Bushwalking & camping

I have always loved a good bushwalk but have only recently taken up camping.

Australia is a beautiful country to do outdoor activities in. There are so many beautiful beaches, bushlands, mountains and national parks. Some are so far removed from civilisation that you will be compelled to leave all your city worries behind and embrace the beautiful and serene surroundings around you.

I have completed a few walks now over the last few years and here are a few that I would highly recommend.

1. Bundeena to Otford (1 full day or 2 day 1 night)

This walk is approximately 28km. It is easily accessible by public transport. When I did it earlier this year, we caught the train to Cronulla station and then got on a ferry service at Cronulla Ferries. The ferry takes us to Bundeena and from the ferry stop there is a short walk through some suburban streets until you get to the Royal National Park. From there the walk is amazingly beautiful with a million fantastic photo opportunities of the coastline and cliffs. There are also a section or two that goes through secluded beaches. If the weather is warm, a swim or surf is an option. The group I went with chose to do the two day 1 night option which allowed us to camp next to the beach at a lovely camping spot. The camping spot is about 18km into the walk so you will be pretty tired by the time you get there. However, there is absolutely nothing better than waking up to the sound of waves and having the option to go for a quick swim in a deserted beach.

 

 2. Diamond Head (1 day)

While on a road trip around central coast a few friends and I decided to do a quick bushwalk around Diamond Head. We woke up early after camping in Crowdy Bay National Park. To be honest we were not entirely aware of the entire length of the walk but was only aware that there was a loop option and a one way option. We did the loop which was much shorter as we did not really prepare for the one way option which would have required us to take more food water and leave the car behind. The loop option took about an hour or maybe 2 hours (no body took track of time because the views were absolutely mesmerising). The walk goes along the coast the entire time so that you pretty much have a view of the ocean the entire walk. The loop still goes around Diamond Head and at one point you can even see Port Macquarie (or the next city along the coast). From the signs the one way track would take you all the way to Port Macquarie and could probably be done in a day as from what we could see some of the walk could be done on the beach.

3. Perry's lookout to Blue Gums Rainforest (1 day or 2 days and 1 night)

I actually just completed this walk today.  This was a return track and we camped in the valley (Grose Valley). The walk involved a very steep decent. I would say probably 600m over a few hundred meters. A great workout for your thighs. This walk is not accessible by public transport. We drove to the start of the walk and started the descent aiming to get to the valley in 3hours allowing plenty of rest time. Once you're in the valley, the Blue Gum Forest is absolutely beautiful. These magnificient trees are just so enormous. Friends of mine commented on the Jurassic-park-like feel of the whole place. The walk was absolutely amazing minus the thorny pants that try to rip your flesh from your legs. It is highly recommended that your legs are well covered for the walk to protect your legs from leeches and thorny plants and vines. It is not necessary to bring too much water with you as you can easily get access to fresh water from the creeks or streams coming through the valley. Just follow the sound of water and bring some swimwear along. A camp spot is available, but beware that there are prohibitions against fires as bush fires are common in the area. I prefer camping rather than rushing to finish walks in one day. However we did bump into some people who were finishing the Govette's Leap to Perry's lookout via Blue Gums Rainforest walk. That in my opinion would be an amazing walk. Except we were all doing it in the rain which sort of made it a much more difficult walk than otherwise.

Unfortunately I have no photos available for this walk but I would nevertheless highly recommend it.

Cross promotion!!!

Just started a Mandarin learning blog:

Learning Mandarin @ Mandarincast

To have a look please click the following link:

http://mandarincast.blogspot.com

... oh! that time with the macarons!

Prompted by talk about failed attempts at making macarons I looked for my macaron pictures on the blog. Then I realised that I didn't actually put them up. Shock and horror! 

So this was the time with the macarons:

 

Road trip around Northern New South Wales

Haven't posted for ages. Mainly because I have been busy with work and general drama.

Just came back from a 7-day road trip around northern New South Wales. Traveled as far as Yamba and then out west as far as Mudgee. Camped at National Parks for most of the trip with a motel night in Tamworth on the 5th night. Had the most fun on this road trip and saw some great scenery. Highly recommended!

* I will gradually update this post with photos and captions * ~ watch this space.

