Intro

Sydney Nimble Tours encourages employees to travel overseas as it helps improve our perspective of traveling and touring generally. It is interesting being taken on a tour as opposed to providing one!

This year’s annual trip was to Arugam Bay and surrounds, located on the South East Coast of Sri Lanka.

It takes between six to seven hours to drive to Arugam Bay from the main entry point to Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Surfing

Arugam Bay becomes a surfing mecca when the swells arrive from May to September.

We stayed in this area for 12 days in early June and found the main break lived up to all the hype being a classic fast peeling right with several sections. The downside is that everyone else knows this and it is an intensively competitive environment for catching a wave.

There are plenty of other breaks in the area including Lighthouse Beach, Peanuts, Elephant Rock, Pottuvil and Panama Beach.

The two breaks we liked the most were Elephant rock (on a large swell day) and Peanuts outer break as opposed to the break near the beach. Bare in mind Peanuts is exposed to the wind and best ridden when the swell is a reasonable size.

Panama Street

Panama Street is the main road into and out of Arugam Bay. The shopping strip located on this road, just behind the beach, is a concoction of restaurants, bars, clothes shops, board shops, ice cream outlets, small general stores and coffee shops.

It is a vibrant strip with varied food offerings and travelers from all over the world can be seen enjoying them.

The road itself has plenty of activity with tuk tuks, push bikes, motor bikes, cars and even the odd cow making their way along it.

For non-surfers a few days at Arugam Bay is probably sufficient, whilst surfers can easily spend a week or two weeks in this area.

Kumana National Park

The other activity we enjoyed was driving in a jeep around the Kumana National Park which is an hours drive from Arugan Bay.

Kumana is easily booked with a number of shops offering tours. It is described as an eco tourism attraction and bird sanctuary.

The park has a broad range of animals and we had the good luck of coming across a leopard only a handful of metres from our vehicle.

The leopard didn’t stay long but it was still a thrill to encounter a large cat!

The bird life in Kumana which includes wetlands areas was plentiful and highly interesting.

Some of the more outstanding feathered friends that we encountered included: Malabar Pied Hornbill, Crested Serpent Eagle, Painted Stork, Little Green Bee Eater and the Red Wattled Lapwing.

The Malabar Pied Hornbill is an exotic bird with a most unusual beak, whilst the Crested Serpent Eagle was spotted low on the trunk of a tree waiting for a chance to greet and eat new and interesting local snakes.

Crocodiles, elephants, lace monitors, mongoose, water buffalo, were all spotted throughout the day although the sloth bear did not appear. We were advised that the bear is more likely to be seen in the morning.

Environment

The weather we experienced whilst in Arugam Bay in June can only be described as intensely hot from mid morning to late afternoon. June is one of the hottest driest months whilst the area gets most of its rain from October to February.

Arugam Bay along with the areas further south have a desert feel and heat to match with a lot of sand dunes and sandy soil.

The ocean water is amazingly warm (late 20’s celcius) and after surfing in the morning you come out of the water with a solid thirst.

We had a refreshing and fun stay in Arugam Bay and recommend it be included as part of any trip to Sri Lanka in the dry season.

Favourite restaurants: Dosa Station, Gecko, Hopper Man, Bambini’s Café, Wayside Thai and the Bay Vista Hotel restaurant for tasty pasta and a delicious ginger lime cheesecake.

Favourite coffee shop: Kaffi

Best decision: using Deyo Tours to get around; we spent 16 days with Chaminda whose service and commitment exceeded all expectations

Best clothing: Slow days shop and the caravan T shirt at the Squeeze Me cafe

Let downs: Sri Lanka needs a wider range of beers!

Arugam Bay beach and surfing break at the point

Lighthouse Beach is 25kms north of Arugam Bay

this break is just to the left of the lighthouse

Lighthouse Beach in the afternoon

Elephant rock beach

Elephant Rock needs a reasonable swell to work

Arugam Bay beach scene is a few hundred metres west of main break

loads of learners, around the corner from main break

surf schools have proliferated at many of the breaks - Peanuts surf break

Peanuts hero

to zero

long line up, main break

Morning time at the main break

Leopard, Kumana National Park

joyful soul, Kumana National Park

Malabar Pied Hornbill, Kumana National Park

Crested Serpent Eagle, Kumana National Park

Painted Stork, Kumana National Park

Spotted Deer, Kumana National park

Hiking in Hokkaido

Sydney Nimble encourages employees to travel and share holiday experiences.

