Going back in time…

Back to the 1840’s actually. Berrima must be one of the best preserved villages in NSW. Lots of sandstone architecture, built by convicts of course. The original gaol is still there, although it’s now apparently a ‘training facility’.

Court house

Aside from the lolly shop, we wandered around to the court house and then down to the Holy Trinity Anglican church. There, we were lucky enough to be given a glimpse inside by two local ladies, who enthusiastically told us of its history.

Anglican Church Interior

Apparently it’s designed by the same architect as the much larger St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, and its stained glass came all the way from some village church in Cornwall. Oil lamps (now converted to electricity) still hang from the ceiling and the original pipe organ is still in place. I sat for awhile, contemplating the starry ceiling in this delightful place.

Starry ceiling Stained glass Ancient lamp

A Chinese vego place…

That looks like a steak house! Well, we were in the country, near the Southern Highlands village of Berrima to be exact, so Zen Oasis, despite the name, blended well with its surroundings.

Zen Oasis

The food wasn’t bad either. A lot of it was standard yum cha fare, but equal favourites for me were the lemon ‘chicken’ and the fake fish.

But what are the floaties for? Free-for-all Sushi

By the time I tried all of the savoury dishes I hadn’t much room for dessert, however it was enough to fit in the pandan agar jelly.

Dessert Jelly and melon

High on a Hill

Saturday started off pretty crap weather-wise, but luckily it cleared up (mostly) to make a visit to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk worth it.

Forested Escarpment

It’s basically a walkway suspended 20m above the ground, so you are literally among the trees.

From the Tower

While there are similar walkways around Australia it was interesting to be up so high among such familiar landscape. The views are similar to what can be had for free at Saddleback Mountain, but I think it worth doing once.

Changes

The only constant is change, so the saying goes. It’s definitely the case where Austinmer’s concerned. The beachfront has had its share of gentrification since I started visiting in the mid 90’s. The row of traditional take-aways have been replaced by a swish condo/cafe complex. Gone are the days when lunch consisted of a good old-fashioned burger (Aussie-style, with beetroot) and a bucket-load of hot chips wrapped in newspaper eaten on the beach. Well, I’m sure the modern cafe has burger and chips on its menu, but sometimes nothing beats an old-fashioned take-away burger and chips after a refreshing dip in the ocean.

Austinmer

Adventures on life's merry-go-round