Catherine Hill Bay

This former mining community on the coast north of Sydney is being threatened by large-scale, unsympathetic development as a result of the mine closing and the owners planning to sell off their prime headland property. We went to see it while it is still untouched.
The cloudy, rainy day hadn't daunted half a dozen surfers in wetsuits on the beach beneath the old pier.

Out at sea, under a stormy sky, freighters rode along the horizon awaiting a berth at the nearby port of Newcastle. It was in this vicinity last year that storms forced one freighter onto a beach where it lay stranded for a couple of weeks, making worldwide pictorial news.

Michael took advantage of a clear spell to do a quick sketch looking along the beach towards the pier.

I strolled along the edge of the beach, where this lovely old sign caught my eye.

And this wattle, just bursting into bloom.

Catherine Hill Bay

This former mining community on the coast north of Sydney is being threatened by large-scale, unsympathetic development as a result of the mine closing and the owners planning to sell off their prime headland property. We went to see it while it is still untouched.
The cloudy, rainy day hadn't daunted half a dozen surfers in wetsuits on the beach beneath the old pier.

Out at sea, under a stormy sky, freighters rode along the horizon awaiting a berth at the nearby port of Newcastle. It was in this vicinity last year that storms forced one freighter onto a beach where it lay stranded for a couple of weeks, making worldwide pictorial news.

Michael took advantage of a clear spell to do a quick sketch looking along the beach towards the pier.

I strolled along the edge of the beach, where this lovely old sign caught my eye.

And this wattle, just bursting into bloom.

Another Day, Another Bushwalk

It was Michael's birthday on April 4th and so, with a few sunny hours to spare, we decided to investigate a short track featuring three waterfalls, close to the nearby town of Lawson. It led through a shallow valley carved by the stream that fed the aforesaid falls. We walked up and down steps cut into sandstone rocks, and through bushland where the slender, steely trunks of Mountain ash (Eucalyptus oreades) rose out of carpets of ferns into cool, sundappled air. As we walked we could hear the stream running through undergrowth beside us, though we caught only occasional glimpses through gaps in the scrub.

Our path led us across the base of each waterfall in turn, under dark ironstone shelves of rock, gleaming with the constant sluice of water.



We trudged over soft, pale sand washed out to the margins of pools into which the water fell, and negotiated mossy wooden bridges of decaying wood.


Although it didn't offer the dramatic, cliff-edge views that many trails in the Blue Mountains do, it was shorter and less demanding than most of those, pleasant enough for the time we had available.

Another Day, Another Bushwalk

It was Michael's birthday on April 4th and so, with a few sunny hours to spare, we decided to investigate a short track featuring three waterfalls, close to the nearby town of Lawson. It led through a shallow valley carved by the stream that fed the aforesaid falls. We walked up and down steps cut into sandstone rocks, and through bushland where the slender, steely trunks of Mountain ash (Eucalyptus oreades) rose out of carpets of ferns into cool, sundappled air. As we walked we could hear the stream running through undergrowth beside us, though we caught only occasional glimpses through gaps in the scrub.

Our path led us across the base of each waterfall in turn, under dark ironstone shelves of rock, gleaming with the constant sluice of water.



We trudged over soft, pale sand washed out to the margins of pools into which the water fell, and negotiated mossy wooden bridges of decaying wood.


Although it didn't offer the dramatic, cliff-edge views that many trails in the Blue Mountains do, it was shorter and less demanding than most of those, pleasant enough for the time we had available.

Easter daisies

One of the curious things about the different hemispheres of the world is that certain events on the calendar, Easter for instance, occur at the same time around the world, but the seasons are reversed. And thus, what northerners call Michaelmas daisies, or fall asters, become Easter daisies here in Australia.
I've been watching the expanding clump on the corner of our house, guessing from the stem and leaf structure that they might be asters, and wondering what colour they were going to be. As it turns out, a lovely pale sky blue. They remind me quite a lot of one I grew in Canada, acquired from Free Spirit Nursery and named 'Poolicht'. Not a pretty name in English, but it translates as "polar light" which is apt and shows more imagination than the names of many cultivars.
My clump is large enough that I will divide it after flowering and put a matching clump at the other end of the front fence. In the meantime, they give me a chance to experiment with the macro function on my new camera.

Easter daisies

One of the curious things about the different hemispheres of the world is that certain events on the calendar, Easter for instance, occur at the same time around the world, but the seasons are reversed. And thus, what northerners call Michaelmas daisies, or fall asters, become Easter daisies here in Australia.
I've been watching the expanding clump on the corner of our house, guessing from the stem and leaf structure that they might be asters, and wondering what colour they were going to be. As it turns out, a lovely pale sky blue. They remind me quite a lot of one I grew in Canada, acquired from Free Spirit Nursery and named 'Poolicht'. Not a pretty name in English, but it translates as "polar light" which is apt and shows more imagination than the names of many cultivars.
My clump is large enough that I will divide it after flowering and put a matching clump at the other end of the front fence. In the meantime, they give me a chance to experiment with the macro function on my new camera.

Newnes river caves

It was a bright, sunny day for our group's hike to the Newnes river caves yesterday. We had been warned that we would have to wade through water, possibly waist-high, and to dress appropriately and bring extra footwear for wearing in the water. Fortunately, the deepest pool came only to mid-thigh so most people were fine in their shorts. I ended up with wet pantlegs, which I preferred to scratched legs from the bushes lining the track. The sun quickly dried me off as we made our way back to our starting point at the top of the plateau.


It was dark and cool at the bottom of the chasm, although not as dark as my photos make it appear. Where sunlight penetrated the gloom, opportunistic seedlings had sprouted.


The spots on the lens are from droplets of water seeping from ledges above us.




Between the pools, the water had to find a path among massive boulders.



Tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) thrive in the cool, moist conditions at the bottom of the canyon.