16 October 2013

This morning, flying into Sydney, was a fantastic experience. I have done it many times before but today was different. The runway sticks out into the sea which requires planes to fly first in easterly direction and then head west for the runway. The sea was smooth, showing itself in a deep blue colour , however suddenly I saw a lot of white everywhere and wondered if it was a kind of reef ,then at closer examination I could see these white spots appearing and disappearing , and then I saw what I was looking at.

As far as my eye could see I saw large whales swimming south. Even the young baby whale where visible. By the time I reached my camera from the overhead locker we had flown over them and sea had returned to its deep blue colour. Just before landing we flew close to the well known landmarks of Sydney , the harbour bridge and the opera house.

The purchase of the motorcycle went smooth and soon I was on my way south to ride a bit of road I had seen featured in many motorcycle magazines. Just south of Sydney the road cuts though a national park which often means that the roads have been constructed with the minimum amount of damage to the natural fall of the land, in other words, many twists and turns and hardly any straight sections.

After exiting the forest the road hugs the coast at the ocean side. Part of this road is built on pylons standing in the sea. The picture(s) show this in the distance. For a moment I contemplated riding to Canberra to visit the war museum and the (federal )parliament house; I stopped at a Macca's for a coffee and to check the internet to see what kind of weather they enjoy there. Canberra is the Australia’s capital and is positioned roughly half way between Sydney and Melbourne. Never mind the temperatures in the region, Canberra has its own climate as it built on a high plane in the shadow of the Australian Alps.

At an elevation of nearly 600 meters it still get cold at night; like 0 degrees at 6 am and 20 degrees during the day. This may mean a sudden drop in temperature late afternoon and cold early in the morning. This time I did not bring enough clothing to make this a comfortable option and decided to give it a miss and headed for the town Kiama instead- famous for its large blow hole. The mountains around Kiama are ancient volcanoes; the old lava flow reaching all the way into the sea. Large cavities formed near seal evel. This accounts for a spectacular sight when the waves hit the underwater caves compressing the air inside of them and then blowing the water into the air.

http://www.kiama.com.au/images/content/ blowhole.gif

At around six I pulled into a backpackers in Wollongong. A large rambling house with lots of rooms, leather couches and a Balinese décor. Some girls were making dinner for the 15 or people staying here and promptly offered me a plate of food as well. The meal consisted of spare ribs, potatoes and vegetables. It was even brought to me at the table where I was writing my blog. Nice!

Tomorrow? Who knows…