The Blue Mountains

On the way back to Sydney from the Hunter Valley, we went to the Blue Mountains. Think of the Grand Canyon, only bigger and wider, and much, much greener. It was an incredible sight. We only stopped for an hour or two, so there are only a few pics. Two years ago, when we were here, we couldn't see a thing because it was so foggy. Yesterday, though, afforded us great views.

Hunter Valley

Here is a photo of Milne and me. Milne is the son of our host, Robyn, at the B&B. He was great fun to talk to and we enjoyed his company.

Piggs Peake Winery's mascot - a big pig. They made a great Sowvignon Blanc. Really - that's the name. They also made, only ones in Hunter Valley, a fabulous Zinfandel. Rivals anything from California.

The vineyard at de Bertoli - their original planting.

Our B & B. We had a room at the back opening onto the balcony. Shiraz grapes on the vine - won't be harvested this year.

The view from the top of the Pokolbin Mountains. The fog hadn't quite lifted yet.

Tyrrell's original ironbark cabin. Walter at the hearth.

There is also an older pottery works, with very large kilns, that is now a brewery. Loved the Beer Prayer.

We spent three days in the Hunter Valley, visiting various wineries and taking in the sights. We could easily have spent more time there. In addition to vineyards, there are horse farms and a few alpaca farms.

The area also has a history of coal mining. In 1929, coal mine owners had proposed terms which would have reduced the miners' wages by 12 1/2%, and allowed the mine managers to hire or fire miners without reference to seniority, among other things. The miners refused to accept the conditions and were locked out. The lock-out lasted from March 1929 to June 1930. In December 1929, the NSW police fired into a crown of miners who were demonstrating against the use of non-union miners in Rothbury. One miner was killed and dozens of miners and police were injured. The event became known as the Rothbury Riot. At the time, it was called one of the worst industrial clashes in Australian history. There is a memorial to the miner who died along the Wine Country Drive.

One of the most interesting things we saw was Edward Tyrrell's cabin. Edward Tyrrell is the founder of Tyrrell's Wines, and came to the Hunter Valley in 1859. He arrived at 19 from England in 1854, and started dairy farming in Singleton, at the top of the valley. When he saw the vineyards already established, he decided the take up wine making, and established his vineyards, which still exist today. His ironbark one-room cabin still stands on its original site. Today, the fifth generation of Tyrrell's is running the winery.

Another gem of a place was Wyndham Estates Winery at the top of the valley, on the north side of the Hunter River. The winery was established in 1828, and parts of the original buildings still stand, and have been incorporated into the existing winery. The first wineries were built closer to the river than later ones, and consequently are more subject to flooding. The last flood was in 2007. The photos in the wine shop show just how damaging flooding can be. The river has been up to 4 metres over its normal height. Thankfully, it doesn't last, and the rich deposit of silt helps to fertilize the land.

Everywhere we went in the valley, and up into the Brokenback Mountains which border it on one side, there are signs of the heavy rains from the summer. Creeks and rivers are swollen, and in one or two places, are almost level with the road. All of the wineries had grapes still on the vine, or on the ground in the vineyards. The summer was too cool and wet for the shiraz grapes - what the Hunter Valley is known for - to ripen properly (too much acid, no sugar), that the whole shiraz crop was lost.

At the bottom of the valley is the Pokolbin Mountain lookout. Not easy to get to. Four wheel drive definitely helped. Up a steep dirt road to the top of the mountain. You know you've arrived because there is no more road. But what a view! Incredible! Defintely worth the trip.

Sightseeing in Sydney

We have spent the last few days relaxing in Sydney. One day we went to Centennial Park while Jaime and Lex were at play group. The

park is really several parks together. We spent an hour and a half walking around and barely saw anything. There are ponds with ibis, geese, ducks, coots and swans. There are wetland or swamp areas, wooded areas, and large formal gardens. Around the perimeter are bridle paths, and yes, we saw several people out riding their horses. In one section, there was a 'Taste of Sydney' going on, but time was not on our side, so we didn't have an opportunity to sample any of the food or wines available. The park is an oasis of green in the middle of Sydney. Once you've entered the park, you can't hear any of the traffic on the main streets all around it. We plan to go back one more time, and spend more time walking around and exploring.

