Vietnam.
and I guess you would have to include Khe Sanh in this category. Classic Cold Chisel, iconic...also relevant to Vietnam and returning home, it's a great song... unfortunately also a bit associated with rabid boganism.. but we'll try to overlook that.
Classic Aussie tunes:
Along the Road to Gundagai is a particular favourite of mine. Slim Dusty's Along the Road to Gundagai is loved by many.
Home among the gum trees would have to be in this list too.
John Williamson songs:
True Blue - some people have recommended this song as a source of understanding the Aussie spirit, which is advice I don't actually understand. It was written at a time when some iconic Aussie brands were being sold off to mulinational giants. The economy wasn't doing so well. The days of the lucky country seemed to be drifing away. Aussies felt very very upset about it and this song came out as a introspective look at who we really are and what we really stand for, because at the time we really were really feeling pretty shell shocked. It doesn't answer the question it asks it.
Cootamundra Wattle - another of my personal favourites, and another huge hit in Australia when it was released. There's more than one variety of wattle in the film clip. Cootamundra wattle is the one at 2:02 LOL.
Raining on the Rock .. with a live version of Cootamundra Wattle as a bonus!
...and just because I like it and I'm feeling self-indulgent here's Desert Child!
The most iconic of our literature
My Country - this version read by the great Dorothea McKellar herself. This poem is so iconic that the language of it has become woven into how we express our land in language. Whenever you hear Australia referred to as "the sunburnt country" it is an echo of and reference to this poem.
The Man From Snowy River by Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson. ..but we've also turned it into a song. This version is a live rendition by Jack Thompson at the Corryong Man From Snowy River Festival in 2009. Jack Thompson is a bit of an icon himself, so he's a natural choice for the job!
No land in western Europe was as dependent as Australia on the horse. The horse was absolutely indispensable in most regions, even at the ports. A far higher proportion of Australians than Britons knew how to harness, saddle and ride a horse. Newcomers marvelled at the ease and daring with which many Australians, both men and women, handled horses. Horse races drew large crowds. A township without a racecourse or land set aside for one was a rarity. It is no surprise then that this poem, recording a real and legendary display of horsemanship became such a cultural icon.
(Reference: Geoffrey Blainey, Black Kettle and Full Moon, Daily life in a Vanished Australia)
The Loaded Dog... well, an excerpt of this iconic short story anyway. By Henry Lawson and read by Jack Thompson..
Wonderful Classic Aussie ads
And of course there's the Happy Little Vegemites! and rather a lot of other deeply loved ads that just about everyone my age or older can sing even now decades later... and what's more get a great deal of pleasure doing so!!
and the eternally wonderful Louie the Fly
.. and Aeroplane Jelly..... Hugo and Holly... for which my hubby still has his song book.. who didn't love that one!
and another that became part of the Aussie vernacular "Oh Mr Hart!! What a mess!!" .. and some proof of just how much most of us loved that add - the chaser's tribute to Pro Hart on his demise.
Some Some of the Best Comedy
Australiana by Austen Tayshus .. warning this clip is quite rude and incldues drug references.. maybe it might go over the heads of people not well versed in Australiana but you never know. It is chock a block with (ie absolutely full of) references to Australian animals and locations, pastimes and events. Classic.
Sporting Anthems
Cmon Aussie Cmon. Written by mojo if my memory hasn't failed me. A really successful ad agency, but this bled over into being a cricketing anthem. Penned when the windies were at the top of their game. The reference to being up against the best was a reference to the windies touring. There is also an updated version reflecting more recent dominance of the Aussie team.. Cmon Aussie Cmon now has a life of it's own.
Up there Cazaly - VFL ie Victorian Football League - Aussie Rules before it went national. But even up here in the league states we enjoyed this one that became a hit song. Love the clip. ... oh by the way.. Cazaly is the name of one of the great players of Aussie Rules.
Then there's the 12th Man's Marvellous... maybe needs some background. Richie Benaud was captain of the Australian cricket team who has gone on to commentating. He's a dead set icon. He and the rest of the team strongly favour the word "marvellous" to describe the action....
Perhaps this one should go in the comedy section.. the Aussie Haka. As far as I can distinguish the words are
Take your thong off your foot.
