We decided to get outta town this weekend, so we hit the road and headed down the Grand Pacific Drive for Wollongong by way of the Royal National Park. The park is only about a half hour south of us, and I have no doubt we'll be visiting more in the future, as it was such a fantastic escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. We checked in at the visitor's center to purchase our parking pass and grab a map, and I snapped a few shots of some wild cockatoos (or cockies as they call them here). I love that our native birds here include sulphur-crested cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets and king-parrots - it's a pretty cool sight to see a flock of these birds flying overhead or hanging out at the local park, since I'm only accustomed to seeing such colorful, exotic birds at zoos and animal sanctuaries back home. Here are a few shots of me making friends with some cheeky cockies... After our visit with the birds, we headed on into the park to take the coastal track. Our goal was to find Curracurrong falls, but we got a later start than we'd expected and didn't make it that far this time. We did make it to Curracurrang, which was closer, and we figured the only difference was a vowel and a little extra water. It was beautiful and we had an amazing day to visit. A warning for moms (because, if you've ever looked at the comments on this blog, you'll note they're our main audience): some images in the next slideshow may not be suitable for you. Extreme caution was exerted at all times...calm down. ;) The photos are nice, but Pickle thought a video was a better way to do the whole scene justice... After some exploring, we headed back out to the Grand Pacific Drive. We drove across Sea Cliff Bridge, which stands off-shore, but runs parallel to the coastline. It boasts quite a view, and on any other day, I think we'd have been pretty impressed, but it was hard to top our view from Curracurrang. I loved the whole area though - the steep, lush green peaks and the pristine aqua water reminded me of Oahu! We headed through some very quaint towns, including Wombarra, which we'll likely revisit when we have time. Our destination was Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong. The temple was founded in 1965. "Nan Tien" in Chinese, literally means "Paradise of the South" - the temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. We visited the pagoda, the gratitude bell and the main shrine. The pagoda contained a calligraphy room, a shrine, and a chant room. It's eight stories high and contains cremated ashes of devotees and their relatives. It can accommodate the remains of over 7,000 people. The main shrine contains five Buddha's of Confidence, Longevity, Wisdom, Inner Beauty and Peace. You are not permitted to take photographs in the pagoda or the main shrine, though I have a photo through the window of the pagoda looking into the vacant calligraphy room window and one looking into the main shrine from the outside, which I was able to take because no one was praying at the time. Each of the little lights surrounding the walls of the main shrine is in the top of an inset that contains a small Buddha. This is true in the calligraphy room (with the desks and black mats) as well. 10,000 smaller Buddha's fill the walls of the main shrine. Our trip down the Grand Pacific Drive to Wollongong was a welcome peaceful escape on what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday. The following day, we visited the Laughing Goat Café for brekky and browsing. It's a brilliant little coffee shop that we happened upon in Kogarah, not 10 minutes from our apartment. The decor is a fantastic hodgepodge of bric-a-brac, which is particularly well-suited for the location, as it's situated inside an antique store. They have a special on now where you can have a free coffee for liking their Facebook page, so we liked and redeemed for a flat white for me and a mocha for Pickle (I will discuss the amazingness of Australian coffee sometime...it's a whole other world here...and it's magical!). We also went halfsies on a mixed berry and a Ferrero Rocher muffin. The guy at the counter asked if we wanted that with cream or ice cream, to which I immediately said "yes" but when he asked us which, we (in our typical indecisive fashion) hesitated (I think it was just one too many questions...I'm not sure why ice cream was not the immediately apparent answer). He decided on ice cream for us, and we were happy to comply...it was clearly the way to go! After our sugar-fueled Sunday brekky we spent at least an hour wandering through the antique store. This is definitely going to become a common stop for us. The folks at both the café and shop are wonderful, and the whole atmosphere is just laid-back, funky fun :) It was nice to hit the pause button at the end of a busy week to get away for a day and relax a bit before another hectic week ahead. Hoping you all had a great weekend too!
2 Comments
Diane/mom/MiL
18/3/2015 07:25:44 am
WOW! The Royal National Park is truly beautiful and spectacular! I really only have one concern. Why are there no pics of Aaron with the birds? LoL I bet you thought I would comment on how DANGEROUS it looks at Curracurrang and make "judgemental mom" type remarks!!! :) Teasing aside, the scenery is very amazing and gorgeous! Loved the pagoda and the Buddhas too. How many people can say that The Laughing Goat Cafe is their "hangout"? Let the AAA (awesome Aussie adventures) continue!!!!!!
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Christine Wolfe
23/3/2015 08:48:05 pm
fyi: you know who will love this blog as much as your moms? Your children and grandchildren. Make sure you save it in a human readable format!!!
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AuthorsJamison Lorraine Archives
November 2016
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