On a recent holiday in Hokkaido (Japan’s large northern island) we stopped at an area known for geothermal activity, Lake Akan.

The lake is part of the Akan-Mashu National Park and whilst there why not do a hike!

The selected peak was Mt Meakan and we took the Meakan Onsen Trail. It was described in the national parks pamphlet as taking the shortest time to hike and being slightly more challenging than the other two trails up Mt Meakan.

The trail was classified as a Grade 3 hike. It took us over 5 hours to do the hike whilst the pamphlet estimated time was 4 hours 10 minutes.

For the most part the trail was hard work. The first 40 minutes are through a forest stepping over and around large tree roots and intermittent pockets of bright green moss.

We came across several different and interesting types of fungus ranging from bright red to yellow. Love a new fungus!

After the forest the trail makes its way up the mountain doing its best to avoid many large rocks.

With a great sense of relief we made it to the top of the mountain and started walking on the rim of the main crater.

By that stage the cloud cover was strong and we could see very little in any direction. It is what it is a fellow hiker quipped.

After walking along the rim for about 150 metres and taking a few very average photos in the process, we decided to head back.

No point stumbling around on a creater rim in a white out.

However as luck would have it the cloud cleared in the crater just as we were about to descend. We could now see Mt Meakan’s main crater.

What a sight! Gas was fuming out of several vents and in the distance across the rim a larger plume of gas was whisking into the sky.

The strong smell of sulphur was present with Mt Meakan being one of Japan’s most active volcanoes.

After observing and enjoying the activity in the crater we headed back.

The descent was more difficult than anticipated with volcanic scree being very slippery in spots. Easy to fall, hard to get up!

At last we made it to the bottom. If you ever get around to doing this hike allow five hours for the venture and expect a grade 4 hike by Australian standards.

If you get clear weather the effort is well worth it!

root hopping galore

don’t call me yellow

shiny red fungus

all up from this point

water views

grand design

a sweet view back down from the mountain

white out

close up of crater wall

not an onsen

Mt Meakan main crater

the far side

Pilbara

Its not just all about Sydney and surrounds!

So lets talk about a recent Sydney Nimble staff trip to the Karijini National Park in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Why not add this onto an Austalian visit after you have spent a week in Sydney!

Getting there

Driving to Karijini National Park from Perth will take around 14 hours each way.

If you have limited time the best way to access Karijini National Park is to fly to Perth and then Paraburdoo.

Paraburdoo is a mining town so your fellow passengers may be wearing high vis clothing!

Upon landing at Paraburdoo we hired a 4WD (there aren’t any other transport options) and drove straight to Hamersley Gorge and then to the Karijini Eco Resort (KER).

Karijini Eco Resort

The staff at KER were just about all from other countries (working holidays) and it was great to interact with happy youthful staff (special thanks to Martin from Argentina and Joyce from the Netherlands).

As we drifted off to sleep at night we were ‘treated’ to eerie dingo howls. Our informative resort manager advised that the howling was due to it being the mating season for dingoes.

If your dining at KER the menu includes Aussie delicacies such as Crocodile fettucine and Kangaroo fillet!

Gorging on gorgeous gorges

Over the next few days we did a series of gorge walks.

The gorges are filled with sheer cliff faces, small pools, trees and shrubs, flat rock slabs and rocks of different proportions. The range of red, orange, crimson, purple, grey and charcoal in these gorges is stunning.

There are also many spectacular banded iron formations particularly at Hamersley Gorge (see second photo below). These formations occur in sedimentary rocks and are composed of alternating bands of chert and iron oxide.

It is interesting to note that the Pilbara has some of the oldest rocks in the world. Far older than those in Eastern Australia and although estimates vary it is possible that they were formed over 2 Billion years ago (maybe longer).

It is hard to rate the gorges against each other. Of the six gorges we visited Kalimina Gorge, Weano Gorge, Dales and Knox were our favourites.  Joffre and Hamersley were a close second.

