the last trip in the Prius

Well, the time had nearly come for the lease to end. So Keat and I headed off to Kanarga Walls for the day. We drove down a good road from Oberon to find a large number of cars and people at the lookout.



Unfortunately the view was somewhat obscured by the smoke from about three bush fires.





Going back into Oberon, we again saw that footpath. So this time I stopped and took a photo.



We then headed back into Oberon. Keat had gone there on family fishing trips when she was young.





We had missed lunch, so stopped in Oberon for afernoon tea.



And then had dinner back in Petersham at a Gloria's Portuguese Restaurant.

an exploration of Kurnell

Well, I suspect when anyone thinks of Kurnell, they think of oil refineries. But there is more to the place. It is also home to Royal National Park and some Nature Reserves.





Off the coast of the national park they have the inlet for the new desalination plant.



And then there is the town of Kurnell.



and a map of where I went.

Return trip

On the way home, I stopped down by Lake Burrenjuck ad





and arrived home to a balcony flooded with water.

In search of a blue tongue

Well, I headed off in search of a blue tongue lizard. They are impossible to get in NSW, because of stupid laws relating to native animals, and eventually I worked out I should look in Canberra where they are much more liberal and sensible in their approach to life. Though I had done the correct thing and purchased a licence to keep such animals. I found a place looking on the net.

Canberra Exotic Pets
1 Samson Place
Kambah ACT 2902

So I headed off to Canberra as my car lease will be running out soon. I was surprised to find myself on a suburban street. It is a backyard and garage operation. But I have to say, I was very very impressed. They were helpful, very knowledgeable and good at assisting me with my unusual requirements. Unfortunately, it turns out blue tongues are very short sighted and will fall off things. As I live on the third floor of a building, this would be fatal. So I left without a blue tongue and instead with a set of requirements I needed to meet. To do this I need to talk to my body corporate, as I want to put a fence around the planter box to protect the little animals from falling and this will impact the appearance of the building.

The trip down to Canberra was very fogy. It was one of those thin fogs, so you find yourself wearing sunglasses but with the fog lights on.



&

I spent the night with some good friends and the next day headed back to Sydney.

Yass Junction

The next day I drove back to Sydney. I started earlier than I would normally as Jeremy and Elisse work morning shift. So I arrived at Yass a few hours earlier than I expected. Cathy was still at lunch. It turned out when I did meet her that Ingo and the kids were in town. Frank, Mietta were also passing through. While I was waiting I headed out to Yass Junction Station and took some photos.





Wikipedia says: The station is in its situation due to the refusal of the former Engineer-in-Chief of the New South Wales Railways, John Whitton to build the Main Southern Line through the middle of Yass itself. After a visit on 8 December 1871, to investigate possible routes for the extension of the line from Goulburn, Whitton remarked that "to bring the station to North Yass would increase the length of the line by about three quarters of a mile; that the cost would be considerably more than I had recommended, probably £30,000 or £40,000 for works alone; and that in an engineering point of view [a] divergence to North Yass could not be entertained. Despite continuous objections, none of Whitton's working plans or other Government surveys were not able to find a suitable route for the railway to pass through Yass. Instead, the present route from Gunning to Bowning was chosen which passed several miles to the north. After a Government Bill was passed "to authorise the construction of tramways along certain streetts and highways in the city and suburbs of Sydney and elsewhere", a tramway was built from Yass Junction to Yass Town to convey passengers. The trams departed from a small dock platform behind Platform 2 (the Melbourne-bound platform). The line opened on 20 April 1892.