Palona Cave is located in the Royal National Park and can be reached by starting from the gate at the southern end of Lady Carrington Drive.

Once on Lady Carrington Drive head north until you hit a sign stating limestone cave. It is likely to take at least 30 minutes to walk from the gate to this sign.

The sign is on your left and easily missed so be vigilant.

After a gradual ascent along a narrow fern enclosed track you will reach Palona Cave which is one of many sandstone rock formations at the top of the valley.

Palona Cave is not your average cave with stalactites and stalagmites.

Both of these formations are known as speleothems, which also include other shapes such as flowstones.

Without overdoing the technical side of things the formations have come about from groundwater that has seeped along the bedding plane of the cliff above the cave.

This water has absorbed small amounts of lime. The water drips into the cave leaving residual lime after evaporation on either the floor of the cave or the point from where it entered the cave.

Over much time the residual limestone forms stalagmites and stalactites.

The stalagmites and stalactites at Palona Cave have emerged from a sandstone cave and not a limestone cave, as is normally the case. 

The formations at Palona Cave do not have the classic beauty of formations at limestone caves such as Jenolan Caves and look like they could do with a good clean to remove dirt, dust, cobwebs and moss.

Close to the cave is a waterfall.

The last photo is taken from the creek above the waterfall although it is a difficult clamber to reach. Probably not worth the effort, just look at the photo and be happy.

If you want to see something unusual in a cave then Palona Cave is your place!

If you would like to increase the walk into something more serious (3hrs plus) add in the forest track in as well.

Palona added something special to this relationship

rocky and dry

is there an eye?

staligmite

what is that?

Palona Brook

As all tracks and trails in the Royal National Park were closed due to a total fire ban yesterday’s tour of the Royal National Park was replaced by a trip to some of Sydney’s finest beaches.

Exceptionally warm weather in the last few days (5 consecutive days over 29 degrees celsius) has made it feel like we are in the middle of a summer heat wave.

We visited the Eastern Suburbs beaches of Bondi, MacKenzie’s, Tamarama and Bronte and the day included several walks at different beaches, a swim at Bronte baths and lunch at Manly Beach.

The first walk was from North Bondi to MacKenzies Beach where the four legged brigade happily frolicked on the beach.

Tamarama was not open to swimmers but did provide nice conditions for board riders with smooth shapely waves.

Bronte’s most popular spot was the baths, which had the whitewater from waves occasionally breaking into it.

The water temperature was on the cold side but became reasonable if you swam around for a while.

By the time we reached Manly in the early afternoon the wind had kicked in robbing the northern beaches of shapely waves - just mush.

A few beach pictures from yesterday and one of a mural at Bondi Beach.

Bondi promenade

MacKenzies Beach may be tiny but the dogs dont mind

a splendid sight

and another

rights

Bronte baths

too easy

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

Its whale watching time again and there are plenty out there at the moment.

Many hump back whales were spotted whilst walking to Eagle Rock on the weekend.

Slightly more were seen on Saturday (around 30) than Sunday (15-20) but whose counting!

Our international spotter and guest, Lyndon, did not miss a beat and was able to locate whales at will.

It is exciting to see whales close to your location and even more interesting if you come across a pod of whales.

We were lucky to succeed on both counts.

Hearing the spooky sounds made by a whale in the pod was an unexpected treat.

It is estimated that more than 40 000 hump back whales annually migrate from Antartica to the warmer waters of Queensland for the purposes of mating and calving.

The whales will begin migrating back south from September to November.

A long way to get some action!

with the flip of a tail

When the whale exhales through its blowhole the warm air condenses with the colder outside air. This reaction creates what looks like a spray.

line up whales

pod on the move northward

We regularly spot a variety of Australian native birds on our Royal National Park tours.

The Australian Raven and New Holland Honeyeater are often seen whilst walking on the coastal track in the Royal National Park.

Australian Raven

The glossy black Australian Raven is found in many parts of Australia and is common in southwest WA and the eastern parts of Australia. If you see a bird in Sydney that you think is a crow it is much more likely to be a raven. The two birds are very similar in appearance.

Some physical differences include ravens being slightly bigger than crows and ravens have longer feathers around their neck (known as throat hackles). They also make different calls and a special feature of the Australian Raven is its distinctive call.  Between each call there is a few seconds of silence which is then followed by another call. The last note can be either the same or a longer drawn out wail: ….ah….ah….aaah or ah…ah…ah…ah - they are unmistakable!

