Our Adventures

We got an unexpected day in Sydney to play tourists today. The original plan was to spend 3 nights with Marilyn in Somersby and then she’d drive us to the airport Tuesday morning. That plan got scrapped due to her sister’s illness. So we arrived in Sydney yesterday, Sunday, and now have the day Monday to look around the city.

We headed out fairly early toward the Royal Botanic Gardens. We wanted to spend a significant amount of time wandering around the gardens. On the way, we walked through a little of Hyde Park, Australia’s oldest park. It’s about 44 acres in size and really reminded us of Central Park. Where we crossed the park was the Archibald Fountain which commemorates the association of Australia with France during WWI. Across the street was St. Mary’s Cathedral.

After leaving Hyde Park, we skirted along the edge of the Botanical Garden and were struck by the fabulous, very large trees that were everywhere.

We walked by the Library of NSW.

We stopped at a kiosk in the garden for breakfast. It was surprisingly good and we enjoyed it. Christine had the veggie brekkie and I had an egg, bacon and cheese roll. We got our first glimpse of the Sydney Opera House while there, just the back of one of the sails.

When our breakfast was served to us at a table n the patio, the server warned us to be careful with our food due to birds. We saw a kookaburra in a nearby tree. They are surprisingly large birds, very solid and chunky. We also saw a bird that the locals refer to as a bin chicken. We saw them at Lou’s, too. The bin chicken is actually the Australian white ibis. They are equated to the raccoon in our country because they are always scavenging in garbage cans. We saw the one below pulling the garbage bag out of the can in order to be able to reach what was in the bag.

Then, as Christine was about to eat a bite of her breakfast she was holding in her hand, a bird swooped down and smacked into her hand and scared the heck out of her. It happened so fast that we really didn’t see the bird. Fortunately, it didn’t take any of Christine’s breakfast.

After breakfast, we decided to walk to nearby Circular Quay and catch a ferry to Manly. It was a very nice day weather-wise and a boat ride seemed to be just the right thing to do. It affords fabulous views of the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and the cruise ship dock, as well as great views of Sydney. What a beautiful day to be touring Sydney Harbor!

It’s only about a 30 minute ride to Manly Wharf on the regular ferry. We sat outside along the side of the ferry so we could see all the sites.

We haven’t been to Manly before so we were anxious to wander around. Manly is a suburb of Sydney and has about 17,000 residents, but it is truly a tourist resort town because of its ocean beaches. The Corso is the name of the main pedestrian mall that runs from the wharf to the beaches, so it makes for an easy beach day for Sydney residents who come by ferry and walk the Corso for 10 minutes to get to the beach.

We strolled the promenade along the beach for a while watching the surfers and did some people watching. It would have been nice to get in the water, but we didn’t think about doing that when we left our hotel that morning. But it was just nice seeing the sand and beautiful ocean and listening to the waves. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot and the promenade had shade trees along the way.

Walking the Corso back to the wharf we stopped for a gelato and sat in the shade watching people. After our gelato, we went into an Anglican church, St. Matthew’s. The building inside and out was brick and it had some lovely stained glass windows.

We got back to the wharf and got on a ferry for the return trip to Circular Quay. What we didn’t know is that we got on the fast ferry. We took a similar seat along the side of the boat. After we pulled away from the wharf, off the boat sped. As the boat got closer to crossing near the Heads, where the opening of Sydney Harbor is to the ocean, the surf was quite rough and with the faster speed of the ferry before we knew it, we were getting sprayed as the boat went up and down in the surf. Spray was okay, but then buckets of water came our way and we hightailed it into the covered area of the vessel. Christine got really soaked because it took her longer to make the dash into the boat. But that added to the fun of being on the ferry. We were quite windblown and wet. The fast ferry makes the trip in 20 minutes, about 10 minutes faster than the regular ferry.

Once back to Circular Quay, we made our way into the Royal Botanic Gardens again. The garden covers 74 acres. Opened in 1816, the garden is the oldest scientific institution in Australia and one of the most important historic botanical institutions in the world.

We came to a building in the garden called the Calyx which is an immersive exhibit of a rainforest and all the things that are impediments to its survival. The building itself is an event venue. While there, we watched a short movie about the vegetation models made for hanging from the ceiling of the space. The vegetation was made of fabric and other material and the artists made very life-like pieces. The Calyx also hosts one of the largest green walls in Australia, a sea of plants grown vertically.

We then made our way roughly towards our hotel as we enjoyed the garden. We’d walked quite a bit and we were getting tired so our garden time came to an end. I hope we have another chance to tour the garden in more detail some time in the future.

We walked past the Sydney Hospital. I was really surprised seeing it, expecting the Sydney Hospital to be a newer building, big and kind of glitzy, but this is the oldest hospital in Australia having been founded in 1811. It has 113 patient beds and only 400 staff and two of its specialties are hand surgery and ophthalmology. The building looks like it should be in Malta.

When we got back to the hotel, I wanted to run across the street and see the Queen Victoria Building, now known as QVB. It was built in 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was a symbol of Australia’s prosperity in that it was built on the site of the old Sydney markets and the building then housed elaborate shops. The building is full of fabulous details both inside and out. I ran over, leaving Christine in the hotel lobby. It’s a building worth seeing, for sure.

After a few minutes, I came back to the hotel and we went up to the room. I described what I saw to Christine and showed her a couple of photos. Then she decided she wanted to see it, so back across the street we went.

Here’s what the building looks like from the 40th floor of the Hilton.

Here are a couple of exterior photos. A tram came and sat in front of me and didn’t move for a while.

QVB is a shopping mall, 5 floors, with some 200 shops, mostly high end merchandise, and there are cafes and restaurants. Everything is kind of like eye candy in the building, from looking up at the dome, to the stained glass windows, the two fabulous clocks, the tile, and the light reflected everywhere from the skylights.

As it was nearing 6pm, I didn’t think we’d find someplace to eat in the QVB as it closes at 6, but there was a Mediterranean fusion place where we ordered a pizza and a Greek salad to take away. While our food was being prepared, we continued our walk around the QVB. That created a problem, however, because we didn’t know the name of the cafe and we couldn’t remember what floor it was on. I circled around for a while, but couldn’t find the place. Fortunately, there was a concierge desk on the first floor and the fellow there knew the place we were trying to find and provided directions. So, with pizza and salad in hand, we walked back across the street to our hotel and ate our dinner in our room.

The city lights are nice to see.

So ended our nice day in Sydney. Tuesday is our departure day and our flight to LA leaves at 2:15pm. At least we can have a leisurely morning.

Tuesday morning we went down to the hotel’s dining room and had a wonderful breakfast from the buffet. It was a huge buffet and we indulged. Back in the room doing final packing, I notice drips of water hitting the windows facing west. Soon, it became clear that the windows on that side of the building were being washed. We watched as two guys came down from the top of the building in a moving scaffold. I was so surprised. I imagine the window washers come across some pretty interesting things going on in rooms as they make their way down the 40+ floors. And I will say they do a great job. Our windows were squeaky clean after they moved down to the next floor.

