Govetts Leap

Govetts Leap is one of the main attractions in Blackheath. It sits on the edge of the Blue Mountains National Park and commands fantastic views across the Grose Valley. It is hard to imagine just how steep the drops are into the valley and even the most hardy could suffer vertigo. Across from the look-out is the Bridal Veil waterfall and there are tracks to both the base and the top if this. We made our way down about half way down to the base but had left it a bit late in the day to go all the way. Instead we walked around to the top of the falls and were rewarded with more great views.

There are plenty of tracks in the area to suit all levels of fitness, and how much time you have to spend.

http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/blue-mountains/katoomba-area/blackheath/attractions/govetts-leap-lookout

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A Night out in Blackheath

Blackheath is a very community minded township and twice a year they organise an evening out in the Community Centre that involves music and dancing. As we seem to now be part of this extended community we were invited to the latest event and Helen and Rob made the trip up from Canberra. Ticket price covered the entry and your seat and it was BYO for anything else. Our table of about 16 all brought lots of nibbles and of course refreshments.

The band 'The Woohoo Revue' from Melbourne, was advertised as performing music with a Baltic, gypsy, swing and jazz influence. From the time they came on stage this sextet of musicians had many of the audience on the dance floor. Their performance was well choreographed and kept us entertained for over two hours. The group has been together since 2008 and does up to 100 performances a year. They are made up of a violinist,a sax player, trumpeter, bass and lead guitarist and a percussionist and each was very highly skilled in their right. As their website says this is not music to listen to on your iPod. A much larger space for this sound is definitely needed.

All in all a great night out in Blackheath.

 

http://www.thewoohoorevue.com.au/

 

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Wentworth Falls

Trying to keep to our 'routine' of doing something each Sunday, we headed off later in the day than we usually would. It was a particularly cold day with the wind biting into your every part. Wentworth Falls is the next town further down the hill (15 mins away)from Katoomba/Leura where we do most of our shopping. So we thought we go for a drive and check it out. As the information on the website says: "Wentworth Falls is one of the most beautiful towns within the Blue Mountains offering possibly the most spectacular bushwalks and views. Originally called ‘Weatherboard’ after the ‘Weatherboard Hut’ built in 1814, one year later the town was named ‘Jamison’s Valley’ by Governor Macquarie. In July 1867 the historic first railway journey in the Blue Mountains left Penrith station and travelled through to Weatherboard Station where the train terminated. It wasn’t until 1879 that the name was changed to Wentworth Falls in honour of William Charles Wentworth, one of the three famous explorers."

The first point of interest was the lake. We parked and got out of the truck with the intention of going for a walk but the wind chill factor must have been really high. Even wrapped up in jackets and scarves we weren't prepared to brave it for long. A shame really as it was a very pretty little spot, set up for families to enjoy outings including picnics and BBQs. The Council obviously have spent quite a bit of time and money developing this spot.

I was keen to see the falls, Wentworth Falls namesake, so we followed the signage down towards the Jamison Valley. Here we found a sheltered car park and an information board indicating lots of walking tracks. We decided that we would first head off to a viewing platform to get a look at the falls. Once there we were keen go further and get an even closer look. As we were now over the brow of the hill and in the bush it was much warmer, and the well formed track made for easy walking. We were able to get right down onto the falls and walk across the other side to the National Park. If it had been earlier the day we could have gone further but as it was it was getting close to dusk when we returned to the truck. It was well the effort and another place we could easily go back to. The tracks are both well laid out and well signed.

 

 

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Tour de France

We have spent the last three weeks watching much of the Tour de France. While you need Sky in NZ to have access to this event, here in Australia it has been on a free to air channel. Although I am not a normally a huge fan of cycling, we have been drawn into this event as much by the scenery as the cycling itself. The coverage has been excellent and the aerial footage certainly has show cased the French countryside. Also being two hours behind NZ have been at an advantage re watching at a better time frame.

As last night was the final day, and the race was scheduled to finish late at night in Paris, we went to bed and got up about 4am to see the cyclists race up the Champs Elysees and around The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. It was certainly a fitting end to our three weeks of viewing. The lighting up of the Arc de Triomphe was enough on its own.