Australian ravens have a white iris and black pupil although younger birds may appear to have a light blue eye colouring due to an inner blue ring around the iris.

A pair of ravens have based themselves at Eagle Rock in the Royal National Park and are comfortable with visitors provided you don’t get too close (four or five metres).

New Holland Honeyeater

New Holland Honeyeaters are plentiful if you take the coastal walk to either Wedding Cake Rock or Eagle Rock in the Royal National Park.

The body of this small attractive bird is a mixture of black and white with a good dash of yellow on black feathers. They will often be seen flying in small flocks.

The New Holland Honeyeater is not an easy bird to photograph - if you get anywhere near them they quickly fly away. These birds dart in and out of bushes looking for nectar, fruit and insects and can scoop up nectar in less than a second using their brush tip tongue.

The time between getting your camera from your bag into hand seems forever and most often you will miss the shot - we’ve learnt that it’s best to have it ready, slung over the shoulder as you walk.

After many visits to Wedding Cake Rock it was exciting to get a few close up photos of these birds.

Two birds in the bush are worth more than a bird in the hand!

dead eye stare

glossy black feathers

perched and proud at Curracurrong Falls

inquisitive New Holland Honeyeater

and ever watchful

yellow tailed black cockatoo on the move

Glen Davis

Glen Davis is not a well known town in regional New South Wales. It is located in the Capertee Valley and is about a three and half hour drive from Sydney.

In its former life Glen Davis was home to a workforce of two and a half thousand men working in the shale oil industry.

The industry was established in the late 1930s to reduce Australia’s dependence on overseas oil as a world war loomed.

The shale oil plant at Glen Davis was never profitable and these activities ceased in the 1950s.

The town’s name originates from industrialist George Davis, who was a driving force in setting up shale oil operations at Glen Davis.

The word ‘glen’ is a Scottish word for valley and has been applied in a number of countries to name places. It is also used in naming a nearby town, Glen Alice.

Remnants of the shale oil works still remain in Glen Davis and can be seen from a lookout at their rear of the site. Take a left onto Goora St, just before the town and follow the road eastwards.

The Glen Davis lookout is located at the back of the decaying shale oil buildings and plant.

The easy walk up to the lookout provides a great view of not only the plant but the valley and surrounding sandstone cliffs and hills.

A few small ruined brick buildings also exist at the lookout itself along with some discarded industrial items.

As you drive around the small town of Glen Davis you may notice an Ampol logo from the 1950s, a red winged horse.

It is painted on a white wall and is in surprisingly good condition. In front of it is an abandoned petrol bowser.

If you brought your lunch and you need to as there are no shops, enjoy it on the shaded seats in front of the community centre.

This quaint and forgotten town has grand surrounds and is well worth a visit. It is also a reminder of a chapter in Australia’s history.

shale oil plant ruins

discarded heavy duty cabling - not your usual tourist attraction!

Capertee River

striking sandstone surrounds Glen Davis

Go the flying red horse

Capertee Valley wonder

Pantoney’s Crown can be seen from Glen Davis Rd as you head toward Glen Davis - well worth a stop to appreciate its majesty

The Botany Bay Diamond Weevil (BBDW) generally comes in either green or blue mixed with black.

Whilst walking to one of gems in the Royal National Park, Eagle Rock, we had the pleasure of acquainting

ourselves with this little bug.

A chequered pattern of black and aqua made it stand out in the bush even though it is small (up to

2.5cms).

It is exciting to come across a new insect, particularly a striking one.

The BBDW was one of the first insects identified in the Botany Bay area by First Fleet Botanist, Joseph Banks.

A weevil is a type of beetle, which are known for their elongated snouts,

The snouts allow the weevil to chew holes in plants for food and to make holes for egg chambers.

It’s all about the snout

Love this place - good seating, plenty to eat

Sydney’s Northern Beaches - dolphins, big swell at Avalon rockpool, a Sydney red gum at West Head, Ku-ring-gai National Park

Two days ago Sydney Nimble was treated to the sight of a pod of dolphins playfully swimming and surfing waves at the northern end of Palm Beach.

They were spotted whilst walking near Barrenjoey Lighthouse. There were at least 14 dolphins in the grouping. A rare treat!

On the way back from Palm Beach the swell had picked up during the day. A few individuals had chanced their arm and bodies by swimming in the Avalon rockpool which was being bombed with foam from breaking waves. The brave swimmer(s) in two of the photos are clearly exposed to the power of ocean.

