My ex-friend Rod...

We were up at a reasonable time with a quick breakfast and a bit of food into the rucksack and off on one of Rodney's Mystery Hikes! Soon we were at the crest of the Echo Point stairway descent.



Down over 900 [!] steps to a lower level but not the valley bottom of this geological apparition that is like a Dry Victoria Falls, or a Dry Niagara Falls. It was not for the feeble-hearted. We all gripped securely even when taking photos. we had frequent rest stops throughout. In all my travels I have never encountered such a steep and seemingly endless assembly of rock paths and stairs and steel ships-ladders that seemed to go on forever. Some of the stops and lookouts were absolutely knee-weakening, albeit breathtaking.





At the bottom of our descent, we stopped and congratulated ourselves on getting that far without a casualty. The next 2.5 Ks was quite pleasant, level with some up and down, undulating was a term I heard from a survivor later.



We thought that walking level would work some of our throbbing and now-starting-to-seize-up muscles work out. It didn't. We soon found ourselves at the bottom of the Funicular Railway. Some of us thought that that was the hike, 'now for the ride up'. Our Tour Organizer had a better idea....push on to the Gondola! Only 35 minutes . We did that and it was suggested by you know who that we do "The Circuit' boardwalk and paths back to the funicular, another hour.




Our dauntless leader condescended to allow us to have a bread and butter sandwich at the bottom of the circuit, this was consumed in seconds. Now it was UP to the funicular, suddenly a new set of aches entered our system on the 'up'. The spectacular and frightening ride to the cliff edge momentarily took our minds off of our throbbing lower limbs.

At the top, again, some of us thought we were 'home', not to be. "Let's do the Rim Walk" were the words my ex-friend uttered. [By now three of us were walking with distinct limps.] Somehow the journey back to the car was considerably more in distance than the lower route. Something to do with the arc of a circle longer than the distance between the ends I think was my conclusion somewhere on the route. I caught a glimpse of the lookout at Echo Point [our destination and earlier starting point] through the trees and that was it, I was off like a rabbit. To heck with my wife, Lyn and ex-fried who seemed to cherish every extended lookout, outlook, view-point, cave or side trail.


Soon the smells and sounds of civilization caught my senses; the smell of diesel and the sounds of idling motor coaches and chattering Japanese Tourists! I had done it!


Two highlights of the walk:

1. Two magpies trying to attack a large lizard over a meter in length during 'lunch'. [The lizard uses his tail as a weapon, I did not know that.]


2. Our late discovery of the fact that there are no toilets in the valley. That third coffee that tasted so good at 8 AM presented a bit of a problem at 10.30! [A series of sentries and a whistle signal system got the situation rectified.] I know how I did it but we were on a guard-railed board-walk that presented a challenge for the fair sex I assume.


The total time of Rodney's Mystery Hike was 5 1/2 to 6 hours, depending upon who you talk to.

Leura and Katoomba, in The Blue Mountains

Katoomba and its sister town Leura, are a bit of a trip down memory lane for me. The two towns seem to be in a time warp, stuck in the 1930's, or 40's. I cannot figure out what keeps them going, tourism, or are they bedroom communities for Sydney, or do they stand on their own right? Walking down the streets brings back memories of my mother taking my sister and I to downtown Vancouver in the 1940's. The stores look like Hastings street, with their glass fronted doors and interesting window displays.


I cannot figure out why there were no new buildings put up in the 50's, 60's etc. The smaller town of Leura is the smaller and better 'preserved' of the two towns. I am fascinated by the architecture, there is not one building over three stories in town. [Leura.]





I took a picture of one of the grocery store aisles there. When did you last go shopping with a store whose aisles were three feet wide and the shelves are stacked with packaged goods like that?


Next door was the produce store and meats. I don't think they even had wire baskets for the grocery. I remember my mother giving me some money and told me to run down to the corner store and get a single item she needed in a store similar to the one we visited. It was not a tourist attraction, it was on the main street of other stores whose owners make their living from selling wares. Of course, on the outskirts of town are the K-Marts etc.

