Watching "Whiplash" at North Sydney Sunset Cinema

A perfect evening for outdoor cinema at the beautiful Sydney Oval. And it was wonderful to watch my favourite movie of 2014 again and have friends to discuss it with afterwards.  The first time I saw Whiplash I was alone and it was torture not being able to talk about it after.  It's that kind of movie.  J.K. Simmons is a tour de force and I'd love to see him with the award for best supporting actor.  Highly recommended.

Kayaking through Shoalhaven Gorge

What a wonderful weekend with lovely people including Elna, Srini, Zante, Samira, Howard and Rob. 

Chris very kindly lent me his kayak and I spent the money instead on a roof rack that will hold me in very good stead for paddle skiing and future kayaking trips.  

We did a 15 km paddle deep into the gorge with some stops along the way.  There, we found a camp site and overnighted.  The next day, we did an epic paddle back out of the gorge, without any stops.  A very good workout!

Highlights of the weekend included:

• The beautiful scenery, with the sculptured walls of the gorge and lush greenery, including trees tenaciously hanging onto cliffs.
• The first day, overcast and cool, perfect for kayaking.  It started to rain at one point which was a wonderful excuse for a swim.  There's nothing like that alive feeling of swimming in the rain!
• The camp site where we stayed, plenty of space and nice and secluded back from the river.
• A smorgasbord of delicious shared eats on Saturday night.
• Samira bringing a huge tarp and the fun all the guys had in erecting it from the trees.  It came in very handy, as the rain fell pretty hard on Saturday evening but we were perfectly sheltered.
• The blue skies and sunny weather on Sunday.
• Discovering how meditative paddling is.  On Sunday, we kayaked back without a stop and there were several long spans when my mind closed right down and all I was aware of was each paddle stroke.  It was extremely calming.
• Delicious pies in Kangaroo Valley and a drink at the pub.

A great weekend.  I can definitely get into kayaking.  A big thank you to Chris!

Me on my kayak, lent to me by Chris.  It may not have been the Ferrari of the kayaks there, but I was able to keep up fine and got quite attached to it.

Samira, who did an fantastic job of organising the weekend.  

Rudy kayaking with a fishing rod attached to the back of his kayak. He caught a fish but it wasn't big enough to feed more than a kitten!

Samira, Elna and Howard.  Sharing a kayak is always a brave thing to do for a friendship.  But Elna and Howard were still great mates at the end of the weekend!!  

Paddling into a little enclose for lunch.

I loved the dead trees.  Always so photogenic.

It started to rain and we used this as an excuse for a  swim. The water was lovely and fresh.  Or so we thought, until a kilometer or so up the river we found two bloated kangaroos rotting in the river.  A good lesson.  Never swallow the water!

A wonderful smorgasbord of food to share. Thanks especially to Samira and Elna.

Samira brought a large tarp and we all managed to erect it using the surrounding trees.  So great we had it, because the rain came down hard in the evening.

My beloved tent.  Might not be big, but its compact and lightweight, perfect for this kind of weekend.

The next day dawned nice and sunny. Here is everyone preparing to embark on the paddle back to Kangaroo valley.

The 15 km paddle back was pretty gruelling as we didn't stop once but I managed to take some snaps of the reflections in the water.  Beautiful.

This is my favourite photo of the weekend. Beautiful gorge on both sides, lush trees, blue skies and a lone fluffy cloud.  What more could you ask for?

Just me and the river.

Once we got back to Kangaroo Valley, we stopped for a delicious lamb pie, followed by an even more delicious cherry pie.  Yum!  Then a drink at the pub before the drive home.

Another wonderful video production from Srini.  He's making such fantastic use of his GoPro! 

Weekend in Newnes

I went to Newnes this weekend and was blown away by this amazing place.  About three hours drive north west of Sydney, Newnes is set in the beautiful Wolgan valley, bordered by towering sandstone cliffs. It used to be the site of a major shale mine which was abandoned in 1932 and has since become a dilapidated ghost town, reclaimed my nature. 

Highlights of the weekend included:

• Driving down on Friday evening with Srini, arriving after 10 pm when everyone else was fast asleep in their tents.
• Exploring the abandoned mine early on Saturday morning. I absolutely love old, crumbling places overtaken by nature like this; reminds me of of the impermanence of all things.  The mine reminded me of my adventure in the Glen Davis shale mine.
• A steep climb up the Pipe Track to enjoy the spectacular view from Echo Point over the Wolgan Valley.
• A refreshing swim in the Wolgan River after our climb back down into the valley.
• Camping next to the old hotel, the last remaining intact building from the mining period.  Actually, it was more "glamping" than camping with showers and an outside kitchen.  We're not used to such luxuries!
• A delicious spread of food on Saturday night.
• Beautiful kangaroos coming down to graze at dusk.
• Srini and Elna doing yoga pose-offs and surprising them with my ability to do a headstand!
• A plank-off between Elna, Srini and me.  Elna won without even putting on a sweat.
• Jonno's excruciatingly drawn out joke around the camp site that made us all groan a bit!
• On Sunday, a lovely walk to the famous glow worm tunnel.  The tunnel was 400 metres long and very dark in the middle, with a spectacular display of thousands upon thousands of glow worms, looking like constellations of stars in the dark.  
• A lovely swim in the river to cool down, before driving back to Sydney.
• Howard and Srini setting up some really fun photos.
• Howard posing for the camera in many different settings, doing his famous "pondering pose."

The old hotel

We camped next to the old hotel.  The hotel is the last remaining building from the mining period. It was moved to its present site after flooding in 1986. It is now de-licensed, but still trades as a kiosk at weekends.  

Walk to the abandoned shale mine

Rahima crossing the river.

Coke ovens that were used in the mining.

On the left, a huge retaining wall that was very impressive indeed.

An old building, reclaimed by nature.

Here's how the mine used to look. It was an enormous complex.

Hike to Echo Point

Crazy Srini at it again

Flowers along the way

What a stunning view from Echo Point!

Doing our usual leaps.

The perfect spot for lunch.

Rahima, Kirsten, Jonno, Srini, me.  Thanks for the photo, Elna

Back down on the valley floor.  Me, Elna, Kirsten, Rahima.  Thanks for the photo, Elna

Having a refreshing swim after the hike.

Camping life

Elna and Srini doing yoga pose-offs 

Ha ha!  Both Srini and Elna, the two yoga masters, struggled to do a handstand.  Then I surprised them by doing one myself.  Some things you learn in childhood never leave you.

Gorgeous wallabies at dusk

More wildlife around the camp site.

Hike to the glow worm tunnel

Gorgeously coloured sandstone cliffs.

Having a well earned break on our way up the valley.

A gorgeous fern glen near the entrance of The Glow Worm Tunnel. More photos here.

Scenes from inside the The Glow Worm Tunnel.  The tunnel is 400 metres in length, curving through almost 180 degrees and is consequently very dark. It is home to thousands of glow worms. These worms are the larval stage of a fly which develops from eggs planted on the cave wall. The larvae drop sticky threads that trap small insects drawn by the light which the worms create.

Here are some photos of the railway that was built to create the glow-worm tunnel.  It was built in 1906-07 as part of the 50-km railway line joining the works at Newnes to the outside world. 

A lake on the other end of the tunnell.

Samira and Howard posing by the lake.

Having a fun swim after the hike.  Srini's famous Mexican hat came out, as you can see.

Stopping off for a view and some fun on the steep drive out of the valley.

Pondering Howard

Howard has a famous pondering pose and it was fun capturing it on camera.