Each night, about ten minutes into the broadcast Gabriel Gaté and renowned chef talked about the local foods and then cooked a recipe using these local ingredients. All of them can be found on the SBS (Australian special broadcast service) website: http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/tasteletour/

 

Following on from our food from throughout the Mediterranean theme this week, while Helen and Robert were with us, we thought a French evening would be a fitting event. So a pot luck meal with the social group here in the neighbourhood was organised, complete with dressing up (either lycra or a French theme.)

And so on Friday night we enjoyed terrines and breads followed by Pissaladiere (Provençal pizza of caramelised onions topped with anchovies) as starters. the mains included Poulet Cocotte Grandmere (Grandmother's chicken), Tartiflette au cheddar (potatoes gratin), quiche and bouef cassoulet (beef casserole). This was then followed by a selection of cheeses, and finally Clafoutis aux Cerises (baked cheery pudding). Of course all wines and beverages were French and so was enjoyed a great evening and a fitting ending to the cycling.

 

 

 

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Tour de France

We have spent the last three weeks watching much of the Tour de France. While you need Sky in NZ to have access to this event, here in Australia it has been on a free to air channel. Although I am not a normally a hug fan of cycling, we have been drawn into this event as much by the scenery as the cycling itself. The coverage has been excellent and the aerial footage certainly has show cased the French countryside. Also being two hours behind NZ have been at an advantage re watching at a better time frame.

As last night was the final day, and the race was scheduled to finish late at night in Paris, we went to bed and got up about 4am to see the cyclists race up the Champs Elysees and around The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. It was certainly a fitting end to our three weeks of viewing. The lighting up of the Arc de Triomphe was enough on its own.

Each night, about ten minutes into the broadcast Gabriel Gaté and renowned chef talked about the local foods and then cooked a recipe using these local ingredients. All of them can be found on the SBS (Australian special broadcast service) website: http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/tasteletour/

 

Following on from our food from throughout the Mediterranean theme this week, while Helen and Robert were with us, we thought a French evening would be a fitting event. So a pot luck meal with the social group here in the neighbourhood was organised, complete with dressing up (either lyric or a French theme.)

And so on Friday night we enjoyed terrines and breads followed by Pissaladiere (Provençal pizza of caramelised onions topped with anchovies) as starters included Poulet Cocotte Grandmere (Grandmother's chicken), Tartiflette au cheddar (potatoes gratin), quiche and bouef cassoulet (beef casserole). This was then followed by a selection of cheeses, and finally Clafoutis aux Cerises (baked cheery pudding). Of course all wines and beverages were French and so was enjoyed a great evening.

 

 

 

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Mudgee

We had our hosts visit us from Canberra this week. Helen teaches down there and this was their second week of school holidays. It was good to see them and for a progress check on the work being done to be made. I think the tick of approval was given!

 

On Wednesday they took us on a road trip to Mudgee, an area two hours north west of here that is renowned for its vineyards and wines. We had a lovely day, visiting a couple of wineries, a honey shop and enjoying a leisurely lunch.

Our first stop was the Information Centre, to collect our Mudgee Mudmap. Now you may wonder what a Mudmap is? I certainly did. The following explains all!

What is a Mudmap®?

"A true mud map is essentially just that – a map drawn in the mud. Early pioneer settlers would often draw a rough map in the mud after a recent rain to give directions to outback travellers or to tell a story around the campfire. Farmers would often draw a mud map to provide directions to the homestead for visitors.

Long outgrown by mapping technology and suburban settlement, the true mud map has faded into legend, yet the term mud map remains firmly in the Australian language, particularly with those who live in rural areas. A mud map these days will be a simple, free-drawn map from local knowledge to assist visitors in finding their way."

The first vineyard was Botobolar's, a 22 hectare organic property that was established in 1971 and is Australia's oldest certified organic vineyard. Botobolar is also known for its Preservative Free and Low Preservative Wines. Again a pioneer in this field we are the original creator of organic preservative free wine and have been producing it since 1984. Our host Kevin was very affable and spent a good hour with us. Of course being a mid week day, (actually reading the website i see they are closed Wednesdays! LOL) he wasn't expecting anyone and in fact the cellar door had its closed sign up when we arrived. I am sure that he was happy with his day's profits. On the way out we were quite taken with sculpture, and especially the caption.

