A country drive to Gunning and Gundaroo – New South Wales – Australia – December 2021

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Country driving, Gundaroo, Gunning, New South Wales, Telegraph Hotel Gunning

Just before the end of 2021, I decided to take a day road trip to two nearby country towns. I really enjoy taking these short road trips especially to places I have not been, and then again I enjoy revisiting some places because there is always more to see.

My first stop was the small town of Gunning about an hour’s drive from my home and located on the Old Hume Highway in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. In the past, every truck, actually every vehicle, travelling between Sydney and Melbourne would have to drive through the town. Today it is a chic small town bypassed by the highway which means that the historic buildings in the main street – the court house, post office and other historic buildings can be visited without any interruption from heavy traffic.

I had never visited Gunning so had a couple of places I wanted to see when I arrived. I parked at the start of the main street and went for a walk. My first stop was Pye Cottage which is now a museum (entry by appointment) and as I peeked inside the windows say it was appointed with period pieces and photographs of significant people and events of the local district.

I really enjoy walking around the streets of places I visit looking at the homes which is just what I did whilst in Gunning. Such lovely old homes and beautiful gardens including some very interesting fake sheep and flamingoes in one!

I find the main street in any country town really special, I think it’s because there are so many sweet cafes, pubs and buildings that are so different to those you find in the city. Gunning didn’t disappoint! The Telegraph Hotel had wonderful art on its side walls, the cafes were so inviting with wonderful dishes on their menus and there were beautifully restored homes along the street. Fabulous!!

And as I was walking back to my car, I saw the only motel in the town near the river reminding me of motels I have stayed at many years ago. I did see a beautiful hand-made box containing an array of books. This ‘library’ allows people to take a book to read and/or leave one for someone else to read. I love this concept.

My drive through Gundaroo was actually on the way back to Canberra and I know the small town quite well as have been to there on two previous occasions for lunch at Grazing an award winning restaurant located in the beautifully restored 1865 Royal Hotel and…it only has one small main street with not much else to do.

I did park the car on the side of the road to take some photos of the lovely old buildings and of the police station with its picket fence and climbing pink roses. It’s no longer in use by the police but was for some 78 years before it closed in 1935.

It was then I saw another car pulled over down a small street and the driver was out taking photos…I wondered what this driver was photographing so drove down and saw she was taking photos of a large field with fresh grass hay, newly baled. I just love seeing fields of hay, well fields of anything really but especially love the look of bales of hay; they looked so beautiful just sitting there waiting to be collected to sell for farm animal feed I expect.

Time to head home but not before one more stop as I saw another old home with a sign advising that it was Sally Paskins Store which by the look of it was not open anymore. There was a sign on the front door but I didn’t cross the road to read but I do wonder who Sally Paskins’ was and what she sold in her little store. I can only imagine it would of been a gorgeous building back in the day but also today it looks so in character with other lovely homes and building along Gundaroo’s main street.

Weekend trip to Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – December 2021

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Barrangaroo, Darling Harbour, Hamilton the musical, New South Wales, Otto Restaurant, Sydney, travelling with friends, Walsh Bay, Wooloomooloo

Yay…a couple of weeks ago I went on my first plane trip in nearly over a year…I bought tickets to see Hamilton the musical at Darling Harbour. I went with a friend I met about two years ago and who I immediately formed a bond. I booked a two bedroom apartment within walking distance of Darling Harbour, which is a harbour and pedestrian area adjacent to the city of Sydney.

When we arrived in Sydney, we took a taxi to our accomodation then went for a walk around the city and did a touch of shopping. It clearly has been some time since I have been to Sydney as now there is a fully functioning tram running throughout the city. I actually don’t mind the tram running through the city as there are no longer cars, trucks etc in the town centre.

We walked back to Darling Harbour and enjoyed a meal and glass of wine at one of the restaurants where we had a view over the harbour which is particularly lovely at night. We also had great views of the new Crown Casino owned by Crown Resorts who have other casinos in Melbourne and Perth and also throughout other parts of the world.