Yesterday we went down to The Rocks area, near the Harbour Bridge. We went to the Justice and Police Museum first. It wasn't exactly what I had expected, but still very interesting. Housed in the old Water Police building, and two other attached buildings, the museum has a very good history of policing in Sydney and New South Wales. We could walk into the old cells - solid brick affairs with two wooden cots and an enamel bucket in the corner for bodily functions. While there may have

been two wooden cots, the cells often held up to 12 prisoners at a time. Hmmm. Very smelly after a while, I would think.

The old police station and court house are also open. We took turns sitting first in the prisoner's dock, and then in the judge's chair to get a feel of what the court would have been like.

The other museum we went to was the Discovery Museum. Specifically about the excavation of The Rocks area of Sydney. A good portion of the area was destroyed over time from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, until conservation kicked in. The picture above is in the back of the museum. You can see two fireplaces, one above the other. There would have been a floor between them originally, so you have some idea of what the area would have been like. The picture below, also from the back of the museum, looks through several doorways. Everything is very close together, and the area would have been crowded in its heyday.

In between museums, we walked up Pitt Street to have lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant.

Definitely worth the walk and the 20 minute wait to get it.

After the museums and walking around, it was time for the mid-afternoon coffee. We treated ourselves to a lemon tart and lemon macaroon at a bakery on George Street before heading back to Jaime's and Jon's. The lemon tart was good, but not as good as Jes'. The macaroon was delicious. I'll be exercising like crazy once I get back home to burn off all the good food I've been eating.

Back to Sydney

After two wonderful weeks in Noosa, it was time to head back to Sydney. Jaime, Jon and Lex flew back on Saturday, and Walter and I headed back in the car.

We headed inland to Toowoomba. A lovely town - at least what we could see - in the hills. Unfortunately, it started to rain and then got very foggy, so we could see little through the mist. Enough, though, to notice the beautiful Victorian houses as we entered town. We stopped there for the night. After talking with the receptionist in the hotel, we realized that any further on the inland route would take us to the areas affected by flooding. Not a good idea, as many of the roads are still closed. Therefore - Plan B - back to the coast. I mentioned to Walter, half seriously, that I would like to go back to Byron Bay, and stand at Cape Byron, the easternmost point in Australia. Walter, being the sweetie that he is, went to Byron Bay and here is the picture of me at the cape.


Along the way from Toowoomba to Byron Bay, we took a few tourist routes (we would call them scenic routes in Canada). One was the settlers route, that wend its way through small towns and villages. That one joined the falls route, which turned out to be a real treat. A little over 15 km of winding, twisty roads, up through the hills, with various stops along the way. The first stop was Brown's Falls, which we never got to actually see. The sign indicated it was 600 metres from the car park. That was 600 metres through mud and water, and after about 50 metres, Walter and I turned back. We would have needed hiking boots, walking sticks and a compass to navigate along the trail. From Brown's Falls, we followed the road up to Dagg's Falls - a lovely area. But the best was another 5 km up the road at Queen Mary's Falls. These were truly beautiful. We walked to cliff walk along the top of the falls, and then down to the bottom, and back up again. What a wonderful area.

This picture on the left is at the top of the falls. Below is the actual falls themselves. You can stand on a walkway at the bottom and be cooled by the mist rising from the water. Beautiful!

The little country store was a gem. Although the name is hard to read, it's the Wiangaree Ramada. The store had books and magazines, card, household products, on racks, and general hardware (nails, screws, etc) in bins below. The counter had penny candy in large jars, and in the back was a take-away place. We stopped for lunch and asked what was on the menu. The owner said ham. We had homemade ham sandwiches - ham sliced from a large roast, thick slices of cheese, on buttered bread, all wrapped up in waxed paper. Delicious.

Got back to Sydney on Tuesday afternoon. It was a great trip to Noosa. As it turns out, we left just in time. The road we took on Saturday to take the kids to the airport was flooded by heavy rains. We were lucky - we missed it. Next week, we're off to the Hunter Valley for some wine touring.