Another vineyard we visited was Pieter van Gent. Helen remembered this place for its white port and we keen to have a taste. Walking into this cellar felt like stepping back in time. Huge old barrels form the authentic barrel hall and the smells are amazing. As the website says "Wine tastings are conducted in the cask hall, which is dotted with barriques, puncheons, antique choir stalls, and flanked by 20 old German oak casks (circa 1850) used for storing wines. These came from Penfolds Cellars, when located in the basement of Sydney’s famous Queen Victoria Building."

A link to their website is http://www.pvgwinery.com/

We came away from there with another bottle or two, including some white port which is quite delicious. All in all it was a great day out and we arrived back at Medlow Bath tired and ready for a quiet night.The first vineyard was Botobolar's, a 22 hectare organic property that was established in 1971 and is Australia's oldest certified organic vineyard. Botobolar is also known for its Preservative Free and Low Preservative Wines. Again a pioneer in this field we are the original creator of organic preservative free wine and have been producing it since 1984. Our host Kevin was very affable and spent a good hour with us. Of course being a mid week day, (actually reading the website i see they are closed Wednesdays! LOL) he wasn't expecting anyone and in fact the cellar door had its closed sign up when we arrived. I am sure that he was happy with his day's profits. On the way out we were quite taken with sculpture, and especially the caption

 

For more information about this area the following link is useful:

http://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/

 

There are no personal photos as our camera has lost its charge and we have left the charger at home! That means for this trip that photos will remain on the camera and the iPad or mobile phone will become our camera in the meantime.

 

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Mudgee

We had our hosts visit us from Canberra this week. Helen teaches down there and this was their second week of school holidays. It was good to see them and for a progress check on the work being done to be made. I think the tick of approval was given!

 

On Wednesday they took us on a road trip to Mudgee, an area two hours north west of here that is renowned for its vineyards and wines. We had a lovely day, visiting a couple of wineries, a honey shop and enjoying a leisurely lunch.

Our first stop was the Information Centre, to collect our Mudgee Mudmap. Now you may wonder what a Mudmap is? I certainly did. The following explains all!

What is a Mudmap®?

"A true mud map is essentially just that – a map drawn in the mud. Early pioneer settlers would often draw a rough map in the mud after a recent rain to give directions to outback travellers or to tell a story around the campfire. Farmers would often draw a mud map to provide directions to the homestead for visitors.

Long outgrown by mapping technology and suburban settlement, the true mud map has faded into legend, yet the term mud map remains firmly in the Australian language, particularly with those who live in rural areas. A mud map these days will be a simple, free-drawn map from local knowledge to assist visitors in finding their way."

 

The first vineyard was Botobolar's, a 22 hectare organic property that was established in 1971 and is Australia's oldest certified organic vineyard. Botobolar is also known for its Preservative Free and Low Preservative Wines. Again a pioneer in this field we are the original creator of organic preservative free wine and have been producing it since 1984. Our host Kevin was very affable and spent a good hour with us. Of course being a mid week day, (actually reading the website i see they are closed Wednesdays! LOL) he wasn't expecting anyone and in fact the cellar door had its closed sign up when we arrived. I am sure that he was happy with his day's profits. On the way out we were quite taken with sculpture, and especially the caption.

 

 

Another vineyard we visited was Pieter van Gent. Helen remembered this place for its white port and we keen to have a taste. Walking into this cellar felt like stepping back in time. Huge old barrels form the authentic barrel hall and the smells are amazing. As the website says "Wine tastings are conducted in the cask hall, which is dotted with barriques, puncheons, antique choir stalls, and flanked by 20 old German oak casks (circa 1850) used for storing wines. These came from Penfolds Cellars, when located in the basement of Sydney’s famous Queen Victoria Building."

A link to their website is http://www.pvgwinery.com/

We came away from there with another bottle or two, including some white port which is quite delicious. All in all it was a great day out and we arrived back at Medlow Bath tired and ready for a quiet night.

 

For more information about this area the following link is useful:

http://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/

 

There are no personal photos as our camera has lost its charge and we have left the charger at home! That means for this trip that photos will remain on the camera and the iPad or mobile phone will become our camera in the meantime.

