I'm working my way through the bedside book pile, but however many books I read, I still keep adding more!
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| Bedside books |
A walk through the neighbourhood after Halloween revealed some sad-looking balloons and some creatures lurking in the bushes.
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| Does this one count as crouching? |
There are also beautiful flowers and vistas.
The walkcanberra.com walk around Aranda took in a kitchen garden at a cafe, some interesting housing (and gardening) design, and a couple of street libraries.
We went away for a long weekend, but first we had to ensure that someone would be able to look after the kittens. They sent their best pleading looks to Design Diva, and when she agreed, we could all relax knowing they would be well loved in our absence.
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| Being out and about with a beer at TAMF |
Our first stop was the Nimmitabel Bakery, where I made all the hilarious jokes about us being in-Nimmitabel, bravely persisting in the face of no one else finding them funny. For those interested in such things, the sausage rolls at the bakery were excellent: substantial size; pastry both flaky and melty; good filling:pastry ration; proper sausage meat filling with subtle spices and black pepper; free sauce optional (9/10). There was also a nursery (the tolerable kind; for plants, not children) and an elephant. And why not.
This fetching photo is from the series 'odd art in guest houses'. It's actually one of the better ones to be fair.
The weather wasn't great in Merimbula so we went for a quick walk around the town, looked at a couple of beaches, and then settled into a pub.
The next day we set out to walk to Pambula and the Longstocking Brewery. There was a long and beautiful expanse of beach, which we had all to ourselves, and then we turned into Ben Boyd National Park, and we didn't see anyone else in there either.
Our walk took us to Longstocking Brewery where we had gin cocktails and oysters. The gin bar featured goblets of gin - I chose the Gunpowder Irish Gin ('oriental botanicals, gunpowder tea and Irish curiosity') with tonic and lots of lemon and lime, and Him Outdoors had the North of Eden Connoisseur Gin (citrus, berry and floral notes) served with strawberries and miniature rose petals.
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| 1/2 dozen oysters with Gunpowder gin and orange segments |
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| 1/2 dozen oysters with pickled ginger, chopped chives and champagne |
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| He looks happier with beer, doesn't he? |
The next morning we carbo-loaded for another big day. The Belgian Nutella Waffles with Oreo crumb and fresh berries were delicious.
I needed a rest after all that, as you can imagine, so we sat and read our books for a while (yesterday we had visited the second-hand book shop because clearly I'm running out of reading material). I'm currently reading The Last Lighthouse Keeper by John Cook with Jon Bauer, because I like to theme my reading to my location.
After the current squall passed over, we headed out for a walk from Kianinny Boat Ramp. It is a glorious little bay and there were stingrays swimming in the clear water, while cormorants and pelicans perched above.
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| Kianinny Boat Ramp and Bay |
From there we set out along a part of the Kangarutha Walking Track, which went up and down multiple steps around rocky and sandy bays.
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| Kianinny Bay Lookout |
There was an enormous termite mound - I tried to get Him Outdoors to stand next to it for scale purpose, but he wasn't keen to get too close.
The stony beach of Boulder Bay is reminiscent of some British beaches, but it is nicely secluded and fringed by forest.
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| The only way is up! |
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| I'm not sure how useful this lifebelt will be |
We then headed out after our walk to Stony Creek Farm, the home of North of Eden gin. We had a tasting of the range and the enjoyed a couple of cocktails - the martini made with the oyster shell gin was delicious with a mere twist of lemon. The distillery runs classes (of six people) where one can make their own gin in one of those quite adorable little stills. We'll be back!
A pre-dinner snack was purchased in the form of garlic bread crisps. They were very tasty, but are they the future? (Wee gag for the Peter Kay fans, there).
We ate dinner at a decent Indian restaurant (no pictures) and then practically rolled back to the accommodation in the evening. I took this photo of the lights across the bay. It was so woefully bad, that I thought I just had to share it!
Our final walk was the Mundooi Walk from Tura Beach to Short Point; a short coastal walk through thick bush filled with honey myrtle alongside the beach then out around the rock platforms and headland. We heard the sounds of the sea and the creaking call of the black cockatoo. Mundooi means 'walk with your feet' in the Dhurga language of the local Djiringanj tribe.
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| Wedding Bush (Ricinocarpus pinifolius) |
The Wedding Bush plant has pure white male and female flowers which are similar in shape, but the male flowers can be distinguished by the mass of yellow stamens. There is usually one female to five males. The flowers are followed by the fruit, which is a rough, globular capsule which splits when ripe to release five shiny seeds. Those are nature's odds and numbers.
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| Back Lake |
Back Lake is classified as an ICOLL - an Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon. The mouth of the lagoon closes over when there is insufficient rainfall to flush the sand out.
And because I've been sharing images of my breakfasts, here are the final ones of the trip, from the Wild Orchid Café in Tathra.
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| Toasted chicken panini |
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| Avocado feta with pepitas, chilli flakes, and black sesame on sourdough (with the inevitable side of bacon) |
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