Our next morning we woke early and went for a lovely walk through Darling Harbour, Barrangaroo and Walsh Bay. Barrangaroo is a former container terminal and now is another waterfront precinct with high-rise apartments, commercial office space, shops, cafes and restaurants. We walked along the waterfront with views of our Harbour Bridge which I think is particularly beautiful and a structure I never tire of seeing.

We walked for about an hour or so to Walsh Bay, historically a working port but now regarded as a major arts precinct with its theatre, restaurants, hotel and at the time we visited, a public sculpture exhibition. And at this time of the year a huge Christmas tree with the Harbour Bridge as its backdrop.

We walked along the boardwalk for a little while checking out the sculptures then did a u-turn to return to Barrangaroo to find somewhere to have a late breakfast.

At Walsh Bay, I do love the old but refurbished coloured timber clad cargo sheds along the waterfront.

We found a lovely cafe at Barrangaroo (Wild Sage) and sat inside as by this time it had gotten a little windy and the high-rise buildings blocked out the sun so it was definitely too cold to sit outside. Barrangarro has lovely small streets, painted windows and painted flower boxes; all adding to the ambience of the place.

At the Wild Sage cafe I ordered sourdough toast, mushrooms and a hash brown along with a pot of peppermint tea. My friend Rosi ordered sourdough toast with Haloumi cheese, mushrooms and a side of salmon along with a cup of coffee.

Everywhere in Sydney we were required to wear our face masks, sign into venues using the QR code and show our vaccination certificates. I don’t have a problem with this really for short periods but my face got very warm wearing it for three hours during the musical..it was worth it though as Hamilton was a fantastic musical; so energetic, funny and definitely worth seeing.

Our dinner that evening was at a fabulous restaurant at the Woolloomooloo harbour front precinct. I had booked a very early sitting at Otto Ristorante, again with lovely views of the harbour and apartments and boats of people who have much more money than me! One of our famous movie stars, Russell Crowe, has an apartment here (probably one of the penthouses) said to be worth many millions of dollars.

The restaurant is one where you can ‘people watch’ as there are many restaurants along the boardwalk and people are forever walking up and down; just a lovely place to relax and wish you owned one of the fabulous moored boats.

Otto has a separate vegan menu which is quite extensive. I started with the zucchini flowers filled with cashew nut cheese with a tomato and pine nut pesto. Rosi ordered the raw Abrolhos Island scallops, Sturgeon Black River caviar with cream and lemon oil. Service and presentation at this restaurant is top notch! Our sommelier suggested an Australian Riesling which was very good. House made bread arrives as soon as you are seated with olive oil and balsamic. I could eat this all night as the bread is just so fresh and crusty.

For our main course I ordered the risotto with spinach and garlic whilst Rosi ordered the saffron linguine, Goolwa pipis, southern calamari, bottarga with dill and basil leaves. We also ordered a dish or heirloom tomatoes and basil. I love the food at this restaurant, it’s always beautifully presented and tastes so good. No dessert on this occasion as both of us were just too full.

Time to return to the apartment, watch a little television and return to Canberra the next morning. What a truly great weekend!!

A morning trip to Yass – New South Wales – Australia – November 2021

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Bowning, Country driving, Linton Manor, New South Wales, Rollonin Cafe, Yass

As I have mentioned before, I try to visits different towns and cities around the Canberra region because at the moment travel overseas is not viable. My recent trip was to a town called Yass which is about a forty-five minute drive from my home making it a quick and easy return day trip. The name Yass, as I read on-line appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, “Yarrh”, said to mean ‘running water’, well it’s one of the meanings on offer anyway.  So after reading this, I decided one of the first places I should visit was the Yass River. There is a cement pathway which runs alongside the river which makes a walk easy as it’s also flat. The river is very dirty, I guess this is from the huge amount of rain we have had of late, but still pretty to see with lovely lush green grass and trees alongside and a gorgeous railway bridge which was built in 1892 and used to carry the Yass Town Tramway across the river.

