Much of the walk was along a fire trail. Aside from scribbly gums, there were grass trees abound.
The trail led up to a high point on the plateau, marked by another lovely gum tree.
The view over Kanimbla Valley was lovely too.
Later in the day, I drove down to Hargreaves Lookout, on the tip of the plateau. It afforded views of both the Megalong and Kanimbla Valleys. It’s down an unsealed road, and so gets a fraction of the visitors that come to the more accessible lookouts in the Mountains.
Back in May, I spent a few days in the Blue Mountains. I based myself in Blackhealth, and stayed at this cute cottage on the Shipley Plateau.
On my first full day I did a circuit walk around the plateau. It started with a walk through the tall gum trees.
I’m always fascinated by scribbly gum trunks.
The vista soon opened out to a view of the fruit orchards and the Megalong Valley beyond.
Our first stop was the town of Rutherglen. An hour out of Albury and close to the Murray River, it’s a quaint North-East Victorian town with lots of lovely architecture.
The second picture is of our bed and breakfast – that allows dogs! So Bridie was happy.
An early morning walk took me to the paddock around the back of the B&B, where I encountered some ladies having their breakfast.
Rutherglen is famous for its wines, and we sampled a few (Pfeiffer, Andersons and Cofield are just three). The wines (both sweet and table) were delicious, and since all the wineries are generally small operators, we even got to talk to some of the wine makers. And for those contemplating a road trip with their furry friends, many cellar doors even allow dogs.
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.
Static and Silence 