Speaking of clouds, we saw some majestic cloud formations over Easter as a front moved across the escarpment. This brought a ton of rain on Saturday. Strangely, the rain was very localised – even Kiama, a mere 10km away, got hardly any rain.
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Rural Easter – Cottages
I spent Easter at Jamberoo Abbey with my good friend M from Ahh… Serenity. It was really well worth driving 1.5 hours – the last half hour through rolling green hills and rainforest – to stay 3 days away from the stresses of the city.
This year we scored great rooms with views of the escarpment. I certainly enjoyed every minute of staring out at the elements, whether in sun…
Or in cloud.
Canine Interlude: Ran Ragged
I forgot another thing the beagle loves: walks. Due to the busy nature of her owner, she doesn’t have as many as would like. Hence after a long-ish walk in the middle of a hot March day she was ragged, but very happy.
Birthday Dinner – Mains
And now for the mains. BB had a lovely sirloin steak with caramelised onions.
But my slow-roasted pork belly was absolutely awesome. Perfectly seasoned and melted in my mouth. Lovely crackling too. I was in heaven.
Birthday Dinner – Entrees
BB took me out for a special birthday dinner at Pearson’s in Mortdale. I’d passed this restaurant many times when I lived around the corner, but thinking that it was a posh place, never ventured inside. It turned out to be more homely than I thought. The food was lovely, and lovingly made by the single chef in a tiny kitchen. Considering that he had what must have been 30 customers to serve, it seemed a bit of a miracle to me.
We start out the dinner with two lovely entrees. I had the wonderful scallops wrapped in bacon. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the bacon were a tasty companion to the soft shellfish.
BB had stuffed mushrooms and was also very satisfied with his choice.
Canine Interlude – More Please
Beagles have a placid enough temperament, but one thing they do seek in quantity (apart from food) is attention. This princess has her way of letting us know exactly what she wants.
Long Reef – Views
We finish the visit by climbing up to the top of the headland, where we got spectacular 360 degree views. The view south was particularly good. We could see down Dee Why Beach to the lagoon…
And beyond to Manly and North Head.
Long Reef – Photography
We walked further along the headland, and I wasn’t the only one who was trigger happy that day.
Long Reef – Fossil
The great thing about such an ancient sedimentary layer being preserved is that you also have a good chance of finding fossils from the era. We found a few that day, mostly of bits of ferns and leaves from the Triassic age, however this one looks to be of a flower.
Long Reef – Layer Upon Layer
Apart from the investigating the marine life, we had a look at the geology of the headland. As you can see, it’s made up of layers of sediment. My resident geologist (ie. BB) told me that these cliffs were formed during the Triassic age, before the time of the dinosaurs who dominated during the Jurassic age. It is even older than the Hawkesbury Sandstone layer that makes up much of the Sydney Basin, so when you’re gazing at this cliff face you’re really looking at history.
Static and Silence 