Wentworth Falls

It's Sunday the 28th and the day before I leave for England. Linda, Kevin and I went to church and then drove straight up into the mountains to visit Wentworth Falls. They wanted to give me a last chance to see the Blue Mountains. We drove up to The Conservation Hut which serves up meals. We had sandwiches for lunch and sat outside looking out over the valley. What a wonderful view.



View from The Conservation Hut




Chicken Salad Sandwich. What we call doorsteps.



Linda and Kevin enjoy  their sandwiches





Wentworth Falls




People walking along path to Wentworth Falls

  After lunch we took a walk along to a lookout so we could see the Wentworth Falls. I spotted people much further down the mountain at a lookout nearer the falls. There are several walks round the falls area. We chose the one that said 'Easy with SOME steps' So I decided I could do that. Somebody's idea of SOME steps was a joke. We went down about 300 metres and it was all steps. As I walked down I thinking 'I am not going to make it back up this steep path'. Anyway the view was worth it. I could see across the valley a rock face where steps and footpaths have been cut out and the stalwart walkers were climbing up and down and along the paths to the falls.
I did make it back up. Kevin and Linda were kind enough to take their time so that I could go at my own pace and not get out of puff!

Back to Sydney

On Thursday 25th Linda, Kevin and I took a two day trip to Sydney. We set off early and took the train into Sydney Central Station. We then looked for the Green Bus. This is free bus that runs every 20 mins taking a circular tour round the centre of the city. Very handy for hopping on and off as you tour the sights of Sydney.
First we went to Sydney Tower. It is 309m (1,014ft) high, roughly twice as high as Blackpool Tower, and from the observation deck you get a 360o view of Sydney and the waterways that surround it. I never realised how many bays and inlets surround Sydney. There are boats and ferries constantly too-ing and fro-ing across the waters. Linda and Kevin pointed out different landmarks as we walked round the deck.

 Sydney Tower

 Views from Sydney Tower

 Wendy in the Sydney Tower

Having lunch in the tower

Apparently there is a 'sky walk' where people can walk along a platform out in the open. They are dressed in special suits and safety harnesses. I decided to give that one a miss!
We went down to the cafe on the next floor and sat by the window having coffee and a very large Lamington, a traditional Australian chocolate and coconut coated cake, relaxing and watching the tiny world go by beneath us.
Next stop was the Queen Victoria Building, a large   Victorian arcade of shops and cafes, with all it's original architecture and features including a huge sandstone clock depicting the history of the discovery of Australia.

Queen Victoria Building

We then took the Green Bus down to the Sydney Opera House. There were far too many steps for me to climb so I just took pictures from below.The sun was out and it was wonderful sitting on the quayside eating our butties with the Harbour Bridge across from us. It was almost too hot and it was still winter!
We watched a an Aborigine man playing didgeridoos to recorded beat music. It sounded very good. It added to the bustling atmosphere of being down on Circular Quay.

Sydney Opera House

A weighty problem!





Circular Quay

 We then booked ferry tickets to take us on a sail round the harbours. It was very windy but a thrilling experience. I took a video of most of the trip! On our way back it was great to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge drawing nearer and nearer.

 

On board the ferry sailing away from Circular Quay

It was late afternoon so we took the bus to the Metro hotel where we were staying for the night.
This gave us chance to freshen up and have a rest until we went out for our evening meal. The rooms were lovely and we had a complimentary bottle of wine in each room.
 We did not have far to go for our evening meal as we had chosen to go to China Town which was round the corner from the hotel.
We walked down Dixon Street which is full of Chinese Restaurants. We were accosted all the way by young Chinese girls trying to persuade us to eat at their restaurant. We stopped off at the Dixon and chose a banquet meal each and we shared the beef, chicken and pork meals.

Starters

Wendy trying to eat with chop sticks

Dixon Restaurant

China Town, Sydney

 The complimentary bottle of wine.

My room at the Metro.

Then we went for a walk to burn off some of the calories. We walked towards Darling Harbour and saw the skyscrapers lighting up the night sky and then back to the hotel where we spent a restful night.
We had breakfast in the hotel and it was a buffet style so we 'filled our boots'. Then we packed up our back packs. We can now say we have back-packed round Sydney!
We went to Darling Harbour which looked so impressive in the daylight. The buildings are very modern and one side of the harbour is full of restaurants and cafes. The Maritime Museum was a place we decided to visit. When we got inside we saw that there was a Scott of the Antarctic Exhibition. So we chose to wait for the tour guide to take us round. The volunteer guide spent an hour taking us around the exhibition. He was so interesting that it didn't feel like it. He said that he reads up about the subject so he can give as much imformation as possible. I certainly found out a lot more information than I had learnt at school. After we stopped off for a bite to eat and I had a fantastic banana, strawberry and mango smoothie with cream, ice cream and yoghurt. Yum! Yum!

Darling Harbour




Sydney Tower from Darling Harbour




Darling Harbour




Pyremont Bridge

We then walked back over the Pyremont Bridge to go and find the Green Bus that would take us to the Central Station. We caught the train back to Blaxland and picked up Kevin's car and then drove home. It was a lovely two days. Thank you Linda and Kevin.

Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach

Kevin took me for a trip to the famous Bondi Beach on Tuesday 23rd. Linda was at work. We packed up a picnic and set off in reasonable weather. We parked up and walked along the promenade. Bondi Beach was smaller than I imagined. It's been a surfing beach for over a hundred years. Bondi is at the end of the Sydney 14km City to Surf Run that Linda and Kevin's son ran while I was in Australia.
 Before I got chance to take it all in the rain came down and we ran to a shelter and waited for it to stop. It didn't rain for long so we went back to the car, not before I had bought Bondi Beach t-shirts from the 'Between The Flags' surfing shop! I also bought Bondi Beach postcards to send to friends and family.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach in the rain

The clouds were clearing and the sea looked much brighter, more like a surfing beach.
Then we drove on to nearby Coogee Beach (pronounced could jee). The sun was shining and it turned in to a glorious day. We walked up over the cliffs and watched the sea crash against the rocks. The cliffs were mostly sand-stone and you could see huge lumps of rock that had snapped off and fallen to the bottom. The stryated rocks we walked over looked liked waves frozen in time.

Cliffs at Coogee

Rocks at Coogee



Memorial to Bali victims representing Friends, Family and Community Togeher



At the top, called Dolphin Point, we came across several memorials to twenty Australians who were killed in the Bali bombings in 2002. I'd read about the bombings in the papers and seen it on the news and was aware about British holiday makers being killed but these memorials with names and photographs moved me.

 Memorial to Bali victims

Coogee Surf

Wendy ready for her picnic lunch!

After watching the waves crashing over rocks in a rock pool called Giles Bath for ages (I wasn't in a hurry to move on because it was so beautiful) we walked to a grassy area on the headland overlooking the sea and ate our yummy picnic.