We called an Uber for our ride to the airport. We chatted with our Russian driver who emigrated to Australia 6 years prior. It’s a good thing he got out when he did because he would have been drafted into Putin’s army otherwise. He was interested in talking about our travels and when we talked about Malta and its history, he asked ChapGPT on his phone to give information about the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitallers. We got a little history lesson as we rode to the airport, although I had told the driver much of the information ChatGPT presented.

Getting checked in was easy, once we found the area where the Delta counters were, which involved walking nearly the entire length of the terminal. We then sat in a cafe which was along the hallway just past the security screening area, so there were family members congregated in the cafe for a final wave goodbye to their loved ones.

We boarded our flight and settled in for a 13+ hour flight back to the States. The airplane was only about half full, so no one was sitting next to us, which allowed us to spread out a little. Everyone was scrambling to take empty rows of seats so they could lie down. I doubt Delta made much money on that flight.

So our Australia trip comes to an end. I won’t post again unless we encounter anything significant on our way home. We arrive in LA on Tuesday, the 18th, at 9:00am. That’s before we leave Sydney at 2:15pm on Tuesday. That international dateline sure messes up the date/time. We’ll spend the night in LA and our flight to Detroit leaves 6am Wednesday morning. Ugh! A very early morning. From Detroit, we’ll fly to Binghamton and arrive around 3:45. It will be good to be home.

We’ve had a marvelous 6 weeks and thank Louis for putting us up, and for putting up with us. He is a wonderful, dear, sweet man and we love him to pieces. Margaret drove 5,700 kilometers to ensure that we had a great time exploring and doing fun and interesting things. She is an amazing woman whom we love and admire greatly. Clare is such a talented young woman who will be a great success at whatever she aims to do. She was also like a guardian angel for us as we scrambled over rocks and walked down slippery slopes and steps. She was always there showing us the best footsteps and holding out a steadying hand whenever we needed one. Thanks to all our Aussie cousins. We love you all! We hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

Saturday we leave Rylstone and head to Somersby where Lou’s sister-in-law Marilyn lives. While we were waiting for Margaret to arrive for pickup, I snapped a photo of Lou and Christine. Banjo didn’t want his picture taken so he looked away.

It’s about a 4 hour drive to the Central Coast, which is where Lou used to live before moving to Rylstone two years ago. Margaret, per usual, is combining errands today on the drive. We’ll be delivering some roosters and she’ll check on the mowers she dropped off in Lithgow a few weeks ago. Clare has to bring the 3 newest goat kids with us because they are being bottle fed and there isn’t anyone to do that. They are so cute. So, we’ll be pulling a trailer with roosters and goats along with us. Banjo gets to join us on this trip, too, but he gets to be in the car.

After several stops for picking up 2 of 3 pieces of equipment, delivering rooster, stopping at a cake supply place and the Big W, we arrived at Marilyn’s. She lives in Somersby on a beautiful 50-acre property. Her husband Michael died during our last visit. She also has a special needs adult daughter, Sandy, so she has had so much to deal with. And, she just received news from her closest sister Joan that her sister has cancer and is in very serious condition. So our arrival, though planned, comes at a difficult time. We’ll all stay at Marilyn’s for the night. Originally, Christine and I were staying 3 nights and then Marilyn would drive us to the airport on Tuesday. Instead, we’re booked into the Sydney Hilton for Sunday and Monday and will get ourselves to the airport.

Saturday evening, Marilyn had made reservations at a Thai restaurant and several of the family will join us to celebrate Clare’s birthday, which is the 26th, and our departure. We got a huge surprise upon our arrival because both Gloria and her husband Alex were there. Alex is undergoing chemotherapy and will be having some surgery to target the chemo next week. We didn’t expect him to come because he needs to be very cautious to avoid infection. It was so lovely to see them both. They are certainly going through a rough time, but they have 5 sons who are very attentive and involved in helping Alex get the treatment he needs and supporting Gloria.

Brother Len and his wife Sandy were there. Len is such a pip and Sandy is a lovely woman. We enjoy them very much.

Here’s Marilyn and her daughter Sandy Lee.

Another attendee was a woman named Margaret Contini Gjerdrum. We spent some time with Margaret during past visits. She is an old friend of the Caruana family. She is an American news junkie and wanted to talk about Trump. I spent most of the evening discussing politics with her and she’d like to continue the conversation after we get home. I’m sure we’ll have some interesting discussion. I suggested that she wean herself off Trump news and find something better to do with her time. All that stuff is so anxiety producing.

Here’s Lou with Margaret Contini.

In celebration of Clare’s birthday, her mother made her a cake which came out to the table. We all sang happy birthday and did the tradition hip, hip, hooray 3 times. Clare will be 21 on the 26th of this month.

And then another cake came to the table, a Clare Creative Cakes masterpiece!

The details on this cake were absolutely amazing. The suitcases are the exact color of our suitcases. All the little post cards are actual replicas of photos that Clare has taken during our stay. The airplane had a Delta logo on the tail piece. There were so many things to see on this cake. Truly stunning and amazing. I had the scary job of cutting it. Margaret shot a video of me doing it, and my face was hilarious to see. I was scared to death that the globe would land on the table as I was cutting it. But after a few slices, I got the hang of it and I was able to get slices for everyone out of half the globe. The other half we took back to Marilyn’s. It was a very nice evening and I think everyone had a nice evening.

Sunday I went for a walk early in the morning just to take in Marilyn’s beautiful property.

After breakfast, it was suggested that we take a quick visit to Somersby Falls, just a couple of miles away. Christine and I had been there before, but Clare and Margaret hadn’t, so Margaret, Clare and I went to the falls. I’m glad we didn’t take Christine or Lou as there were a whole bunch of steps, some quite slippery with either moss or sand. There are actually 3 falls which are referred to as top falls, middle falls, and bottom falls, not very creative names. We headed to middle falls. There wasn’t much water in the creek so the falls were not gushing, but they were picturesque.

We then decided to go ahead and walk down to bottom falls, which was quite a trek down. But all the steps were worth it. It was really nice, and an amazing thing was seeing this old gnarled tree just growing our of the rock face near the falls.

The climb back up was easily handled by Clare and Margaret. I, on the other had, keep getting in touch with what terrible shape I am in, because I huffed and puffed all the way up all those steps. But, I’m glad we went to see the falls. It was a nice outing.

Back at Marilyn’s, the countdown to having Lou, Margaret and Clare leave was approaching. Margaret, Clare and I finished a Phase 10 game we started last week. Before the game, Margaret presented me with a pack of Phase 10. I was so touched because she had read in my blog that I wanted to get the Phase 10 game. We then finished packing, fed the kids their bottles. Christine went for a ride with Marilyn around the property in the 4-wheeler. And, we took a bunch of photos.

Then we all decided that we would go to Palmdale, the beautiful cemetery where Lou and Margaret’s parents are buried, as well as their brother Michael and sister Angela, and brother-in-law (Marianne’s husband) Alan. All of use walked from one grave to another telling stories and giving remembrances. In some ways, that was a peaceful way to end our time together. Palmdale is a very beautiful place and it was pleasant to be with family there.

