Jervis Bay & Sydney 2010

Jervis Bay & Sydney - 2010

Our main holiday in 2010 was to Singapore and Australia. First stop Singapore for a couple of nights before flying down to Brisbane to stay with Rhondda, then Melbourne to stay with Hillie and Dave before taking ourselves off from Melbourne to Sydney, stopping at various places en route. As with earlier years, we've split the pages to make it easier to load them in.

Singapore

Brisbane & Melbourne

Metung & Tilba Tilba

Jervis Bay & Sydney

This time we've split the pages into the four places we stayed along the route from Melbourne to Sydney in case you'd like to go straight to one or the other. The first two are on the Metung and Tilba Tilba page, the second two on this page.

Jervis Bay

Sydney

Only c.200 km to drive today (Sunday) so not too bad at all. We called in at Bateman's Bay for coffee then Milton for a pie lunch. (NSW is famous for pies - very nice they were too).

We arrived safe and sound at Huskisson in Jervis Bay and stayed at the Husky Bay Motel. No real view from our room this time but the ocean is just around the corner so not too bad, especially as the first time we wandered to the sea we spotted a couple of dolphins fishing.

Our main purpose for saying in Jervis Bay was for whale watching so we booked ourselves on a trip for Monday with Dolphin Wild, enjoyed a very tasty scone at the Husky Bakery and then went back to the motel for book reading and website updating etc.

We saw a couple of mum whales with calves but they were just cruising along so nothing dramatic to photograph. We decided to try again the next day!

There was a fair bit of bird life around while we were on our trip

Anthony was our skipper and pointed out some Australasian Gannets with their yellow heads - they dive into the water like arrows.

He also showed us Murrays Beach - his favourite beach in the area.

We had to come back into harbour by 2 p.m before the ebbing tide meant that we wouldn't be able to get in.

Huskisson from the sea

This area includes an HMAS area so we spotted a helicopter doing some search and rescue training and, later, a submarine coming in to moor up

We decided to explore the area a bit in the afternoon. Lindy from Summercloud (see Tilba Tilba page) had recommended Green Patch so we started there and walked over to Bristol Point.

It was an interesting walk - across a rocky platform on the way there and then back through a wood with some sea and sand along the way.

This rock formation reminded me of a lizard type animal.

bowen island

We got a really good view of Bowens Island. Apparently Fairy Penguins live here but we couldn't see them from this far away!

Back in the car park at Green Patch and we saw Rosellas, Kangaroos and Wallabies. Not sure who was more surprised, the Wallaby in the car park or me but he hopped off into the bush.

murrays beach

From Bristol Point we drove down to Murrays Beach - very pretty in the late afternoon sun.

All the above beaches are in Booderee National Park, home to the Aboriginal people of Wreck Bay. Booderee means "plentiful bay".

The Silver Gulls on the left were meticulously scouring Murrays Beach for their tea.

Driving home we spotted this bird of prey (right) soaring about and a few other birds.

This is Jonathon being artistic!

Finally we pulled up and enjoyed the sunset before heading back to Huskisson .... and look who we found nesting in the pipes opposite our room!

Tuesday and the fine weather held so off we went on the water again. Different boat this time (still Dolphin Wild) - much faster but not so easy to spot whales from as the seats were quite low. Good fun speeding around though!

We saw a few dolphins, penguins and seals along the way but nothing was particularly close to the boat.

We also saw some gannets, shearwater (they call them Mutton Birds here) and an eagle amongst other birds

A lot of the Mutton Birds die when they get to Jervis Bay. Not sure why. They are on a long journey down to Mutton Bird island near Tasmania and it seems they just reach the end of their lives.

Because the boat was so much faster we could go outside the bay and look at the cliff formation which was interesting. The cliffs on the north side of the bay make for interesting scenery as well.

The loops on the top of these rocks were torpedo tubes. This was the first defence of Jervis Bay in earlier times.

Again, there were a few whales around (not many) but they were not doing much. No breaching etc. So ... we decided to try again the next day!

In the meantime, we spent the afternoon in Booderee National Park again - this time we started in the Botanic Gardens. These are the only Aborginal owned botanic gardens in Australia. The gardens, as part of Booderee NP, are jointly managed between the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council and the Australian Government's Director of National Parks.

The gardens cover 80 hectares and include cultivated areas surrounded by natural bushland. They were lovely to walk around in - there was a real feeling of calm.

garden

This is the Rock Garden. the Rock marks the site of Bherwerre, one of the early farms established in the Jervis Bay area at the turn of the century.

scribble gum

This type of tree is called Scribble Gum - guess you can see why.

jc & lily

The Gymea Lillies were enornous - much taller than Jonathon!

lake McKenzie

Lake McKenzie is a perched lake that is home to the long-necked turtle and seasonal bird life.

kangaroo

Not sure this visitor should have been there but someone left the main gate open!

From there we went to Iluka. The beach looked very tempting ....

... until we saw this vicious looking creature and his mates so we decided to move on! As we'd enjoyed Green Patch the day before we decided to go back there and see if the wallabies, kangaroos and rosellas were still around.

