08/31 - Mandu Mandu

We've seen drier country. There were leaves on the plants and even a few trees taller than the lower plants around them. There were birds and flowers as one might expect in early spring. We made it to the Mandu Mandu parking area and started along the trail a bit. According to the maps, the trail would soon descend, and we were not keen on descending. We were getting tired, and descending meant that we would have to climb back out.

We took the easy version of the walk. Those more adventurous might have headed up the river at Mandu Mandu, but were were more than satsified.

08/30 - Goodbye to Ningaloo Reef

08/29 - Flight to Learmouth

We spotted a whale or two and circled about for better views. Then we headed south and then east across the peninsula to the big airport, the one with amenities like a terminal building and drinking water.

08/28 - Redgate Beach

Our first hike on our first day started at Redgate, a wild sandy beach south of where we were staying. The scenery was spectacular, but we only got so far. There had been recent rains, so the little stream that ran over the beach and met the tides was in full flow and too deep for us to wade. We backtracked, and our guide turned to plan B.

08/27 - Plan B: Canto Campground

As we made our way inland, we climbed a bit, then the heavens opened. Rain poured. The pattern we observed in West Australia was for very intense rain starting suddenly then slowly tapering off and and ending. We had a very wet five or ten minutes. Luckily, we had our raincoats. We trudged on through the rain. The ground grew wet and puddles formed. Then the rain lightened and turned into a drizzle before stopping completely.

08/26 - Plantagenet

08/25 - Lake Cave

Lake Cave was one of many, but our guide the other day, among others, recommended Lake Cave. We bought our tickets online and at the appointed time began our descent into a big hole in the ground. We walked down staircase after staircase, supposedly about 380 steps. We could look up and see the forest above, but we could also see stalactites along the edge of the hole.

We got our briefing, then we went down yet another set of stairs into darkness. There was an underground lake in the cave. There was a walkway with handrails, so we made our way along the edge of the lake. There were stalactites and stalagmites in fantastic forms all around us. We stopped to admire and let our cave guide explain things for us. Then we went further into the cave. There was a moment of darkness and then a light show with colored lights.

Having seen our fill, we returned to the surface climbing step after step from deep underground to forest level. There are at least six caves in the region, but we only had time for one. Next time.

08/24 - South From Injidup on the Cape to Cape Track

It was scrubby country with bushes and shrubs and views of the waves crashing on the shore below. We made our way to a crescent of a sandy beach. The trail tracked above it, so we had a good walking surface. Walking on sand can be exhausting.

We made it to the end of Injidup Beach, but we weren't up to hiking out on Cape Clairault. We know our limits. We considered backtracking, but we headed up and inland and walked back along Cape Clairault Road to our hotel.

08/23 - South From Injidup - Some More Stuff

08/22 - Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Then we got our first glimpse of the lighthouse. We headed onward and took a turn towards the Whale Watch lookout. We didn't expect to see whales, and we didn't see any. We descended along long wooden ramps and staircases. Then we saw the sea, angry and active beneath us. We hadn't realized quite how high up we were.

We didn't make it all the way around the lighthouse. We were a bit hiked out by now. If nothing else, every hike had included a lot of stair climbing, and some of it involved crossing sand. Still, we felt we had earned our lunch.

08/21 - North From Injidup and Farewell

We didn't get all that far, but we did get to say good bye to the amazing Cape to Cape Track. The trail passed through now familiar country, perhaps with a higher rock to shrub ratio, with great views of the wild coast.

08/20 - Bondi to Coogee Beach to Beach Walk

The trail had a lots of ups and downs. It heads up along bluffs and then down to a series of beaches, some open, sandy crescents, some in rock walled canyons. They all have well maintained facilities. It's a wonderful walk with the waves smashing into the rocks or gently rolling up the slope of a sandy beach.

08/19 - Sydney Evening Magic

For a short movie of the bridge sparkles, click here.

08/18 - Evening in Wollongong

08/17 - Spit Bridge Towards Manly

We had forgotten how much climbing up and down the trail entailed. At some points, the trail passed through an ordinary urban park. At others, it passed through wild country along eroded cliff faces above tidal flats and isolated beaches.

We didn't make it all the way to Manly. We gave up at the petroglyphs, about halfway. It had been a great walk, but we could only do so much. We made our way to a suburban street and there hailed an Uber. Amusingly, there was another pair of hikers there also waiting for their Uber. We were obviously at a popular end point for those unable to make it all the way to the Manly ferry.

08/16 - On To Lord Howe Island

Most of the flight was over water since Lord Howe Island is north and east of Sydney. We approached the island at low altitude. There were steep hills to the north and south. The lone runway ran east to west across the flat mid-section of the island. There isn't all that much flat ground on Lord Howe Island, and the short runway also limited our plane's landing weight.

The airport at Lord Howe Island had a small terminal building where we were reunited with our bags and boarded a golf cart to get to our hotel. The island speed limit is 25 kph. This isn't a big problem since the island is pretty small, and golf carts provide excellent transportation.

Once we settled in to our room, we headed out from our room and explored south along the coast. We followed the limited low lands that skirted the steep hills. There were birds and beaches and a cow or two. It was an interesting walk to say the least.

08/15 - Glass Bottom Boat

08/14 - Lord Howe Island Windy Night

08/13 - Original Settlement and Neds Beach

It was a pretty beach with some interesting birds, and the hills behind it were lush and green. The trail climbs inland and heads up into the northern hills of Lord Howe Island, but we turned around after having climbed one of the stair cases.

We drove on to Ned's Beach on the east side of the island. It's another lovely beach with a little shack where you can grab fish food if you want to wade out and feed the fishes. We weren't up to wading, but we did head out on the rocks and checked out the tide pools. There were no anemones or starfish, but the whole scene with the crashing waves and the exotic forest above us more than made up for it.

08/12 - Last Day on Lord Howe Island

There were steps on the early part of the climb, but then the trail was relatively level. We had one or two glimpses of the ocean, but for the most part our scenery was green.

08/11 - Last Day in Sydney

We had taken a taxi to the restaurant, but our waitress suggested we could just take a ferry back. Indeed, the ferry terminal was just a few blocks away through an upmarket shopping district, and there was a ferry coming in soon. We had a beautiful sunset cruise through the harbor with spectacular views of the Sydney skyline and now familiar landmarks. It was a great last evening before our long, long, long flight home.