Return Visit to Blue Mountains

It was a non-working Saturday for Mr H and he was itching to get out of the city. With several possible destinations, we found our way back to Blue Mountains. Our first stop was Mount Blackheath Lookout. 

The drive here brought us through small farms and orchards. Some parts of the road were dirt roads - making us wonder if it this would be a problem for our car. We made it to the lookout without much issues. It was just us there and makes you wonder how popular is this site.

From the car park, it is about a 5 minute walk to the lookout itself. The view, well truthfully did not take my breath away. It seemed "normal" compared to the views you get from Govetts Leap or Three Sisters. A quick tour of the area would bring you to a "take off ramp" and a quick check on Google revealed that it is a popular take off site for hang gliding and para-sailing.

Keen on a picnic? Picnic tables provided. The area opposite the rubbish bin will lead you to the take off ramp for hang gliders/para-sailors.

It was a cold morning (for me at least).

View from Mt Blackheath Lookout. Reminded me of a golf course.

Not wasting much time at the lookout, we made our way to Tea Rooms at Megalong Valley. Having first brought here by our tour guide many months ago, we thought it would be nice to go back for scones and blueberry jam. Their savoury options were not bad either. The place was busy being the long holiday weekend AND school holidays. It was a pleasant wait tho, enjoying the crisp cool air in the garden, watching the birds fly in and out of trees. I was hoping for a glimpse of a kangaroo or two. No such luck.

We found our way back to Megalong Valley Tea Rooms.

After filling up our tummies, it was off to Govetts Leap for another spectacular view of Bridal Falls. We took two different bush walk trails this time, leading us to another lookout point of the falls. We did not venture far, walking about 15 minutes each way.

Bridal Falls from Govetts Leap.

This lookout point is a 15 minute walk from the car park.

Our final stop was Three Sisters. Even though this was our third time at this attraction, we were still awed. After spending some time reliving our previous two trips here, we said our goodbyes to the sisters and headed back to Sydney.

Farewell Three Sisters, until we meet again.

Two hours later, we were back in Sydney. It was only then we realised that Blue Mountains is not that far from Sydney after all. If you do not have much time to spare, a day trip would suffice to explore the must-sees.

Read more about our previous Blue Mountains trip here - Touring the Blue Mountains.

Christmas Down Under

Before I got married, Christmas was a good excuse to go for a (most probably diving) holiday. Last year’s Christmas was just a public holiday for me while Mr H worked through the day. This year is not much different except we are in Sydney, a country where Christmas is a bigger celebration compared to back home.

In Malaysia, I would normally head to different malls to view and appreciate their Christmas decorations. It is amazing how one can transform part of a mall into a mini Christmas village (or some other Christmas related theme). If I am lucky, I would get invited to a friend's home and would spend the time checking out their Christmas decor (Marv, I love going to your house.. hahaha).

In Sydney, my Christmas decor appreciation is not only limited to malls. There are ample of outdoor decorations too! While some decorations were out as early as end of November, most decorations were up only 2 weeks ago. So let's check out some of the sights that were covered in the lead up to Dec 25, 2014. 

LEGO Christmas Tree @ Pitt St Mall

Built entirely with LEGO bricks, this 10 metre high tree is the biggest LEGO Christmas Tree in the Southern Hemisphere. It took 1200 hours and 5 people to complete this structure. Click here to watch the time lapse of the tree’s construction.

Every 15 minutes from 8pm-9pm each night, a light and music show is on to entertain visitors.

LEGO Christmas Tree setup during the day

Did you spot koala?

Lighted at night.

Christmas Decorations @ Darling Harbour

Top: Lighted Santas Standing in line.
Below: Electric Tree that changes colour the music.

Lights of Christmas @ St Mary’s Cathedral

The light show is divided into 3 parts – The Joy of Giving, 12 Days of Christmas and The Madonna & Child. Capturing every projection seemed like an impossible task for me, so I will only share a few. I did notice a few well prepared photographers who came complete with their tripod and “click button” that allows them to sit comfortably and still capture the moment when there’s a change of scene. This must not be their first time. Haha

Christmas Trees around Sydney

My view if I was a Christmas present - Queen Victoria Building

Tree at Potts Point

Tree at Hyde Park 

Tree at Martin Place. You could send in a text to a number and get your message displayed on the tree.

Christmas is in the air

Retailers got the mood going by offering Christmas sales for that perfect gift. Cafes not only were dressed up with Christmas decor, Christmas themed delights were added to their menu. People in general started wearing reindeer antler headbands, Santa's hats etc. Eateries were booked for Christmas parties (aka Silly Season here). Homes and balconies were beautifully decorated with fairy lights. Christmas trees sprouting about the city. We even spotted Santa cruising around town in a modern version of his sleigh.

Sustainable Christmas decor.

Christmas themed candy apples

Santa traded his sleigh for something more modern.

That sums up our days and nights leading up to Dec 25. Now that it's over, we shall look forward to Jan 1, 2015.

Whale Watching in November

Whale watching is a popular activity in New South Wales due to the annual migration that takes place from May to November. 

When my brother, Razlan and his family were in town, we signed up for this unique experience by booking ourselves on a Whale Watch Cruise with Dolphin Watch Cruises in Jervis Bay. Not only it would be fun for the little ones to watch the gentle giants up, close and personal but also for us adults too.

