Tenterfield, Wallangarra and the New England Highway

We left Sydney in the rain which continued all the way to Dubbo. It was not the kind of day to take photos but it was great to see the land getting a good drink of water. The next day was fine and we headed back to Brisbane via the New England Tableland.

The recent rains had really transformed the normally dryish countryside. Creeks were flowing and water was over the road on occasions.

August is the middle of winter and since the height about sea level is about 3000 feet, the deciduous trees had lost their leaves.  

This is sheep country and the area is quite wealthy.

The highway is very popular with people travelling from Sydney to Brisbane who want to avoid the busy and crappy coast highway.

The Town Hall in Glen Innes.

Sir Henry Parkes is known as the Father of Federation in Australia. Most Australians would know his name with a town and a suburb named after him, but few would know of his significance.

If you saw the film, 'The Dish', it was set at the radio telescope just outside the town of Parkes.

Two old codgers enjoying a chat in a local cafe. Glen Innis has a strong Scottish connection and is twinned with Pitlochry where we stayed earlier this year and visited a distillery. Click on the picture to see the menu in greater detail.

Tenterfield, the birth place of Peter Allen. Opinion is divided in this rural and very conservative town about its most famous son because of his gay background.

The town much prefers to be known as the site of the Tenterfield Oration delivered by Henry Parkes in 1889. The Oration called for the Federation of the six separate colonies which happened in 1901.

Geoff and his old mate, Peter, in the Information Centre at Tenterfield.

A few miles up the road is the border of Queensland and New South Wales and the little town of Wallangarra. It is notable for its train station where passengers would change trains. The Queensland trains used a 3'6" gauge and the tracks were laid on this northern side of the station.

The New South Wales side with standard gauge, 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in. This side is no longer used and the train line to Sydney now only comes as far north as Armidale.

The actual border. Magnificent people are born on the north side of this line and scum bags are born south of the line.

It is quite cold in winter by Australian standards and I can remember changing trains here when I was about four years old. Our family did a trip from Toowomba to Sydney and back by train. It was absolutely freezing on the platform in the early morning. The old timetable can be found here.

The Queensland side is still used by an enthusiast group that runs a steam train down from the nearby Stanthorpe.

Bondi Beach - Sydney

For various reasons, I had never been to Bondi Beach, perhaps the most famous beach in Australia. So I got on the bus and went down there.

The beach is about a kilometer long and quite wide and flat. There is also a large grass area overlooking the beach. In summer, it can be very crowded.

At the southern end is a fresh water swimming pool and the headquarters of 'The Icebergs' who swim year, including winter.

The waves are biggest at the southern end and that is where the surf boarders congregate. If you plan to swim in Australia, it is really important to swim 'between the flags' to avoid rip currents. Read the Wikipedia article at the top of the blog about 'the back packer express' which is the dark area in the center of this photo.

Just around the corner from the Icebergs is a very rocky beach area known as Tamarama. There is a walk that goes along the coast here. next time I am in Sydney, I will try to do this walk.

View of the beach with the waves rolling in. For a web cam view, click here.

Garden Island - Sydney

When you take the ferry to Manly, you go past some docks with Australian Navy ships. The area is called Garden Island and in the past, that was as close as you could get to it. However, parts of it were opened to the public in 2002 and a ferry stops there roughly every hour during the day. The official web site is here.

Only a portion of the island is open to the public, but this old building is used as a welcome center.

Inside is a small collection of  naval stuff such as torpedoes and guns.

However they do have part of one of the Japanese midget submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour during WWII. The other subs that took part in the attack can be seen at the War Memorial in Canberra.

Snow lanterns are supposed to look good in the snow.

I can just imagine some bloke proudly saying 'I am the captain of the Wombat'.

There is also an outdoor area with sundry guns, barrels, radar installations and missiles like these.

In the centre of the island is a hill with gardens. On the week day I was there, they were quite deserted.

In the gardens is the earliest recorded graffiti in Australia.

Right on top of the island is a building where you can on to the roof for what has to be one of the best harbour views in Sydney in all directions. If you have a couple of spare hours in Sydney and it is a fine day, this is worth going to.

The Rocks in Sydney

Robin and I decided to tour The Rocks so we met at Circular Quay. To see the location in Sydney, click on this link.

The water at Circular Quay. It really is green and clear.

Cadman's Cottage. It's the oldest residential building in Australia and in certain ways, it's amazing it survived.

Campbell's Storehouses.

This is George Street, the oldest in Sydney. Initially, the street was just dirt and to improve it, they paved it with blocks of wood like these.

Many of the buildings are interesting to look at.

Different examples of residences.

The tile work on a pub wall.

A free standing urinal like this is really very rare in Australia.

Tooth's was one of the popular Sydney beers. Taken over by Carlton United, the KB brand has virtually disappeared. Years ago, brands were very local and it would be unheard of to have a Melbourne beer like Fosters sold in Sydney.

An old letter box.

So you would like to live here? All you have to do is be old, see below.

An extension to the house.

Robin admiring the vine on the side of a house.

It really is interesting to walk around here on a week day when things are quiet. The weekend could be a different story when the crowds appear.

Robin enjoying a playground. Interestingly, the floor is made of recycled plastic or rubber and is quite soft. No doubt it helps when you fall and I noticed quite a few playgrounds in Australia with this feature.

More interesting old buildings. I presume these were warehouses.

 A warehouse on a wharf that has been converted to flats / apartments.

Some of the old artifacts have been retained as decoration.

More of these apartments. No doubt they are extremely expensive.

Sand stone facing on one of the hotels in the area. Click on them to see the detail.

I enjoyed the Rocks much more than I expected. The last time I was there was years ago on a very hot day with huge crowds and I really didn't enjoy it back then. This time, it was great.