Pies

I don’t mind a good pie – there just aren’t too many places where you can get a decent one these days. These I got from Thompson’s Bakery at Raymond Terrace – cheese and bacon cocktail pies, or party pies if you prefer. I know you can get good pies at both Bulahdelah and Gloucester (normal size), while these smaller ones are pretty good at the Terrace. Other than that I wouldn’t rave about any others nearby. I would also say the same for the sausage rolls by the way.

I suppose it’s a good thing as it prevents me from buying a lot of them and piling on the weight.

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Bulahdelah

So I was right about my day when I spoke of it yesterday. Not a lot going on today, so today’s post will be more about yesterday. I hope that makes perfect sense to everyone – it sounded even worse with the original way I was going to write it (I was trying to be clever, so went for simplicity in the end).

ABOVE: The Punt at Bombah Point BELOW: On the Punt

To get to Bulahdelah from Hole in the Wall, you need to go via Bombah Point and the ferry service there. I guess you could also call it a punt. Many people still call it that. Anyhow, as the pictures show, it doesn’t cover a great distance. How much is the charge for this journey – at the moment it’s $5.00 AU. Seems a little excessive for something that’s over in less than 5 minutes. Still, there is a wage to pay, maintenance, etc. Still, you wouldn’t want to be doing it too often. You do get a ticket though (see picture at right).

The road to the punt isn’t too bad for an out of the way road. On the other side between the punt and Bulahdelah though… well, that’s a different story and is typical of gravel roads in this council area. It is full of large pot holes. The road from Hawks Nest to the punt is all sealed. You also go past the Pacific Highway upgrade near Bulahdelah and Mount Alum.

So arriving in Bulahdelah you enter near the old Court House, so I thought I’d stop and have a quick look.

The Court House isn’t open to the public too often. The note on the door indicated it was open on Saturday mornings, but I wouldn’t be too confident in what was on the note, it had been there for quite some time and was rather weather beaten. There are some old bits and pieces laying around the grounds of the Court House, from Bulahdelah’s logging and mining history. Being into history, I enjoyed having a bit of a look at these items, which you do see time and again throughout the region in various museums, parks and even in the bush. The whole region enjoys a similar history, particularly logging.

ABOVE & BELOW: Bulahdelah Court House

ABOVE: Mining History Relics BELOW: Logging History Relics

Following the time spent at Bulahdelah Court House, I decided it was time for lunch and if you follow me on Foodspotting or visit my profile page, you would know that I found a cheese and bacon sausage roll (from Bulahdelah Bakery – best bakery in the district) for lunch (I actually had two – naughty), while reading a newspaper parked out the front of the visitor centre. Why there? Well I decided I might as well grab some info. on some areas I’m thinking of visiting in coming days, as well as further down the track. I have a visitor centre practically next door to me, but since I was here I might as well pop in.

ABOVE: Bulahdelah Bakery BELOW: Bulahdelah Visitor Centre

So after that it was back down the highway and to Tea Gardens once again.

For more on Bulahdelah:
http://www.bulahdelah.net.au/

For more on Tea Gardens:
http://www.teagardens.nsw.au/

Myall Lakes National Park

It was my first official day of annual leave from work today and of course it had to start with a good sleep-in, which I might add I’m going to try and avoid doing for the entire period of my annual leave – just the first couple of days. I have been extremely tired, so a few sleep-ins will be helpful – for my health and well being you know. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about and agree with me entirely. I take your silence as tacit agreement. Thank you for that.

Once I was up I thought I should do something – so the day wouldn’t be viewed as an entire waste. So a drive to Bulahdelah was on the cards via the Myall Lakes National Park and the Bombah Point Ferry. So that’s what I decided to do, after I thought through a few more possible options for other things to do during my holidays. I have come up with a reasonable list I think – I just need to see them all through now. Hopefully that will happen – just need to keep myself from sleeping-in too often.

So I headed off for my drive through the park, which is only a very short drive from where I live, just on the other side of Hawks Nest.

One of the things you notice when driving through Myall Lakes National Park at the moment is all of the Wattle that is flowering. The Wattle (Acacia) is a native shrub – actually there are many species of Acacia, with the one pictured being Acacia longifolia. Everywhere you look in the national park along the road you see masses of Wattle in flower. With the growing conditions in recent times they all look magnificent.

Of course the Wattle isn’t the only wildflower currently flowering, but it is probably the most prolific of all of the wildflowers at the moment. The Banksia is another very noticeable wildflower that is flowering at the moment and there are several others also.

ABOVE: More Wattle

I spotted some more wildflowers when I stopped at the place known as the ‘Hole in the Wall.’ Hole in the Wall is a picnic area providing views of the coast and Pacific Ocean. It also provides access to the beach. I didn’t head down to the beach, but I did enjoy the view. It is a great spot on the coast here on the Myall Coast.

ABOVE: Banksia Flower BELOW: View from Hole in the Wall

So after Hole in the Wall it was pretty much straight to Bulahdelah, via the Bombah Point Ferry, but that can be tomorrow’s post as I won’t be doing a great deal tomorrow. So until then, enjoy looking at that panoramic shot above.

Tallest Tree in New South Wales

The photo at right is of the pathway that leads to the tallest tree in New South Wales, Australia. It is a Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum), located in the Wang Wauk State Forest, to the north of Bulahdelah.

The tree is thought to be over 400 years old and some 84.3 metres high. It is 2.7 metres across at its base.

BUSHFIRE SEASON HAS ARRIVED

On Friday I was visiting the Bulahdelah Cemetery in order to photograph headstones for my family history research. I decided to go up to Bulahdelah after work, it being only a short journey from Tea Gardens.

What I had noticed over the last week or so was that as the temperature had begun to rise so the number of bushfires and controlled burns had increased around the area dramatically. In fact, there have been quite a lot of bushfires burning around the area. Though this photo was taken on Friday, bushfires are continuing to burn around the place, driven by the very strong winds and dry conditions that currently exist. There is a massive fire burning over toward Nelson Bay by the look of it, as there are huge plumes of smoke in that direction.

This photo was taken from the Bulahdelah Cemetery toward Alum Mountain, where the fire was burning. The air throughout the area, from Tea Gardens to Bulahdelah, was full of smoke and there was a thick smoke haze. I wouldn’t say the air was choking, but every breath certainly had the taste of summer upon it.