West Head and Barren Joey

Yesterday Sally drove mum and I up to the north east of Sydney. We started by driving up the eastern side of the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. From the entrance there is one long road up to West Head. It was being reapaired really well and caused some delay. However the 'Excel Road Management' consisted of two men with a lolipop stick each. All along the route there are places to park and signs to various walking tracks to beaches and coves. From West Head there was a view of the Barren Joey light house. West Head and Barren Joey are notable whale watching points overlooking what is said to be the busiest marine mammal channel in the world. (Not today)


A little way back is a serious peice of car park for the aborigine art site. This was a very large slab of sandstone on which are carved aborigine pictures which are like grafitti lines.


Before leaving we turned off for lunch at Aruna Bay. This is a marina with specialist shops and a restuarant.

Next we circled south below the estuary and back north up the peninsula leading to the Barren Joey lighthouse. We parked on Palm Beach. Here the wind was a little rough with just enough to push a wind surfer.


We gave up the idea of a walk up to Barren Joey light house - too steep. I wouldn't be able to get up and mum would not be able to get down. Instead we turned at right angles to the estuary and walked across the peninsula. The sound of the sea disappeared, but shortly we began to hear a roaring. The Pacific Ocean was crashing on the opposite shore. It is incredible the difference there is between one side and another of a very thin piece of land (See first picture). I tried hard to capture the power of the ocean.


We stopped off at Palm Beach for milk shakes and made our way past Newport and the Pondarosa to home, in time for Sally to pick up the girls.

Today is 'in' day. Emily has been swimming and soon the girls are off for hair cuts at Dural.

Sydney Aquarium

Thursday was a domestic day. The girls went for their lessons at the swimming pool.

In the afternoon we set off to pick up Ian's car from the service station. On route we went round 'Round Corner' (A typical Australian descriptive name) to the Dural shopping area. There is really little there, but Sally had heard that the 'Woolworth' food prices were better because they were next to an 'Aldi'. We picked up Ian's car from the service and headed home.

On Friday we took Emily to day care for her last time at that particular one. We then headed on up to Hornsby, which is the county town and a rail centre. Unfortunately, although the station was supposed to have car parking, it didn't. We off back down the line to the station at Beecroft. We found some parking. I found some Claratyne. ($33 for 30 tablets; a little exhorbitant.) After Zoe had a play in the park we boarded the train to the city. The carriages have three passenger levels, are clean and run on time. They are not operated by Virgin or British Rail.


In the city we transferred to the monorail and went around to Darling Harbour. After a drink and a wait we joined the crowds entering the aquarium. It is a large aquarium with two underwater tunnels and many other tanks. The dugongs were fascinating. The really don' look like mermaids. I found aquarium photography to be very challenging. Zoe enoys these visits and after a time we left. The aquarium is skilfully designed to take unsuspecting mums through the shop and then the cafe.

The cafe was quite an episode. Mummy bought Zoe a lemonade in a very tall glass with a spiral drinking tube. Guess what happened. Mummy went off to track down a change of clothes for Zoe. I recharged the glass (free refills). Mum held on to the glass. Mummy came back. Mum took her eye of the ball (hand off the glass for one second). Now Zoe really did need a change of clothes. We made the train journey back with Zoe draped in a large scarf.

We picked up the car. A nice man was doing the crossing patrol. I asked him if he helped old men as well as children across. I got a jovial 'most certainly'.

On the way back in the car the wind began to pick up, the sky darkened, twiggy bits fell on the ground. From indoors we could sea the sky went a golden yellow. There was even a whispery rainbow. But no rain.

Blue skies again today as a sit confined to quarantine, with a streaming nose.

The House

The house we are now in is two storeys. It is in a place called Dural. It has a steep drive to a double garage with a remote roller door. There is a lockable door from it to the house. There is a main entrance door to a hall with steps up to the kitchen and stairs on the left. On the right is a carpetted lounge with steps up to another carpetted area. There is door from here into the kitchen. The kitchen area can be closed off with sliding doors; otherwise the rooms are open. The kitcken has a bar sticking out from the rear wall with a large dining space. Through an archway is an even larger area. All the floors in these areas and in the hall are quarry tiled. Off the large empty area (now a playroom) is the downstairs toilet/shower and a laundry which open to the left side garden of the house. A gass area goes along the rear of the house.

Up stairs is large hall. To the left is the family bathroom with bath and shower. Next to it is the guest room which takes a double bed and a wide work bench. Next to this is a sizeable rear bedroom for Emily. Zoe has aslightly larger room looking over the front of the house. Between this bedroom and the main bedroom is an alcove which takes a large computer desk. The main bedroom has an ensuite. All the rooms have horizontal wooden blinds, plastic frames and sliding insect screen outside. All the rooms have fitted wardrobes. The house is air conditioned and heated by ducted air to vents in all the rooms.

In the bathrooms all the floor have drainage holes and the showers have high tiled surrounds.
The modem has had to be put in the kitchen for now, but the wireless signal is good to both Ian and my computer.

One evening we had the pleasure of parrots on the roof.


We have spent the time going to shops, looking after children and I have exercised by walking along the streets. There is next to no access to park type walks, but I did start on a walking track near the Cherrybrook shops while the girls were in swimming.