Blue Mountains – March 2010

For the traditional annual family weekend away this year we chose the Blue Mountains and a comfortable 3 bedroom cabin with a loft!! Talk about soft! But we were glad we did because we had a day of mist and drizzle sandwiched between two clear sunny half days, and it was very cosy in the cabin on the foggy miserable day!

The first afternoon we hiked from Echo Point down the Giant’s Staircase beneath the Three Sisters (895 steps) along to the Furber Steps and back up beside Katoomba Falls. Lovely to hike below the sheer sandstone cliffs and tumbling waterfalls and amongst the trees and ferns. A beautiful walk back along the cliff top to Echo Point, with great views to the Three Sisters again in late afternoon light.

Sunday was drizzly and very foggy, so we drove down to Hartley where it was clear and looked at the few remaining historic buildings there, then headed to a garden centre and bought two bird baths. After lunch, the garden-lovers among us visited “Everglades” which we last saw in about 1987 when it was just starting to be restored. An interesting house and beautifully tended garden, it must look stunning in spring! Other members of the party entertained themselves with various pursuits, some less energetic than others! We rounded off the day with a lovely roast dinner, a selection of Mike and Meg’s wonderful photos of Tassie and an entertaining game of Pictionary.

On Monday the weather was fine again, and we chose the walk from Govett’s Leap along the cliff top to Pulpit Rock, a spectacular walk with great views over the Grose Valley and back towards Blackheath. The bush was fresh and sparkling after the rain. Lunch at Govett’s Leap and then a long drive home (way too much traffic on the M7!)

photo View the photos »

Posted on Friday March 19th, 2010, tagged with events | comments disabled

Swampy Plains – March 2010

We joined brother Peter in volunteering to do some work for a couple of days at Dr Forbes’ Hut in the Snowy Mountains.  It was built in the late 1940s as a fishing retreat for a certain Dr Forbes (surprise!), and was almost completely destroyed in the bushfires of 2003. We camped near Keeble’s Hut on Swampy Plain River, at a lovely spot near a deep swimming hole (not a swamp in sight!) It was a short four-wheel drive into the work site. Gary and Geoff, the builders, were working on constructing the new roof and the first day we helped tidy the site and remove fallen timber. We then did some pointing (filling in between the river stones in the walls) and the two Petes started constructing a set of steps up from the river. The weather was glorious – quite hot, really! – and it was just so refreshing to swim in the river and cool down. Nights were cold but clear with a full moon. A lovely break from the everyday world. We look forward to visiting the completed hut soon.

photo View the photos »

Posted on Friday March 19th, 2010, tagged with events | comments disabled