Day 114 Werri Beach

We awoke to another grey and rather chilly day which was drizzly at times, so not wonderful for a rest day in terms of seeing the sights, but good for sitting in the camp kitchen and catching up on blogging. We had met a group of grey nomads from Sydney the night before and traded jokes and chatted, and saw them around during the day, but apart from them the park was pretty deserted. In between rain showers we checked out the beach and later in the day did a bit of shopping and searching for the perfect coffee container to replace one left behind – in vain on this occasion. Posted a book to the grandkids in Perth, and had a quiet night in preparation to a busy time to come catching up with friends and relatives in Sydney.

 

Day 115 Werri Beach to Cronulla/Zetland

 

Luckily the weather cleared up enough that doing an oil painting of one headland at Werri Beach was an option, and it was fun trying to get the wild seas down in paint. It also made for pleasant riding for Steve and was able to find a route that avoided the major roads from Gerringong to Bundeena in the Royal National Park with a stop in Stanwell Park to meet up for lunch.

I however, took the infamous Bulli Pass to get there, gritting my teeth as I drove! After a lovely café stop Steve headed for Bundeena and the ferry to Cronulla while I wandered down to the beach to do an aquarelle of the Stanwell Tops headland that is so favoured by hang gliders and the like.

Time was getting away on us so we decided that I should pick Steve up at the Cronulla ferry and we would drive over to my cousin’s place in Lane Cove to deposit the pod before returning to our good friend Marilyn’s flat in Zetland – home for a few days. It was a busy day!

 

Day 116 -118 Zetland

During our stay in Sydney we visited the headquarters of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, which meant we could put faces to the names and voices of people we are in contact with during our journey. They happened to be across the road from a Rapha shop – irresistible. On our way to the office we had split up to cater to our individual desires: Steve went to a bike shop, I to an art store to stock up on our various requirements.

As well as relaxing with Marilyn while in Sydney we also enjoyed a Good Friday get together with my Aunt Renee and Uncle Keith along with cousin Stella, her husband Andreas, and their three children, an excellent exhibition of Lloyd Rees drawings from the 1930s and the arrival on Saturday of daughter number two, Katie Goble who was joining us for our tour from Gosford of the Blue Mountains, Jenolan Caves and Bathurst. Steve also made up the kilometers from Cronulla to Zetland on the bike by catching trains back there and riding to the unit in Zetland…he is determined to have an unbroken line…

 

Day 119 Zetland – East Gosford

Easter Sunday was celebrated by getting on the road again, Steve on the bike, Katie and I by car. First we had to pick up the pod from Stella’s at Lane Cove, so Steve set off a bit earlier and met us there. It was and opportunity for Stella and I to have a good gossip while Katie napped (the time difference from Perth had caught up with her) and Steve made some headway on the way to a lovely restaurant near Brooklyn, Estuary, overlooking the Hawksbury – yum, it was delightful, and a nice Easter treat for us all before we arrived at Steve’s sister Jo and husband Brian’s place in West Gosford where there is always a revolving door of family coming and going – lots of fun and laughter to be had at the Finn Inn!

 

Day 120 Gosford

We spent the day preparing for our little driving tour of favourite places in the Blue Mountains and surrounds. Jo had taken time off work and Katie was raring to go, so we unpacked the car to fit us all in – quite an exercise after four months of traveling. It was great to have the opportunity to clean it out and sort everything, and going on a driving tour together is a nice change for Steve and I – especially as we had booked some lovely places to stay on our short sojourn.