My next stop was the main street where I parked the car and walked up one side, crossed over and walked down the other checking out all the stores. Homeware shops are plentiful with sweet displays out the front of the store like the bicycle with cyclamens in its basket. I do love the flowers in the main streets of country towns and the pink roses between the footpath and the road at each roundabout were so pretty…and like everywhere I guess, you will find the more modern shops like this take-away shop that is a necessity but doesn’t really add to the beauty of a country town…complete with plastic walk-through strips at the front door!

Homes have been restored beautifully in the main street and now host cafes and other businesses.

There are also many restored buildings like the old Soldiers Memorial Hall and one which has been converted into a medical practice. It was good to read that the derelict Commercial Hotel has been purchased by a Canberra based syndicate with plans to refurbish; should be lovely!

It was then time to stop somewhere for lunch and I had heard about a lovely home converted into a cafe in the town of Bowning which is a short drive of around ten minutes from Yass. The drive was mainly on the highway which made it easy and the town is easy to locate albeit very small with a population of just under 600. First building I came across was what appeared to be the only store in Bowning which is a petrol station, post office and I guess general store. I hopped out of the car to see if it was open but only saw a ‘for sale’ sign with no movement inside. A lovely sign welcoming me to Bowning though!

I then noticed a little bus stop next to the garage where parts had been painted and another one nearby which I am guessing was painted by the local children as it was situated outside the school with childlike paintings. Very sweet!

I found the Rollonin Cafe easily but unfortunately it is not open Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays which was really unfortunate as the menu options look great and the building and gardens are just gorgeous. I would of loved to taken a stroll around the gardens.

Back in the car and I had one final stop in Yass which was Linton Manor. On the way I thought I was taking a short cut but reached a dead-end street, luckily for me though as I came up to an overflowing dam and beautiful fast flowing river and then a rock wall which I found truly striking.

I finally made it to Linton Manor and there is a reason I wanted to see this old homestead. Recently I watched a renovation show on tv and the team was restoring a home in Yass which was Linton Manor. The owners at the time of the restoration said that Linton Manor was built in 1857 and originally owned by a sheep baron. The owners over the years had tried to restore the property and had spent a couple of million dollars trying to do just that, but I guess with 45 rooms, stables, additional accomodation and a ballroom your money can only go so far and that is why the renovation show was called in. The home wasn’t totally restored but obviously well enough as it finally sold after being on the market for ten years.

By this time I was ready for my drive home and as I was leaving Yass, I noticed a public rest room painted with an Aboriginal theme which looked so lovely. A great few hours out of Canberra!

A day visit to Jugiong – New South Wales – Australia – October 2020

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Jugiong, Lunch with friends, New South Wales

We have been in Lockdown here in Canberra for nearly six weeks’ and will continue for another three weeks’ until 15 October; well hopefully that will be our end date! So whilst I can’t leave the ACT or travel very far from my home, I have been looking at old photos of places I have been lucky enough to visit. One place is a lovely little country town called Jugiong which is located on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River about an hour and half drive from Canberra. The drive is mainly highway but once you veer off towards Jugiong, there are lovely homes and interesting sculptures on the road.

Such a gorgeous little township which has a population of around 150 people. I think its major draw card is The Sir George hotel which is the main reason we visited. We had booked lunch but had left Canberra early so that I could take a walk around the town; must say this only took about half an hour but the shops were really sweet with lots to buy.

Our first stop was the Long Track Jam Factory, a lovely little store that sold…well jams…but also a range of condiments, tea towels and kitchen utensils. I love raspberry jam so bought a jar along with a few other condiments because you can never have enough condiments!

Our next stop was the Long Track Cafe & Pantry followed by the Lickety Splits Gelato Bar. Whilst I didn’t buy anything from the gelato bar, I certainly did buy a few items from the pantry including chocolates for friends and a few household items for myself.

It was then time for lunch. Our walk only took us two minutes but arriving at this beautifully restored hotel was something wonderful. We took a quick walk around the grounds and smelt the purple wisteria and checked out the barns which are available to stay overnight.

