Johnblog

It does stop raining at our holiday house in Gerroa and we have a wonderful few sunny days there and exploring the surroundings. Our house overlooks headlands with rocky platforms below. Just down the road is the start of seven-mile beach, a spectacular curve of yellow sand stretching into the distance, fading behind a curtain of its own wind-blown spume. We have a walk along the beach and see the usual few dead fish, lots of shells – and a giant round hay bale that has been washed down some river by the floods and ended up on the sand. The surf is huge, which makes for good spectator sport watching the brave surfers having fun, but it is a bit too rough to swim. We make do with the pool at the holiday house for a refreshing (brrr!) morning dip.

The rainstorm has flooded the roads and some small towns to the north of us and brought some landslips and other catastrophes. We are cut off! We find food in a Chinese restaurant in the local bowling club which is very good.

We have an expedition to the Fly Tree Top Rainforest walk up in the hills. We
go through the little town of Jamberoo to get there, but find the road is closed because the storms have washed away some bridges. We go instead via the tiny town Robertson. Lovely walk along a special gantry high in the forest with spectacular views of Wollongong and the coast. We have a look around Robertson and lunch at the “famous” Robertson pie shop – simple but damned good! Parked outside is an old Morris Minor in good condition with the number plate QT PIE!

Of course we cannot resist the allure of the blowhole, who can! So we go to Kiama – passing the remains of the landslips that had earlier blocked the roads –  to look at the natural rock fissure that produces a spectacular plume of spray when the waves shoot into it. Lovely views all around. We also catch some spectacular sunsets while having a sundowner at the Gerroa Boat Fishing Club.

Our last night we have a fab meal at the Gerroa Seahaven Café. Upmarket prices, but great food – first rate Sydney standards. I have a fabulous cheese souffle then kingfish. Everyone is ooing and aahing at the grub – excellent place.

We have a leisurely trip back to Sydney via the harbour in Wollongong, Austinmer, the beach kiosk at Stanwell Park, Stanwell Tops and the Royal National Park.

Having a lovely time in Kangaroo Valley south of Sydney at a bush retreat for the wedding of Amanda and Tris Burke. Bob and Julie Lymn travel with us. Great privilege to be invited and great fun. We stay in cabins among the trees around a lake. We see kangaroos in a paddock on the way there and a couple of wombats ambling around in a cute, wombatty way.

There’s a viewing platform on a bluff with fantastic vistas across the valley of the Kangaroo River several hundred feet below and to a golf course on the far side. There is also a spectacular outdoor “cathedral” with huge moss-covered rocks towering at least 15 metres either side of a central space. Unfortunately it pours with rain. It was a rainfall record I think – 230mm in one day in Kangaroo Valley.

We have the ceremony under cover – but it is still amazing. Lots of very moving speeches, lots of good food and booze. Then the youngsters crank up the disco gear and there’s lots of dancing. Even us oldies join in! Great family time with lots of people coming from different parts of Australia and from Europe to join in. Jan and I share a cabin with Tony (father of the groom) and Madelaine and have a few laughs. We  know them because we stayed in their place in Marche in Italy.

Today we move to a rented beach house in Gerroa, about 40 minutes from Kangaroo Valley, for a few days. The little mountain road that winds down the escarpment is covered with debris brought down by the rain – including some hefty branches that block half the road. The house at Gerroa is a spectacular place with wonderful views of the crashing surf – but it is still raining. It should stop this afternon.

We cycle the Cooks River cycle track today. It runs from Bicentennial Park along the Cooks River to where the river enters Botany Bay at Tempe, right near the airport. The group is Jan, me, Pam and Steve. Pam and Steve drive to our place at Concord with their bikes in  the back of the ute and we set off about 9.45 am. It takes a bit of winding about along roads and across the M4 motorway footbridge and then across Paramatta Road before we get to the good part of the track. Then it is through parks and beside golf courses before we get to Cooks River.

At this early point the river is just a trickle in a big open stormwater channel, flanked by ugly concrete banks. It gradually opens out to a proper river, loses the concrete and gains some mangroves. There are playing fields and parks all along the route. We arrive at Tempe where there is a boat club on the river and a pleasant outlook. We can also see planes going into the airport and get the occasional smell of hot avtur wafting across.

We have a lovely picnic lunch and head back. Total ride 46 kilometres – we get back home at 2.15 for coffee and Pam’s home made pan forte. Yum yum, slightly sore bum!

Very pleasant evening at super trendy restaurant in Kings Cross with colleagues. Great food – Chinese style but with lots of post-modern irony. Sort of rough warehouse interior – walls covered with wallpaper made from newspaper and magazine pages, coffee tables made from tightly-bundled cardboard cubes, bare boards. Great atmo. Has been described as a New York style Singapore noodle house. Saw the owner, trendy zillionaire Justin Hemmes.