Salamander Bay - 2009

We were all a bit hesitant to commit to the Salamander Bay excursion because the weather had been so bad that our local golf coure had been closed. More heavy rain was predicted for Tuesday so it was not looking good. In the end we all decided that we wouild go anyway & see what happens.

As it turned out the weather fined up and we were able to get a game on Muree Golf Course on Tuesday even though we had to use push carts. On Wednesday we managed to get onto Horizons Course with electric carts as long as we stayed on thr paths. On Thursday it was a hot sunny day so we played Horizons Golf Course again as we had enjoyed the previous day. The Dunes Golf Course was too wet to play so Muree was a good substitute.

Our accommodation was at the Colonial Ridge Resort at Salamander Bay. It was a very suitable place where we could share units for a very reasonable cost of $125 per couple for a three day stay. The units had two large bedrooms, a good size kitchen, laundry & lounge room. The only down side was that there was only one bathroom/toilet which is inconvenient for 4 adults that all need to be ready for golf at the same time. However for the cost it was very good value. There were BBQ facilities, a nice swimming pool & tennis courts on th complex.

We had a couple of evening meals at Soldiers Point Bowling Club and a Chinese Meal at the "Oceanic" Chinese Restaurant at Salamander Bay. All were good value.

We all enjoyed the three day stay & managed to fit in an excursion morning to Nelsons Bay before golf on Wednesday & tried out the famous "Red Ned's" pies. We were very lucky with the weather and we were very happy that we were able to play the three days of golf as planned.

Leura - 2009

Making our way home from Katoomba on a wet and gloomy day we stopped off at Leura which is the next town along the highway. All the Blue Mountain towns are still very quaint in their presentation - some of the shops are like time has stood still. I enjoyed a walk through the shops and made the mistake of looking in the Alpaca Shop which had some beautiful clothing. Some eleven years ago, while in New Zealand, my son bought a jumper made from Alpaca wool and it is still in pristine condition today. That justified my purchase of a cardigan and vest - on special of course. It was a nice stop off and a coffee later we left refreshed to carry on through Wentworth Falls, Lawson, Hazelbrook, Woodford, Faulconbridge & Springwood - then it was back to reality & city traffic in the rain.

Jenolan Caves - 2009

We left Katoomba in very thick fog and made our way to the Jenolan Caves via Medlow Bath, Blackheath, Mt. Victoria before turning off at Hartley for the last 48 klms to the caves. When the fog did lift at the bottom of the mountains we could see just how dry the area was. Everything was very browned off and in need of rain.

The Jenolan Caves were never on my "Things to do" list as I had seen them in my youth sometime. I distinctly remember going there at some time but so far back it is a very distant memory.

I arrived with an open mind as we had no other alternatives for the day so we opted for the "River Walk" which is a two hour experience climbing 1,298 steps. This walk is quite beautiful because we passed still pools of crystal clear water that had the most beautiful reflections and also had three of the largest crystal formations in the Jenolan's and also included the awesome Minaret formation. My small digital camera could not capture the beauty or the impact of being close to these formations.

Previously I have been to Europe and looked in awe at things that were a couple of thousand years old and thought to myself how young our country of Australia is.

I was amazed to find that these caves are now thought to be 340 million years old and are the oldest open cave system in the world. Until 20 years ago most scientists thought that the Jenolan Caves were no more than a few thousand year old. Last year a fossilised bone was found that proved to be between 20,000 and 40,000 years old.

I was quite taken back with this news and was very happy that this day had happened by default. I would recommend this experience to everyone who is agile enough to manage the steps and stairs in sometimes slippery circumstances. While we were in the caves our guide turned out all the lights and left us in inky darkness that was quite chilling. I don't know how the early explorers of the caves managed to do it. The river water was an incredible aqua blue and crystal clear and with clever lighting the managers of the caves have produced an awesome effect.

Put this on your things to do list!