Jervis Bay and the beautiful Hyams Beach, which apparently has the whitest sands in the world. Beautiful any time of year, this photo was taken in August, hence why it is so deserted. Doubt it will be the case at the moment with only 2 weeks until Christmas!
This is the end of the line for now. And I’ll also bid you farewell for a little while while I take my pre-Christmas holiday. When I come back I’ll be extending this theme much, much further since I’m heading all the way down to Merimbula.
One of my favourite spots is Gerroa, at the top of Seven Mile Beach. Usually I’d post a view down the beach, but a view up the beach is also interesting, especially when it’s super windy (which it is most of the time), and little sand storms develop.
Gerringong is Kiama’s more down-to-earth sister. Less touristy, but is still expanding, judging by the development on the edge of town. Fortunately there are some brilliant nooks and crannies, like Boat Harbour with its small colony of pelicans and secluded rock pool. The locals say this is the best place to swim of a morning.
The prime tourist attraction in Kiama is the (big) Blowhole, however the Little Blowhole, located in a more secluded part of the town, is much more consistent.
A few k’s down the coast is the sleepy village of Minnamurra, at the mouth of Minnamurra River. Haven’t done this myself, but it’s possible to wade across at low tide and walk north to Bass Point. South from here is Kiama, via a few beaches.
Now this isn’t too bad at all, given my liking for Austen and Ashes to Ashes.
A couple of kilometres out of Shellharbour village is Bass Point. The whole area is apparently a remnant of a volcanic plug, hence all the black granite that’s around. It’s also a great place for diving and snorkling, particularly below at Bushranger’s bay.
Shellharbour is a growing town. New housing estates seem to sprout up like mushrooms, and there’s a rather large mall on the outskirts. Luckily the old part of town still retains its charm, especially the rock platform (probably how the town got its name) and its old-fashioned seawall.
Saw another wonderful show at the Opera House last night. This time it’s a collaboration between Sydney band, The Whitlams, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The last time I saw an SSO collaboration of this kind was a few years back with Ben Folds, but The Whitlams show was a different beast all together.
For one, we had their four-piece band on stage, hence the arrangements were more of a collaboration between the band and the orchestra, meaning that for the most part, the existing arrangements of their songs remained in tact. With Ben Folds, the orchestra was the backing band, meaning that the arrangement can be completely different to the original songs themselves. Doesn’t mean that the show was any worse, just different.
I liked that they played the album Eternal Nightcap in its entirety. I owned this album while I was at uni. It was played often, so the songs were familiar, even if I hadn’t heard them for a number of years (I gave the album away eventually). The songs Buy Now and Pay Later and Charlie No. 3 were highlights, but after the interval there was a magical arrangement for a song I’m not familiar with, called Out the Back, which tells about a surfing moment. The middle string movement was so sensual – I could see the waves lapping the shore, literally hear the seagulls calling, and almost taste the salt. It was magic, and shows how evocative an orchestra can be, if utilised in an imaginative way.
Well, here’s a taste of what I saw last night, a rendition of No Aphrodisiac.
And we come to Wollongong. It’s only 60km from the boundaries of Sydney but that’s far enough away for it to have a different feel. I took this shot from the top of Mount Keira, on the escarpment. It shows the harbour area that is centred on the old lighthouse.
Static and Silence 