Although a number of the walks are Grade 5 the most difficult was Knox Gorge. The rock stairs require particular care when descending. On your right is a massive collection of shattered rocks that have been deposited on the steep slope for around 40 metres.

So much scree!

Kalamina Gorge is a friendlier walk and the pond at the start is both photogenic and tranquil. A very fine gorge.

Larger Dales Gorge is packed with a falls (Fortescue) and two pools, Fern Pool and Circular Pool. Of the pools we saw in the different gorges Fern Pool looked the most attractive for a swim being relatively warmer than many of the other gorges. A handful of teenagers and twenty somethings were swimming.

Due to a friend’s tip I packed a full length wetsuit and had a painless swim in the Handrail Pool at Weano Gorge.

Other swimmers looked perplexed when I repeatedly told them how warm the water was!

Newman and surrounds

After a few days at KER we drove to Newman to see more scenery, aboriginal rock art (Wanna Munna and Punda Rock) and the Whaleback mine. The tour of the BHP owned mine provides the chance to gain a first hand appreciation of the massive scale of the world’s largest open pit mine.

The mine is 5kms long and 1.5kms wide. So much excavation and the place never stops with workers doing either a twelve hour night shift (6pm to 6am) or 12 hour day shift.

A hard grind and I admire anyone who can stand up to these shifts in a dusty industrial environment.

We enjoyed the two rock art sites and Punda rock has some wonderful surrounding geography. Access to Punda Rock is obtained by driving through a valley and hovering behind the rock art site is a near perfectly formed extinct volcano.

Nature has treated it kindly and it has maintained its shape. The surrounding valley and cliffs provide a natural amphitheatre and if you yell an echo can be heard.

Crumbs left on the table

On reflection we ran out of time and one more day at least would have been useful. We still had untouched walks on our list: Mt Bruce, Mt Newman and Kermits Pool in Hancock Gorge. Next time….

Hamersley Range

One final point. The Hamersley Range is something to behold. Some of the hills, canyons and mountains are grand. The colours of which change depending upon where the position of the sun and whether it is cloudy.

As we returned to Paraburdoo for the flight home (around 8am) the direct morning sun on the mountains and hills was a reminder of just how beautiful the Pilbara is.

under rated Hamersley Range

Hamersley Gorge

Fern Pool in Dales Gorge

Kalimina Gorge

roadside wildflowers in the Pilbara

pink and grey galahs

Kalamina Gorge pool

extinct volcano behind Punda Rock

fly eagle fly

beyond the Handrail Pool

navigating Knox Gorge descent

Whaleback mine is an open pit mine of extraordinary proportions

petroglyths at Punda Rock

sun sets on the holiday

Sydney Nimble is often asked about other places to visit in Australia. For this reason we will share some commentary and observations about a recent trip to the Queensland islands of Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot.

These two islands are located in the Southern part of the Great Barrier Reef and are best suited to a person who has an interest in water activities. The two big activities on offer are snorkelling and scuba diving.

The snorkelling in both locations warrants a visit even if you do not wish to partake in diving.

Lady Musgrave Island

Overnight accommodation is available on the pontoon near Lady Musgrave Island although most visitors choose to limit their visit to a day trip.

Visitors to the pontoon are taken to nearby Lady Musgrave Island for a 45 minute island tour.

One bird that visits and nests on Lady Musgrave Island is the Black Noddy. This bird has a black body with white colouring on its head resulting in it sometimes being called a White-capped noddy. Same bird just a different name.

Black Noddies are called noddies because they repetitively nod their heads throughout their breeding display.

The relationship between Black Noddies and Pisonia trees on Lady Musgrave is fascinating. The seeds of a Pisonia tree are produced in large tangly masses with the resin on the seeds sticking to the birds when they brush the seeds as they fly near or through the tree.

The Black Noddies then disperse the seeds when they fly to other islands. So far so good.

However for some birds the sticky seeds are too sticky and they unable to leave the tree. They are trapped and eventually perish in the tree. The collateral damage left in the form of the hanging dead is a grim sight.

Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot Island also has Black Noddies and their singing is of such volume that guests will find a pair of earplugs in their room. Damn noisy!

Visitors to Lady Elliot arrive via a Cessna plane which reduces the travel time to the island (30 minutes) but does add to the expense. Most guests stay overnight on the island in cabins or up market tents. A day trip is also available.

