Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Scene near Boy Charlton Pool
Walking round to Mrs Macquaries Seat I came across this hillside of grass blowing in the wind. It was very serene - I liked it.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Bilpin, Blue mountains
Bilpin Fruit Store, Bell's Line of Road, Blue Mountains, taken with Bessa R and Color Skopar 28mm lens
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Lazy Saturday afternoon on Victoria St, Potts Point, Kings Cross, Sydney
Lazy Saturday afternoon on Victoria St, Potts Point, Kings Cross, Sydney, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
This way for our Christmas holiday snaps
Most of the pics from our Christmas holidays were taken with a Bessa R camera and a Leica Summaron 35mm lens. The slides of Pittwater were taken with an Olympus XA.
What we did on our holidays ...
What did we do this Christmas?
Well, on impulse on 23rd Dec I bought a car on ebay that we don't need need and can't afford [Volvo 850]. Well, it was a bargain ... honest, but now I am living on bread and cheese until payday next week.
We did our same-every-year trip up to the northern beaches to camp at Pittwater, but gave up after a day when pouring rain forced us to endure eight hours of whining, fighting restless kids while sheltering in the barbecue area. We bailed out and caught the last ferry back on Christmas Eve to return and have a dry Christmas Day back in the same old Strathfield flat.
To justify my ebay purchase I took it and the kids down the coast, the long way round to Melbourne, to see Aunty Mary and Uncle Ernie. We camped at some nice remote places on the way, with unpronounceable Aboriginal names like Croajingolong. Discovered that Paul [7] loves camping and Andrew [9] doesn't. He's a "don't get out of the boat" [Apocalypse Now reference] kind of guy.
Wondered why nobody else was at the beautiful campsite near the old mining town of Walhalla in the hills of Gippsland, until we discovered it had been closed and declared an emergency bushfire area after the town narrowly avoided being burnt down the week before. The 22 locals were pleased to see some potential customers though, and let us camp on the village green picnic area instead. Great pub, complete with Crocodile Dundee style local gold miner character.
New Year's Eve. Made it to Geelong. The only party in town cost $145 and consisted of a crap pub band on the waterfront and two thousand over-dressed and over-hormoned Aussie 18-21 year olds drinking as much as they could before midnight. Found loads of old family pictures in the old photo albums - pics that even we don't have. How did they get them? Copied them all with my digital camera.
Spent New Year's Day with Caroline, a colleague who has two boys the same age as A+P. Except they appear to be able to hit a cricket ball at least 50% of the time and can actually amuse themselves by drawing and writing, rather than hitting each other with whatever blunt object is closest to hand.
The long road home, when I realised that Australia is very big and very dry. Stopped off in the snow-free Snowy Mountains on the way back. Drove all night until 12.15am to get there and gave up looking for a campsite after getting worried I would dent my nice new car if I hit one of the wallabies/wombats etc wildlife bouncing along on the highway with us. Camped in a picnic layby and had a major panic when I thought Paul got bitten by a snake when he went out of the tent to do a wee. He came back with two painful fang-shaped cuts on his foot, but it all turned out to be a false alarm - just as well as we were two hours from the nearest hospital.
Long drive back to Sydney. Thank goodness for Subway, otherwise we would have eaten pies and pizza the whole week. After seven days in drought-stricken Victoria, it started raining as soon as we got back to "Emerald City".
Got back to find the house a tip, the washing machine and vacuum cleaner both kaput, and I have zero money to buy replacements until payday. Bath full of stinky camping clothes. Sydney Festival is on but I can't afford to go see the likes of Joseph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett plays or Lou Reed in concert. Get a day off from the kids which I spend mooching round Potts Point cafes [Bar Coluzzi, Tropicana] and buying a couple of shirts and some Italian shoes at the St Vincent de Paul Op shop in Paddington [they take credit cards]. Immediately regret buying the pink shirt, which I suspect makes me look gay, judging by the glances I get strolling down Oxford St [main gay drag].
Shaved off two week holiday 'beard' and psychologically revert back to work mode in ready for tomorrow.
Today, Sunday. Washed the car. Oh dear. I am turning into the kind of middle aged man I used to despise. Dull muggy grey day. Took the boys down to posh Double Bay to have a swim at the nice hidden sea pool - Andrew preferred to sit it out and read his Harry Potter.
er.. that's it!
Happy New Year!
Campsite at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Campsite at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Footprints at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Footprints at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Paul at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Paul at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Beach at Mueller Inlet, Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Lighthouse cottage at Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria
Lighthouse cottage at Point Hicks, Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Old post office at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria
Old post office at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
"Live and Let Live" bakery at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria
"Live and Let Live" bakery at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Station cottage at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria
Station cottage at Walhalla historic mining town, Gippsland, Victoria, originally uploaded by jiulong.
Where Paul got 'bitten' by a snake - Shelley picnic spot, near Tallangata
Where Paul got 'bitten' by a snake - Shelley picnic spot, near Tallangata, originally uploaded by jiulong.
It was a false alarm, thank goodness.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
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