01-27/28-2020: Copacabana Beach and Mt. Penang Gardens

Beach and gardens! What could be better than that??!! Two of our most favorite things.

On Monday, the “official” observance of Australia Day since the 26th was on a Sunday, we went to our favorite beach to date, Copacabana Beach. It is a beautiful beach. The surf was just right for wave jumping, big enough but not too big, and the water was clean. Christine and I had a good time while Lou and Banjo watched from down the beach. Several beaches do allow dogs, but not Copacabana, so Banjo didn’t get a swim in today. After Christine and I tired ourselves out, we gave Lou a chance to get wet. As you can see from the photos below, even on a holiday there was plenty of empty space on the beach.

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After our swim, Lou drove us around the hills near the beach to see some of the houses. Of course, a water view is what everyone wants and so the houses get built higher and higher and many are perched right on the cliff. The roads are very steep and narrow and one gets easily lost, the streets being like a rabbit’s warren, but up high on the hills.

On Tuesday we went to Mt. Penang Gardens. In researching activities on the Central Coast, I had found information on this garden. Readers of this blog know that Christine and I look for gardens to visit. Lou knew where the garden is located, but he had never been there. It worked out perfectly to go today. Lou had called his doctor’s office to get an appointment as he needed some medication renewals. He called the office at about 8:45 and the receptionist asked if a 10:45 appointment (today!) was good. Imagine that, same morning appointment.

After the appointment we went up a steep hill to Mt. Penang Garden. The garden website has this description. “Opened in November 2003, Mt. Penang Gardens is considered an enduring and radical contribution to public garden design in Australia. Its distinctive design by Anton James sets it apart from the traditional botanical garden. His garden within a garden produces an understated landscape that is less manicured and in a constant state of being. It continues to evolve today. Individual ‘gardens’ are set on and around a large sculptural plateau and walled spaces, abstract pergolas, fountains, ponds, cascades and a 35-meter cantilevered steel footbridge. Along with waterways and stunning summer aquatic gardens, you’ll find that over 70% of the plants are native to Australia. Marvel at the creative ways in which modern landscapes and Australian native flora blend together to produce amazing seasonal displays.”

The gardens cover about 20 acres and while the plants have been affected by the drought, there are many ponds and a 3-tiered water lily garden that provides a sense of lushness in contrast to the very parched earth in many of the beds. And today is exceptionally hot and humid so it was uncomfortable to be in the sun for very long. However, there were many areas of shade, with benches, to rest and some cooling breezes.

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Since it is the middle of summer, and we’re in the midst of a drought, not many of the plants were blooming. But there was plenty to see, especially the beautiful lilies, pink being my very favorite.

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The walkway around the gardens is called the Discovery Trail and goes through 12 themed garden rooms based upon a particular plant species, predominantly Australian native, a horticultural theme or specific micro climate.

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One of the red flowering gum trees was full of squawking birds and I went up to the tree to see if I could identify some of the birds. I was able to snap this picture of a beautiful bird.

There was an obelisk at the top of a small cascading pool.

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My favorite part of the gardens was a small stand of trees, called narrow-leaved bottle tree, which is a native to Queensland, the state just north of New South Wales. The bottle tree is a deciduous succulent, an interesting combination, and is drought resistant making it a good choice for its native habitat. Aboriginal people made use of the trees through eating the roots of young plants and by consuming secretions from the trunk that were induced by wounds. Fiber obtained from the species was used to make nets. The leaves have also been used for fodder, and Queensland farmers often leave bottle trees as a potential food source when land is cleared. During drought conditions, whole trees have been felled to feed stock. The soft edible pulp inside the trunk is exposed by removing the bark. So not only is the bottle tree a really neat-looking tree, it is very versatile.

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Another part of the gardens was a sculpture garden. The outdoor sculpture exhibition is on perpetual display at Mt. Penang Gardens. The exhibit was created in 1987 by a group of international sculptors at waterside Wondabyne, so collectively the sculptures are referred to as the Wondabyne Sculptures. These large artworks were carved from Gosford sandstone and were handed over to the people of Australia as a bicentennial gift from the artists. The sculptures are depictions of peace and harmony.

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After walking around the garden, we had lunch in the waterside cafe. Poor Christine was quite overheated and stood in front of a fan to try and cool off while waiting for our lunch.

On our way back to Lou’s we stopped by Alex and Gloria’s house to return car keys. We had borrowed Gloria’s car for our trip to Margaret’s. Alex and Gloria had just returned from their month-long holiday on their sailing yacht and were unloading the boat. Alex is selling the boat and so everything from 35 years of ownership has to be removed from the boat, a very daunting task. We think he will be purchasing a 56-foot cabin cruiser, which will provide them with a much easier boat to use.

The house is phenomenal! It is right on the Brisbane Water with a wharf-type dock for the boat. The views are spectacular as is the house itself. The house is new, having taken 18 months to build to Alex’s specifications and they have resided in the house since November, 2018. It was supposed to be a down-sized house from their previous mansion, but golly, this house is huge and amazing.

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We sat out on the veranda and had a beverage and talked with Alex and Gloria. Gloria said she was happy we came by because it enabled her to have a rest from toting stuff from the boat to the house. We really enjoy Alex and Gloria and it was a pleasant way to spend the late afternoon.

Another wonderful day Down Under!