We then stopped at a cafe for lunch. And finally, it was time to depart. I think we all had difficulty keeping the tears at bay, without much successful. We’ve had such a wonderful time with Lou, Margaret and Clare. We can’t thank them enough for making our stay so joyous and memorable. Margaret clocked 5,700 kilometers, or 3,500 miles, these nearly 5 weeks driving us to so many wonderful places to visit. We love these three so much!

Then Marilyn and Sandy drove us into Sydney and dropped us off at the Hilton. That was a bit challenging because the one way street the Hilton is on was blocked off just before we got there, so we had to drive around several blocks trying to get to the hotel. But Marilyn managed it. It was sad to say goodbye. It was such a nice thing for Marilyn to do especially given her current worry about her sister. Thank you, Marilyn!

Our room at the Hilton is on the 40th floor, but unfortunately, we can’t see Sydney Harbor. We do see a bit of water through the buildings, but we are enjoying looking out the window at the city. We are in a corner room so we see both west and north.

Tomorrow we will do a day of sightseeing in Sydney. The weather is perfect and we should have a fun day.

Thursday, Lou and I walked to the cafe for a cappuccino. I am going to miss this morning stroll and sitting outside the cafe greeting people. I feel like I’ve become part of the community. It’s a nice way to start the day.

I mentioned to Lou that I’d like to go to a nursery in Kandos. We have been thinking of getting him a crepe myrtle tree as a remembrance and thank you. I’ve been kind of stumped about how to get to a nursery to get him a surprise tree, but then I just decided to ask him to take me to a nursery. He agreed, but then nothing more was said

Later in the day, Lou said we’d drive into Mudgee to Bunnings, a store similar to Lowes or Home Depot, that has a gardening center, to look for a tree. He also said we would stop at the Cudgegong Water Park, where he and I had gone earlier in our stay, for an afternoon coffee. We rounded up Christine and off we went to Mudgee, on a Thursday, not Wednesday!

It’s a beautiful drive and I never get tired looking at the scenery. I suggested we stop for coffee on the way rather than on the way back home. We got there at about 2:40 to learn that the cafe closes at 2:30. However, the lady that runs the office also runs the cafe and she said she’d be glad to serve us. So with cappuccinos for Lou and I and a chocolate milkshake for Christine, we sat out on the veranda that overlooks the caravan park and Windemere Lake. It was a pleasant half-hour and I’m glad we stopped there first.

Then on to Mudgee. Again, the scenery along the lake was just beautiful, brilliant sky and white puffy clouds.

We arrived at Bunnings and found several 5-feet tall crepe myrtle trees. However, their flowers were pink or white. Lou’s favorite crepe myrtle color is a really dark magenta or red. We asked a staff person if they had any in that color and they did, but the trees were very small and hadn’t really grown very much. But Lou said they’d do. We picked out two of the red ones. Christine then weighed in on that and insisted we also get a taller tree even if it was pink. Lou thought that was too much, but we insisted. And so we wrestled a 5-foot tree into the car along with the two smaller crepe myrtles and two other plants Lou bought. We were very satisfied with the purchases and on the way home we talked about how tall the trees would be the next time we visited. Once home, I helped Lou clean out an area where he will plant the taller tree. We also planted the Cordyline plants he purchased. A decision on where to plant the two smaller crepe myrtles will come later after Lou mulls over where he’d like them

After dinner, we watched the film Hidden Figures. Christine had seen something on Facebook about Katherine Johnson and her involvement with NASA and she was interested in seeing the movie. We had seen the film several years ago, but we all enjoyed seeing the film. Lou was quite surprised by how poorly the black women were treated. Seeing the film brought back memories for Christine of her years at IBM and the programming that was being done in Fortran.

Friday, Valentine’s Day, Christine took a couple of nice photos of the sunrise.

In addition to Valentine’s Day, this is Christine’s and my 44th anniversary as a couple. Hard to believe it has been so many years but we both feel blessed to have found each other and that we are still madly in love and very happy.

I took a final walk to the cafe with Lou. We met up with Arthur at the cafe and he did what he does best – talk. After the cafe, we went across the street to the church because Lou had to do something there. On the way back across the street, Margaret came by in her school bus as she was returning to the depot in Kandos after her morning run.

Once back at the house, we had breakfast and then I began to get things organized for packing. We’ll be leaving Rylstone in the morning. We’re feeling very sad about leaving.

Christine and I spent the afternoon packing. You’d think it would be easy to pack for leaving, but it feels like all our clothes reproduced and we have so much more than when we came, and we didn’t even buy anything! So it took extra time to figure out how to pack, as we’ll be at Marilyn’s Saturday, and in a hotel Sunday and Monday. Don’t want to bury in the suitcase things that we’ll need over the next few days.

Friday evening we had a going away celebration with Margaret, Clare and Daniel at Pepino’s, the Mexican restaurant in Rylstone. It was rather a bittersweet evening with laughs about our time here and a few tears related to leaving. We gave Margaret a card, a tea cup with forget-me-nots painted on it, and a small book of inspirational sayings with adorable illustrations. I think she was touched. Clare made us a small cake with passionfruit filling in recognition of our anniversary. It was delicious. I don’t think we really wanted to get up from the table to leave the restaurant because it finalizes our time in Rylstone. Off to the central coast in the morning for a dinner with family there, a night at Marilyn’s, and then Sunday we’ll get dropped off in Sydney.

This wonderful place has been our home for nearly 6 weeks. Thank you so much Lou for putting us up and giving us such a wonderful holiday with you.

After that frightening drive home through the storm, we needed some low key recovery time. Unfortunately for Margaret, she was up early driving her bus route. We, on the other hand, didn’t do much at all on Monday.

I actually watched the Super Bowl, which was broadcast here at 10:30am Monday morning. Terrible game if you were a Chiefs fan, but the Eagles were, well, super. Funny to be in Australia watching the Super Bowl. The only down side of it was that all the commercials were Aussie ads, so I didn’t get to see any of the American Super Bowl ads.

Monday was a rainy, overcast day, not conducive to any outdoor activities. The best thing was a dinner invitation from Daniel. He made his delicious massaman curry dish. He made it for us the last time we were here and I think because we raved about it then, he repeated the dish for us. His massaman is with beef, potatoes, and cashews and the curry is just the right amount of spice. We were in heaven. It was such a nice thing for him to have done.

After dinner, Margaret, Clare and I played the card game Phase Ten. I’ll have to buy this game because its fun. It’s a variation of rummy and the name is because a player works her way through 10 different combinations in order (phases) of various sets, runs, and colors of cards. If you don’t achieve a phase when another player goes out, you’re stuck on that phase until you achieve it. Anyway, it is a fun game.

As we were leaving, Daniel provided us with 3 containers of another dish he had prepared, packed nicely with rice. It turned out to be like a beef stew, and it was delicious when we had it. Another very nice thing for Daniel to have done. He is a very giving young man.