We ate lunch inside the restored 1852 stone pub as the courtyard was already booked. But I wasn’t disappointed as the interior was so lovely. We started off with a bottle of bubbles and I ordered a medley of vegetables and the boys ordered a haloumi burger which came with thick chips and a salmon dish with a pesto dressing and vegetables.

After our lunch we walked a little more around the grounds where we met a few of the resident goats and enjoyed fabulous views of the local countryside.

Once we had spent enough time walking the grounds our last stop was the Jugiong Wine Cellar which sells great local wines. My friends bought some sparkling as had previously tasted and loved.

Then it was time to drive home…a great afternoon visiting local areas and being able to contribute to the local community is great as well as spending time with my dear friends Wayne and Jef.

Lark Hill Winery – Bungendore – New South Wales – Australia – March 2021

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Australia, Lark Hill Winery, New South Wales, Reisling, Smith's Gap Quarry

There is extremely limited travel from Australia, I think we can only pop over to New Zealand and that takes a bit of planning to ensure you don’t have to isolate in either country. So of late I have taken to setting aside a day during the week to either drive somewhere or take a long walk.

A couple of months ago I drove about a half hour out of Canberra as for such a long time I have wanted to visit Lark Hill Winery and also when I have driven past, on occasions I have seen cars parked at the side of the road nearby and people jumping in what looked like a big pond, so definitely wanted to see exactly what this was.

I did a little bit of research and found it was part of part of any old quarry but not sure what was mined there. It is used for swimming these days however some people on-line say not to swim as the water is heavily contaminated. But there is a sign telling people not to dive so guess it must be ok to swim?

I then hopped back into my car and drove to the winery. I always enjoy country drives as the scenery is just lovely, and I don’t think it matters where you are, or which country you are in; it’s all rather lovely!

I hadn’t been to Lark Hill Winery before but have enjoyed a glass or two of their Riesling. Animal products are not used in the refining process which means it’s a vegan wine; hence my love of it. But back to the winery, it’s very sweet with a lovely area outdoor area where I can imagine buying a glass of wine in summer and sitting outside relaxing with friends.

I went into the Cellar Door and was greeted by the owner’s son Chris, and decided to try the Chardonnay and then was offered a sip of the 2020 Riesling which Chris took straight from the barrel; delicious. I bought two bottles of Riesling and a bottle of Chardonnay as I had a friend arriving that evening who only drinks Chardonnay. Prices really were not any different to those in bottle shops, maybe a little difference in price, but anyway I love the idea of buying from the actual winery…just seems nicer.

On the way home I stopped off at a couple of typical country roads to check out the animals in the paddocks and the letterboxes that are placed on the side of the road. There are some inventive letterbox owners out there; one was attached to a surfboard and another is a sink. I understand having all the letterboxes in the same place makes life much easier for the ‘postie’ who doesn’t have to drive along long unpaved roads to deliver the mail. I love seeing them whatever the reason.

Visiting Orange – New South Wales – Australia – October 2020

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Ferment wines, New South Wales, Orange, Rosnay Winery, Sweet Sour Salt Restaurant, travelling with friends

Orange is a city in the central tablelands region of New South Wales and just over a three hour drive from Canberra. So late last year my two friends and I decided to take a road trip and spend a few days looking around and injecting some money into a place that like many others has done it tough during Covid.

We stayed at a really lovely Airbnb, my favourite form of accomodation these days with a courtyard out the back where we enjoyed breakfast in the mornings and wine and snacks in the afternoons.

Our first evening, my friend Naomi had booked a local restaurant called Sweet Sour Salt with Asian inspired cuisine and an interesting atmosphere with dim lighting, dramatic wall art and upside down chairs hanging from the ceiling.

The restaurant has dispensed with the al-a-carte menu and offers three set menus. One of those was plant based and food was really good especially the red curry eggplant with bamboo and tofu; absolutely delicious!

