Category: New South Wales

Gnarly Adventures

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One of my favourite things to do in Australia is to go on a bush walk. I love communing with nature and getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Everytime I go bushwalking I am reminded of my childhood and weekends with my family. We would spend hours exploring different areas with dad pointing out and explaining even the smallest detail. Gnarly trees were always special and we would often stop and study them. I found them fascinating. The knots and growths of the old trees often looked like the tree had a face and was trying to tell us something. It is interesting how a group of people can look at the same gnarly tree and see completely different things.

The following gnarly tree photos were taken whilst on a long bush walk at Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. The walk was one of many in Morton National Park and didn’t disappoint.

Thanks to Cyranny for today’s Word Of The Day Challenge inspiration – Gnarl

Interestingly in Australia gnarly is also a slang word that has been used since the 70’s to mean very good.

Sunflower Magic

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Sunflowers are a very special flower. They are so bright and magical. Although up till yesterday I had only seen them in small groups at the florists or growing wild beside the road.

Then a casual chat in the kebab shop changed my life. The other lady was showing my daughter and I as well as the shop attendant photos she had taken in a local sunflower field. I instantly knew what we were doing the next day, and I wasn’t disappointed.

A local award winning farmer had specifically planted the Quirindi sunflower field for locals and tourists to experience walking in sunflowers. The cost was a donation and we were able to pick our own sunflowers to take home.

I loved it. It was like nothing I had ever done before. I couldn’t believe the height of the flowers or the size of the flower stems or the leaves. I was also fascinated to learn that sunflowers follow the sun. If you ever get the chance to walk in a sunflower field don’t let the chance go by.

The various stages of opening up.

After a 4 hour trip home and some sugar in the water, today our special sunflowers are enjoying life in our lounge room.

First Fleet Memorial Gardens

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The First Fleet Memorial Gardens are a long way from Botany Bay where they first landed. They are nearly 400 kilometres away in the small village of Wallabadah. But why? In true Australian honesty on the entry to the Gardens is a sign telling everyone that they were the only Council who would grant permission to build them.

The gardens are the brain child of Ray Collins, OAM. A stonemason who discovered he was a descendent of the First Fleet. His dream then became to build a permanent memorial to acknowledge all who first settled our beautiful county. The convicts, marines and their families alike.

The ships of the First Fleet were:

  • Sirius
  • Supply
  • Charlotte
  • Scarborough
  • Prince of Wales
  • Lady Penrhyn
  • Friendship
  • Alexander
  • Borrowdale
  • Fishburn
  • Golden Grove

To make it simple Ray has listed the members of the First Fleet in two ways. There is a large story board that lists all First Fleeters alphabetically as well as specific information about them. He has also created a winding path divided out separately for each ship. In this space was a list of everyone on the ship.

My husband and I both knew that there were people on the First Fleet with our names. We have no idea if we are related to them but were excited to find our names. We found the Scarborough had both of our names on it and I also had someone on the Charlotte. It turned out that most of the people with similar names were convicts although I think one of my husband’s namesakes was a lower ranking marine.

As luck would have it we actually met Ray Collins while staying at Quirindi. He is an interesting man happy to share his knowledge and experiences.

Blogging From A-Z: C is Cabargo’s Train Cafe

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Have you ever been going for a day trip and accidentally found somewhere you’ll never forget? For me, this was Cabargo on the South Coast of New South Wales.

This historic village began in the late 1860’s. It’s unique main street is lined with turn of the century buildings. The shop owners today make and sell crafts and artworks that in many cases are similar to what they would have sold over 150 years ago.

We were first drawn to Cabargo when we saw the train cafe. It was lunch time when we drove through and this unique eatery didn’t disappoint. You could choose to eat inside or out. For us the choice was obvious. The train carriage was similar to the ones I had grown up with. So after lunch I enjoyed walking down memory lane remembering my childhood.

Unfortunately, Cabargo’s train cafe and the its unique main street are no longer. They were all destroyed in the bush fire that ravaged the village last New Year’s Eve. Cabargo became a community devastated by loss, not only of its buildings but also a father and his son who died protecting their property.

The Big UGG Boots

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Australians love visiting big tourist attractions. They are large sized versions of what the town or area is known for e.g. the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the first big thing I ever visited back in the 1970’s. Today in Australia there are over 150 big things.

The latest big thing I visited was the Big UGG Boots at Mortel’s Sheepskin Factory at Thornton in the Hunter Valley. They are the world’s biggest UGG Boots weighing 600 kilos each. They were designed to be 13 x women’s size 8 UGG boot. Mortel’s have been making UGG boots in Australia since 1958. I can’t believe that they made the concrete look so soft and comfortable just like Australian UGG boots.

The Japanese also love our UGG boots. So when our Japanese family visited last year, we surprised them with a visit to the Big UGG Boots. They loved them. Communication was interesting but the ladies in the gift shop did a great job of explaining that sheepskin changes shape so the shoe sizes that they needed to purchase varied. Overall the visit was an excellent experience for everyone.

Attached to the gift shop is the sheepskin museum. It explains the history of Mortel’s as well as showing how UGG boots are made. My favourite was being able to shear a sheep.

If you are ever in the area the Big UGG Boots are worth a visit.