On our first road trip up the east coast we made a quick stop at South West Rocks. I honestly can’t remember exactly why our visit was so brief. I think we decided to stay longer on our way back down the coast, but who knows! Well, on our way back down we didn’t stop at South West Rocks due to time constraints and I wasn’t going to let Mike forget it.

As we were planning our second trip up the coast I made South West Rocks a priority. Whenever Mike asked me what I wanted to do along the way, I always answered with, “Camp at South West Rocks!” And this time we actually did!

We camped on the beach below the Trial Bay Gaol. The weather was particularly windy at night but still pleasant. We spent our time exploring the beach and preparing our Thanksgiving dinner. (Now you know how behind I am in blogging!)

We were also surrounded by kangaroos most of the time!

Another great camping experience!

xo, jill

Just a few photos from our second time camping at Myall Lakes. A nice, quiet, and peaceful place to spend the evening in a tent. Added bonus: the pay machine was broken and the ranger never came to collect – free night of camping! Our first visit to Myall Lakes here.

xo, jill 

(Now that’s it’s summer down here and winter up there (sorry, everyone!), this post isn’t that relevant. You’ll just have to humor me.)

When you live abroad in a region that doesn’t experience autumn and then move to the southern hemisphere just before spring, you come to dread the fall. It’s not easy seeing everyone else experiencing your favorite season. Pumpkin patches, apple picking, falling leaves… it’s so hard to watch from a distance. I’ve now missed four autumn seasons in a row and lamented every one.

This time, however, I had a little something to help me combat everyone’s gorgeous photos of fall foliage: spring flowers.

I first noticed the purple flowers of the Jacaranda trees in mid November. It seemed like everywhere we went these purple trees were cheering up the neighborhoods. Mike’s friends in Manly had a giant one in their backyard. I really love the purple color. I feel like it’s a somewhat unique color to see such a cool shade of purple in nature.

Jacaranda trees are native to Central and South America and have been introduced to parts of Asia, Africa, North America, and Australia.

Next, I was equally delighted when the Flame Trees began to bloom. It might be obvious where their name comes from but here’s an interesting fact: The tree drops its leaves after the dry season leaving the branches covered in only the bright bell shaped flowers. It’s an intense color experience!

Flame Trees are native to the east coast of Australia but are now grown worldwide. The little fruit pods, called follicles, were traditionally eaten by Aborigines. Beautiful and useful!

Frequently, these two varieties of trees are planted next to each other because they bloom at nearly the same time. The contrast of the two colors is truly striking. It’s just a shame that the flowering season is so short-lived. I always want flowers to stick around just a little longer.

A few weeks ago a couple of my friends were in Sydney for a few days before heading to New Zealand for a bike trip. Not wanting to miss their smiling faces, Mike and I jumped on the train and headed down to meet them. We spent a few hours chatting on Bondi Beach and it felt so good! I guess I was lucky while living in Abu Dhabi because with Molly there, I always had a connection to home.

Being at Bondi Beach reminded me that I never shared photos from when Mike and I visited back in October. I used my point and shoot so the files were in a different folder.

So…

…way back in October between leaving Newcastle and heading to Hillston, Mike and I spent an afternoon at Bondi Beach. Getting there was a little bit of a pain. We had to take a couple of trains and a bus. Unfortunately, we got off at the wrong bus stop, so there was a pretty long walk involved too. Fortunately, we ended up at Sculpture by the Sea so the walk wasn’t so bad after all.

Sculpture by the Sea is an annual event that turns the coastal walk from Tamarama Beach to Bondi into an outdoor sculpture park. While the sculptures made the walk much more interesting (it’s really beautiful on its own), they also slowed us down. It was a popular place to be!

After finally arriving at Bondi, we relaxed on the busy beach.

With so many gorgeous beaches in Australia, I can’t say Bondi was my favorite… but it’s something you’ve got to see.

xo, jill

*I always sing this Ben Lee song to myself when I think of Bondi…and I just realized I’ve been singing it really wrong. Oops! 

We arrived in Hillston at the very beginning of the cherry picking season. That meant we were given a few days off here and there while waiting for the cherries to ripen. On one such day Mike and I decided to drive to Willandra National Park.

The park isn’t the easiest place to get to. First you need to be out as far as Hillston (about 500km west of Sydney)… and then you need the patience to drive on a gravel track for several kilometers. I think it was at least an hour on that bumpy road (with plenty of emu spottings). Considering all that, it was no surprise that we were the only visitors that day.

Willandra National Park is unique in that (I think) it’s the only national park that used to be a prosperous sheep ranch. In the early 1900s Willandra was famous for the high quality of its Merino flock. It won various awards and reached its peak in the 1920s-30s when it sheared over 90,000 sheep. Over the years for various reasons the business declined. Finally, in the early 1970s the owner at the time failed to renew the lease. At this point, the land was turned over to the national park system. Later in the 1990s, several buildings were restored. Now some of the buildings are even available as affordable accommodation.

We enjoyed exploring the “abandoned” buildings on a very hot day. It was just us and the kangaroos, though we did spot a dreaded brown snake (from the car, thankfully). First we visited what I assume was the “shearing” facilities. I wish someone knowledgeable had been around to explain all the interesting looking contraptions. I got the general idea of how it was done… but would have loved a clearer picture.

Next we ventured over to the Shearers Quarters. These quarters were built in 1936 to union standards at the time. I like how “union standards” included having a verandah. Of course, over time those standards changed and quarters like this would no longer be suitable. (I feel like that’s obvious if you peek inside the window, but the signage made the point so I’m passing that information on to you!)

The next buildings I explored were the mess hall and kitchen. At this point Mike was off checking out something else. It felt a bit creepy to just open the door and walk right into the kitchen. Kind of like a horror movie set in the outback was about to begin. Luckily, nothing like that happened! Just an old refrigerator and lots of artifacts (broken glass) sitting about on the shelves and counters.

The mess hall was the entertainment capital of the ranch. The men would gather here to eat, drink, tell stories, and beat the you-know-what out of each other (or as the signage puts it,  have “wild disturbances”). Apparently, sheep shearers were a rowdy bunch and rivalries were a very real thing. I suppose being in the middle of no where can do that to a person.

At this point it was quite warm out and we felt like we’d seen enough although there are a few more buildings scattered around the property.

Visiting Willandra National Park felt like a very Australian day. I’m pretty sure we even sang along with this Aussie icon as we drove along those dusty tracks.

xo, jill 

A little peek at the day we spent at Willandra National Park back in November.

xo, jill