February 27, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Hayley and I hiked the Nature Track Circuit at Wentworth Falls last weekend. The trail is about an hour’s drive from Sydney.
The trail winds through temperate rainforest packed with ferns, eucalypts and waterfalls. Aside from a few abseilers, we didn’t see anyone until the very end of the trail. About a third of the way along is Edinburgh Castle Rock, a natural lookout that provides sweeping views of the surrounding mountains.
The trail quickly descends into Lillian’s Glen, a nice area with a stream and stone steps to walk across.
After passing a small rest area the trail climbs up past the Empress Falls- worthy of a detour- and over to the Queen Victoria Lookout. The trail ends back where it started at the Conservation Hut.
After our hike, we walked around Leura and Katoomba, two charming mountain towns. We had delicious veggie burgers at a restaurant that sold both food and hats in Katoomba, and walked around the main shopping area. That weekend, Leura was hosting a 1920s festival with Model-T looking cars from Australia’s early automotive days. We ended the day with tea at a tea pot collectors’ shop. I’ve never seen so many tea pots in my life; it was a bit disturbing.
January 9, 2011 at 10:34 am
Located just two hours outside of Sydney, the Hunter Valley region boasts over 120 cellar doors – from small boutique vineyards to giant wine conglomerates. For the Christmas weekend, Hayley and I booked a room well in advance at Splinters Guest House, the #1 ranked B&B in Pokolbin. We drove the scenic route from Sydney over highway 33, a winding country road that meanders through a half dozen small towns with funny Aboriginal names such as Wollombi and Kulnura.
Our gracious host Reggie welcomed us to the guest house and showed us to our garden room. After laying down our bags, we relaxed under the garden gazebo with a bottle of chardonnay and a cheese and fruit platter, compliments of Splinters. A few hours later we went for a walk and found a family of kangaroos grazing along a nearby pond.
On Christmas Eve we attended the Hunter Valley Gardens light exhibition. While I’ve heard that the gardens are immaculate, I was disappointed by the very unchristian $18 admission fee into the gardens. Regardless, it was probably the most festive event in Hunter Valley. (On an unrelated note, I had a “California Churro” for a $4 at the gardens. It just didn’t compare to Costco or TJ-street churros.)
On Christmas day we opened presents in the morning, drank a few glasses of wine, swam in the pool, BBQ’ed and chipped a few balls on Splinters practice green. Christmas lunch was had at the Vintage Golf Course.
On our final full day we visited three wineries for wine tasting: Hungerford Hill, Tulloch and Draytons. We tried many wines, but after a while they all seemed to blend in to one. After buying several bottles of wine, we walked around some nearby vineyards and found more kangaroos. We also visited one of Australia’s oldest vineyards, Tyrrell’s, on our way back to Sydney the following morning. It’s a must-see for anyone visiting the region.
For New Years Eve, we walked across the street to Kurraba Reserve and found a patch of grass on the harbor railing. Just like NYE last year, the fireworks display was spectacular.
These fireworks photos are hosted on flickr. Click them for bigger versions.
We capped off our holiday break by spending three days in Lilli Pilli (near Batemans Bay, NSW) with our friends Ping, Dre and their families. The casual weekend stay turned out to be the highlight of our trip. We surfed every day, relaxed on a local beach, played card games and ate delicious home cooked meals. We even got up close and personal with an Aussie possum!
It was definitely a holiday season to remember.
September 16, 2010 at 9:54 pm
While the last month has been fun, I don’t think it warrants a full blog post. For example, I could go on to describe our walk around Cremorne Reserve, an international rugby match between Australia and New Zealand that we attended, or the fact that I’ve been running a few miles every other day (albeit very slowly), but I’ve decided not to bore you with the details. Instead I will show you some cool photos from the past 31 days.
Walking under the south side of the Sydney harbor bridge.
Cremorne Reserve: Kookaburra in foreground flight over the Opera House and harbor backdrop.
Portrait of Hayley on the train.
Mosman Bay,
On a nice day.
Apartments in the Rocks, effects by Hayley.
July 25, 2010 at 9:36 pm
I’ve discovered that my favorite photos are almost always highly geometrical. This post focuses on my attempts over the last week to photograph geometric subjects. I’ve mainly used a 50mm prime lens that Hayley gave me for our anniversary. (thanks H!)
The lighting, repetition and depth of this photo creates an interesting illusion. From one perspective, it looks like hundreds of cubicles inside an office building. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that it’s actually the outside of a skyscraper.
I was born on the 23rd of May, so it has always been a special number to me.
Archimedean spirals always interest me. Their perfection is present on snails, cyclones and this rope on a Sydney ferry.
Depth of focus is a relatively elementary principal in photography, but I’m only just learning how to use it to my advantage, especially when shooting repeated objects. It’s always difficult to figure out which item in the set deserves the focus. I especially like this shot, because the focus brings your eyes directly to the last triangle in the series.
Expect to see much more repetition and geometry in my future photos.
July 5, 2010 at 7:09 am
Two months ago, Hayley and I snapped some night photos in Circular Quay. We cranked up slowed down the shutter speed and closed off the aperture to get the elegant, glowing effect.
The Sydney harbour bridge spanning over the iconic Sydney Opera House.
The Opera House on a bustling Friday evening.
Circular Quay, the Circular Quay train station and the surrounding hotels, shops and office buildings. On the far right is the Overseas Passenger Terminal for large cruise ships.
Go to my Flickr page to see more!
Note: I once again remodeled my website. The last two posts were lacking in photos, hence this post.