Blaxland Riverside Park

Last Friday, I went with a friend to Blaxland Riverside Park. I had always wanted to visit since I stumbled upon it on Tumblr. We drove to North Strathfield to visit Outback Steakhouse. When I was in the US, I felt that I had to visit an Outback Steakhouse at least once in my lifetime since it is such an "Australian" thing allegedly.











It was a super hot day and yet, when we arrived at the park, there was a lovely breeze. There were also a lot of kids as expected although a lot less screaming and squealing than I imagined.
















Afterwards we headed to Balmain and later on watched the sunset from a stunning location.

Hong Kong Pt 1

The flight from London to Hong Kong was 12 hours in total however it was glorious since the plane was half empty. As a result, I was able to sleep however my legs were crammed into the space between the window seat and the side of the plane (I didn't want to block off the aisle access). I believe that I slept for a total of 8 hours.

I have been to Hong Kong many, many times and I never really liked the place. It was too noisy, too humid, too crowded, etc etc.

4th January 2013

 

I have been to the Avenue of Stars so many times it is actually ridiculous. Nonetheless, I wanted to visit as I didn't have too much on my agenda for Hong Kong (I am not a big fan of shopping).

Minnamurra to Kiama

Back in July, my coworkers and I were meant to head down to the South coast to visit Kiama. However plans went astray and that trip never eventuated. Fast forward to November and I no longer had interest in spending time with those individuals and decided to make the trip myself.


It was a 3.5hour trip from my home and I left somewhat early. It was a pleasant train ride and I ended up listening to Taylor Swift's "Red" album on repeat whilst in my limbo stage; I am unable to sleep on public transport however the closest that I can manage is this stage where I am only semi-aware of my surroundings.

I got off at Minnamurra and commenced the coastal walk down to Kiama (well past it).












I met an American couple who were also completing the walk and they ended up following me, albeit around 2km behind. We had a lovely conversation. I also met a gentleman on a bicycle who was also lovely.




Cathedral Rocks






Bombo Headland Quarry





It was really difficult to walk at the Bombo Headland Quarry and I actually slipped into a puddle and soaked my left shoe. The landscape was quite different to anything I've seen.

The Bombo Headland Quarry is of one of the most significant geological sites in New South Wales. The rock type and its formation features have technical significance at a national level. The Bumbo Latite Member is also of international scientific significance as it was formed when North and South Magnetic Poles were reversed, which is important for intercontinental paleomagnetic correlation of Late Palaeozoic rock sequences.

I was more fascinated with the rainbow rather than the actual spurt of water.











It was a very easy walk, it was just a little long as it was roughly 17km in total. Sometimes I feel like I am a little desensitised to the beauty of the coast. I guess it is because I live so close to it and I also see it so frequently that it frankly becomes a little boring. There are moments when I think it is truly gorgeous (such as the second photo at the mouth of the river and the ocean) and on some level I think it is gorgeous, but I guess I don't really appreciate it so much anymore which is a shame. Grass is always greener on the other side.