We sat and read our books a while, listening to the birds squawking around us and watching the roos.

greenpatch

The view was rather nice too.

ant

We were glad not to have met this creature while we were sitting down - it was about an inch long!

A big treat on the way home was to spot a wild Echidna - first time for me so very exciting. He didn't hang around and soon scooted into the bush when we tried to take a photo.

We just knew the sunny weather and blue skies couldn't last. Someone told us that the East Coast of Australia was having its coldest, wettest October since 1947 - we could believe it!

Wednesday and the whale watching trip wasn't scheduled until 12 noon so we had time for a quick wander around the Lady Denman museum and its grounds. A lovely place to while away an hour or two. First the Keith Moore Habitat Garden which reflects the form and habitats of Jervis Bay.

The Lady Denman Harbour Marine Reserve is a saltwater tidal enclosure containing typical estuarine and coastal species. It also attracts a wide variety of birdlife, both resident and migratory.

We only got to see one side of the museum because we ran out of time so we chose the side that houses the Lady Denman Ferry. Built in 1911 at Huskisson, worked Sydney Harbour until retirement in 1979. Returned to Huskisson in 1981 through a huge community effort. A Federation 2001 Grant enabled final relocation in the purpose built gallery.

The ferry couldn't go anywhere without an Engineer. His job was to make sure the ferry had enough power and to engage the engine in forward or reverse.

When the Master wanted to communicate with the Engineer he used the telegraph in the wheelhouse.The telegraph was connected to an "indicator" in the engine room telling the Engineer what to do.

lady denman

The ferry was huge and looked lovely in its restored condition.

lady denman

The Engineer's Station

lady denman

View out from the Ferry to the Keith Moore Habitat Garden

One of the main attractions for us was the Mangrove Boardwalk on the edge of the gardens - we weren't disappointed.

There were interesting information boards every few yards - a selection of snippets:

Grey Mangrove is the most widespread mangrove in the world and the dominant mangrove on this walk

The Estuary Food Web - Mangroves, saltmarshes, mudflats and sea grass beds form the bases of complex food webs. Together they support a wealth of life from microbes to fish and birds.

Mangroves are trees that are suited to a life in saltwater by being able to get rid of the salt an obtain oxygen for their roots.

After flowering the two types of mangrove in Jervis Bay produce seed that grows on the parent tree for 10-12 months. The "offspring" are developed and ready to grow when they fall off the tree. After foating about in the saltwater for a few days, the seedlings strand and stand themselves up.

Mangrove habitats act as an important nursery for many commercially important fish species including bream, flathead, blackfish, mullet and whiting.

Over 150 species of birds have been identified in or around the wetlands of Jervis Bay.

The muddy surface abounds with life of all shapes and sizes. The smallest are the bacteria that form pink and white patches on the mud. Slightly larger are the micro-algae that often form green patches on the surface. One of the larger animals is the Fiddlers Crab.

Sea grasses are marine flowering plants. They play a vital role in the marine environment by providing shelter and feeding areas for a wide variety of marine life.

For thousands of years Aboriginal groups occupied the Jervis Bay area, harvesting many marine animals as the major part of their food supply. The fish were speared with multi-pronged spears in the shallows or from bark canoes; sometimes at night with the aid of bark torches.

The River Mangrove found throughout Australian and Asian Mangrove ecosystems is generally a smaller shrub often with several small trunks and no peg roots.

Back on Wild Essence and off we went. First viewing was of this tiny Fairy Penguin but then we saw the telltale splash of a Humpback breaching so we headed in that direction. He was quite a long way from the boat to start with but when we got closer and switched off the engines he came to have a look at us. He swam around (and under) the boat for well over an hour, giving us a good display of all his various movements.

whale

This is what you call a full body roll!

Southern Humpbacks differ from Northern Humpbacks in that they are white underneath whereas the Northern ones are dark all over.

whale

See the lumpy bits on his back.

He did loads of tail breaching. Ernie, John and Sue, who were the team on board, thought he was a juvenile male, about 18 months old and travelling on his own for the first time. It's a long way to Antactica from Cairns so it seems he was looking for some company and we were only too pleased to be that company!

whale

Coming out from under the boat

As you can see from the photo below, he was sometimes too close to get the whole of him in the photo but it's interesting to see the scratches etc that he's picked up on his travels.

whale

Humpbacks have very long flippers which is different to a lot of other whale species. This photo shows both flippers up in the air!

whale

These are his blow holes

Coming back into harbour and the clouds looked somewhat menacing. It was only 3 p.m. and felt like night. We'd just passed a boat going out and we were glad we were heading in not out.

The storm on the other side of the bay was incredible and we knew it was coming our way so as soon as we'd docked we raced into the Bakery to get a pie for lunch and sit out the storm.

storm

Storm over the other side of the bay, chasing us home

Evening entertainment was at the pictures to see "South Solitary". It was a strange film but highly pertinent as it was about a girl who went to live on an island with her uncle who was Head Lightkeeper and what happened after that. Even though I don't expect it will fill cinemas in the UK it was good to see over in Oz, in context as it were.

