Time had ran away from us and the sun had just set as we stepped on to Umina Beach to walk the dog. Never mind, the colours – blues and violets at this late hour – were still fantastic to behold.
Geology Interlude – Devonian Fossils
Since my geology excursion raised some interest, I’ve tried to find more examples. The next example was right on BB’s coffee table. It’s a plate made of some very special marble – Devonian age marble from Morocco, in fact (over 354 million years ago). And encased in the marble are marine fossils. Given that the marble was grey, I thought black and white was a better medium for capturing this.
Sunday Walk – View
Back at the top of the ridge we got our reward – a magnificent view back over Broken Bay.
The line of sandstone cliffs all the way back to Lions Head and Barrenjoey Head.
And since it was a clear day, we could see Manly, even all the way down to the city.
And that’s the end of the walk in Bouddi National Park. Hope you enjoyed it.
Sunday Walk – Flora
As we ascended slowly back up the ridge, we saw plenty of flowers and interesting plants.
We saw plenty of banksias, this one a low coastal variety.
In the cooler spots, the first of the fuchsia bells were starting to bloom.
But most interestingly were these palm fruits, which we first mistaken as red capsicum. Quite amazing in colour and shape.
Sunday Walk – On the Beach
We walked along the length of the beach. It’s not so long, perhaps a kilometre or so in length, but it was one pretty stretch of coastline.
Sunday Walk – Maitland Bay
After half an hour downhill, we arrived at Maitland Bay Beach. The bay was named after the steamer, Maitland, which was wrecked off the coast one stormy night in 1898. 24 people died that night, but the weather was calm on this early April Sunday, meaning there were a few groups on the pristine beach and a few boats on the water beyond.
The craggy headland I think is very interesting to look at, too. The sandstone is cracked and coloured by the elements. The bay faces due south so it would get its fair share of wind and rain.
Sunday Walk – Back Burning
Recently we had a group of overseas visitors stay with us at Umina, and took them on a walk in neighbouring Bouddi National Park. BB had been told of an ‘easy’ walk with ‘great views’, and had been hankering to explore it for weeks. Being male, he of course had no idea of the actual length or difficulty of the walk – I never quite believe it when an Aussie says a walk is ‘easy’ (not when you’ve got little legs and dodgy feet) – and in the end it was a 3 hour affair with quite a few sizeable, undulating hills, and the last bit along a busy road.
You, however, get an armchair ride. And the first stage was the walk downhill from Killcare to Maitland Beach. We walked through an area that had been very recently back burned. Our visitors being European, we discussed the lack of back burning in the Mediterranean areas of the continent – the consequences being large, uncontrollable fires every summer.
The result of back burning might be ugly, but I’m sure new life would sprout up very soon here.
Canine Interlude – Being Human
It’s bedtime, and the beagle is in a huff. You see, she thinks she’s human, and so expects to be treated like one. When her ‘parents’ disappeared all day, she was so very disappointed.
“You’ve ignored me all today.”
“You haven’t fed me enough.”
“You haven’t walked me enough.”
“I’m so unloved.”
If she knew her problems were miniscule compared to a human’s, perhaps she won’t be so eager to be one?
Friday Splurge – Chinese
As I mentioned before, the other dishes that we ordered on my latest visit to Satay Inn were Chinese, or I suppose Australian-Chinese. First came the sizzling chilli lamb, that came on a hotplate. It wasn’t overly hot, and although tasty, not a dish that really got me excited.
That wasn’t the case with the salt and pepper calamari, which was really wonderful. I’d tasted their salt and pepper eggplant before, and the calamari was cooked in the same way – lightly battered, perfectly spiced, with a little crunch. My friends were quite impressed and the whole dish was devoured in less than ten minutes.
Friday Splurge – Malaysian
It had been several months since I last visited Satay Inn, my local Malaysian restaurant. But although the best dishes here (in my opinion) are the Malaysian ones, the menu also encompasses Chinese and Thai. During my latest visit, my dining companions ordered from the Chinese side of the menu, while I ordered from the Malaysian side.
Malaysian first. I really should have taken a photo of the satay chicken because it was fab. But as always, my stomach ruled my head and the portion was demolished before I’d even thought of my camera.
The mains were a mixed bag. I’d ordered kapitan chicken the first time I came here and remembered it to be a flavoursome, fiery dish. This version was a whole lot milder, though the flavours were still good.
But the star of the night was kangkung belacan (or kangkung cha terasi, as the Indonesians call it. It’s simply water spinach stir fried with shrimp paste, garlic, and lots of chilli. It’s tasty and very addictive. Not a boring vege dish, that’s for sure.
Tomorrow, the Chinese dishes.
Static and Silence 