Only thing that wasn’t good on the night was the local vegan wine; tasted like old socks! Even Mandy and Naomi when they tasted it thought similar.

The next day after a long walk around the city checking out the historic home which are all restored beautifully, we popped into a cafe for lunch. Birdie Noshery & Drinking Est offers tapas, cocktails, wine, beers etc. But we started off with a hot beverage. The peppermint tea arrived in a glass teapot with a gorgeous brightly coloured cup and saucer. I loved the posters and prints on the walls inside the cafe. It really was a lovely place to sit for a couple of hours, which we did.

Well…we started off with tea and coffees but then of course considering it was a wine bar we enjoyed a couple of glasses of Aussie sparkling wine. Whilst Mandy and Naomi shared a few tapas dishes mainly meat and seafood, I ordered a vegan plate which arrived with lots of anti-pasta and olives, which I don’t like at all but the girls enjoyed them. It was a really nice couple of hours, eating, drinking and chatting.

On our way back to our Airbnb, we stopped off at Ferment Wine Centre in the centre of town where we had booked another wine tasting, I think it was $10 per person. I asked the elderly man who greeted us at the door if he had any vegan wines. He really didn’t know but proceeded to tell me why wines are vegan (which of course I know)…so that’s five minutes of my life I will never get back. He was also supposed to pour our tastings and tell us something about the actual wines but he saw someone he knew so went to give her a huge hug and left us for most of our hour on our own… and failed to tell us anything. We were a bit annoyed but then the girls took full advantage of this and just poured their own wines and considering we weren’t driving, they poured with a heavy hand. I think they got their $10 worth!

We stayed two nights in Orange and on our way back to Canberra, we stopped off at Rosnay winery. We had booked a wine tasting the evening before on-line and Naomi had tasted this wine before and said it was very good and a plus is that it is organic. Now this was a great wine tasting. We sat outside and enjoyed wines with the owner who really was a character. We had quite a few laughs listening to the history of his winery and his other antics and enjoyed some snacks too including figs which are also grown on his land.

The winery grounds were quite beautiful and after our tasting we each bought sparkling, rose and white wines along with fig preserve, marinated preserved figs and glazed figs; all I still have in my cupboard. I find I buy these things because they taste good on the day but then never end up eating them. – so now I really must enjoy them with friends over a glass or two of wine. Perhaps the wine I bought from this winery!

It’s really nice to get out and about in Australia and makes it even nicer when I can enjoy time with my friends!

Canola Fields – New South Wales – Australia – September 2020

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Australia, Canola fields, day out with friends, Harden-Murrumburrah, New South Wales

A few Sunday’s ago, my friends and I took a day trip out of Canberra to see the Canola fields on the way to lunch in a town called Harden-Murrumburrah in New South Wales.

Whilst living in China and during my travels, I have seen similar fields but of Rapeseeds; mostly they were not in full bloom as it was not at the right time of the year. On this particular day here in Australia the flowers were in full bloom so the yellow colour was vibrant; unfortunately the weather wasn’t at its best and grey clouds loomed over us nearly the whole day.

As we were driving, we would stop every few kilometres as we would see fields either close by the road or in the distance and hopped out of the car to take (too many) photos.

I loved the contrast of the green fields and the Canola and the Canola fields alongside country roads – my favourite!

We stopped at a country pub in Murrumburrah and whilst there were no vegan dishes, I ate my ‘go to’ bowl of chips, it was a nice experience to sit down and relax over a glass of wine with my friends Wayne and Jef.

The owner, after we told her we were looking for the Canola fields, gave us directions to where she said were the best fields. We took her advise and drove the loop before heading home. It was worth the extra twenty-minutes or so as the sun was trying its best to make its way out of the clouds which gave us better opportunities for photos.

I intend to do quite a bit more full-day and weekend-long trips (a bit like my blogging friend Marion at her lovetravelling blog) as it’s a great way for me to pursue my love of travel whilst Australia’s current domestic and international travel restrictions are in place.