 

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Reading

I have been doing a lot of reading since we came to Medlow Bath. In our bedroom is a bookcase full of books and in particular is a series of crime/mysteries. There must be at least 16 in the series that are set in Australia with the main character Miss Phryne (pronounced fry-knee) Fisher and authored by Kerry Greenwood. They are easy to read and I can manage one every two days or so. Each book is a different mystery and they are sequential. In saying this, probably reading them out of order wouldn't matter too much, other than perhaps the first one. Each chapter also starts with a quote, usually from English literature and her reason for this, to add a little extra mystery for the alert reader.

She has her own website http://www.phrynefisher.com/Kerrygreenwood.html and there is lots of information about both the series and the author. ABC television has made a 13 part series based on the books which according to Helen and Robert was very well done. Something to look out for I think.

The first book, Cocaine Blues.

 

 

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Earthquake or Train?

We were awoken from our sleep at 1:35am on Monday morning by a loud crash. It gave us a huge fright. Was it an earthquake? Actually I realised that I had been half awake as I thought that the washing machine was doing its final spin but then I remembered it wasn't. something had disrupted my sleep. It was just before the crash that I realised that there was a particularly heavy train rumbling past. Of course the noise of earthquakes is often described as it "sounded like a train coming through the house!" I was sure this was what ww happening. We are less than 200m from the railway line, direct from Sydney. It is a busy line with both freight and passengers but it is at night that they send the bigger freight trains through.

Once we are asleep at night we don't usually hear them but obviously this was much louder than usual. Out of bed I leapt to find out what had broken. Helen has lots of dishes and glasses sitting on cabinets and shelves that no self respecting Christchurch resident would ever consider to be safe and I was hoping it as nothing drastic. My first loop of the house found nothing and by this stage Stephen had joined me. It was only when I went back into the kitchen that I saw the source of the noise. A can of beans had been dislodged from its shelf in the pantry. It had caused a domino effect of knocking over a small glass jug on a lower shelf, which had in turn crashed onto the bench, spilling its contents of balsamic vinegar on its way. All that was broken was the small glass stopper and I found that on the floor in the morning.

Reporting the incident to Helen and Rob, they were able to tell us that it has never happened before, well as far as they know, and Margie across the road, never even heard that particular train so it was just one of those things.

Gave us a good fright though and a good story to dine on.

 

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Megalong Valley

One of the places that the locals had said we must visit is the Megalong Valley and in particular to have lunch at the tearooms. From our house here on top of the valley we actually look right down into it but it wasn't until today, when we decided we must explore that we realised just how deep and expansive it is.

After a visit to the Blackheath Growers market we headed off down into the valley. The vegetation changes quite quickly and it even begins to look a little like NZ bush. Well the understory certainly had tree ferns and much more greenery than anything else we have seen. The canopy of course is still gum trees so from our view looking down on the valley you don't see all this lush vegetation. We stopped off on the way back to do a short loop track at Coachman's Grove, which showcases this bush up close.

 

We went along the valley until we came to the end of the seal. At this point there is an historic cemetery site, and it also where the Six Foot Track crosses the road. This track takes you from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves (another spot on our must do list) and was the original bridle path and is now a popular walking track. We decided to stretch our legs and walked along this track for well over 2km. From here we got some good views, and were very close to a local vineyard.

We then headed back along the road to the Megalong Tearooms. These tearooms have been here for over 50 years and a browse of their website is well worth a look. http://www.megalongtearooms.com/history.php

We ordered our lunch and were able to sit outside, under the shade trees in the extensive outdoor dining area. Stephen thoroughly enjoyed his homemade chicken pie while I enjoyed a toasted sandwich. We completed our meal by sharing one of their famous apple pies. As we left Stephen commented that he would like to return to try the beef pies which is high praise indeed.

Driving back in a westerly direction we were able to see back up onto the cliff edge at Medlow Bath, and see the Hydro Majestic (grand old hotel which dates back to the 1800s). There has always been a close relationship between the hotel and the valley with the original owner growing his vegetables in the valley and then taking them to the hotel on a gondola type system. It will now be interesting to look back down on this valley from the cliff edge and try to spot the places we explored.

Note the Hydro Majestic high on the top of the cliff. This is just a few hundred metres along from where we are staying in Medlow Bath.

