A few more sculptures that caught my eye. This one is very Art Deco.
You certainly can’t miss this 5-storey rock arch. Might look natural from a distance, but it’s all hand-made.
And it’s all over as we’ve made it to the Icebergs Pool and Bondi Beach.
Thanks for walking with me.
Most of the works were very in-tune to the landscape that they almost blend right in.
Hang on, the last one is the environment! Amazing what nature can do on its own.
Other sculptures made great use of the elements, whether water, earth or wind.
Late Spring finally produced some warm weather – just in time for a visit to the 2017 version of Sculpture by the Sea. I started at the Tamarama end, and there was some rough surf about.
It didn’t matter too much here as much of the work was on the beach. Literally. These works I think took advantage of their settings.
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Early the following morning (always early starts at the Abbey), I strolled around the rainforest walk.
The path dipped from the cottages to follow the creek.
It was still dark at the lowest level.
The path undulated across the banks of the creek, so I reached the light eventually.
And much further along (away from the rainforest and the creek), there was even sunshine.
It was a lovely way to start the day.
Despite the fun I had at the museum, my favourite locations in the field are inevitably scenic ones. This time it’s a seascape.
Malabar Headland has recently been made into a national park. It makes the walk between South Maroubra and Malabar accessible whenever the rifle range on the same location isn’t in use.
My friends and I visited on a very sunny and still day – though the seas were still a bit rough due to Cyclone Gita all the way in New Zealand.
The sandstone cliffs are similar to what you might find in Royal National Park, but more accessible, especially if you live in or are visiting the Eastern Suburbs. I made the most of the intricate folds and honeycomb erosion by sketching in ink.
Aside from the bombings, Darwin also experienced destruction in 1974, when it was razed to the ground by Cyclone Stacey. The old town hall was one building heavily hit. It was a very historic building before.
But after it was only a shell, though a well-preserved one.
The Anglican church also had a long history with the town and was razed to the ground by the cyclone.
But in this case, the city found an innovative way to integrate the old with the new.
We returned to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. I had been here once before, but only for a few days. We didn’t spend much more time this time around either, but we did see the newly created Waterfront. Aside from apartments and restaurants, it has a tiny beach (patrolled for crocs) and a much bigger wave pool.
Most of the jobs in Darwin these days is in the resources sector, particularly gas. You can see the gas refinery across Darwin Harbour (the box-shaped structure on the horizon) from the city.
But Darwin’s history is very much tied up with two big events. The first was the bombing of Darwin in 1942, which was the climax of the film Australia. Above the shore was a modest war memorial dedicated to those from the region who died in service.
Unlike in Kakadu National Park, where the rock art is easily accessible with signs, paths, hand-rails etc, the rock art at Mount Borradaile has been left in its original setting (bar some light weeding for easy access).
It meant that getting to some of the art works was a mini adventure which involved perching on boulders…
Squeezing into crevices…
Or scrambling up cliffs into high overhangs.
But the effort was worth the while…
When you see generations of art on one wall.
There are also bigger creatures in Sandstone Country – but being marsupials and nocturnal, they were rather elusive. We did catch sight of these two though, with the help of our knowledgeable guide.
This rock wallaby made a brief appearance under a rock overhang.
And we caught a glimpse of a pair of possums in a rock crevice, out of the midday heat.
Apart from these two larger creatures, that’s all the larger animal action in Sandstone Country, and the end of our visit there – although there’s plenty more to see at Mt Borradaile. Next, we venture somewhere much more watery.
Static and Silence 