Southern Highlands – New South Wales – Australia – June 2020

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Australia, Bowral, Ethos Restaurant, Links House, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, travelling with friends, Vegan wine

A lovely overnight trip out of Canberra

Finally…we can travel…well domestically anyway.  My friend and I decided to drive about two hours out of Canberra to a beautiful area of New South Wales called the Southern Highlands which is also considered a wine region.  My lovely friend Sharon booked us a couple of rooms at Links House in Bowral.  Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is known for its antique shops, cafes, house & garden stores and expensive homes similar to other areas in the Southern Highlands.

We had a nice drive; I drove and we chatted about anything and everything and before we knew it, we had arrived at our hotel.  Links House has a lovely frontage.  It was built in 1928 as a country guesthouse and still has all the charm of that era and style.  We drove up the side lane and parked the car and walked into the hotel.  We were greeted by the owner who offered us a small glass of locally made port. Sharon indulged but because I don’t like red wine I declined.  We were shown our rooms which were lovely with a country style; heated, clean and most importantly; a comfortable bed!We spent the next hour or so with a friend and his family in their beautiful home; an old schoolhouse – and so beautifully decorated.  No photos unfortunately as didn’t think it appropriate to be snapping at the home of people I have only just met!!!  Then Sharon, David and I went out to lunch at Centennial Vineyards, a local winery, located in the same suburb as our hotel (but more on that in an upcoming post).

That evening Sharon and I decided to eat at our hotel at Ethos restaurant as it was rather cold outside and we had a busy day driving/eating/chatting and meeting new friends.  We met in the lounge area of our hotel which had a lovely fire and comfortable chairs.

source: courtesy of the internet

I arrived early to the lounge area so ordered a glass of wine.  As most of you will know I am vegan (over two years now) but something you might not know is it’s only been the last two months that I have decided to only drink vegan wine.  This means that any wine that has used egg white/fish or gelatine as a finishing agent (stops the clouding of the wine) I won’t drink.

source:  courtesy of the internet

 

I asked whether there were any vegan wines available and was told there was only one which was a rosé.  I am not a red wine or rosé drinker but the owner said this wine was very light and offered me a taste.  I took a small sip and it certainly was very light so ordered a glass.  By this time Sharon had arrived and after a few minutes we moved into the restaurant.  I ordered a mushroom risotto which the chef made vegan and Sharon ordered the pumpkin soup with truffle oil and home made grain bread.  Both very good dishes with lovely fresh local produce.By this time we were feeling a little tired so moved back into the lounge area near the fire for a chat before heading off to our rooms where I promptly fell straight asleep.

The next morning, I woke up early to see the sun rising and hopped out of bed to take a walk around the local area to check out the expensive homes.My walk took about an hour and whilst it was hard to see many of the homes from the street (I am definitely one of those people who loves to peer into other people’s homes!!), I could see driveways and parts of homes along from the footpath.The gardens were beautifully maintained also and one even had little ducks walking along the grass; very country I must say.Bowral has always been a place I would love to live but unfortunately now it’s way out of my price range…ah well it’s a lovely place to visit overnight or even for a few days.We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then it was time to check out and head back to Canberra.  On our way home we stopped at another country town called Mittagong to look at the shops – I love the stores selling all things fabulous like facial creams/soaps and candles – a little bit expensive but gorgeous.  Sharon and I ended up buying a few things in one particular shop and I bought a present for my friends Ray and Nat who helped look after my dogs whilst I was away.  I bought them a jigger – now I had no idea it was called this but you might, it’s the stainless steel measuring cup used to measure alcoholic spirits…so I learnt something (mindless) whilst away.  We also went into a fabulous bread shop.  I must say I love good bread but whilst I didn’t buy any bread I did buy an Indian vegan pie to take home which I have since eaten and it was very good; great pastry!So as you can see we had a lovely time away and as it’s so close to Canberra it’s an easy place to visit regularly.  I must return soon!