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday Jessica

Not being able to be with Jessica this year for her birthday we decided to celebrate anyway. I found a recipe for a chocolate cake (Nigella's recipe http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake-119 ) I only made half the mix as she sandwiched two cakes together and I didn't think we needed that much. In hindsight I could have made it all as it was a beautifully moist cake. As I didn't have commercial sour cream I used cream and a squeeze of lemon juice and it worked very well. Jessica also tells me sour cream in the UK is much thinner than what we get in NZ so maybe my substitute was closer to what the recipe asked for. I cooked it in Stanley and other than it sinking a little in the middle it really was a delicious cake. I iced it using just a butter icing (Nigella's looked abut rich!) and decorated it accordingly.

That evening, after talking to Jessica on the phone, we lit the candles, sang happy birthday and had a toast.

 

As for the birthday present we bought that on line and had it delivered to her directly. Very easy but I can see why our postal services are suffering. There was no cost re postage though a UK postie did deliver it so someone must be paying for the service.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA

 

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Lithgow

The name Lithgow has a familiar ring to it. Probably because the school I used to teach at was once called Lithgow and of course there was a street in the area called that too.

Anyway Lithgow was where we headed in Sunday, after a stop off in Blackheath to look at the market day being held in the local public school. One jar of blackberry jam, and a coupe of stems of bay leaves going for free, we headed off up the road to Lithgow. I had been once before, long ago, with my sister Joy. She had been staying with some relatives of her partner Peter at the time, and they actually lived there for a while too. Peter's father also had a restaurant in Medlow Bath and he went to school in Blackheath so it is a small world.

 

Stephen was keen to have a look at the coal powered stations, and in particular Mt Piper as it had an Expo/information centre. It was easy to find as it was well signed but getting in and out was more of an issue. There were big locked gates and the security guard had to be buzzed to let you in, and of course the reverse in the way out. That is where we struck trouble. It took three calls up before the gates were finally opened for us. Not sure what went on there it maybe it is because they don't get a huge number of visitors. We were the only ones there at that particular time though it did look as though it was more set up for larger groups like school children. The displays were all very informative and and interactive and it was good to get on overview of the history of the area. Further information can be found on their website at http://www.pleasetakemeto.com/australia/blue-mountains/mt-piper-power-station-energy-expo-9080587

We then headed back to Lithgow but being a Sunday afternoon there was very little open. We got ourselves some take-away lunch and drove to Hassans Walls, the highest scenic lookout (1130m) in the Blue Mountains. it provided us with magnificent views of the Hartley Valley and Blue Mountains escarpment. However it was blowing a really cold wind so we ate our food in the truck, before venturing out to take in the views. It is certainly a place that was well worth visiting.

 

 

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Can he sit still?

One of the reasons that we decided to come over here to Medlow Bath this winter was because Stephen had offered his skill and labour last year when we were sailing with Helen and Rob in the Greek Islands. It also meant that we had somewhere to 'winter over' that wasn't quite as cold as the bus or Clyde. A list was compiled of possible jobs that thought they would like done and so here we are.

 

Our holidays are taking on a familiar pattern. The DIY stores seem to be our first port of call. It was no different last year in the UK. Tuesday morning saw us down at the local Mitre10 in Blackheath ordering enough underfloor insulation for the entire house. We would have to say it is the most cluttered and overstocked Mitre10 we have ever been in. We had been alerted to this fact on Sunday when we met Janie. Janie is a creative person and she had written a song about getting lost in this exact store. It had been part of a local revue a few short years ago and she had us in stitches when she sang it for us.

 

Wednesday morning saw the insulation being delivered and he has made a start at installing it. The first part of the house is easier going than the older section will be is, as it has plenty of room underneath. I have a feeling I may be roped into to help with parts of it!

 

 

 

Some materials to make a start on the carport were also purchased and Stephen has made a start on this project as well. Four post holes have been dug and the posts concreted in place.

 

 

 

Just in case he feels he isn't busy enough he has had the chainsaw running. There is a huge blue gum lying out the back and it needs to be cut up. Later when Rob and Helen return for the second week of Helen's school holidays the boys will use the communal log splitter to make more manageable sized pieces for the wood-burners. The firewood stack is also communal so it will be good to put back more than we have used during our stay.

 

 

 

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