Thursday was grey yet again but at least the rain held off while we were on the boat. This was our last chance to see some whales as we had to head off to Sydney that afternoon. We saw one whale, quite far away, being lazy / resting (Jonathon managed to click a tail) but what we did see instead were some Bottlenosed Dolphins who Anthony managed to entice to the bow of the boat to do bow riding.

To start with, the Dolphins were very busy hunting so they weren't too keen to move away from their fish harvest!

When they did come over to join us they stayed for quite a while so we had great fun watching them.

Jonathon and Ernie put the world to rights on the way back to harbour - that's when he wasn't admiring the scenery. The photo on the right is of Murrays Cave.

Other flying things we spotted were the Royal Navy carrying out some complicated manouevre and a Sea Eagle (or three) soaring around.

We had seen loads of Cockatoos on our travels but never with a camera in our hand so it was good to finally capture some on disc.

Finally it was time to say Goodbye to the lovely white sands, friendly folk and wonderful wildlife of Jervis Bay and head off to the big city.

Our room was on the 21st floor of the Shangri La Hotel and overlooked Darling Harbour (left). Despite the cloudy start, Friday wasn't too bad a day.

We were due to meet a friend, Nick, for lunch at Bondi so took the Bondi Explorer bus trip to get there an interesting way and learn a bit about the area.

Rushcutters Bay

Rushcutters Bay is home to the Cruising Yacht Club and the start point for the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race

feet

We arrived at Bondi beach and had a walk on the beach and a paddle as we were a few minutes early. The water wasn't very warm but this was a pretty good view to look out at from the restaurant.

bondi

There are lots of things you are not allowed to do at Bondi Beach ....

bondi

.... but jogging isn't on of them. There were quite a few people trotting up and down the beach.

bondi

The waves crash into the side of the swimming pool at Icebergs and splash over the top - must be cold!

After lunch we walked along part of the Coastal Walk. 3.5 kms from Bondi to Bronte beach. Very pretty it was too, made even more interesting by the "Sculpture by the Sea" exhibition that had opened the day before. Here are a few of the pieces that appealed to us.

This bird of prey clearly liked the exhibits as well so thought he'd land on one or two. He settled down but not for long before a Wagtail came and saw him off. Must have had a nest or something close by but Willie Wagtail clearly didn't want the hawk anywhere near that area. He saw him off a few times.

We arrived at Bronte Beach and caught the bus back to town, past the Randwick Race Course and Sydney Cricket Ground to name but two of the places of interest.

street scene

A few general street scenes

street art

The two photos on the left are from the Rocks area of Sydney whereas this grafiti was at Bondi. The grafiti in the middle photo really makes you think there is a street there but it's a drawing.

ibis

Whilst the two birds on the left were spotted on our coastal walk, these ibis wander round the city centre like they own the place.

We strolled back down to the harbour (having been there earlier in the day). There was clearly some kind of team challenge taking place with the teams already to go, dressed in their fancy costumes and getting their challenges from the town crier.

We really wanted to see the afternoon sun "warming up" the Opera House ....

.... and the Harbour Bridge. The yellow boat in the photo above is one of the many Sydney ferries.

Saturday was bright, sunny and warm ... and our last day - we had to leave just after lunch for the airport. Up early-ish and off we went. We started with the Red bus route going from Circular Quay to the north end of the Botanic Gardens. The idea was that we'd take a few photos of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from Mrs Macquarie's seat then jump on the next bus but the weather was just too good to be sitting on a bus so we walked through the gardens to the Opera House so Jonathon could see it up close and realise just how huge it is.

The gardens seemed really pretty but we only stayed there a very short while - unusual for us I know. The welcome boards invited guests to walk on the grass, smell the roses, hug the trees, talk to the birds and picnic on the lawns.

We'd definitely like to go back and explore further - perhaps next time.

It was a great view of both iconic structures from the top of the gardens but there were good views pretty much all the way down as well. Depending on where we stood, they seemed to change places!

There were loads of birds in the gardens, not least these Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.

I challenged Jonathon to find a reflection of the Harbour Bridge in the Opera House ... so he did!

Sydney is described as a city of many layers. The sky line is very varied and there are parts of the city without high rise. Not sure this is the kind of layers the guide was referring to but it's one interpretation.

Rather than jump back on the bus at all, we strolled around and ended up in Hyde Park but not before seeing various bits and bobs on the way.

This flower bed was part of "Sydney Living Colour, Spring 2010". The info board includes a plan of the bed with the plant names on it.

street

Harry's on Wheels (famous pie cart)

st mary's
St. Mary's Cathedral

The statue above middle is of Matthew Flinders, a Captain with the Royal Navy who explored and skilfully charted a large portion of the Australian coast during the years 1796 to 1803. Trim, his intrepid cat, circumnavigated Australia with his master 1801 - 1803. Thereafter he shared his exile on the island of Mauritius where he met his untimley death.

jacaranda

I love Jacaranda trees - the colour of the blossom is wonderful.

Having strolled around in the sunshine, we treated ourselves to a Mocktail in the shadow of the Opera House before making tracks to the airport (Norbert note - 747 from SYD to LHR via BKK).

We had a really great holiday and hope to go back to Aus again before too long.