Tuesday, another poor weather day, was also a low key day. Christine and I took another stab at playing ping pong. We were only slightly better than the last time. I went with Lou to Kandos to buy a couple of ingredients for the dinner I was fixing. I wanted to make the teriyaki chicken and sesame noodles that Dave and Eve make for us when we visit. Thanks, Dave and Eve for the recipe! It was a hit, although I had to use a George Forman grill for the chicken because Lou’s backyard barbecue grill had water in it and I didn’t want to take the time to clean it. The GF grill didn’t care much for the teriyaki marinade on the chicken and burned it, but overall, the dinner was yummy, so said Lou and Christine.

It’s hard to believe that one week from today, Tuesday, we’ll be on an airplane flying back to America.

Wednesday was my last trip to Mudgee and Christine joined us today. I’m so happy that she came.

Margaret dropped Lou, Christine and me off at the cafe we frequent to have a cappuccino. This is the tradition. We were missing Angela, who usually meets us. She’s now in rehab after having a hip replacement. Today is her birthday, so we sent her birthday greetings and a photo of us via Messenger. She was most appreciative.

Christine went to talk with two women who were at the cafe while we were having our cappuccino. They were having a wonderful time and their laughter was contagious. Christine stopped by to tell them how happy she was to share their good time while listening to their laughter. We had a nice conversation with them. One of the women was a photographer and the other told us about her 3-year-old daughter who was on a billboard in Times Square because she is a child beauty pageant star. Of course, the mom showed us photos and videos of her child. At any rate, it was fun to chat with them. Good friends are so important and these two women were definitely good friends.

Margaret picked up Lou to take him to the podiatrist. Christine and I wandered along the main streets of Mudgee window shopping. We also checked out the Anglican church, St. John the Baptist. It had some really beautiful stained glass windows.

I took this photo while we were waiting to cross the street. It could serve as a post card for Mudgee showing 2 of the most popular landmarks in the town.

We went to Woolies to shop for a couple of items and met up with Lou. Margaret and Clare eventually completed their shopping. They then had to run off to Coles, another grocery, to get a couple of items not available at Woolies. We all met up and dashed off to McDonald’s for a quick lunch and then picked up Regina at the allotted place. We were a little late, which puts stress on Margaret. She needs to be at the bus depot by 3:00 for her afternoon school bus run. Of course, we got behind a slow poke driver on the Lue Road, which put us further behind. So, it was a little tense as Margaret has to drop off her groceries at her house, drop us off at Lou’s, drop off Regina in Kandos, and get to the bus depot on time.

Wednesday afternoon Lou made one of his scrumptious fruit salads with the fruit he bought today. We have been enjoying nightly fruit salad for dessert, with ice cream. At Margaret’s the other night, she served fruit with Vanilla and Boysenberry ice cream, and I loved it. Lou had picked up a half gallon of it today for tonight. I guess boysenberry is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry and I have never had it. It has a lovely flavor mixed in with the vanilla ice cream. Louis also placed a ship on the salad to be our going away token. He couldn’t find the airplane he wanted to use, so the ship sufficed.

From the dining table, we look out across his back lawn. We noticed growing clouds in the distance and I thought another big storm was brewing.

But no, there was no storm. It was a cool, somewhat chilly evening with a full moon. Lou sat out in the yard for a while and we joined him briefly. With the bright moon we didn’t see many stars, but it was lovely watching the moon slowly rise.

We’ve been trying to make plans for our departure, which has been up in the air due to illnesses in families down on the Central Coast. We haven’t been able to catch up with Alex and Gloria (Lou’s sister) because Alex has started chemotherapy. Originally, we were going to spend several days with them on his new yacht the first week of February, but those plans had to be scrapped because of the start of his chemo. We then made plans to stay with Marilyn (Lou’s sister-in-law) for a couple of nights and she was going to drive us to the airport. Her sister is ill with an unexpected cancer diagnosis and Marilyn needs to be with her. We will stay at her place Saturday night on the Central Coast at Somersby, but she’s not available to drive us to the airport. We do have plans to get together with several folks for dinner Saturday evening. Alex cannot be exposed at this point in his chemo, but hopefully we’ll get to see Gloria. Final plans for Sunday, Monday, and getting to the airport on Tuesday still are to be made. Lou, Margaret and Clare will drive us Saturday to Marilyn’s, but they’ll return to Rylstone on Sunday after dropping us off wherever we decide to stay for the last 2 night. All this is a plan in progress.

After our scare with Lou’s sudden illness last evening, he was up and about doing his Sunday morning duties at the church. Thank goodness he recovered so quickly. I was rather worried last night. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days.

We have talked about kayaking at Dunn’s Swamp since we arrived, but due to one thing or another, we never managed to fit it in. This weekend was our last chance, but the weather has been either threatening to storm, or storming. This afternoon there was a window of reasonable weather, however, no one wanted to load the trailer with kayaks and go through all the effort of unloading and launching especially since the weather forecast was for more storms in the evening. So, we decided to go to Dunn’s Swamp for a hike.

Along the way, Margaret drove us around Dabee, the huge estate where she and Clare do cleaning. This is one of the homes of architects Gary and Susan Rockwell, clearly one of the 1%ers. They have homes all over the world. Margaret says they helicopter in occasionally to spend time at Dabee. The estate is actually a working ranch with probably thousands of cattle. It is an incredibly beautiful property with lush landscaping, loads of out-buildings for various purposes. The Rockwells, in addition to their use of the property, invite loads of friends and family to come and stay, thus creating the housekeeping job for Margaret and Clare. A little down the road is the first home, Fernside, the Rockwells lived in and raised their family. Although not so grand, it also is a beautiful property. As Margaret went in to do some work, we marveled at the peacocks strolling around.

Margaret and Clare said it is a pleasure working there because it is so beautiful. And the best part, she said, is that the Rockwells are wonderful people and have been very generous.

After our Dabee and Fernside tour, it was on to Dunn’s Swamp.The Aboriginal name for the area is Ganguddy. It’s location is within the huge Wollemi National Park. The Dunn’s Swamp recreational area was created when the town of Kandos built a weir across the Cudgegong River in the 1920s. It was built to supply water to the Kandos cement factory. The water impoundment area created by the weir is known as Dunn’s Swamp. I don’t know why it’s called that. The only thing that I could find is that below the weir, the creek originally wasn’t much of a creek, rather a boggy swamp. The use of the name “swamp” might come from that. Dunn’s Swamp is a beautiful reservoir. It is surrounded by sandstone walls and pagoda rocks. It’s very picturesque. In the national park are camping sites and the area is very popular for water sports, hiking, and camping.

With about two hours until dusk, we set off on a trail to the dam wall (weir). It was great seeing the river from the land because we had kayaked the river to the weir along the same route in a past visit. We started at river level and slowly walked upwards through the bush. There were amazing rock formations along the path.

Christine and I added to our photos of eucalypts, so interesting to see all the variations.

The vistas across the river were beautiful.

We stopped at a place along the river for group photos, one by Clare with all of us, and one by Christine.