Next stop was West Head lookout where we came across a Sydney red gum (Angophora Costata) which was shedding it rich earthy-coloured bark.

The smooth barked Sydney red gum is a native of the east coast of Australia and is characterised by twisted and gnarly branches.

Summer is a great time to visit and enjoy the beauty of the Northern Beaches and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park!

dolphin line up

We are well into Spring and the Royal National Park’s native plants are producing some splendid flowers.

A few of the most spectacular wildflowers seen whilst walking on coastal tracks include the Drumstick, Gymea Lily and Waratah.

Two varieties of Drumstick are the Broad-leaf Drumstick and the Narrow-leaf Drumstick.

Bright yellow flowers are common to both species with the Broad-leafed Drumstick having leaves that are flat and fork-like whilst the leaves of the Narrow-leafed Drumstick are needle-like in appearance.

The first photo below of a Narrow-leafed Drumstick shows the delightful purple tinges that may appear prior to flowering on the spherical fruiting body.

If you look closely at the photo there is a spiraling pattern of thorn shaped purple hairs.

Over time the fruiting body which is at the end of the small branches will turn grey in colour and develop a barrel or cone shape resulting in the plant being named a drumstick.

Gymea Lilies are very different to other plants in the Royal National Park and can be seen in many places as you drive through the park.

These plants are native to the Sydney region, sending up long narrow green shoots that reach several or more metres and are topped with a striking red flower.

A third wildflower we came across whilst walking on the Curra Moors Track to Eagle Rock, is the Waratah.

The Waratah is the floral emblem of New South Wales, having a vivid red-pink flower which grows in the state’s bush in clumps of tall stems.

In the second last photo the small attractive red/pink and white bell shaped flowers of the Fushia Heath are in the foreground.

The white flowers of the Heath Myrtle can be seen in the background.

pre-flowering purple power of a Thin-leafed Drumstick

Broad-leaf Drumstick and insects

Flaming red flowers of the Gymea Lily

Waratahs on the Curra Moors Track

Fushia Heath and Heath Myrtle

An explosion of colour on the track to Wedding Cake Rock

Callistemon pachyphyllus Green - a bottlebrush with a fantastic lime green flower

Forest Track

Sydney Nimble has added a new bush walk to its Royal National Park Tour.

Unlike some of our coastal walks through heathland (Wedding Cake Rock and Eagle Rock), the Forest Track offers a chance to see a very different environment in the national park.

Part of the walk is through a forest whilst the second half moves into a rainforest.

The track is a loop track so you finish within 50 metres of where you started. The track takes the rough shape of a loop as it follows and stays inside of Bola Creek and the Hacking River.

The range of vegetation is diverse and interesting.

There is a small patch of large Gymea Lilies where the sword like leaves are exceptionally high. Can’t wait for these plants to bloom with long shoots and wonderful red flowers on the end.

There are many cabbage tree palms of varying sizes, some as high as 25 metres, maybe more. Sorry didn’t bring the tape measure!

One of the real treats is coming across tall red cedar trees.

These trees were saved from loggers in the 1920s after community protest. In view of the high value of the timber from red cedar trees the trees were known as red gold. There’s gold in them there hills!

Attached to some trees are epithytes, which are plants that do not put down roots on the ground but instead have roots located on another plant or tree.

This allows the epithyte to exist closer to the forest’s canopy and obtain access to better quality light.

Unlike a parasite an epithyte does not take nutrients from the tree. It will instead rely on airborne nutrients, rain for water and compost on tree branches to survive.

Two attractive epithytes that can be seen on the Forest Track are the bird nest and staghorn ferns (first two pictures below).

There is fungi (check out third photo), lichen and much plant life to see when you walk through the rainforest: bright green moss on logs and boulders, epithytes, hollow trees, ferns, palms, eucalypts, casuarinas, red cedar trees and lianas.

Lianas are long stemmed woody vines that use trees and other means to make there way upwards to the rainforest canopy in search of sunlight.

if you are lucky you may come across a lyre bird whilst walking on the forest path.

Lyre birds are a native Australian bird which have the incredible capacity to mimic other birds and animals. They have also been known to imitate human sounds and sounds made by machines.  