Slap your thong on your arse
Slap your thong on your arse
Scull your beer Scull your beer, pour, pour
Scull your beer Scull your beer, pour, pour
We've got the cup you won't get it get it
Bill stays right here in Australia
You come ah! you come ah! You come a waltzing matilda with me!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Walking in the Blue Mountains: Leura Forest, Dardanelles Pass, Federal Pass
It's been another trying couple of weeks what with moving house and all there's been precious little opportunity for enjoyment. Following on from our Jenolan soujurn today we are up for another challenge and a Blue Mountains walk on one of the more challenging tracks is our agenda. We are again quite late getting away, but we arrive at Echo Point at about 10:45. We have decided to call in at the information centre and acquire some maps of the walks that we can carry with us.
The stairs keep on taking us down, steeply down, as we follow the path of the water. We are reminded that we are on Federal Pass by an interpretive board that gives historical information about this track. Heading on we soon come to Linda Falls which proves more amenable to still photography. It falls in a roar into a beautiful clear sandy bottomed pool, before running under the bridge of the path and flowing again down into the abyss below.
Down again the track travels via a couple of sharp hairpin turning stairways. It's still only 12:46. One hour into a four hour walk and we're wondering how we're going to find getting back up when the time comes....
Our thoughts are again distracted by the Marguerite Cascades. Three falls named for three women. I wonder who they were... Marguerite Cascades is lovely, though not quite as easily viewed.
As we continue along the track we continue to pass falling water meandering around beatiful mossy rocks in silver torrents. The forest to this point is dim. But the ground begins to level and the canopy to show shafts of light. We have arrived at the magical Leura Forest. Like a fairy glen with mossy rocks placed with harmonious skill around the flat ground neatly ornamented with a leaf litter over rich moist brown humous. A Japanese garden would struggle to outdo the beautiful placement of these rocks among the tall straight tree trunks. Fantastic!!
It's many a year since we've gone in the info centre and gosh, what a change. It's not so much an info centre as a massive gift shop with small, two person info counter down one end. How the priorities have shifted. Last time we were here the windows overlooking the views were unobscured and there was a bird feeder outside the window where you could watch the gang gang cockatoos, king parrots and other beautiful birds. Now you're flat out seeing beyond the product displays.
After a bit of back and forthing to the maps and walks stand and some helpful advice about the publications from the girl on the sales desk we are out. We need to move the car. Our $3.50 will only take us along for an hour and we have at least 3-4 hrs walking in mind. Charges go up to $4 per hour after that first hour. As we have to drive anyway we decide we will do the walk: Leura Forest, Dardanelles Pass, Federal Pass which starts from Leura Cascades. Only a short drive away. We stop for a snack in the car which we have saved from brekkie, bircher muesli, with banana and king island yoghurt (yuuuuumm!) . Armed with wensleydale cheese and salad sandwiches, a couple of oranges and a couple of bottles of water, rainproof jackets etc we set off at 11:45.
It is chilly in the mountains today and I am glad I've brought a scarf and gloves. These shady walks don't take advantage of the glorious blue skies either so on go the gloves. It is a steady walk down broadly spaced steps which gradually increase in incline as we travel. The forest in this area is lush and moist. Delightful - but there is even better to come. 
We've had a couple of weeks fairly steady rain in the Sydney area, and the path shows it. Fortunately the frame for the path provides an easy walk around, but it's not fast going. Fortunately the track improves as the terrain gets steeper.
We are walking downhill past the long series of cascades that give the locality the name. They are flowing beautifully and provide a contrast to the last time we were here for an Australia Day picnic with my brother and nephews. Daughter caught a yabby in the cascades on that day, and the baby and preschooler played leaf boats in the stream. Far too dangerous to even consider something like that today even if the weather wasn't so cold. 
At the base of the cascade there is a cute little viewing area under a rock overhang. As paths go it's quite picturesque and I snap a shot. 
From the other side of the little bridge there is a scene of a nice little sandy beach beside the stream. 
From the other side of the little bridge there is a scene of a nice little sandy beach beside the stream. 
Sensible people head back up at this point, but we are headed down, down down the stairs...
