Southen Highlands of NSW on two wheels

What a great weekend! I'm lucky enough to have tagged along on my friend Brian's weekend long bicycle trip in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Here I got to experience the Australian fall, wait, I mean, autumn, as very few Native Australian trees are of the deciduous type that have their leaves 'fall' off. It's real neat to see the weather and season changing here in Australia, a place where as a kid growing up, I just thought it was always summer!

We checked out Morton National Park, Fitzroy Falls, Kangaroo Valley, camped in two beautiful spots (trying real hard to keep our toes toasty!), where we saw heaps of wombats wandering under the near full moon and fog, and I was warned over and over about Drop Bears, which are known to inhabit the area we were camped in :) After a beautiful, long climb out of the valley, we popped up on the other side of Australia's Great Dividing Range, where we cruised down to the warmer, coastal town of Kiama, known for it's picturesque lighthouse and active blowholes. 

(an aside - before getting to Kiama, we had a longish climb on a 4 lane highway, the only route we could take. There was no shoulder space for us to cycle on, so we took up one of the two northbound lanes, to ensure we were safe as we put putted our way up the hill, which is a perfectly legal act in Australia. And forgive me in advance, but some of the drivers were so horrible. I felt my positivity waning as I trudged up the hill, people screaming out their windows, and more people honking, and even more people speeding UP to pass us! This made me feel unsafe, vulnerable, hated, and hopeless for sustainable transportation at that moment. I wanted to scream and cry! Luckily, I had jolly old Brian at my side, who didn't back down and just kept on pedaling. Please please please if you are a driver who's never rode a bicycle on a busy road, know that as a cyclist you often feel so vulnerable; and sure, we choose to put ourselves in that situation, but we should be able to feel safe being where we are allowed to be, just as much as you should. And yes, you have places to go, people to see, things to do - and so do cyclists! Know also that we have hundreds of cars pass us, you don't know as a driver how the motorists 5 cars up have just made us feel, and you also have a body of steel surrounding you whereas cyclists do not. So be generous with the amount of space you give us, slow down, and try to see us as a normal part of the road system, not an anomaly. BIG GRATITUDE to those drivers who do give cyclists heaps of space, and who are patient when they pass, you have to know how appreciated this is!)

Whew, okay, sorry for the rant, but it belongs. The weekend as a whole was amazing, I felt so lucky to experience more of New South Wales on my bicycle, and had a great friend to do the exploring with! The weekend was capped off by a spectacular moon rise over the ocean seen clearly from the train window en route back to Sydney - mesmerizing. 

Autumn colours were visible on these non-native trees in Bowral, NSW.

'The Grotto' - one of the sights on our walk at Fitzroy Falls

The Valley from one of the many lookouts over the weekend!

Scene from my tent early on Sunday Morning

Kiama - our final destination and view from our picnic lunch spot

Farming, cycling, what's next, sydney

Hi Friends.

I've been back in Sydney for a couple weeks again. With Anthony around, I had someone to hang out with during the day, and we had a good time exploring some of Sydney's spectacular beaches, walking over the Sydney Harbour bridge, checking out the eclectic Newtown, going to an Aussie Rules Football game, and cooking and enjoying delicious food in Krista and Tua's home.  And let's not forget the joy of a visit from Tua's daughter Jet - I had so much fun being the kid I am with her - crafting, colouring, cooking, going to the park, and playing fun games!

But alas, Anthony headed north to the Great Barrier Reef, while I stayed behind to plot my next adventure. Krista and I had some really nice cozy movie nights with delicious food. I got out on two amazing day long (110km+ long!) cycling adventures with my friend Brian; one day we headed south to the Royal National Park, and followed the coast back to Sydney, and just this past weekend, under the Autumn sunshine we cruised up to Ku-Ring-Guy Chase National park.  This weekend, I will embark on another small cycling trip to the Southern Highlands in the near surrounds of Sydney, with my new bike buddie Brian! He's a good tour guide he is...

And while I've been spending the past week researching, reading, catching up, connecting and trying to plot out my next month or so, including my return to Canada, I have been caught up in a whirlwind of "what comes next". I go through this emotion quite regularly. It's cyclical I think, I plan a month or so, feel great while embarking on that month or so, and then feel a little bit lost again when that part is over and nothing certain lies ahead. It's like I appreciate and am comfortable with where I am, and then suddenly, I am no longer. All  while I meditate at yoga, time and time again, to just be present and satisfied. Plan, yes a little, think, yes, a lot. But just be satisfied. Be grateful, be loving, be here, now. 

I'm heading out next Tuesday for the North Coast of New South Wales, which sure sounds like it is full of souls searching, souls finding, and souls living sustainably! I'm going to live for a couple weeks at a permaculture style hobbie/vegetable farm. I'll be living in the host's caravan, cooking and eating and working with them in the garden, and on a number of sustainable building projects that they have going on on their property! I'm looking forward to it. I will take my bicycle along, and do some riding in the area while I'm up there, hopefully exploring Lismore, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Mullumbimby and Brisbane. Perhaps I will ride southbound, and stay at another farm en route back to Sydney for the beginning of June, for I am, achem, returning to Canada on June 12! I can hardly believe it, but I will have to bid farewell to the absolute normalcy, pleasure and comfort of seeing Krista and Tua each day, and be surely shocked back home into Ontario, nearly a year late from when I left it. Jeez, life is a beautiful, precious, loving, whirlwind...

 Sydney Opera House by night, photo taken from up on the harbour bridge

 The family in Australia, Krista, me, Anthony, Tua, with a Rick Lawrence original peaking out on photo left!

Me at the North Head lookout in Sydney Harbour National Park on a looong ride with Brian