For the last few days we've been discovering the areas around Sydney that are off the beaten track, at least off the track usually beaten by English backpackers! This is one of the many benefits of staying with locals, the not so famous places are still just as nice as all those that people across the world know about.
On Tuesday we went back to Newtown to have a proper look around, it was raining first thing in the morning but luckily had stopped for once by the time we wanted to leave. There are so many shops in Newtown that we had plenty to keep us occupied. The area is very vibrant and full of lots of second-hand shops, boutique shops and design-style shops. In amongst all of these, there are also some really cool little cafes and restaurants. As soon as we got off the bus at 11am we started going onto shops and carried on all day until about 4pm. This isn't usually my sort of thing so if I enjoyed it they must have been good! It is just different to the usual 'city shops' that you find all across the world, here you will never find the same 2 things in 5 hours of searching!
On Wednesday we left at about 11am with Zeena to drive down to Wollongong, where her parents live. We went via the Royal National Park (the second oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone in the USA) which was really nice. We went on a short walk (about an hour) along the coast to see the stunning landscape, sheer cliffs, overhangs and big crashing waves. It felt lot more like we were walking in England than Australia, especially with the grey overcast weather. This is one of the awesome things about Australia, the diversity
of the landscape in a short distance is very impressive. After scaring each other silly by taking photos right on the very edge of ridiculously high cliffs we headed on to Wollongong where we dumped our stuff and were given a brief tour. This is the area that Fahmiya and Zeena grew up (from the ages of 5 and 10 respectively) so we saw their old school and old houses etc. That evening we visited Zeenas friends Irene and Keith for dinner which was quite an experience. Their house is amazing, it is built on a slope and designed to fit in with the surrounding landscape, it was huge with a beautiful wooden interior. They had it designed and built to their specifications 40 years ago and it is still fabulous. Irene and Keith were both in their mid-70's and both really nice. Keith was going slightly deaf and by his own admission slightly odd in his old age but he is a professor of maths so it is to be expected! Irene is a prominent figure in local community groups and told us all about the corruption and scandals in the local government. She is also an intrepid explorer and told us tales of how on her 60th birthday she decided to go to Melbourne on the train and cycle back just because she could. Then on her 70th birthday she wanted a holiday so took a train across Russia, Siberia and Northern Europe to see as many countries and cities as she could, all by herself! So obviously she was interested to hear all about our travels and stories. We all had some great conversations over a lovely inner (finished by amazing homemade nougat and ice-cream!!), it's always nice to meet the locals!
Today we went even further afield down into the Southern Highland (sounds like we were in Scotland!). Once again the weather was overcast and drizzly but this was good as from the car we could see the amazing landscape of the mountains with clouds rolling over the edge. Unfortunately when we got further up we couldn't really see a lot but instead got to study the anatomy of a cloud! Late morning, we stopped at a little town called Bowral where it was raining and had the lovely temperature of 12C! We stopped at a small cafe called 'Elephant Boy Cafe' which was really cosy with walls covered in book-cases and comfy chairs. It was here where we had lunch and ate possibly the best pies I have ever eaten (sorry Granny and Jojo!!). From here
we continued on down the coast to Jervis Bay, a beautiful bay which is Zeena favourite place in the world (and she's been to quite a few places!), and she's even put it in her will that her ashes are going to be spread here! The beaches are beautiful with white sands and forests surrounding them. We went on a walk to a lookout point from which you could see the entire bay with waves crashing just below us at the entrance. From here, when we were just about to leave, Megan spotted some dark shapes in the water which then started jumping and turned out to be a pod of dolphins! When we went back to the beach we saw them pretty close up, there must have been at least or 7 all together, jumping around. The sight was made even more beautiful by the rainbow appearing overhead! As we were leaving to go back to the car we had a little wallaby hop alongside us in the brush and have a nibble from some plants, really cool to see!
We arrived back at about 7pm to Fahmiya and Zeenas parents to a dinner of traditional Sri Lankan curry which was awesome. We were also treated to plenty of stories from them both, they are both really nice and very welcoming. All the family is here as it is ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps) day tomorrow which is a public holiday similar to remembrance day in the UK. We are having a big family lunch before heading back to the city.