A little way along we come to snatches of views across the valley to the glowing orange escarpment. A flowering banskia spinulosa or hairpin banksia with it's orange brushes and black styles frames the view out, while looking downward we see the plunging bridal veil falls. Leaving the lookout we head up the steps then climb down the staircases to the base of bridal veil falls. The long winding stairs traverse through the dense forest and past a beautiful gully of tree fern. Everything is moist and dripping. Rocks are covered in beautiful ferny moss. This is a truly beautful gully. 
Next to the path someone has carved a rudimentary face in the rock which has then been covered green with lush growth making a memorable landmark.
Next to the path someone has carved a rudimentary face in the rock which has then been covered green with lush growth making a memorable landmark.In the surrounding forest, a tree trunk has been comprehensively colonised by a fruiting fungus which climbs like a tawny apartment block high up into the tree. Surely the beautiful fungi are the jewels of the rainforest!
Finally we emerge at the base of the falls. We are immediately struck by their appropriate name... we admire for a minute or two and another couple arrive. Their first comment is the same as ours.. gee they really do look like a bridal veil!
From the falls we are heading up again, and pass under the canopy of tall tree ferns. Everywhere we go the sound of cascading water, trickling water, abundant water provides a rich serenade. In this drought ridden land, the sound of water everywhere around is indeed a luxurious sound!!
We pass around the edge of the escarpment on a narrow band of exposed claystone track, kept dry by the overhanging rock. This is the amphitheatre track and the guide books warns it can be slippery after rain. Then we come to our first obstacle. A tree has fallen across the path, breaking the railing of the metal bridge across which it has landed. Hmm. How to get round this. I decide the easiest way seems to be to hold the railing and step down off the path and across the rocks, then climb back through the barrier to retake the path. This does prove quite a simple exercise and we are again on our way.
We pass another beautiful silver torrent of water bounding down through the forest over a beautiful array of rock and out of sight to the valley floor below. This is soon followed by a magical section of path that runs underneath a deep and dripping rock overhang. The rotten wooden planks of the old path are visible against the rock ledge. The new subtly coloured recycled plastic boardwalk is fringed by beautiful ferns.
Another five minutes and we emerge to a fine veil of water falling from far above to strike a narrow rock ledge that seems to be placed just for the purpose of enhancing the effect of this beautiful fringe of water. We pause for several minutes in admiration. As we move off we notice that this was Lila Falls. Yes, it deserves a name. We are already running out of superlatives for this walk. It is magnificent.
Another five minutes and we emerge to a fine veil of water falling from far above to strike a narrow rock ledge that seems to be placed just for the purpose of enhancing the effect of this beautiful fringe of water. We pause for several minutes in admiration. As we move off we notice that this was Lila Falls. Yes, it deserves a name. We are already running out of superlatives for this walk. It is magnificent.
The stairs keep on taking us down, steeply down, as we follow the path of the water. We are reminded that we are on Federal Pass by an interpretive board that gives historical information about this track. Heading on we soon come to Linda Falls which proves more amenable to still photography. It falls in a roar into a beautiful clear sandy bottomed pool, before running under the bridge of the path and flowing again down into the abyss below.
Down again the track travels via a couple of sharp hairpin turning stairways. It's still only 12:46. One hour into a four hour walk and we're wondering how we're going to find getting back up when the time comes....
Our thoughts are again distracted by the Marguerite Cascades. Three falls named for three women. I wonder who they were... Marguerite Cascades is lovely, though not quite as easily viewed.
As we continue along the track we continue to pass falling water meandering around beatiful mossy rocks in silver torrents. The forest to this point is dim. But the ground begins to level and the canopy to show shafts of light. We have arrived at the magical Leura Forest. Like a fairy glen with mossy rocks placed with harmonious skill around the flat ground neatly ornamented with a leaf litter over rich moist brown humous. A Japanese garden would struggle to outdo the beautiful placement of these rocks among the tall straight tree trunks. Fantastic!!
We are pleased to see several picnic tables scattered at discrete distances around the forest floor. What a special place for a picnic!! We decide to have our lunch here on our return, but first we'll knock over the Dardanelles Pass. We cross Banksia Streamlet and find another section of the picnic ground, this time with a corrugated iron roofed tea house. A reproduction of an original built over a hundred years ago that was destroyed by a falling tree.
We head on up Federal Pass and are struck along the way by a large rich brown, deeply textured tree trunk beautifully ornamented by some fine fungi fruits of the finest delicate fawn colour. They are exquisite but the light is very poor. Oh for a tripod!
