Blonde on a Road Trip

I had a bit of a lazy morning this morning and dozed and dozed until about 7:45/8 because I could! I knew Michael would either be at the gym or heading to work, so I wouldn’t be disturbing him. Anyway, when I did eventually get up, he offered to make me a smoothie, which I simply couldn’t refuse.

I wanted to try and brave one of the national parks today, but for that I’d need Michael’s car, which I hadn’t yet ventured out in on my own. So he very kindly offered for me to give him a lift to the station a few stations down the line to see how I got on in the car. At least he’d be there if something was tricky! So we drove to Chatswood and everything went fine, apart from the initial Austin Powers scene of me trying to manoeuvre his car out of the tight underground garage space.

I safely brought the car back in one piece and then went back up to the flat to make myself some breakfast and pack my bag for a hike.

Michael had mentioned West Head Lookout, which sounded promising, as lookouts always are, especially on sunny days like today. It was about a 40-minute drive north of Lindfield through the morning traffic. The highway is mostly two lanes here, maybe three if there’s a left turn coming up, which simplifies things somewhat.

Anyway, I navigated my way up to Ku-ring-gai National Park and explained to the lady at the gate that I have an annual pass (I don’t but Michael does, so it’s registered to his car) and she waved me through, no dramas. I parked up at Resolute Picnic Area, made use of the facilities and set off down the road towards West Head Lookout.

On the walk down, while the track itself may have been a boring road, the sounds from the trees were anything but. It sounded like monkeys, but was in fact just kookaburras laughing. It’s quite an unusual sound. Every time I tried to record it, they stopped, so I have no footage, but Google “kookaburra laughing” and you’ll see what I mean about monkeys!

The view was pretty amazing and pictures don’t do it justice. It was nice to be away from any car engines and just surrounded by the blue sea in almost every direction.

I had my trusty new hiking boots on and I’m glad I did as it was quite steep in places and the extra grip was welcome!

The paths were pretty clear and it was obvious if you’d strayed from them, because you were confronted with bush and the terrifying prospect of meeting a snake. I made my way down the hill to West Head Beach, which looked to be quite peaceful.

Once I got to the bottom of the steep hill, conscious that I’d have to climb back up it shortly… I took my hot boots off and went for a very refreshing paddle. The water and sand were so soft and it felt absolutely delightful. I kind of wished I’d brought my swimming costume so I could go fully in. It was a very peaceful beach, so I took a minute to sit down and catch up on my diary.

I admired the lovely beach and the forest behind it, which I’d just walked through to get down to the sand.

I eventually mustered up the courage to climb back up the hill to meet the path for the Resolute Track, which should loop me back to the car park.

As usual, the climb up the hill was worth it for the view, with the luscious turquoise water peeping between the trees.

As the walk continued, it became clear that it was going to be an uphill battle, with very little reprieve and no flat breaks. Where there weren’t steps, it was just plain incline walking or rocks. And all the while, I was concentrating hard on the ground in front of me, desperate not to meet a snake.

Once up at the top, the track was quite simple and made for a nice change in incline.

Once you get to the top, there are lovely views and some information about aboriginal engravings/carvings, but I couldn’t see them on the ground anywhere.

Once I’d made it back to the car, I had worked up quite a hunger and my leftover Pocket Pizza was calling to me from within the Tupperware I’d brought it in. I didn’t really want to sit in the car park and eat it there, so I looked up somewhere nice nearby to enjoy it with a view.

I settled on McCarrs Creek Reserve, which turned out to be very peaceful, with crystal clear water passing by.

After demolishing my delicious pizza, which had come to room temperature nicely in the hot car, I headed back to Lindfield to have a shower and get ready to meet Michael in central Sydney for drinks with a few people.

The bar we’d originally arranged to meet at was closed for a function, so we went to a place called Paragon instead, and that had a cool rooftop bar and was very busy with the post-Friday drinks posse.

We met Michael’s colleague Sharanya and a fellow Brit called Alex, who she’d met on a plane. We had a few drinks with them and then we made our excuses as our plan was to catch the sunset from the ferry out of Sydney marina.

We got the ferry to Rose Bay and back (for free?!) without tapping out on the Sydney tap-in/tap-out Oyster system.

For dinner, we’d considered steaks but I know I can get a great steak back in Devon, but maybe not a decent Korean meal, so we went to Chatswood and had Korean fried chicken with various other accoutrements. Bellies full, we went back home for chocolate and tea, and then bed!

15,677 steps covered.