After walking uphill along the path, we got to steps going down. Christine and I talked about whether she wanted to continue. She decided to wait at the steps so Lou, Margaret and I went on. We went down a lot of steps, leveled off, then went up again. We got to an area where we had to cross two rocky ledges. Thankfully, there was a railing to hold on to, because without that railing, I would have been rolling down the rock into the river far below. It’s a good thing Christine decided to sit this part out. Also, when Lou got to the first rocky ledge, he decided that was it for him and he took a seat to wait for us on the return trip.

Once past the rocky ledges, we found a flight of steps going up further. That was an easy rise. Then came a fairly vertical rock face that we had to pull ourselves up via a chain attached to poles sunk into the rocks. I found it very difficult, but Margaret and Clare scampered up like it was nothing. This photo shows where the chain starts just where Margaret is standing. Clare is already at the top ledge and I’m huffing my way up some steps. From where Margaret is, the chain goes up and around for about 40 feet, reaching the flat top of the rock.

Fortunately, after pulling myself up with great effort, I turned around to see a very gorgeous view.

We climbed a bit farther and came to the top of the rock which was a flat section that offered a gorgeous view of the river below. You can see the ledge that we crossed on the right side of the photo between the two clumps of trees.

Once at this lookout, I called down to Lou, who was sitting at the start of the rocky ledge suggesting that he start back to where we left Christine. We had been gone long enough that I was concerned that she would be worried. At first, he heard us, but didn’t see us. He finally looked way up the rocks and spotted us. He agreed, and began his return. I put a blue arrow in the photo below pointing to where he was, just to give a little perspective of how much higher we had climbed.

Margaret, Clare and I continued the path to the weir. From the lookout, it was mostly downhill and fairly easy to walk. We arrived at the weir, which was quite a structure. The weir held back the Cudgegong River. There was a sluice-way where water could run through.

We decided to continue on to a section called Long Cave. It was a flat pathway along the river. Along the way, Clare picked up a beetle that she saw, called a Christmas beetle, which is a member of the scarab family. Very colorful.

Long cave is an undercutting in the rock created, I assume, by flooding waters of the river. It was a huge rock overhead and a narrow cutout below this huge rock. It didn’t look so big approaching, but as you can see from the photo on the right, definitely a huge rock overhead.

Meanwhile, Lou got back to Christine and she was very happy to see him. She took photos of him, and he of her as they waited our return.

Margaret, Clare and I started our return. Going down the rock holding on to the chain was scary, but we managed. Margaret later confessed that she found it a bit difficult to scale that section. On the return, Margaret and Clare took a right turn onto another trail to Pagoda Lookout. I had intended to also visit this lookout, but by now I was pooped and red-faced from effort, so I continued on to find Lou and Christine. Margaret and Clare had to scramble over rocks without any indication of a path to get to Pagoda lookout. I’m sorry I didn’t go with them, but I doubt I would have been able to reach the lookout. They said it was quite a challenge to get there. Clare took photos from the lookout.

She shot a video while walking along the rocks at the lookout. I got queasy later looking at the video. She was very high up and walking along a ledge. It would have been a long way down if she had accidentally slipped or tripped.

I had joined up with Lou and Christine and we waited near the car park for Margaret and Clare. By now it was dusk and the sky was showing stormy weather coming in. Soon, Margaret and Clare arrived and we could start our 30-minute drive back to Rylstone.

We had a wonderful hike at Dunn’s Swamp. It had been the perfect time of day to go because it wasn’t hot and by late afternoon, the crowds had dispersed. I didn’t miss kayaking at all and found it so interesting to walk through the areas that we saw two years ago in kayaks on the river.

On the return drive back to Rylstone, a massive storm hit. We were all shocked at its severity. We had been seeing lightening off in the distance and knew we would get rain, but all of a sudden it poured, and within a few seconds, quarter-size hail came crashing down. The hail hitting the car was like being inside a tin can being hit by a metal spoon. It was so loud. I am so surprised that the windshield didn’t get cracked. The hail, rain, and wind were so fierce that Margaret stopped a couple of times because she couldn’t see the road. The one thing that made the drive possible was the reflective markers along the side of the road every 20 feet or so. We were all frightened and jumped at very big lightening strikes along the way. I was scared that a tree would come crashing down in the wind. There was tree debris all over the road. I know that we all will associate our trip to Dunn’s Swamp today with this storm. It definitely was a memorable one. I don’t think I’ve every experienced such a fierce storm while being out in it, and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such large hail. Fortunately, Margaret didn’t find much damage to her car from the hail.

Eventually, the hail stopped and we just had rain, but the conditions remained very challenging as pockets of fog were present. Margaret crept along very slowly until finally we saw the lights of the hospital in Rylstone. I think we all breathed a collection sigh of relief that we made it back to Rylstone. What a drive, and what a driver Margaret is. She got us home safe and sound.

We didn’t have any big trips planned for this week, so we enjoyed a leisurely week around Rylstone.

Lou and I walked to the cafe most mornings this week, always an enjoyable walk in the early morning. The temperatures around 7:00am are what Lou describes as “fresh.” We’ve had clear skies every morning with a bit of a breeze some mornings. Lou’s flags showed beautifully – the Malta and Australia flags.

It’s a lovely walk along the golf course. We also look to see how many campers pulled into the caravan park along the way.

Lou’s the town greeter sitting outside the cafe in the morning. Most people are very responsive. He can tell who’s a tourist and he makes a point of finding out where they are from and chatting a little about where they are staying. Most everyone, whether local or tourist, stop at least to say hello and pat Banjo. Banjo always keeps an eye on Lou when he goes in to place our order. The cafe is also a community gallery and there is always various artwork on display.

Here are more photos around Rylstone.

Monday we went swimming at the Kandos pool. It amazes me that this little town has an Olympic size swimming pool, and again when we were there it was virtually empty.

Tuesday we didn’t do much of anything, but I did get Christine down to the carport where Lou has a ping pong table. We rarely play ping pong, except on our Olivia trips (the cruise ship always has a table where the ball might end up in the ocean). We’re really bad at ping pong and suffered through a game. We didn’t do much else Tuesday because of the heat. The temperatures soared back into the upper 90s. Nice afternoon for a nap under the ceiling fan in our room. Lou’s singing group started up again in Kandos and so I cooked dinner while he was at practice, a nice (hopefully) frittata with sausage and potatoes.

Wednesday, of course, was Mudgee day. A funny thing happened on the drive. I mentioned that I sent Eve a birthday greeting on Messenger and Margaret said she did, too. Lou then pulled out his phone and typed a Messenger greeting to Eve. Somehow, he must have hit a button for a call. A moment later, Lou’s phone rang and it was Eve asking did he call her. So we had a short chat with Eve wishing her a happy birthday from Australia, even though it was still the day before her birthday in America.

In Mudgee, I had seen this statue when sitting across the street having a coffee with Lou. The statue is of Louisa Lawson and I loved reading her plaque – “there is no power in the world like that of women…” A young boy saw us looking at the statue and he came up to us telling us about Louisa Lawson and showing us all the books she had written that were sculpted around the back of the statue. It was very cute that he was so informative and proud of Lawson’s accomplishments.