Grazing Restaurant – Gundaroo – New South Wales – Australia – August 2018

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Australia, Grazing restaurant, Gundaroo, Lunch with friends, New South Wales, Royal Hotel

Second visit to an old pub near Canberra

About a half hour drive north from my home in Canberra is a lovely old town called Gunning which is located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales.  The town has a population of just over 600 people and located inside the historic and refurbished 1865 Royal Hotel is a lovely restaurant called Grazing.  The restaurant serves decent size portions of food, made with fresh seasonal organic and local ingredients along with an extensive list of Canberra District wines.It’s a lovely drive to the township through country farms and bushland.  We arrived a little early and took the opportunity to walk along the main street and pop into a couple of stores.  Then it was time for eating (yay)…we were seated in the main part of the restaurant; there are smaller more private rooms but usually for more than six or so people.The meals were as good as they were on my previous visit.  We started off with a salmon pate on crisp bread which I declined but my friends thoroughly enjoyed.  I ordered a risotto which the chef was happy to make vegan.  It arrived with Jerusalem artichoke and greens; beautifully presented and delicious.  One of my friends ordered the original risotto made with braised lentils, Wagu beef cheek, Jerusalem artichoke, chestnut and truffle dressing.Also ordered was the Barramundi which was oven roasted and came with curried celeriac and crab crust, buttered cabbage and fennel velouté.  And we shared the baked eggplant with miso glaze, blackened Baba Ghanoush, sesame and labneh.  Again I must say all the meals were beautifully presented.We also ordered a couple of other dishes but looking at them now I genuinely cannot remember what they are well apart from the Brussel sprout dish; guess it’s such a long time ago and the dishes are not still on the Grazing on-line menu.Gunning is a lovely little town to visit and Grazing is especially worth a visit with good friends.

 

Ulladulla & Braidwood – New South Wales – Australia – June 2019

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Abion cafe, Australia, Braidwood, dining with friends, Mollymook Golf Club, New South Wales, Ulladulla, whale watching

A weekend away down the south coast trying to spot whales!

I have known my friend Lyn for over thirty-five years so when she moved back to Australia from Canada I promised I would visit when they had built their new home.  It’s exactly what I did a couple of weekends ago.  The drive from Canberra to Ulladulla is exactly two and a half hours and is very pleasant.

I arrived around 3pm and after a look around their beautiful home and garden we sat on the balcony enjoying a glass of bubbles whilst looking over the ocean hoping to catch a glimpse of a whale.  The girls did but unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to put on my glasses so no sighting for me.

Our first night we had dinner at a lovely casual Japanese restaurant.  I don’t usually like Japanese food but the tofu was very good.  The girls loved their meals though and intend to make this restaurant one of their favourites.

 The next morning we took a lovely walk with the dogs; through bushland and along the beachfront where the dogs jumped immediately into the water.  It was about twenty-one degrees so no need for big jackets and gloves like I have to wear at the moment in Canberra.

The girls had booked a table for lunch overlooking the ocean at the Mollymook Golf Club but before we went there, we went to the local lighthouse where we walked along a pathway of interesting trees and shrubs to arrive at a viewing platform to see the ocean.The views from inside the golf club were also very beautiful and it was here I saw my first whale (well a spout of water and a side fin) and a mum dolphin and her baby.  Very exciting but no photos as it was too quick a sighting.I really had a great few days with the girls as they are such great company and it was so nice to stay in their fabulous newly built home, but it was time to leave.   I decided to stop at a lovely historic country town on the way home called Braidwood.  I parked up one end of the main street and walked up and down both sides to check out all the shops and pick a nice cafe for lunch.  There are some beautiful old buildings but wow it was so incredibly cold.I decided on a warm and cosy cafe called Abion which was so pretty inside with its fresh vegetables on display as well as old aluminium cans and tins amongst many other things.I ordered a really delicious coconut, sweet potato and split pea soup with a pot of peppermint tea and of course a small bowl of chips and sat on the old wooden bench before an old wooden table!  A lovely environment to eat lunch on such a cold day.And on the way back to my car I walk past more historic buildings and some street art next to a sign showing people their dogs cannot poop in the street!