The main attraction in the area is of course the Blue Mountains. The mist visible is sometimes said to be the mist from the Gum trees that form the bulk of the greenery we see. There are numerous roads and trails that surround and go through the valley. Rod and Lyn seem determined to show us every trail, lookout, photographic opportunity, cave and vista possible.






As I sit and write this, after downloading and editing the photos, Fellette and Lyn are locked into a scrabble game while Rod has walked down to the point to try and get one more photo with the sun setting on the crags known as The Three Sisters. I asked him to take one for me, no more walking for Dougie today! Bed will come early tonight. We have booked a third night in our home away from home so it should be a lazy morning tomorrow! But, apparently Rod has a busy day of hiking in mind for our last day here.



The Country Women's Association is an organization of rural women who meet, do community work, and other womanly things that some men find terribly mundane. It sort of typifies the era that these towns in the area are reminiscent of. My gosh, they even have their own building here! My wife informs me that they have similar organizations in Canada. I did not know. This one just plain looks old fashioned. I do love the buildings here.

Forster to the Blue Mountains...

Preamble to the Blog:

My reason for writing this is to say how nice a feeling it is to get some feedback from readers of the blog. It sort of makes my feeble efforts a bit worthwhile to actually see that somebody is actually reading this stuff. Thanks. [This is not an appeal for comments folks.]

Getting an internet connection while travelling can be an interesting experience. This morning at 6.30 AM, I left the motel room and went over to the office where I could see the router in the window of the not-yet-open office. All my fancy tricks to get a connection failed. Holding my computer in my hands, I walked out behind the soft drink machine and faced the building across the street. BINGO! fast as the wind connection.

Selecting the photos is maybe the hardest part as I usually take between 30 and 70 shots a day. Internet speed is an issue. In the north, it sometimes took 1/2 hour to send 7 pictures. Today it took 45 seconds. I never know until I hit the send button.

Now to the Blog...

Forster to the Blue Mountains...

A big day today, to get past Sydney. Yes, PAST Sydney. We can do Sydney later, this trip is to see the countryside. A determined Rod gripped the wheel and soon we had Sydney in our rear view mirror and rocketing west for the first time. Soon enough we were in a cutsie home in Leura, a walk from the lookout to see the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters.


The Blue Mountains are part of a 4000 K range of mountains going north to south a bit inland on the east coast of Australia. This will likely only be of significance to Aussies and keen travellers. After considerable dealings at the visitors bureau we were enroute to our home for the next [few?] days.

It is always a crap shoot on rolling into any place in the afternoon and finding a bed for the night. We were a bit disappointed in the quaint but lack-lustre outside appearance of our intended abode.


Upon entering it we were immediately all taken by the 'homeyness' of the three bedroom house. The owner was there, [she owns three homes on the street] and made sure we were happy before leaving. All the trappings are there for a comfortable and welcoming stay; wind-breakers, sun hats, sun screen, a new box of cornflakes, videos, CD's, books, even a few new goodies in the fridge. A very nice touch.



Next down the street for 'tea' before hitting the local supermarket for the ingredients for some longed-for home cooked meals. Even the girls seemed eager to get in the kitchen to prove their culinary skills had not gone dormant.



It appears that the beaches are gone folks, we are now into the mountains before heading south-west to Maryborough.

I think that I have omitted any pictures of our vehicle. It is a bit tight but we are managing very well. Rod does a great job of stowing the luggage each day in the back of the vehicle that in its former life was a police van.

Free Transportation From England to Australia...

England, in 1787, was not a good place to be if you were poor. A young girl called Ann Forbes was poor and living in England. She was found guilty of stealing cloth worth 20 shillings. [She was originally sentenced to death but that was changed to 'seven years transportation'.] That meant being put on a 'hulk' in the Thames. As these 'hulks' filled up the prisoners were transferred to 'prison ships' to be transported to a very remote recently discovered part of the world that we now call Australia.

