The Canyon Hike (Blue Mountains)

This is a fantastic three hour hike along the top of a canyon, followed by a steep descent into the canyon itself and a walk along the river, followed by an inevitable steep walk out.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the canyon itself, with its shady glens and ferns and lush vegetation, provides respite from the heat of the day.

It was very difficult to capture the essence of this hike in photographs. The canyon itself was quite dark and the sun above was very bright so there was too much contrast.  So, I focused more on enjoying the hike. But below are some of the photos I did take.

Here is a view out of the narrow canyon from the river bed below.

The river was gorgeous, in parts filled with colourful pebbles and rocks.

Here you can see some debris deposited by the river.  This place must be scary when the river rises in a storm.  In the photo, you can see the canyon walls in the background.

There were some lovely trees too.

This bright red parrot was enjoying the sun and feeding on the floor as I came out of the canyon.

The canyon hike culminates at Evan's Lookout which provides lovely views out across the Grose Valley.

I met this couple gazing out at the view.  The photo doesn't show it but they both held a glass of champaign.  That's the way to enjoy a view!

The Three Monkeys

This is a pub close to where I work. The Xmas hats are a nice touch on an already very cool sign.

La Perouse

Located on the northern side of Botany Bay, La Perouse was named after Le Compte de Laperouse, a French explorer who arrived here in 1788.  It is notable for its old military outpost at Bare Island and the Botany Bay National Park.  It is very popular with scuba divers.

For photographers, it has a photogenic "castle like" structure which creates some nice photos.  What impressed me most, though, were the amazing rock formations with beautiful colours.  It is not surprising that La Perouse is popular with wedding photographers.  I spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon here, aided by the fact there was an ice cream truck selling double chocolate dipped nutty soft serve delights.

Sculptures by the Sea 2010

Sculptures by the sea is an annual event at Bondi Beach. Lots of different arty sculptures are erected along a beautiful cliff walk and the sculptures can be admired against a dramatic background of sea and rock. It attracts huge crowds, especially on its last weekend so I went to see it very early this morning. It was a gorgeous day for it - summer has at last begun in earnest after a very wet start.

Lovely Spring morning on the beach

Lizzy, my friend from the park, and I took our respective "children" (Mack and Jem) for a run on Clontarf Beach.  Both Mack and Jem love water and chasing balls and there was plenty of that on offer so they were in heaven.  There were several other dog owners on the beach with a variety of different pooches (including a wonderful bulldog that was full of personality) so it was very social and also entertaining to watch them all frolicking together.  Jem is extremely fast and agile and sometimes lifts right off the ground while in full sprint so I had my camera out trying to capture that moment.

 

And this one Jo, is specially for you!  Sorry it's not quite up to the usual standard !