Gone bush

Yesterday provided another opportunity to explore the wonderful Australian bush. This time I headed down into the Shoalhaven Gorge (4 hours south of Sydney) with a group of friends. The ultimate aim was to scout for good camping spots for a weekend long bushwalk next spring. Given that it pretty much hasn’t stopped raining for the past 3+ weeks, it was with sighs of relief as well as happy spirits that we watched the sky turn orange with the first of the days’ beautiful sunshine just before 6am. It was a spectacular 7 hour walk – we descended down steep cliff sides, bolder jumped through a dry riverbed (photo), walked in the shade of casuarina trees along the banks of the Shoalhaven river (photo) and ate lunch on a sandbank where the Bungonia river joins the Shoalhaven river. What a wonderful day in the bush.

A Bondi Sunday

The rain seems relentless in the eastern parts of NSW at the moment. This, however, does allow for some delicious comfy sofa reading time and less distractions from work. And thankfully the rain is interspersed by sun. I've had a relaxing Sunday in Bondi today - something that I love both because of the relaxation but also because Bondi is such a wonderful place to exist. I woke up early, put my running shoes on and ran down to the beach where I found a spot sheltered from the wind where I could indulge in my tai chi training. A homeless person snuggled up in his rug a little further along the cliffs on a cliff shelf sheltered from both the wind and rain, whilst the surfers skilfully rode the waves. In similar vein my day ended by the water where waiting for the Rose Bay ferry to arrive, I watch a pelican stand on the wooden pier watching a little boy fishing whilst the last rays of the sun painted the sky and the clouds orange.