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Sightseeing in Australia

While ministering to the Swedenborgian/New Church groups in Canberra and Perth, attending events at the Swedenborg Centre in Sydney, and spending time with family and church friends in Adelaide and Melbourne, I managed to fit in time for being a tourist as well.

The Big Merino, a statue in sheep country in Goulburn, NSW, on my way to Canberra
“The Travellers” art on the Sandridge Bridge in Melbourne
A friendly black swan said hello on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne
Finally I got to the famous St. Kilda beach in Victoria…
…while visiting with my colleague …
Rev. Martin Pennington, with Melbourne in the distance.

The next sight-seeing opportunity was in Adelaide and South Australia. Henley Beach (left) and Glenelg Beach (below) are near downtown Adelaide. Some schoolboys had a fishing class at the end of this jetty when I was there. My brother Stephen and I hiked in the Waite Conservation Reserve that has views overlooking the city. Then a few days in Tintinara with family who own a small farm. You might remember the view from my favourite cafe along the way, now with the floodwaters receded back to normal.

My cousin Simon in Tintinara had converted a 100-year old wool sorting table into a unique dining room table. The shearers would have thrown the newly shorn fleece onto the sorting table for it to be graded for sale. The slats were for dirt and debris on the fleece to fall through – the sheep live outside year round. I loved seeing how the farming heritage of the family has worked its way into elegant living indoors!

Next up was seeing some sights in Perth, which I had time to do because there was not such a need for pastoral visiting this time. Kings Park is a botanical garden and bushland preserve right on the waterfront in Perth’s CBD (central business district). My friend Ros also took me to Bayview Park, on the other side of the CBD. Another highlight was fish and chips on the waterfront in Fremantle, near Perth, with my host and church group leader, Mary. And of course, a beach day a bit north of Perth’s CBD, at Scarborough beach.

Later on, when Evie had her autumn school holidays, we took a short trip to the Blue Mountains, which are west of Sydney, and stayed in an historic Victorian-era cottage. We met up with a friend of theirs who was doing an art residency in Katoomba, and of course hiked in the Blue Mountains National Park, sometimes with her and her daughter.

Artist Giulia took time off from painting to go to the Wentworth Falls with us and her daughter
One of many waterfalls in Wentworth that we walked under
It claimed to be an “easy walk” but these stairs were a bit scary
Look carefully for the rarely-seen Lyre bird building a nest
The iconic Three Sisters rock formation
We replicated a photo of my kids, from 20 years ago
Lunch with Giulia and Tessa, in a cafe with a spectacular mountain range view

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Hanging Out in Woonona and Sydney

As you can see from the photos, the first part of my visit in Australia was mainly about hanging out with my family in Woonona (pronounced Wunoona), a beach town south of Sydney, and with my friends in Hurstville, which is the suburb where the General Church congregation is located. Featured in the gallery above is a photo of a “flat white”, my favourite coffee beverage in Australia. Google says a flat white is “a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk, similar to a latte but with less milk and a thicker layer of microfoam on top”. Every day I walked on the beaches only 1 1/2 blocks away: Bulli Beach top right, and Woonona beach below it. Below that is the Bulli Beach rock pool, filled with ocean water. A feature of many beaches in the area is a human-made pool like this at the headland. A local high school was having PE class at the rock pool one day as I enjoyed my flat white at the beach-side cafe. The other photos show Evie having fun at her swimming lesson, and the llama there enjoying having a nibble on my hair! Also pictured is Evie celebrating her 7th birthday with family and friends at the river-side Audley park in the Royal National Park, and some friends from the Hurstville New Church having a memorable evening at a local Chinese restaurant.

Growing up on the south side of Sydney, I’d always heard that the “North Head” of Sydney Harbour (the headland on the north side of the ocean entrance to the harbour) was uninhabitable, wild, and difficult to access. “South-siders” typically have dismissive things to say about anything on the North shore, and likely vice-versa! I had been to the South Head several times, which had the reputation of being an interesting place to visit. So one day I decided to see for myself, and set off on an adventure to explore the allegedly disreputable North Head. In the photo, the North Head is the formidable headland on the left.

I took a ferry from Circular Quay in Sydney…
…past the Opera House…
…and looked back at the Sydney skyline.
The ferrry landed at the Manly Wharf, where I spent a little time on the beach on the Harbour side. The Ocean beach at Manly is the famous one, with its award winning Manly Life Saving Club. From there I took a bus to the North Head Sanctuary. How very civilised!

What a surprise to find how easy it was to get to the North Head Sanctuary, to enjoy the bushland while walking on easily traversible paths, and catch some amazing views of the dramatic harbour! I found remnants of the North Head Quarantine Station that was established in 1833, and of the North Fort that was built during WWII. There were roads and houses in well-established neighbourhoods. So much for the urban myths I had grown up with 😀 The North Head is definitely a place I want to return to with my family.

From left to right, top row to bottom:

  1. This scary looking spider safely up high in its web, as well as many of its relatives, greeted me as I walked through the bushland.
  2. A path through the more open parts of the headland
  3. Sometimes there were some steeper parts of the trail through “scrub” bushland (not tall trees)
  4. Some beautiful flannel flowers, an Aussie native, along the path
  5. A view to the south- east from the largest lookout, kindly taken by one of the many international and local visitors walking the trails. You can see Sydney’s Central Business District in the distance.
  6. A view more to the south from near the lookout, showing the South Head of Sydney Harbour.

Hanging out in Sydney and Woonona included an afternoon visit to the Symbio Wildlife Park, where as you can see the kangaroos had already finished hopping around, and had been fed by many visitors already. They were only interested in being petted while they rested. We ended up giving the animal feed to the insatiable goats in the petting farm area! The gallery below includes photos from several other fun outings and activities within easy travel range of Woonona.

Evie is now taller than an Emperor penguin, measured at Symbio
A crocodile at Symbio’s Reptile Show, right after an audience member held it briefly
Feeding time for the koalas
Catching up with a friend from high school.
Two hikes, one with Carolyn, one with Caldwells to…
…Curracurrong Cove, seen from the trail in the Royal National Park
The Pacific Ocean pounding the coastline
Caldwells and me hiking on our way through the bush
A little tree dragon greeted us at the Cove…
…where we had a picnic lunch and paddled (waded) in the water.
Finally, a swim at Wattamolla
Angela, Evie and I had a spa afternoon, thanks to a birthday gift from Evie’s party.
We got to attend a mini concert by the Da Vinci Singers,
…in which Carolyn sings and plays 5 instruments (not at once!)
Breakfast in the Southern Gateway Centre…
…with a stunning panoramic view from our table of Dharawal country, now known as New South Wales’ South Coast. Jon, Angela, Evie (and I for 3-4 months per year) live in about the middle of the photo.