18th May, 2011 - Fagan Park, Galston, NSW

Today, we went to Fagan Park, Galston in Sydney's north.

It is 55 hectare area of lush green gardens that was donated by the Fagan family to the Hornsby Shire council. The park is home to the original homestead, Netherby Cottage of the Fagan family, that has been converted into a museum overlooking over 15 acres of parkland.

The area is set up for families and people who love to visit and BBQ.

We too advantage of the fine weather and great BBQ facilities and we had a BBQ for lunch.

After lunch we wandered through the old farm and took some pictures of the old

farm equipment and sheds. This was a chaff cutting machine in original condition.

It was used to cut hay for farm animals.

It was unusual seeing a bell like this on the farm. I'm sure it wasn't used to

call the cows up for milking! But it was interesting nevertheless.

This windmill pumped water from underground to wells on the farm so as to supply

water for the house, sheds (including the milking shed) and animals.

Another shot of the windmill.

Old milk cans used to collect and store the milk for delivery.

One of the Machinery Storage sheds...

Inside was an old McDonald diesel Road Roller.

The shed had to parts to it. On the right was a blacksmith shop which was an area

used to work on farm implements.

These are some of the tools that would have been used...

This is the anvil that was used to hammer out metal objects to shape them...

A heavy duty vise used to hold objects that were being worked on.

Another storage shed with farm machinery stored in it.

This is the old Fagan Homestead.

The Park has lots of different areas representing different countries around the world.

This was the Dutch section with it's magnificent windmill and Canal.

In Holland, canals were used every day with little boats plying the canals.

Bridges had to be made so that they could be easily lifted so that a boat

could get through...

As you can see by this photo the bridge was constructed with a counter lever

so that a person could pull the bridge up easily.

The Windmill is set in a beautiful park surrounding.

I couldn't resist getting Don to take my photo against the Windmill.

This gives an idea of its size.

This was a view of the North American Garden with a typical Georgian Colonial

style house. Being Autumn, the colours in the park are stunning.

Further down the park is a small bridge with Willows along the edges of the lake.

The bright sunny day gave us a great opportunity to take some brilliant pictures

of the autumn colours reflected in the water.

The lake looked stunning!

Across the lake is a wharf that is used for wedding ceremonies and for just sitting

at and enjoying the views.

There is a lot of wildlife and these young ducks were enjoying the sunny day with us!

Mother duck wasn't far away!

Father duck was preening himself in the sun.

There was a lot of Water Hens around both in the lake and sunning themselves on the lawn.

Galahs were plentiful when we were there and they were also enjoying the sunshine.

At the end of the day, walking back to the car,

I caught sight of these beautiful autumn colours!

13th April 2011 - Trip to Woy Woy

Today Don and I went on the Newcastle Express Train to Woy Woy. The train travels through the Hawksberry River area and sometimes quite close to the river itself. It was a pleasant day.

Fisherman's Wharf is where we had lunch of fish and chips. The fish is fresh

from the co-op and the only problem is that you get too much fish to eat!

It was interesting to see all the Pelicans around. I guess they were hanging out for

fresh fish from the boats that cam in to unload their catches.

We decided to walk up the river a bit and sit in the park alongside the river

and watch the gang-gangs digging the seeds and bulbs out of the ground.

They were quite tame and you could hand feed them.

The ducks were also feasting but they mostly ate the plumbs that someone

had thrown out to them

Sitting in the sun on the lawn was my kind of relaxation. It was a pity we couldn't

stay longer!

While we were there we watched this houseboat go by and try and turn.

It seems that he didn't have a lot of experience because he got stuck

on a mud flat. We had to leave before he got off so can't tell you what

eventually happened.

This is a trip I would definitely do again.

4th May 2011 - Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Today I went with Don and did the Harbour Bridge Climb! It wasn't actually the climb that goes up the steel arches but to the top of the South Tower...which is actually higher than the arches themselves.

It was quite a climb up the stairs to the walkway from Circular Quay.

Once on the walkway it was a leisurely stroll to the tower.

The walkway is enclosed but runs parallel and close to the highway.

As we approached the tower the sun bathed it in its rays.

We had to climb quite a lot more stairs but there were interesting things to look

at in the stairwell like this model of a rigger who worked in building the bridge...

and this blacksmith who heated up the rivets to white hot!...

and this rigger who would ride several hundred metres above the sea below with

just his foot in a loop!

When we finally got to the top, this was the first view I got of the scene below.

But what a view it was!

The harbour looked splendid and I could almost see to Manly!

Having this view of Circular Quay was also spectacular and something you don't

get to see very often.

Looking to the north you get a great view of the bridge below.

Don tried to get me to stand on the foot steps but I thought it was safer where I was.

Besides, It was a miracle that I got up this high in the first place! I would much

rather have my feet firmly planted on terra firma!

I have to admit that the view from every side was spectacular.

This was the view looking south towards the city.

This was looking to Dores Point and Darling Harbour.

The top of the opposite tower made me wonder what they used it for.

The view to the road below was not my comfort point, I can tell you that!

Well Don actually got me to stand up on the foot steps...but only for an instant

and as soon as I heard the shutter I was down!

That feels better. What a great view of the Opera House.

Inside there was a museum and this was one of the original cartoons of the early

1900's.

And this was a poem written in the early 1900's

After taking one last look at a train going over the bridge, I thought it was time

to get inside and look at some more museum items.

This is a cross section of the cables they used on the bridge. It is about 20cm thick.

This is the official ribbon cutting scissors. Of course we know that they were

never used because some clever horse rider galloped in and cut it with his sword.

There where lots of official mementos of the opening and here are just a few samples.

We finished our tour and it was time to negotiate those narrow stairs again.

On our way back we chanced upon this interesting view of the Opera House.

We decided to have a bit of a look around the Rocks area on our way back

And found some of the old ruins of the original Rocks area

Time for another photo opportunity before moving on.

The old buildings are very interesting and I am glad they didn't bulldoze them all down.

This corridor is typical of the narrow passageways that existed around the Rocks.

Some of the original terraces still stand. They were kept for low income families but

You would have to be a multi millionaire to purchase one of these now!

There are still a lot of the original factory buildings around the rocks

And someone decided to preserve the masts of an old sailing vessel that now

adorns the Rocks foreshore.

The Australian Steam Navigation Company Building at the Rocks

Tho old Sydney Cove Warehouses

Tucked away, and in Circular Quay are these beautiful terraces.

Also still preserved are some of the ruins. Here you can see a couple of fireplaces

preserved in the wall of this pathway.

Old stonework and arches are still preserved and look as strong as ever.

Courtyards of terraces

I got to pose with one of the traditional owners

We finally left the Rocks area and Circular Quay and headed home, exhausted

but extremely satisfied with the days adventure!