It’s been years since I’ve gone down the stairs from the top of Wentworth Falls. I’ve forgotten how step they were! My legs were a bit shaky by the time I got to the middle of the falls, where I could rest and soak up the view to the top.
Monthly Archives: August 2009
Garlic and prawns – a match made in heaven
It’s pretty standard fare. The prawns were lovely and crisp, but Om nom nom nom thinks the garlic isn’t strong enough. I think it’s nice but doesn’t really shine next to the chicken rice and satay.
The precipice
I eventually ended up where I was a couple of months ago, back at the top of Wentworth Falls.
This time I wanted to see if I could get an alternative view, so I went around to Rocket Point Lookout, a little round walk above the top of the falls.
It gave not only a bird’s eye view of the falls but of the surrounding cliff tops. I like the white trunks of the gums. It reminds me a bit of the ghost gums in the Territory.
Lovely, Lovely Chicken Rice
Ah, Hainan Chicken Rice… I had this dish last time and was so enthusiastic that Om nom nom nom wanted to try it, too. Well, they’ve maintained the standard (although it was strangely missing the soup this time). Still, it’s definitely the best chicken rice I’ve tasted recently. The tender chicken and flavoursome rice beats all the well-known city Malaysian outlets hands down.
While My Rock Gently Weeps
At the end of the Charles Darwin walk I came across another waterfall, this time with a name: Weeping Rock Falls.
I suppose it’s because it falls rather gently over the rocks, or perhaps it’s a place of great sadness to someone or other? You decide.
Sate Ayam
I was back again at Satay Inn (seems like I can’t stay away). First up was a couple of skewers of chicken satay, or sate ayam in Bahasa. This satay has got plenty of ground coriander, tumeric, and of course, lots of ground peanuts.
In the footsteps of change
I made a lunchtime visit to the State Library of NSW a few months ago, and was wonderfully surprised to find an exhibition about Charles Darwin, in particular, the time he spent in Australia while voyaging on the Beagle. It describes a visit he made to Wentworth Falls in 1836 while on the way to Bathurst. He wrote:
An immense gulf is suddenly & without any preparation seen through the trees… The class of view was quite novel & extremely magnificent.
High praise indeed from a man who had travelled extensively and was about to write a book that would change the world.
Having been to Wentworth Falls back in the autumn and seen the sign to the walk, I wanted to explore it for myself. It surprisingly starts off in the midst of civilisation – by the tennis court near the Great Western Highway.
I suppose there would have been no tennis courts back in 1836, nor would there have been any pine forests that the track passed through near the start, but it was quite lovely to have Jamieson Creek flowing alongside as it passes under overhangs and down little waterfalls.
It was also lovely to see the banksias and wattle out in force. Of course, there were plenty of birds taking advantage of the nectar. This one’s a lovely rosella.
All good things must end
And so we come to journey’s end in Alice Springs. Amazing that while the actual trip was only a fortnight long, it took me twice as long to blog about it all!
But all good things must end, so next time I’ll be taking you somewhere much closer to home.
Winter Cooking – Part 8
Lemon delicious pudding has been in my radar for a very long time. I found a recipe in my scrapbook dating back perhaps 8 years ago. I eventually got around to it last weekend by using this recipe.
It’s very yummy, although a tad too sweet for me. Next time I’ll cut down the sugar to 1 cup or even 3/4 cup.
The Precipice
Our last stop before heading into civilisation, was Kings Canyon, where we did the Rim Walk on a cold, foggy morning. There were lots of interesting rock formations though, albeit on a smaller scale, and lots of glorious red sandstone.
Actually, much of it looks to me like a mini version of the Bungle Bungles in Western Australia, except this one is much more accessible.
Static and Silence 