The Forest Track takes around an hour and half to walk and Sydney Nimble is delighted to include it in our Sydney Tours.

high and healthy staghorn ferns

thriving bird nest ferns

Fungi (Hygocybe erythocrenata) encountered on the Forest Track

dont trip on the liana, it moves for no one

lyre bird on the move

hollowed out tree

tall timber

Why

Sydney Nimble recently went beyond day tour range and visited Muswellbrook, Aussie Ark and Burning Mountain.

The plan is to identify new places for a two or three day tour.  

Only the best will do!

Aussie Ark was identified as a ‘place of interest’. It is located in Barrington Tops.

Muswellbrook was chosen as a staging post from which to visit Aussie Ark as access is not currently available from Gloucester due to a landslide.

Burning Mountain came onto the radar after extensive researching of potential walks in Muswellbrook and nearby areas, that do not exceed 2 hours duration.

Muswellbrook wildlife of the flying kind

The spectacle that most captured our attention in Muswellbrook was the incredible number of flying foxes that had chosen to reside in the trees at the rear of our accommodation (The Remington).

It was hard to estimate their numbers but it is likely there were at least a thousand bats, maybe a lot more. A number of the trees were saturated with bats (see first photo).

Although bats generally make sounds that are too higher a pitch for humans to hear, the bats in the morning were making audible eerie high pitched calls, possibly indicating it was time to fly out.

Aussie Ark

It takes around two hours to drive to Aussie Ark from Muswellbrook but it could easily take longer if you stopped to enjoy some of the wonderful scenery.

On the drive through you will also come across the small country towns of Gundy and Moonan Flat, whilst there is a never ending parade of green hills and mountains, and the occasional volcanic cone.

For a Sunday morning the local pub in Gundy was busy on the outside lawns. Five stars for the name, Linga Longa Inn Hotel.

Having arrived at Aussie Ark we were ready for a two and a half hour Devils in the Wild Tour.

Aussie Ark’s vision is to create a long term future for threatened Australian species and it does this by providing secure sanctuaries for native wildlife.

As expected the stars of the show were the Tasmanian Devils and they become even more amazing when they gather as a group. This usually only occurs around feeding or mating time.  

Watching them devour a kangaroo is something not easily forgotten.

Various grunts and other noises are made by the devils when they literally tear the kangaroo apart. Flesh, organs, bone, muscle and fur are all eaten – nothing is left.

Another animal that is also a delight to see is the Eastern Quoll with its long tail and inquisitive look. These marsupials have a dark thick coat marked with roundish white spots.

A Potoroo encounter was also enjoyed with the Potoroo showing a lot of interest in the shoes of all visitors.

At the end of the tour we had the pleasure of meeting Rufous the Bettong. Initially he was a little reluctant to meet the group finding the nearby kitchen a more amenable place to hang out.

However he did warm to us and once in the mood was happy to be picked up and loved by adoring Bettong groupies.  

Aussie Ark is thoroughly worth the time and effort to visit. Highly recommended.

Burning Mountain

Burning Mountain (Mt Wingen) is located between Scone and Murrurundi.

A 30 metre underground coal seam is slowly burning, which according to estimates was lighted at least 5500 years ago.  

Once at the location you are likely to smell sulphurous smoke and see rocks bleached white from the heat.

On our visit we did not however see a lot of smoke just a few small wisps were observed from one or two rocks near the crest of the hill.

On the way to Burning Mountain a kangaroo bounded past at speed and we did see a few other kangaroos in nearby bush.

All in all an interesting walk with district views and a very unusual natural phenomena at the end.

New Tour

A visit to Aussie Ark will provide much joy If you like native animals and attractive scenery.

We combined it with a walk to Burning Mountain and a short visit to the Hunter Valley on the way.

A three day tour to this region is still being considered.

Alternatively take yourself on a mini driving holiday from Sydney. Allow around three days.

how many flying foxes can hang on a tree - a lot!

black and brown and never a frown

grand countryside

friend or foe - neither, the yawn is a sign of uncertainty or fear

making a meal of it

Shameless

Eastern quoll

how scorched is my earth

We often stop at the spectacular Grose Valley on our Blue Mountains tour which showcases canyons, ravines, plateaus, creeks, waterfalls, massive cliff faces and the Grose River. Three of the best lookout spots are: Evans Lookout, Govetts Leap and Walls Lookout.

Access to Evans Lookout and Govetts Leap can be obtained by driving to the nearby car park whilst Walls Lookout requires a bushwalk.