And so, a 19 year old girl was sent to the ends of the earth, and another pesky person was swept from English society. The 'First Fleet' as it is called had three Man-of-War ships as escorts and about 12 prison ships. The voyage took months, under harsh conditions as you can imagine. They landed in/near Botany Bay but then moved north a bit to a place called Port Jackson, [now called Sydney].

Ann Forbes survived. She did more than survive, she married, three times actually, and had many children.

Today we visited with Robert and Bronwyn Newton, in Port Macqarrie, NSW. Robert and Bronwyn were my Tai Chi instructors two years ago on a world voyage, where I took over 60 Tai Chi classes with them. [No, I am not good at Tai Chi!].


One day at sea it was too rough to do the lessons so Robert entertained us by reciting some Aussie verses and telling a bit about themselves. During that time he indicated that Bronwyn was a 'First Fleeter', [she could trace her ancestry to those prisoners who landed in 1788]. Ann Forbes was Bronwyn's first relative in Australia, arriving on the ship 'Prince of Wales'.



Two years earlier, we met Rod and Lyn on a world voyage. During that time Lyn indicated that she was descended from a 'First Fleeter'. When Robert told of Bronwyn's ancestry, I emailed Rod in Australia and asked the details of Lyn's lineage. Rod indicated that Lyn was descended from Ann Forbes who came over on the 'Prince of Wales'. I was dumfounded, we only know three couples in all of Australia, what are the chances of that happening?

Bronwyn and Lyn each have a massive book listing the ancestors and lineage of all of Ann's 24,000 known relatives. [Ann and her descendants were very prolific.] The book is called 'Transported to Paradise" a genealogy of Ann Forbes. It weighs about five pounds.


We are boggled to think of their exact relationship, except that their great, great, grandmother and grandfather were brother and sister!

Little did that 19 year old cloth-thief from England ever think that her name would live on...

[The foregoing is correct to the best of my knowledge, some details are likely wrong. I am relying on my memory and bits and pieces that I have picked up over the years, plus a little help from Google.]

South West Rocks, New South Wales....[500 Ks north of Sydney]

The previous day's storm blew over and we awoke to a fogged-in town, [at 5.00 am at least]. By the time our hosts awoke it was clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight.

First stop was to the Goal, [jail], another Australian Prison folks, they seem to be big on prisons here, something to do with their ancestors I guess. This is a marvellous example of the skills of the early pioneers. Local granite and 17 years of hard work in the 1880's went into it.




In the Great War [WW I], it housed German citizens for the duration. I could not think of a nicer place to be incarcerated. The only unforeseen death during that time was one gentleman who was drowned while bathing in the surf.


South West Rocks is a bit of a sleepy town that seems to make it on the holiday flats and beach seekers that come here during all seasons. It is part of the seemingly endless strip of beach that runs down the east coast of Australia. After visiting the prison we walked the trail that seemed to go on forever to another gorgeous beach. On the way in the heavy brush we passed more than a few lizards plus I am sure other unseen creatures.


After lunch we ventured to the beach and cooled off, rather quickly I must say. The water seems to be cold but once in it is almost necessary to get ones temperature down a bit. I suffer the heat somewhat. We have never been in a situation where the heat every day is so much above what we are used to.




Kangaroos abound here, [No pun intended.] They seem to come out around 4.30 in the afternoon and hang out in groups of eight or more. They are the most ungainly looking thing you have ever seen, but are so graceful when hopping off, particularly the little 'joeys'. It makes for an interesting time for the scores of campers at the beach side.




A great day, topped off by a smorgasbord dinner at the local sports 'Club', in a grandiose new building. The 'Club' concept defies description, except to say that every town seems to have one. They revolve around the sports theme; bowls, cricket, swimming, rugby, etc. There is of course a bar, a restaurant or two, a bottle shop, and the clincher, slot machines, this one even had off-track betting. I believe it has its roots in Britain. A good place to get an inexpensive but good meal without a lot of fuss and bother.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to drop in and visit with my Tai Chi instructors that were on the ship we sailed in two years ago.