We did an introductory scuba dive at Lady Elliot, thoroughly enjoying the experience (thanks Jai). Some of the marine life encountered included manta rays, schools of trevally, turtles, sting rays, a wide variety of tropical fish and coral of many types and colours.

The scuba dive was followed up on the next day with two sessions of snorkeling and it was exciting to see a black tip reef shark and more mantra rays.

The marine life at Lady Elliot is outstanding and was the highlight of our holiday. Interstate or overseas visitors take note!

Pontoon near Lady Musgrave Island

roots of a Pisonia tree

part of Lady Musgrave Island surrounded by a delightful blue ocean

Symphyllia coral spotted in the Lady Elliott lagoon

Lady Elliot sunset

Lady Elliot lagoon at low tide

Most visitors to Sydney do not get past the day trip barrier. However, if you have time, a visit to regional NSW will provide some unique experiences.

In this small Summer adventure we headed to Mudgee and picked up Evans Crown on the way.

Evans Crown has powerful boulders of the granite kind (known by rockites, as Tors). Shake hands with your inner geologist and suck in the oxygen when you ascend many stairs and paths to the boulders. The walk takes around 25-35 minutes.

The good news is that the return trip is a lot easier. The first two photos below show the view at the top of this rocky outcrop.

Alternatively there are many canyon and bush walks to do around Lithgow, but do your research.

After Evans Crown we had a short stop at Sofala, which is a former gold mining town and quaint place to have a coffee break.

Further down the highway it is mandatory to pull over at Pearsons Lookout and take in the exceptional view of Pantoneys Crown.

We arrived at Mudgee later in the afternoon and stayed over night. Mudgee has some fine historical buildings, including a charming art deco cinema.

Although there are plenty of beckoning wineries in the Mudgee region, what attracted us most was a day trip to Rylstone and Ganguddy/Dunns Swamp.

The walk to the lookout at Ganguddy requires a bit of rock clambering at the end but is well worthwhile providing a stunning view of Pagoda central, with the added bonus of a hazy, meandering river in the foreground.

There is a lot to see outside of Sydney and Sydneysiders are taking up the options. Sydney Nimble Tours will be introducing a new two day tour of this area in coming months.

Massive granite boulders, the size is which is best appreciated by getting up close and personal.

rolling hills

Couldn’t resist including this photo, you don’t get businesses using these words anymore.

Ganguddy Swamp

Pantoneys Crown is a wonderful site on the way to Mudgee

This weekend Sydney Nimble went outside of its usual patch and visited the Southern Tablelands.

A group of like minded individuals bonded by their sense of humour and children stayed at a working sheep station, known as Markdale. www.markdale.com/ The patriarch of Markdale, Mark, took the group on an outstanding tour of the sheep shearing shed on the farm.

There was no marking time on this outing and Mark’s explanation of the shearing process and sheep husbandry business generally was refreshing and enlightening for a group of city slickers. There is another world outside of the Sydney bubble.

Markdale has an outstanding garden which includes a small lake with a tiny island and row boat, arched timber bridge, stone retaining walls and an assortment of trees. The garden was designed by acclaimed Australian landscape artist, Edna Walling.

The layout of the trees which include golden elms, aspens, silver birch, and eucalypts frame the garden in a way that allows the delightful heritage homestead to be seen from the surrounding countryside.

The property has significant history with the previous owners (the Ashtons) having held it for four generations.

On the drive to Markdale from Goulburn several places of interest were observed: Pejar Dam, Crookwell Windfarm, and some pretty stone cottages in Binda and beyond. The closeness of the road to the wind turbines provides many vantage points from which to appreciate the massive structure of these winged warriors.

The Crookwell area has plenty of wind and clean air. The shire is known for its fine wool, fat lambs, beef cattle and potato cultivation. The drive to Markdale takes around 3-3.5 hours and this duration excludes it from being within the day tour range of Sydney Nimble Tours.

If you would like to visit the Southern Tablelands we recommend a minimum of three nights, which allows two full days to explore this charming region.

Crookwell windfarm late in the afternoon

There’s sheep in them thar hills.

they always have to touch

baa

The Edna Walling Garden at Markdale is one of Australia’s great country gardens.