Thursday at noon, Christine and I phoned Eve to wish her a happy birthday. Noon in Rylstone on Thursday was 8pm Wednesday evening in Vermont, so Eve’s actual birthday. We couldn’t keep the Messenger video call going, and didn’t have much luck with an audio call on Messenger. We were able to see her briefly, which was nice, but we finally just dialed her using the cell service on my cellphone, and that worked beautifully. It was nice catching up a bit with Eve, although, things are really a bit scary and up in the air for her as a teacher. She teaches all the things that the Trump administration is trying to eliminate, like, DEI, , the 1619 Project, racial and ethnic injustice, etc. So far, her school’s administration has not made any changes, but I’m sure it is really frightening at this moment in time to be an advocate teaching all that the Trump administration is trying to blow up.

Thursday evening we were invited to Margaret’s for a birthday party. A friend of Daniel’s, Jess, who has been living in the little cottage on Margaret’s property, had a birthday today. Daniel ordered Chinese takeaway for everyone and Margaret set out a nice table in the carport where we could catch an occasional breeze and be comfortable. Jess’s daughter Freya, aged 2, was entertaining, as was Jess’s grandmother Helen, who had a lot to talk about while we were there. It was a pleasant evening.

Friday Lou had to get some blood work done. There is a health service with lab at a small little hospital here in Rylstone. The hospital is similar to a critical access hospital in America. It has an emergency room, a few beds for stabilizing patients, an ambulance service, and a helipad. Most patients are stabilized and then transported by road or air to an appropriate full-service health facility.

After the blood work, Lou and I went to the church, St. Malachy’s, to await a truck that would bring the Joy to the World Christmas display shed back to Lou’s. Lou’s friends Arthur and Gary were there to help. I thought this might be a difficult venture, but the truck was a tip truck and it very easily scooped up the shed and pulled it onto the bed of the truck.

At Lou’s the truck easily backed up to Lou’s big shed and the Christmas shed was lowered to the ground and the guys pulled it into Lou’s shed.

Afterward, Christine, Lou, Arthur and I went to Yum Cha & Tea House for lunch. We weren’t expecting to go out to lunch, but we had a lovely dim sim lunch of 6 varieties of dumplings while sitting in a lovely space. Arthur put some kind of sauce into a little bowl with soy sauce and said he loved whatever kind of sauce it was. We all did the same. When the first set of dumplings arrived, we all put them in our little bowls with the sauce. Arthur ate his right down. Lou and I coughed after the first bite because the sauce was quite full of chilies and was quite powerful. Christine didn’t have quite as much trouble as Lou and I. The dumplings were delicious, however, and after adjusting to the sauce and not getting so much on the dumplings, we enjoyed the food and the lovely Jasmin tea. And, we didn’t have to worry about conversation because Arthur had a lot to talk about.

We all kind of lazed around the rest of the afternoon. I’m getting addicted to an afternoon nap, which surprises me because I haven’t been much of a nap taker. Today was the third nap this week.

After dinner, Lou, Christine and I sat out in the back yard trying to cool off. It was a pleasant evening outside and we watched the stars begin to appear. It was a half-moon, very bright, which prevented us from seeing a host of stars, but Christine identified Orion and Lou pointed out the Southern Cross. I Googled to see if some of the other constellations that we see at home are visible, and no, constellations like the Dippers and Cassiopeia are not visible in the Southern Hemisphere. We were amazed by how many airplanes we saw. It was a lovely evening just sitting out in the cool evening just chatting.

Saturday morning Lou and I went to pick up some tin sheets. The lady who rides with us to Mudgee on Wednesdays, Regina, said her husband had a bunch of sheets behind his shed that he was going to take to the dump. She called her husband Garry and arranged for those tin sheets to be given to Lou. We arrived at their house and Garry and Lou loaded the sheets into Lou’s trailer. I talked with Regina while the loading was going on. I really listened while the loading was going on. It would be interesting to get Regina and Arthur together. I’m not sure what would happen and who would talk more. Garry and Regina’s property is neat as a pin and over the past 5 years, they have created a lovely garden and numerous sheds. Garry has quite a man cave with a Harley Davidson theme and a giant Harley bike in the corner which he still rides. He’s a big, tattooed guy with an earring and I never would have pictured him as Regina’s husband, but it’s clear they are a loving couple.

On the way back home, Lou stopped at the church to mow the spot where the Joy to the World shed had been sitting. After mowing, we loaded the mower back into the trailer and went home. When we got to Lou’s and unhitched the trailer from the car, we noticed that the trailer tailgate was missing. That’s a big problem because that’s where the license plate is attached, and without that, Lou can’t use his trailer. So, we got back in the car and retraced our steps looking for the tailgate that had apparently fallen off the trailer somewhere. We drove back and forth from Kandos a couple of times looking along the road for the tailgate, but no go.

We came home to pick up Christine because we were going to the Rylstone market, kind of like a monthly farmer’s market and craft fair. Before we went there, we drove to Kandos again looking for the lost tailgate, but didn’t see it. Then on to the market.

Clare has a nice display of her cookies, cupcakes and bakes with a fantastic book showing all the beautiful cakes she has produced for weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions. She is so very talented with her baking, her artwork, her costuming.

Here’s a photo of beautifully decorated cupcakes.

After telling Margaret and Clare about the missing tailgate, Clare posted on her Facebook page a message about the tailgate, hoping that someone found it. Christine and I wandered around the market for a bit chatting with vendors and looking at the lovely items for sale that were mostly handmade.

When we got back home Lou got a message from Clare saying that the tailgate had been retrieved by a guy and taken to the service station across the street from the church. Lou was absolutely thrilled! Off he went to pick it up. He spoke with the man who found it, who marveled that we didn’t hear it falling off the trailer as we left the church after mowing. He didn’t recognize Lou’s car, but he picked it up and carried across the street to the service station. Thank goodness there are still Good Samaritans.

We were thinking of kayaking at Dunn’s Swamp, but with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, we opted for a visit to the pool. Again, we arrived and had the whole pool to ourselves. A few people arrived, but still it’s amazing that a huge pool is not utilized very much, or else we’re just lucky with the times that we show up.

By the time we left the pool, the storm clouds were moving in. I’m glad we decided to skip Dunn’s Swamp, although it’s a wonderful kayaking area. Maybe we can do that tomorrow.

When we got home, Lou had a little episode of feeling shaky. He had a low-grade fever. We think between the sun, and then sitting in a wet suit, he got a chill. He also hurt his good knee when he sat down on the side of the pool. Because of his shaking, I covered him up in a blanket in his recliner. He napped for a bit, but didn’t feel any better. After taking his temperature, we learned he had a fairly high fever, 101.4. We got him into bed and I consulted with Margaret. We did a COVID test (negative) and called his doctor, but didn’t get a call back. We made Lou comfortable and he went to sleep. It was kind of scary that he got sick so suddenly.

Sunday morning, Lou got up, showered, dressed, and had breakfast. His fever is gone and he feels reasonably well. Thank goodness the episode of sickness passed quickly. We’ll carry on today, as we enter our final days in Rylstone.