The magnificent geology of the Grose Valley was created by uplift and erosion. The valley is covered by dense Eucalyptus Forest.

A recent feature of the Grose Valley, which was created in March 2021, is a carve out in the sandstone cliff face below Lockleys Pylon.

The ‘rock carving’ resulted from a rockfall which was greatly assisted by intense rainfall running off the plateau above.

The rain dump on the Blue Mountains and Sydney generally in 2021 and 2022 has been attributable to the La Nina weather phenomena.

What makes the shape created by the rockfall so noticeable is that it has the appearance of a fish, but not one you would commonly think of.

It looks like a seahorse and yes seahorses are categorised as fish!

The Grose Valley is a place of exceptional beauty and the addition of a seahorse rock carving is yet another reason (not that one is needed) to drop by.

so big!

Bridal Veil Waterfall

Four happy souls at nearby Jamison Valley

An option on our Royal National Park private day tour is a visit to Symbio Wildlife Park where visitors can see a number of unique Aussie animals.

One of our favourites is the Tasmanian Devil, one of Australia's most well known native animals.

It is a marsupial, which is basically a mammal whose young are incompletely developed at birth and typically carried in a pouch.

They are only found in the wild in Tasmania, becoming extinct on the mainland around 3000 years ago.

When you look at the Tasmanian Devil’s head and face there are no devilish horns and the standout features include a moist black nose, many whiskers, dark deep eyes, two fang teeth near the corners of the mouth and large flappy ears.

The devil’s body has an attractive colouring of black fur with a white band running across the chest.

Their front legs are larger than their back legs which helps with climbing.

This difference in the front and back leg sizes can result in devils looking like they are galloping or skipping when they run.

A keen sense of smell allows devils to find fresh carcasses at night and they may travel many kilometres seeking out the recently deceased.

A great Australian scavenger story!

Devils are inquisitive and may look you directly in the eye, or just stand and sniff the air.

Tasmanian Devils have extremely strong jaws allowing them to eat all parts of an animal – fur, muscles, organs and bones. Nothing gets wasted.

Their dietary requirements do not go beyond the living or recently living and include wombats, kangaroos, rabbits, possums, birds and even insects. Plants need not apply.

The animals ears are unusual being pink in colour that will turn to purple colour if the devil is agitated.

So why then are these creatures called devils at all?

The answer lies in the noises they usually make at night, being primarily nocturnal.

Devils will ferociously fight each other over food or finding and keeping a mate, making growling, blood curdling noises in the process.

This behaviour explains their naming as a devil, but I would suggest a very likeable one. 

standing tall

Why does Sydney Nimble keep visiting me?

born to sniff at Symbio Wildlife Park

cute brute

Ninety years ago today (19/3/1932) the Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened.

Celebrations were organised to celebrate this milestone, which included light shows, a concert at Campbells Cove and vintage ferries and trains running during the day.

Historic double decker buses took passengers over the bridge from North Sydney to Wynyard and return for a number of hours.

Bridge climbers received a discount of $90. Strangely there were a lot of climbers on the bridge today!

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of those imposing structures that you never get sick of looking at when commuting across it.

It is too large and imposing to ever be ignored.

Happy birthday, Sydney Harbour Bridge.

What name should we give this bridge?

Why do they all have to sit upstairs?

grey sky, grey steel

And so they climbed, no not because of the discount, but because it’s there.

Olympic Pool has been on Sydney Nimble’s wish visit list for quite a while. Last Friday this desire was satisfied.

The conditions were highly suitable, warm weather and recent rains. It is best to visit after some rain as the pool will have a fresh flow of water.

We made our way to Olympic Pool after meeting at Heathcote Station and taking the track to Karloo Pool. The walk to Karloo takes about 50 minutes if you don’t stop.

Karloo Pool is a lovely freshwater pool and a good place to have a break.

The next leg of the journey requires following the twists and turns of the creek for quite a while until you reach Olympic Pool.

You may find that you have the pool to yourself as the solid walk to it reduces the enthusiasm of many adventurers.

Olympic Pool is a pleasant place to hang out having a few dips and maybe lunch in between. The green colouring of the water and reflection of the shrubs and trees on the water make for a pretty scene.

The pool’s name is based on its length which is similar, maybe longer, than the length of a 50 metre Olympic swimming pool. If your a swimmer bring goggles and do a few laps.