We are now walking through bell bird country. Their outstandingly ethereal tinkling bell calls provide a magical atmosphere and belie the nature of the actual bird. As children we would always wind down our windows in sections of forest we knew had bell birds and listen to their beautiful call. I imagined them to be tiny pretty sweet natured little things. Quite disillusioning to find they are a quite aggressive large honeyeater quite a bully of the bird world. A pretty green, which orange highlights in skin, but with very very sharp claws like needles and an almost evil talent for digging them into the quick of your fingernail as you extract them from a mist net, or try to measure them... but nothing, nothing can lessen the joy of listening to their call.
In a little while we pass a lyrebird calling. We stop to listen and record the call for you and for posterity. The recorder has picked up the bell birds which of course are nearer, but we also manage at least some of the lyrebirds repetoire. The bell bird calls dominate, but all the various other calls you can hear are the lyrebird letting fly one bird call after the other..see what (if any) you can recognise, I can clearly hear eastern whip bird, black cockatoo, currawong, kookaburra, and shrike thrush. What a delight to stand in the peaceful forest with such a chorus around you!
The path all along is steep uphill. Not a lot of steps, but strenuous just the same. As we rise the forest is opening out. As the forest opens the beatifully lumpy and knobbly red trunks of Angophera Costata stand like sentinels, with shed bark arrayed modestly round about in beautiful rich shades of brown. Oh how I love this tree the shedding season up here in the mountains seems quite out of kilter with that lower down by the coast. A little way along shining straight smooth white trunks here and there light up the forest and I wonder what species they are - maybe Eucalyptus oreades? or deanei?
Through the trees we can see the ruined castle and conclude we must be nearing the intersection with Dardanelles pass. Click on the photo and you can see the ruined castle on the top of the ridge that curves gentley across the foreground of the distant escarpment.
Sure enough here it is. It's now ten minutes to two. We've been walking about 2 hrs to get to this point. Heading back along Dardanelles Pass, we meet up with a couple of brits who have just come down the giant stairway and are wondering which way to go. They've come without their purses and have only $10 between them, so getting the railway up is out. They got directions at the info centre and can't remember what they were told. A bit of quizzing of us and they decide to head across to Leura Cascades. They take off
at quite a formidable pace, but we are happy to let them get ahead. It's much nicer walking in the forest on your own isn't it. The terrain is very easy after the rest of our walk and feels like a rest by comparison. It is gently downhill, and quite a smooth path. We navigate through/over/around a couple of fallen trees along the way and come to a lady and small girl seated on a wayside bench listening to another lyrebird this time up the slope a bit. The bird is calling beautifully we have a brief chat about it and share the wonder of these fabulous Australian birds. Many people assume that because they are such great mimics - they can even make the sound of chain saws and tinkling chains when those sounds are around them - that they are named for that ie they are liar birds. This is not the case. They are lyre- birds named for the lyre shaped tails. The lyre is of course a musical instrument. The indigenous people regarded the lyrebird as having been given among the birds permission to speak all languages and was the "totem" symbol of the Dharawal people resident around the Campbelltown/Camden "cowpastures" area who took a role of diplomat and hospitable hosts among the local tribes. Living in such a rich and abundant area, in times of drought the mountain tribes would come down to the Dharawal area there around Mt Annan and the Dharawal considered it their duty to welcome all visitors, hold conferences and so on... they were similarly tolerant of the early european settlers. So a Dharawal oral historian told us in a talk I once attended. He said that the mountain tribes were not so tolerant and the violence that ended up occuring was when those people had come down in dry times and came into conflict with the settlers.
But I digress...
Soon we are back at Leura forest and ready for lunch. We're not the only ones with this idea, but the tables are well spaced and it's perfectly possible to have a quiet private lunch, albeit with an occassional wave and g'day to a passing walker. The forest encourages quiet contemplation, like a cathedral. There is something about this track. Almost everyone you pass is moved to be friendly. Does this wonderful place bring such a sense of common humanity to people who walk with spirits soaring? We all seem to have a common sense of unspoken awe... Well, apart from those locally resident British ladies, who seem to be powering on in chattering conversation oblivious to the forest. Oblivious to the lyrebirds. We catch them up when another guy is talking to them about the birds and saying to listen for them. The ladies stand with blank faces. They've not noticed the birds at all. I can't help feeling they've missed the point completely, but hey, each to his or her own I suppose.