Our excursion today was to ride on the heritage, small-gauge, steam engine train call the Zig Zag Railway. Just as building the tunnels through the Wolgan Valley was quite a feat, building the Lithgow Zig Zag was a great engineering accomplishment to overcome an otherwise insurmountable climb and descent on the western side of the Blue Mountains. The Lithgow Zig Zag railway operated between 1869 and 1910 and was built by hand up and down ragged cliffs and steep valleys. The engineering included four large rock cuttings, three fine stone viaducts with 30-foot semi-circular arches and a short tunnel.

Margaret chauffeured us to just past Lithgow to the Zig Zag Railroad car park. The Zig Zag Railroad corporation started as a steam engine preservation society. The corporation is staffed by all volunteers, steam engine enthusiasts, and they have amassed several thousand engines, rail cars, and wagons, lovingly renovated and preserved. This steam engine, coal powered to make the steam from the firebox to the boiler, was at one end of our train today. Steam engines are not so wonderful because they produce smoke and grit, which you can feel, especially when going through the tunnel.

The rail cars are comfortable and have windows that can be lowered so you can lean out during the trip to take in the views.

We started our 90-minute journey and fairly quickly went into a tunnel, very dark for a few seconds until the lights in the car came on. After the tunnel, the train travels along sheer rock cliffs until we got close to the valley.

When I heard about the Zig Zag, I thought of the shape like a Z and during the early stages of the trip I wondered when we would start zig zagging. I soon learned that the zig zag is a process of going in one direction, and then going in the opposite direction switched on to a different track. Going forward, then backward, then forward again onto different tracks is where the zig zag gets its name and is how the train climbs or descends the western side of the Blue Mountains as each track is a different elevation. Historically, there was another zig zag train line on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains as well.

One of the problems with this zig zag approach to climbing or descending was that it created bottlenecks of trains reversing while others were waiting to use the track. That’s why after 1910, ten tunnels were dug out so that it eliminated the need for trains to reverse onto the three different levels of track and could go straight through. Diesel engines replaced steam engines, which were much more powerful and could push trains up the ascent and over the Blue Mountains. There was a diesel engine at one end of our train pushing or pulling along with the steam engine at the other end.

We relished the ride and saw great vistas across the valley. We crossed one of three viaducts, which gave us a view of the valley.

We arrived at a stop at Top Points railway station. It is situated at the reversal point of the Middle and Top Roads of the Zig Zag Railway. The signal box is where the action is taken to switch the rails for either the ascent or decent. We had a 10 minute stop to get out and take a look.

Back on the train, we switched onto another track and reversed direction to descend to Bottom Points station. It is situated at the reversal point of the Lower and Middle Roads of the Zig Zag Railway. We had another 10 minute stop at Bottom Points to take a look around.

We then reversed and started our ascent back up to Top Points and then on to Clarence, our original starting point. On the ascent, the steam engine was at the front of the train and we could tell how hard the engine was working to take us back up the mountain. The elevation at Clarence is 3,658 above sea level, so it was a long, slow ascent.

The train crossed another viaduct and we could hang out the window and look down. Of course, hanging on to one’s cellphone is all important. It could easily take a fast trip into the valley. As we crossed the viaduct and looked down, we could see a worker down on the lowest track.

This photo shows the three levels of track.

It was a fun ride and I think we all enjoyed it. I especially like learning about historical things, and the history of trains in such a mountainous area was very interesting.

On the ride home, I asked if we could stop at a lookout point over the Capertee Valley. The road to Lithgow passes the Capertee Valley and you can get an incredible view. The road, on past visits, was under repair as one side of the road, which hangs off the side of the mountain, had collapsed. We never got much of a view and the lookout was closed so this is the first time we’ve been able to see the full valley.

The Capertee Valley is reported to be the widest valley on earth, so their signage says. Wikipedia disagrees, stating that the Great Rift Valley in Africa is the largest. But no matter, the Capertee is a very unique and beautiful geological area. From the Pearson Lookout, one gets a tremendous view of the valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. The sandstone escarpments in the distance were visible, although the view showed how humid it was so as to make things in the distance a bit fuzzy. It was marvelous to take in this fabulous vista.

Margaret invited us to dinner when we got back to Rylstone. She had roasted a leg of lamb that morning. Within an hour of getting home, she had whipped up the rest of a delicious dinner. We haven’t seen much of Daniel this trip. He’s working full time at Woolie’s so he has limited time to be with us, but he joined us for dinner tonight and we got a chance to catch up with him.

It was a very fun day and we enjoyed ourselves a great deal.

Lou had a men’s breakfast at the Anglican church this morning so we were on our own. Across the street from Lou is a nature reserve called the Common. This public space has a 1.5km loop walking trail through the bush and I’ve wanted to visit since we’ve been here. This morning is our chance, nice weather and not too hot.

Before we left Lou’s, we tried to get Banjo to go out into what we call the compound, the side screened in porch and fenced in yard. He refused to go. He’s never happy when Lou goes away and he just wanted to lie in the lounge chair. When I tried to give him a little nudge, he actually snapped at me. We decided to leave him in the house and leave him be.

Christine wasn’t too keen on going, but she came along. We should have brought a bottle of water with us because she was thirsty and had a dry mouth. Her alternative was to chew some gum and after that, she enjoyed the walk.

The path winds its way down through a grassy woodlot to a very picturesque view of the Cudgegong River and a paddock of cattle. It’s a lovely spot.

And here we are on our walk through the Common. It started off chilly, but very quickly we warmed up and had our jumpers (what the Aussies call a sweater) around our waists.

I am fascinated by gum trees, eucalypts. There are over 700 species of this really interesting flowering tree. One of the reasons I love walking through the bush is the smell of eucalyptus that permeates the air. The area we were walking through was ravaged by bushfire in 2020 and many of the trees in the Common are dead from fire or have very blackened trunks. Many were badly burned, but are still alive. It is nice to see the regeneration of the bush. For thousands, even millions, of years, the eucalypts have been ravaged by fire, but the species finds a way to keep going. Some species actually need fire for regeneration through epicormic buds. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up the plant. Under certain conditions, they grow into active shoots, such as when damage occurs to higher parts of the plant like when fire ravages the bush. The epicormic shoots look really funny poking out from the trunk making it seems as though the tree is fuzzy.

The other thing that fascinates me about gum trees is that all eucalypts grow new bark each year. Many gum trees grow so fast that they need to get rid of their bark to make room for rapid growth. The dead bark may be shed in large slabs, in ribbons or in small flakes. This makes bush walks so interesting because of all the variations in the trees and in their bark. It’s like walking through an art gallery of bark paintings. It adds color, texture, and patterns in the bush.

Here are some more photos around the Common.

I took a very long nap in the afternoon on Saturday. I guess I needed to catch up on sleep.