 Nothing like the feel of freshwater!

green and serene Olympic Pool

just walk off the rock into the refreshing green

capped and cool

tiny waterfall found on the way

pristine pool before OP

The Sydney Opera House is located on a prominent point on Sydney Harbour and is a stone’s throw (maybe two) from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In 1957 Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, was chosen as the opera house architect from a field of over 200 contestants.

His design sketches were bold and inspiring. It was clear that the proposed building was going to be exceptional.

As with many ambitious plans reality kicked in and numerous modifications of the design were necessary.

This design process was pain staking and it was not until 1963 that the design was finalized.

The greatest challenge concerned the shape of the opera house’s most distinctive feature, large curved vaulted shells.

The shape had to have both structural integrity and the ability to be economically built.

Many shapes were tried ranging from parabolas to circular ribs to ellipsoids.

Ultimately the shape of the opera house’s shells was based on the dissection of a top of a sphere into segments.

One of the many interesting features of the opera house is that the shell walls curve and blend into the roof, joining at a central point.

Jorn Utzon did not want a flat roof and his desire for the opera house to be seen from all sides was satisfied by constructing the shells on an elevated platform (podium).

Due to the massive size of the shells the design had to allow for in situ construction, resulting in the shells being built piece by piece from precast concrete.

The final design chosen for the opera house is in the author’s opinion a significant enhancement of the original drawings, providing for a more upright and striking building, whilst still retaining the look of the original sketches.

Postscript

Whilst taking the photos for this blog Sydney Nimble came across the Sydney Opera Company’s principal soprano, Julie Lea Goodwin, who will be performing in the upcoming production of La Boheme at the Sydney Opera House.

Julie’s hair, make-up and art deco dress/ gown/ jewellery were exquisite. Nice to meet an opera singer at the opera house!

geometric shapes create an outstanding sculptural design

early afternoon light highlights zig zag patterns

art deco charm

the podium’s elevation vastly improves the display

Julie Lea Goodwin

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

A popular stop on our custom and eastern suburbs tours is the El Alamein Fountain in Kings Cross.

You may wonder why a fountain at Kings Cross brings on a discussion of World War II. The simple answer is that the El Alamein fountain commemorates two battles fought in World War II near the Egyptian town of El Alamein. More than 1200 Australian infantrymen lost their lives in the El Alamein battles which stopped the Axis forces (German and Italian armies) from taking over Northern Africa. It was a major turning point in the war. Winston Churchill described the siginificance of the El Alamein battles in the following way:

Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.

The El Alamein Fountain was designed by Robert Woodward, who worked as an armourer in WW II.

The design of the fountain was inspired by the shape of a dandelion and the frame is comprised of 211 radially dispersed stalks. The stalks shoot out water which creates a bubbly or saucer like film. Wind conditions and direct sunlight will change the look of what you see. Water from the fountain overflows into several layered pools. It is a masterful modernist fountain and highly eye catching should you be walking or driving by. A wonderful mist is created when the fountain is firing. The construction of the El Alamein Fountain was completed in 1961.

Happy 60th birthday El Alamein Fountain!

pigeon paradise

inspiration

under the bonnet

mist monster

Sydney Nimble Tours has continued its quest to identify new locations to visit outside of Sydney. Our goal is to find the best places within four hours of Sydney.

This extended radius opens up many areas we have not previously considered.

With this in mind we visited the Capertee Valley and stayed two nights.

The Capertee Valley is the world’s second largest canyon, and can only be described as extraordinary.

When you drive through it you will see numerous majestic mountains, cliffs and stone pagodas. I thought to myself why haven’t I been here before?

The valley also includes the remarkable butte, Pantoneys Crown.

We were fortunate enough to stay with friends who really knew the area and took us on bushwalks that showed just how beautiful this region is. Many thanks to Duncan!

The Capertee Valley is bordered by and encompasses several national parks. The valley is a highly rated bird watching area and we were treated to the sight of a soaring wedge tailed eagle.

You may also come across kangaroos, wallabies and wombats in one of the valley’s national parks.

In addition to the flora and fauna the region also has some delightful small caves, pure freshwater streams and creeks plus many ‘out there’ geological formations.

We plan to include a visit to the Capertee Valley in our next extended tour which will focus on the Mudgee region.

Blue Tree Project: ‘Our mission is to help spark difficult conversations and kick the stigma of mental health’

get ready to rock scramble if you want to reach the summit

Alison showing no fear

they may look harmless but these two hikers set a cracking pace

a cave with well rounded formations and valley views

flannel flower