Lunch out of the way. We press on wanting to see whether we can comfortably complete the walk in the 4 hours. It's now about 2:40 pm. Allowing extra for our lunch stop our 4 hrs runs out at 4 pm, but can we do it? It's only a short while until we hit the up-stairs section. We come to features that felt so far from the start of our walk. It's a strenuous climb up. We pace ourselves and pause regularly to take in the scene and catch our breath. It is an extraordinarily beautiful track... or should we say stairway, but our lower body is certainly feeling it. My knee is the first to complain and I start to feel my age. Bloody knee! Fortunately we have mostly to go up stairs and this it can tolerate no worries. Down is not so comfy and the problem leg must go down first which is a bit of a drag that slows us a bit.
We make it back to the carpark at 3:45pm. The guide book says this walk should be treated as a day walk. Probably quite correct, and it would be no problem if you just moseyed up and down the stairs etc, sat on the provided seats when they come up and generally just do a bit of communing. Certainly when doing cave tours at Jenolan, you take a flight or two of stairs, or a ladder and then you have a good 5 or ten minutes of resting listening and admiring before heading on again. Not very tiring that way at all. Certainly even half of this walk done at a steady continuous pace, seems twice as strenuous as the river cave that's for sure. However we're rather tickled that we've done it without too much problem. I must look up Tongariro Crossing and have a think about the comparison in the terrain etc. I think they say that once you get up the first bit.. is it the Devil's Staircase, the rest isn't too bad? I still don't know if we're game to take that on, but we'll have a great time walking before we decide. .. I've got my eye on the walk to ruined castle which is a similar grade but longer. It would need an early start of course....
We head on up Federal Pass and are struck along the way by a large rich brown, deeply textured tree trunk beautifully ornamented by some fine fungi fruits of the finest delicate fawn colour. They are exquisite but the light is very poor. Oh for a tripod!
We are now walking through bell bird country. Their outstandingly ethereal tinkling bell calls provide a magical atmosphere and belie the nature of the actual bird. As children we would always wind down our windows in sections of forest we knew had bell birds and listen to their beautiful call. I imagined them to be tiny pretty sweet natured little things. Quite disillusioning to find they are a quite aggressive large honeyeater quite a bully of the bird world. A pretty green, which orange highlights in skin, but with very very sharp claws like needles and an almost evil talent for digging them into the quick of your fingernail as you extract them from a mist net, or try to measure them... but nothing, nothing can lessen the joy of listening to their call.
In a little while we pass a lyrebird calling. We stop to listen and record the call for you and for posterity. The recorder has picked up the bell birds which of course are nearer, but we also manage at least some of the lyrebirds repetoire. The bell bird calls dominate, but all the various other calls you can hear are the lyrebird letting fly one bird call after the other..see what (if any) you can recognise, I can clearly hear eastern whip bird, black cockatoo, currawong, kookaburra, and shrike thrush. What a delight to stand in the peaceful forest with such a chorus around you!
The path all along is steep uphill. Not a lot of steps, but strenuous just the same. As we rise the forest is opening out. As the forest opens the beatifully lumpy and knobbly red trunks of Angophera Costata stand like sentinels, with shed bark arrayed modestly round about in beautiful rich shades of brown. Oh how I love this tree the shedding season up here in the mountains seems quite out of kilter with that lower down by the coast. A little way along shining straight smooth white trunks here and there light up the forest and I wonder what species they are - maybe Eucalyptus oreades? or deanei?
Through the trees we can see the ruined castle and conclude we must be nearing the intersection with Dardanelles pass. Click on the photo and you can see the ruined castle on the top of the ridge that curves gentley across the foreground of the distant escarpment.