Sculptures outside Laguna Markets

Brunch at Wollembi Cafe

The Gate Gallery in Wollombi

Diamond Head National Park

Sunset (We stopped in the middle of the road to take this photo as we hurried to our camp site to set up our tent)

Scenic drive 19

More scenes from scenic drive 19

Sunset from Moonbi Lookout

Best of Mosman in four hours

Mosman is just one of those places that you wish you lived in. If you took a look at the Eastern suburbs trip I blogged about, then this is going to look just as nice. Located just north of the Sydney CBD, Mosman is home to some beautiful beaches and homes. Most of the homes there cost one million and above, due to the beautiful waterfront views and lovely surroundings. I decided that just because I did not live there, there was really nothing to prevent me from enjoying the scenery and have some good food at the same time. 

Mum and I got to the Sydney Harbour National Park at around 2:30pm. The weather looked optimistic and sunny, so I took some scenic shots. 

Unfortunately, by the time I got to The Esplanade, Balmoral at 4:00pm, the weather changed and it got quite cloudy. 

The poor weather only gave me an excuse to head indoors and treat my taste bugs and eyes to some deliciousness.

After finishing our drinks at Bather's Pavilion, I set my eyes on Public Dining Room, which was only about 700m away. I had been to Public Dining Room before and loved it, so it was only fair to go again just to be sure. Again, it did not disappoint. At 6:30pm, I found myself completely relaxed and wishing (for the millionth time) that I could enjoy this lifestyle and neighbourhood more often. 

French Fine Dining

I don't know much about French dining or fine dining. So it only seemed fitting that I should visit two of the best French restaurants in Australia in the same week. Once again, words have become meaningless when the modern camera capture everything so well. 

Becasse Restaurant

 Assiette

If you could not tell from the photos that the dishes were heavenly then you must simply take my word for it or try them for yourself.

Back to the East

Just returned from a three month trip to Asia. Visited family, did plenty of sightseeing, and tried a lot of interesting dishes. 


CHINA

ShangHai

My home town really has not changed as much as the rest of the world believes. For starters, the mentality of the people remains the same: competitive, eager to become rich and eager to come out on top. This mentality can be seen everywhere, from getting onto a bus to walking on the road, everywhere there is opportunity to compete when it comes to the Chinese. Picture an empty bus coming into the bus stop with six people queuing to get on. You will find that as soon as the bus gets within 5 metres of the queue, the middle age men and women will start shuffling towards the bus ready to get on while the bus is still moving. It seems almost as if these people were on the run, on the run from the horrible possibility of having to get on the bus last, on the run from the awful thought of not getting the best bus seat on an almost empty bus. I just did not get it. No matter how long I think about it I cannot bring myself to understand why they just HAVE to push and shove to get on an empty bus. It was only after a discussion with a local friend that I found out it was because all Chinese people are possessed by the subconscious or even conscious desire to stay at the front of the crowd for fear of being trampled upon by the rest of the 1.3 billion. I guess when you're in a stampede you just have to run with it.

When you take the people out of Shanghai, you're left with a beautiful city. It truly is beautiful. For once the stars are amongst us, you no longer have to raise your head and look into the universe, you just have to go to the top of the DongFangMingZhu Television Tower and look down from 300m. I only have one thing to say: You have to be in Shanghai to truly appreciate its beauty.

VIEW FROM ABOVE - LOOKING DOWN ON CHENGHUANG TEMPLE

VIEW FROM ABOVE - LOOKING ACROSS THE BUND TOWARDS PUDONG

XiTang

Once you have seen the beautiful city landscape in ShangHai, you get curious about what China was like before all the sky scrapers popped up. Mum and I wanted to see another side of China. We then went to XiTang, a small town about 2-3hours from ShangHai. Unlike other small towns neighbouring ShangHai, this town is still populated by locals not just shop owners. Therefore if you stay overnight in the town, you will still be able to see how locals get around their daily activities, e.g. washing clothes in the waterways. I stayed one night there in a local's home, and the night view was quite magical. However the most memorable thing about that town was the food. The dishes took me back to my childhood when I was in ShangHai, the taste was definitely authentic South East Chinese cuisine, and I cannot wait to go back again one day. 

THE HEART OF XITANG

CHILI ESCARGOT (You're not a true local unless you can finish a plate of this... I finished two)