On Tuesday we went back to Newtown to have a proper look around, it was raining first thing in the morning but luckily had stopped for once by the time we wanted to leave. There are so many shops in Newtown that we had plenty to keep us occupied. The area is very vibrant and full of lots of second-hand shops, boutique shops and design-style shops. In amongst all of these, there are also some really cool little cafes and restaurants. As soon as we got off the bus at 11am we started going onto shops and carried on all day until about 4pm. This isn't usually my sort of thing so if I enjoyed it they must have been good! It is just different to the usual 'city shops' that you find all across the world, here you will never find the same 2 things in 5 hours of searching!
On Wednesday we left at about 11am with Zeena to drive down to Wollongong, where her parents live. We went via the Royal National Park (the second oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone in the USA) which was really nice. We went on a short walk (about an hour) along the coast to see the stunning landscape, sheer cliffs, overhangs and big crashing waves. It felt lot more like we were walking in England than Australia, especially with the grey overcast weather. This is one of the awesome things about Australia, the diversity
of the landscape in a short distance is very impressive. After scaring each other silly by taking photos right on the very edge of ridiculously high cliffs we headed on to Wollongong where we dumped our stuff and were given a brief tour. This is the area that Fahmiya and Zeena grew up (from the ages of 5 and 10 respectively) so we saw their old school and old houses etc. That evening we visited Zeenas friends Irene and Keith for dinner which was quite an experience. Their house is amazing, it is built on a slope and designed to fit in with the surrounding landscape, it was huge with a beautiful wooden interior. They had it designed and built to their specifications 40 years ago and it is still fabulous. Irene and Keith were both in their mid-70's and both really nice. Keith was going slightly deaf and by his own admission slightly odd in his old age but he is a professor of maths so it is to be expected! Irene is a prominent figure in local community groups and told us all about the corruption and scandals in the local government. She is also an intrepid explorer and told us tales of how on her 60th birthday she decided to go to Melbourne on the train and cycle back just because she could. Then on her 70th birthday she wanted a holiday so took a train across Russia, Siberia and Northern Europe to see as many countries and cities as she could, all by herself! So obviously she was interested to hear all about our travels and stories. We all had some great conversations over a lovely inner (finished by amazing homemade nougat and ice-cream!!), it's always nice to meet the locals!Today we went even further afield down into the Southern Highland (sounds like we were in Scotland!). Once again the weather was overcast and drizzly but this was good as from the car we could see the amazing landscape of the mountains with clouds rolling over the edge. Unfortunately when we got further up we couldn't really see a lot but instead got to study the anatomy of a cloud! Late morning, we stopped at a little town called Bowral where it was raining and had the lovely temperature of 12C! We stopped at a small cafe called 'Elephant Boy Cafe' which was really cosy with walls covered in book-cases and comfy chairs. It was here where we had lunch and ate possibly the best pies I have ever eaten (sorry Granny and Jojo!!). From here
we continued on down the coast to Jervis Bay, a beautiful bay which is Zeena favourite place in the world (and she's been to quite a few places!), and she's even put it in her will that her ashes are going to be spread here! The beaches are beautiful with white sands and forests surrounding them. We went on a walk to a lookout point from which you could see the entire bay with waves crashing just below us at the entrance. From here, when we were just about to leave, Megan spotted some dark shapes in the water which then started jumping and turned out to be a pod of dolphins! When we went back to the beach we saw them pretty close up, there must have been at least or 7 all together, jumping around. The sight was made even more beautiful by the rainbow appearing overhead! As we were leaving to go back to the car we had a little wallaby hop alongside us in the brush and have a nibble from some plants, really cool to see!We arrived back at about 7pm to Fahmiya and Zeenas parents to a dinner of traditional Sri Lankan curry which was awesome. We were also treated to plenty of stories from them both, they are both really nice and very welcoming. All the family is here as it is ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps) day tomorrow which is a public holiday similar to remembrance day in the UK. We are having a big family lunch before heading back to the city.
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