Sure enough here it is. It's now ten minutes to two. We've been walking about 2 hrs to get to this point. Heading back along Dardanelles Pass, we meet up with a couple of brits who have just come down the giant stairway and are wondering which way to go. They've come without their purses and have only $10 between them, so getting the railway up is out. They got directions at the info centre and can't remember what they were told. A bit of quizzing of us and they decide to head across to Leura Cascades. They take off
at quite a formidable pace, but we are happy to let them get ahead. It's much nicer walking in the forest on your own isn't it. The terrain is very easy after the rest of our walk and feels like a rest by comparison. It is gently downhill, and quite a smooth path. We navigate through/over/around a couple of fallen trees along the way and come to a lady and small girl seated on a wayside bench listening to another lyrebird this time up the slope a bit. The bird is calling beautifully we have a brief chat about it and share the wonder of these fabulous Australian birds. Many people assume that because they are such great mimics - they can even make the sound of chain saws and tinkling chains when those sounds are around them - that they are named for that ie they are liar birds. This is not the case. They are lyre- birds named for the lyre shaped tails. The lyre is of course a musical instrument. The indigenous people regarded the lyrebird as having been given among the birds permission to speak all languages and was the "totem" symbol of the Dharawal people resident around the Campbelltown/Camden "cowpastures" area who took a role of diplomat and hospitable hosts among the local tribes. Living in such a rich and abundant area, in times of drought the mountain tribes would come down to the Dharawal area there around Mt Annan and the Dharawal considered it their duty to welcome all visitors, hold conferences and so on... they were similarly tolerant of the early european settlers. So a Dharawal oral historian told us in a talk I once attended. He said that the mountain tribes were not so tolerant and the violence that ended up occuring was when those people had come down in dry times and came into conflict with the settlers.
But I digress...
Soon we are back at Leura forest and ready for lunch. We're not the only ones with this idea, but the tables are well spaced and it's perfectly possible to have a quiet private lunch, albeit with an occassional wave and g'day to a passing walker. The forest encourages quiet contemplation, like a cathedral. There is something about this track. Almost everyone you pass is moved to be friendly. Does this wonderful place bring such a sense of common humanity to people who walk with spirits soaring? We all seem to have a common sense of unspoken awe... Well, apart from those locally resident British ladies, who seem to be powering on in chattering conversation oblivious to the forest. Oblivious to the lyrebirds. We catch them up when another guy is talking to them about the birds and saying to listen for them. The ladies stand with blank faces. They've not noticed the birds at all. I can't help feeling they've missed the point completely, but hey, each to his or her own I suppose.
Lunch out of the way. We press on wanting to see whether we can comfortably complete the walk in the 4 hours. It's now about 2:40 pm. Allowing extra for our lunch stop our 4 hrs runs out at 4 pm, but can we do it? It's only a short while until we hit the up-stairs section. We come to features that felt so far from the start of our walk. It's a strenuous climb up. We pace ourselves and pause regularly to take in the scene and catch our breath. It is an extraordinarily beautiful track... or should we say stairway, but our lower body is certainly feeling it. My knee is the first to complain and I start to feel my age. Bloody knee! Fortunately we have mostly to go up stairs and this it can tolerate no worries. Down is not so comfy and the problem leg must go down first which is a bit of a drag that slows us a bit.
We make it back to the carpark at 3:45pm. The guide book says this walk should be treated as a day walk. Probably quite correct, and it would be no problem if you just moseyed up and down the stairs etc, sat on the provided seats when they come up and generally just do a bit of communing. Certainly when doing cave tours at Jenolan, you take a flight or two of stairs, or a ladder and then you have a good 5 or ten minutes of resting listening and admiring before heading on again. Not very tiring that way at all. Certainly even half of this walk done at a steady continuous pace, seems twice as strenuous as the river cave that's for sure. However we're rather tickled that we've done it without too much problem. I must look up Tongariro Crossing and have a think about the comparison in the terrain etc. I think they say that once you get up the first bit.. is it the Devil's Staircase, the rest isn't too bad? I still don't know if we're game to take that on, but we'll have a great time walking before we decide. .. I've got my eye on the walk to ruined castle which is a similar grade but longer. It would need an early start of course....
.. back in the car we have some more water, and head off home in time to get the dinner...
Sunday morning after a better than usual night's sleep we aren't sore, but our lower body is tired. It certainly got a work out!
I must say that this challenging walk is superlative. Absolutely glorious. I am sure it would be delightful at any time, but now in winter after rain, in the season the lyrebirds are calling, it just cannot be bettered. What a privilege it is to live so close to such an amazing place as the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
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