WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

Menologue; The OZ Venture

Thankfully, that first Tuesday in OZ was reserved to share with Emm. We just 'hung' together, taking a drive out to Strathfield where there are some good Indian/Sri Lankan supply shops. Bought traditional sweets for Diwali.  In the evening, I met up with a friend for dinner at the local Thai restaurant.

It is always good to catch up with folk and find that you pick up pretty much where you left off.

Wednesday was spent wrangling with the bank. Boring story, but suffice to say it was long and involved; this operating from overseas makes things complicated.  Apparently. Didn't matter that was stuck inside for most of the day; it was raining and cool. The evening was spent at the Diwali celebrations at the ashram.

Thursday, shopping and lunch with some ex neighbours from Asquith. It was overcast and cool. Sigh.

When Friday came out bright to start with, then, decided to take a people-free day trip.



























First Eric and I had to catch the bus into Hornsby... here we are looking over the Pacific Highway to the Mt Colah Shopping strip. Heady stuff.

Actually, the pizzas from that place there are pretty darned good...

At Hornsby station, we waited and watched. We were catching the Newcastle-bound train, but getting off at Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury river (check that map on yesterday's post).

This was always a favourite little 'escape', when I wanted to 'go bush' but didn't have a car. Nowadays, it too is getting a bit populated, but is still the sort of place where the sounds of twanging banjos can be heard, albeit a bit more distant than was once the case. There is still a population of 'fringe dwellers' there. However, the Hawkesbury River Postboat has been 'discovered', and is as much a tourist service as it is a very necessary and still much-needed delivery service.  It launches at 10am though, and sadly the train didn't get me there till five after... oh well...



























A favourite pastime here is fishing, both commercially and as a hobby.

This is the one place where I would break my vego status and go for the fresh line caught Flathead, lightly battered and speedily fried, along with hand-cut hot chips and salad.

This visit was no exception. It was a nostalgia thing.

I had company in the form of an Australian Brush Turkey (sometimes called bush turkey or scrub turkey). The Aboriginal people did occasionally hunt them for food, but am not sure whether they were used as part of the white settlers' diet. Pretty scrawny birds - and can actually be a nuisance if they make home in your back yard. They collect all sorts to build their nest mounds, so newly planted veges or edging plants are unlikely to last...

Eric enjoyed the views, as did I, of course. There was an interesting looking vessel which was totally covered in solar panels. Not a bad plan for Australia. Provided you don't get cold, wet summers like this one...

















































































All in all, it was a grand day out, with lots of sit and ponder time, polite interactions and bright, fresh air... even if it did sprinkle rain and blow a cold breeze... As the train wound its way back up the sandstone cliffs,  I managed one more vista-shot...



More on Monday!


10 comments:

  1. I am so jealous of Eric! All the way in Australia!!! I asked Mara whether we could go there next, but she says we have other plans this year and we don't have the time to go there.

    Brom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hari OM
      Don't fret Brom - am certain your adventures this year will be every bit as fun! Yx

      Delete
  2. I want to complain! I popped over to this blog this evening, thinking won't it be nice to visit Australia in Yam's excellent company, and for a few minutes escape from the dreadful rain and wind in NE Scotland and soak up some southern hemisphere rays.
    And then you tell me it is wet and cool there too...
    Cheers, Gail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hari OM
      Bwwhahaha - booohhooooooo.. I knooowwww tell me about it!!! You'll see as things progress that the weather did not.... the world has gone mad I tells ya... M A D... Yxx

      Delete
    2. Well it just got even worse after you left. Sydney has been inundated with rain. You wouldn't have been able to get to
      Dapto for the floods. Even by train.

      Delete
  3. Dang that sure is a skinny turkey! Love lots of pics, rain or not.

    Keep Calm & Bark On,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  4. When I was living in Tokyo I took a lot of people free trips, loved them! Can't wait til Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So much beauty!! I am also a big fan of people free trips!!

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  6. I enjoy your travels vicariously! That amazing view between mountains. So lovely! x

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