Later in the evening, Angela stopped in to say goodbye. She is going into hospital in Sydney for a hip replacement next Wednesday and will then go to rehab, so we won’t see her again. It was really sweet of her to want to say goodbye. She gave Christine and me holy stickers of Sister Mary MacKillop, an Australian saint canonized in 2010. Sister Mary lived from 1842 to 1909. She co-founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart whose members were known as the Josephites. Their work involved running schools in southern Australia and New South Wales for impoverished children. She was also an early reporter of clergy sexual abuse, often enraging church hierarchy and getting her excommunicated for a period of time.

It was a very thoughtful thing for Angela to present to us.

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Angela and spending time with her. She is a very funny, opinionated, and lovely woman. She and Lou spar a bit about things, especially related to church matters, but they have a great relationship and are there for each other when the need arises.

Today Margaret returns to one of her day jobs, driving a school bus. The craziest thing, though, is that students don’t start until Thursday, February 6, but each day between now and then, school bus drivers have to drive their entire routes twice a day as if they were picking up and dropping off student. Four days of, in my opinion, unnecessary fuel use and driver time. The only good part of it is that drivers get paid for driving empty school buses for the next 4 days.

Margaret’s run is unbelievably long, a 2-hour round trip of about 62 miles. Her route goes way out into the rural countryside from Rylstone. And she does this morning and afternoon. That’s a lot of driving!

Because there weren’t any students today, Margaret asked me if I’d like to ride along. Absolutely! We drove to Kandos to pick up the bus and then in the bus we drove back to Rylstone elementary and junior high. Then it’s back to Kandos high school. Then on to Ilford elementary. And now she takes all the kids to their homes, all of them off the main roads and down several country dirt roads.

I will say that the countryside she drives through is absolutely beautiful. Mostly it is rolling hills with lots of pasture land with grazing cattle, goats, and sheep. The occasional kangaroo jumps across the road.

Margaret said she loves driving and finds it very peaceful on her route. I asked her how she handles the kids on the bus. She said they are mostly well-behaved and that she sees the kids grow up from elementary school through high school, so they all know what she expects from them.

It was a great ride and I got a chance to talk with Margaret. She had a tough time during her messy divorce and has paid a really high price. It sounded to me like she got lousy legal representation and her ex-husband’s family, well-known in the area, did some dirty tricks. As a result, Margaret has had to work very hard to give her kids a stable home. In addition to driving the school bus, she does cleaning of a large homestead owned by a well-to-do-family from Sydney who allow friends and family to use the property for holidays. She does the cleaning, with Clare, in between her school bus runs, so she has to be ever conscious of time. Margaret is quite amazing, and I understand her much better having had the two hours to talk with her during her afternoon run today.

This was a great view from the top of Lou’s driveway this evening looking past the neighbor’s house.

A really interesting place we visited during our trip in 2023 was an old railway tunnel containing thousands, maybe millions, of glow worms. It was an experience then because the rail bed was full of rocks and holes and we stumbled our way through the tunnel with only cellphone flashlights to show our way and didn’t see many glow worms because of people shining lights on the ceiling, which makes the glow worms turn off. We had read that there had been improvements made through the tunnel with a walking track, making it much easier to traverse.

So off we went to Lithgow. Margaret had to take her riding mower and push mower to be serviced. With a 75 minute drive, one learns to combine errands and appointments to cut down on driving. It’s interesting to see how rural living is very different than city living. Margaret and Lou think a 45 minute drive to Mudgee, or a 75 minute drive to Lithgow, isn’t a big deal.

After dropping off the trailer with the mowers at the service place, we then proceeded to the Glow Worm Tunnel. One of the things that didn’t really improve was the dirt road we had to travel for about 30 miles. We bounced along for what seemed like forever. Although some grading had been done, the road was corrugated, as Lou called it, an apt description. It was interesting, though, to see how the landscape had recovered from the 2029/2020 bushfires. Although we saw loads of standing and downed dead trees, the scrub grass and bushes and small new trees were green and lush.

We came to a sign showing roads to two different car parks. Margaret chose the right one going to the Old Coal Path Road. The sign said 5km, but none of us believed that after going about 15 minutes down a narrow path. We came to a two-slot car park with a sign showing a map. After consulting the map, which showed a rather long, winding, track to the tunnel, we opted to head back to the fork and take the left road, which indicated 3km to a car park, also unbelievable.

Near the glow worm car park, you drive through a very narrow tunnel several hundred feet long, a taste of things to come. We finally arrived at the car park and began walking descent down to the glow worm tunnel.

The tunnel was hand-dug through the sandstone in the early 1900s for a railway through the Wolgan Valley enabling rail cars to get to the shale oil fields. It was a dangerous endeavor and many men lost their lives due to falls from the cliffs or mistimed blasts. The railway ended in 1932 and all the track was pulled up and shipped to shipped to North Africa for use as anti-tank traps and gun emplacement reinforcements during WWII.

The tunnel has since been inhabited by glow worms, tiny creatures that produce a compelling blue-green light called bioluminescence, which they use to attract their prey. Here’s a photo that I borrowed from the internet showing what the glow worm larvae looks like.

We hiked down to the tunnel entrance through the bush and rock cliffs. It is a really nice walk with many beautiful things to see.

We arrived at the tunnel and were pleased to find a proper cement walkway, with hand rail through the tunnel. What a difference that walkway and handrail made!

The tunnel is 1,320 feet long and is curved. Within a few minutes, once past the curve so the light from the entrance was blocked, it became very, very dark, but with the walkway and handrail, you really didn’t need a torch. You could just shuffle along holding on to the railing. What a difference from our last visit where we stumbled along in the unimproved rail bed, stepping in puddles and tripping over rocks.

It took a while for our eyes to adjust to the total darkness, but as we shuffled along into the tunnel, small dots of light began to appear. It was a really incredible sight as thousands of pinpoint lights began to appear. I had better luck using my peripheral vision to see vast swaths of glow worms rather than staring straight at the glow worms. We saw so many more glow worms this time around and it was exciting. Photos don’t do it justice, but Christine was able to capture a couple of shots. The glow worms look kind of like flying over a small town in an airplane and seeing the lights.

We stayed in the tunnel much longer than Lou, Margaret and Clare did, and as a result, we got separated from them and didn’t know where they went. We wandered around the area outside the tunnel, which is beautiful, while waiting to see if we could connect up with them.

There was a track that went to a lookout, but we stayed near the tunnel and waited. After a while, we walked back through the tunnel and up to the car park to wait for them. I guess we should have walked the track to the lookout, because that’s where they went. They said it was a great view over the valley. Oh well, maybe next time.

This trip to the glow worm tunnel was a thousand times better than the last visit. It was well worth doing and we’re glad we made the trip.

Then it was back over the bumpy dirt road to Lithgow. Margaret had to pick up her school bus to drive back to Kandos. This is the end of her holiday from school and so she starts her school bus runs tomorrow.

Clare then took over the driving and we followed behind Margaret in her school bus. We encountered heavy rain on the trip home. Margaret took the bus to the depot in Kandos and as we waited for her, we watched a lot of lightening over the Coomber Mountain and then we saw incredible pink clouds. Christine took a video of the clouds as we drove, but I can’t upload videos currently and I couldn’t take a clip to show you.

We arrived home late and were all tired. It was a lovely day.