Australia zoo

We spent the day yesterday at the Australia Zoo. If you've ever heard of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, this was his baby. The zoo was founded be his parents, but everywhere, there are reminders of Steve. All the explan'ations in the various exhibits have 'Crikey' in them somewhere. We hd an opportunity to feed the elephants, pet the koalas, pet the kangaroos, and observe from a very safe distance the crocodiles and alligators. The best part for me, though, was that the zoo had red pandas - I know - they're not native to Australia, but are they ever beautiful.

The zoo started out being mainly about crocodiles (no surprise, after all Steve Irwin was the Crocodile Hunter), and then expanded to include other species native to Australia. The zoo has examples of the most poisonous snakes in Oz, but I studiously avoided that exhibit!! The latest expansion includes animals from Asia and Africa. Right now there is a Madagascar Island being built which will have a cheetah run when finished.

It was a great day. I've posted a few pics. Cameron the crocodile is a great photo op, and Walter, Jon and Lex took advantage of it. Cameron is obviously a replica, and is an example of what an adult male salt water crocodile would be under ideal conditions. We would be just a snach for him. The crocodile in the other photo, though, is real.

On the Noosa River

Yesterday, Walter and I took the ferry along the Noosa River. The ferry goes from Noosa Heads to Tewantin, which was originaly a logging town. The trip takes about 55 minutes in total. The nice thing, though, is that there are five stops along the way, and we could get on and off as many times as we liked for the price of an all-day ticket. Each stop has its own attractions - beaches, shops, and restaurants. Everything from take aways to fancy restaurants with white linen table cloths and view of the river.

From Noosa Heads to Tewantin, there are about 1000 boats on the river, according to the ferry captain. Several of the boats are houseboats, where people live all year round. Some are pleausure boats for the river only, and a few are ocean-going craft. However, there are only 100 moorings, Many of the moorings belong to the houses on one side of the river. These are million dollar homes, with huge glass frontages to take advantage of the river views. Mixed in with them are the more upscale holiday homes that are let, or rented, out when not in use. Threre are also a few holiday resorts. On the other side of the river, is the Cooloola National Park, a beautiful undeveloped area. In the middle, in one section, there is a big sand bar. During the busy season in summer, there would be up to a hundred people on it, enjoying the river. Now, as the busy season is over, there are only a few if any. There are other sandbars, not visible above the water, and so anyone on the river needs to pay careful attention to the channel markers to avoid being grounded on a sandbar. Looking back from Noosa Heads, where we boarded the ferry, we could see a huge sandbar in the distance, and the surf from the sea, coming across Noosa Spit into the sound.

We got off the ferry at Big Pelican, and wandered around the shops for a bit before having lunch at a local Indian restaurant. That was followed up by a walk along the beach, and a treat of ice cream (mango, mmmmmm good) before we boarded the ferry again at T-Boats for the trip back to Noosa Heads.

Relaxing in Noosa

We've spent the last two weeks relaxing in Noosa. Our days have been taken up with going to the beach, lounging by the pool, relaxing on the patio, and exploring the area.

This part of Queensland is a mix of temperate and tropical, so that we have plants and animnals from both zones. One morning, there was a lorikeet, on our patio, looking for food. Walter managed to snap a picture of it before it flew away. The picture doesn't really do it any justice - the bird's plumage was brillant green, red, blue and yellow.

We've been to the markets here. The Sunday market is mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. You can also get fresh bread, homemade ginger beer (non-alcoholic), flowers, herbs and spices, and various kinds of brekkies. Everything from bacon butties to malaysian crepes. We found one stall that had locally made cheese, modelled after the cheeses of Switzerland. We bought a cheese called Snakebite. It was really good - nice and sharp. The big market on Wednesday is in a little town called Eumundi - about 15 minutes from Noosa. Food is available for sale, but the big attraction is the local arts and crafts community. Everything from handmade soaps and jewelry to clothes and decorative items. I found a nice top that I bought and have worn three times already.

I've posted a few pictures: Jaime and Jon relaxing on the patio, Lex in his new swimsuit, the lorikeet, me, Lex, and Jon in the pool.