Rolling through the rock

Bird of the Day: Blue-faced Honeyeater

Plant of the Day: Jacaranda in Hargraves Street

Scene of the Day: Cuttings on descent to the Hawkesbury

Art of the day; River Ghost graffiti at Windsor

 

Typically Australian thing of the day: Reaction of security guard at Garden Island Dockyard when we rolled up!  Also his helpfulness once the issue was explained!

Maximum Temperature  25 on coast  Minimum temperature 15

Distance traveled  with camper  150  without camper 35

So we fired up El Camion attached the camper and headed off towards Sydney.  Apart from the antics of a few pelicans who shouldn't be allowed to walk without supervision let alone drive something dangerous like a car this was a very pleasant rumble down the road.  It was particularly pleasant when we descended through the sandstone to the Hawkesbury.

This is the bridge over that River.

More cuttings

We found our way with no problems to Loyalty Rd and booked the camper in at the Cub Camper factory for its service.  There were a few others in there for that!

Frances suggested going to Windsor and Richmond as something interesting to do for the afternoon and we made it so.  We drove out along 'normal' roads which seemed to go on for ever, but found somewhere to park in Windsor while we explored.

We walked along the main street where there were quite a lot of old buildings, most of which now seemed to be used a professional rooms (OK) coffee shops (probably OK) or $2 shops selling junk.  Somehow it all seemed a bit of a mishmash.  Perhaps our views have been coloured by the nice country towns we have visited?

At the end of the Street was a nice park with a War Memorial.

I think this image is a Boer war trooper.

We walked back along the Hawkesbury River, which is astonishingly narrow here considering its size where the freeway crosses.  At the road bridge there was a fair bit of graffiti and I thought this spectral offering was rather good.

Here is the main, pedestrian enabled, drag.

So on for a bit to Richmond.  We went looking for a Memorial but ended up going right through the street to a very comfortable Reserve with Lakes full of fowl.  A male Chestnut Teal in breeding finery is really rather spiffy.

One of our biggest air force bases is beside the road  between the two towns and this Hercules was doing circuit and bumps for its own good reasons.

Then we found the memorial back in town.

Back through roadworks to the Motorways of Sydney.  There was initial weirdness when Frances held up the toll transponder and it didn't beep.  So she just put it on the dashboard (where it isn't supposed to work) and it squeaked like a mouse in a cheese box: so we left it there and it worked very well for the next two days.

Approaching North Sydney.

Can I sell you a Bridge?

Nice pylons, lotsa value in scrap metal these days squire!

Some industrial stuff is really aesthetically pleasing.

And then there is the CBD!

Two icons in one snap.  Unfortunately the railings of the Cahill expressway are there as well!

A streetscape of Kings Cross.  Given that we were aiming for Paddington you might well ask what the hell were we doing in the Cross.  Getting lost is the answer: I had conflated William and Oxford Sts in my mental map and taken the wrong one.

Eventually we ended up at the gates to the Garden Island Dockyard in Wooloomooloo (and you reckon spelling Mississippi is hard).  A lad on duty here asked if we had Defence ID.  On getting the answer "No: we're lost." he asked where we were trying to go and seemed rather surprised at the answer "Oxford Street".  Once he had gulped a few times he said to do a uie and go back the way we had come.  Absolutely perfect: Victoria St leads more or less to the Victoria barracks if you follow it in the right direction!

Following his directions gave the fearless passenger a second chance at the El Alamein Fountain in the Cross: astonishingly not a hooker in sight.

This is St Vincent;'s Hospital.

And here is Oxford St in Paddington.

Once we had parked the car - as usual  found a spot within 20m of our friends house - and unpacked what was needed we went for a walk with Tammy.  Shortly after this image was taken there were 5 dogs sniffing at one another.  Lead macrame rules!

Emerging from the park this thingy was interesting - I think it is advertising some form of new-age hippy bullshit alternative medicine.

Some more Paddington housing - I thnk Moncur St,

We then had a very pleasant evening with Jill and Sam (to whom great praise and thanks are due) and slept in a house for the first time in 4 weeks.  Yahoo!

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