Cruise departure times vary each day - depending on type of cruise and boat used. Hence it is best you get in touch with Dolphin Watch Cruises prior to making plans. They will advice you on the departure times for your chosen date. Since we had chosen a cruise with the bigger boat (I thought we would fare better on a bigger boat when out at sea), our 3 hour whale watching cruise departed at 11:15am on Tuesday. 

Since we live approx 2.5 hours away from Jervis Bay, we decided to spend a couple of days in Huskisson to allow us to enjoy experience without exhausting the little ones. That was a good decision as while the adults were able to wing it, the kids (2 years and 4 years) took naps in between whenever they could.

Departing Sydney at 11am, we took a leisurely drive along Grand Pacific Drive in making our way to Huskisson. Stopping along the way (read about it by clicking on Part 1 and Part 2), we arrived at our rented property about 6pm. 

The next morning, we arrived 15 minutes earlier to collect our cruise tickets from the management office across the jetty. Complimentary tea/coffee and biscuits are provided on board for period of time. You can also bring your own snacks/drinks on board if you wish. Don't forget to bring your jacket along as it tends to get cold with the strong winds.

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Lan, Reen, Pebbles & Dedek in front of Tekin III, our vessel of the day.

With everyone on board, the captain introduced us to his crew and briefed us on house keeping rules (which included shouting out and pointing towards the location of any whales we spot). Once the formalities were done, we were on our way. 

Earlier when the captain was heading back to shore, he spotted a mummy whale and her pup within the bay itself. This was excellent news because if the whales were not within the bay, we would have headed out to the rough open seas towards the "whales highway". More often than not, participants would end up experiencing sea sickness! Having said that, the captain quickly headed for the area they were last spotted to catch up with them.

It was our lucky day! Catch up with them we did. Not only we did not have to go far, we were entertained by them for the next 1 hour 45 minutes. Baby whale seem to be practising his jumps - straight up above the water and falling back in. He did this many many times, possibly showing off his skills to his mom. There were times mummy whale decided to show him her own skills as well by doing the same, often ending with a bigger splash. This of course thrilled us on board and we all had our cameras (phones, compacts and SLRs) snapping away. Some of us decided to switch to "video mode" when we found out it was not easy trying to capture the moment with a point and shoot.

One of the very few clear pictures of the whale in action. I gave up after a while and decided to focus on the live action instead.

Pictures by Razlan Dawood, who had greater determination than I did in capturing these moments. This was going on for at least 1 hour 45 minutes.

Lan, so focused in trying to record the whales while we gave up and took a wefie instead.

Mr H caught it on video.

After nearly 2 hours of action, baby whale and mummy whale got tired and decided to swim away. It was also time for us to make our way back to shore. Captain of Tekin III decided to take the route along the shores of Callala Bay due to kinder wind conditions. As we were approaching land, several dolphins decided to surprise us by appearing along side our cruise. They playfully tagged a long us for a few hundred meters before breaking away. Such a bonus for all of us on board.

Once docked, we said our thank yous and made our way across the street for some much needed lunch.

Don't forget a jacket as it could be chilly on board.

Pebbles found a whale on land too!

Our rented unit - The Anchorage

We could have stayed within Jervis Bay itself but wanted to be closer to the beach without having to pay an arm and a leg. After much searching online, I came across The Anchorage at Callala Bay. This attractive 3 bedroom 2 bathroom unit was not only reasonably priced it did not include add on charges for linen and BBQ cleaning (common charges for other property rentals). You only have to bring your own toiletries and beach towels. Everything else is provided.

We had a comfortable 2 night stay. The place is well equipped and child friendly. When not at the beach, there wasn't a dull moment either with the many board games, DVDs (even cartoons for the litte ones) and books to choose from. 

Top: Lounge area
Bottom (L-R): Master bedroom with ensuite, queen bed and two single beds

Location wise, it is

• 36 minutes to Jervis Bay National Park
• 30 minutes away from Jervis Bay
• 5-10 minutes drive to nearest shopping centre
• less than 3 minutes walk to beach (Callala Bay - home to 80% of bottle nose dolphins in Jervis Bay. We spotted a dolphin or two from the shore when we were there).

If you intend to have all your meals outside, the distance could prove to be a disadvantage. However with a well equipped kitchen, it is worth to consider doing your own cooking. We did just that and brought along enough food to last us for 2 breakfasts and 2 BBQ dinners.

For more information on this awesome rental unit, click on The Anchorage.

North Head Scenic Walk

In March 2014, Mr H and I completed Manly Scenic Walk (Spit Bridge to Manly Wharf). Yesterday, we decided to do another one of the free walks available in Manly, the North Head Scenic Walk.

What is North Head Scenic Walk?

It is a 9.5km walk that begin and end at Manly Wharf. Please allow 3-4 hours to complete this walk. 

How to get there?

From Circular Quay, take a ferry to Manly. 

What is interesting?

The main highlight would of course be beautiful and breathtaking scenery. We also came across several places of interest along the way as listed below. 

Little Manly Cove - nice cosy spot for a swim, sun bake or even a picnic. There's a pretty decent kiosk too.

Little Manly Point Plaque

Little Manly Cove - a nice spot to sit by the beach, swim and just hang out.

Spring Cove - another nice spot to swim, sun bake or just hang out. The beach is bigger and longer compared to Little Manly Cove.

Your first glimpse of Spring Cove from the top of the stairs.

Sydney Harbour National Park - a short bushwalk from Spring Cove before you get on Collins Beach Road. Nothing much to do here but enjoy nature.

North Head Sanctuary - we did not realise North Head Sanctuary is an attraction on its own. In fact, we thought it was something we walked through to get to Fairfax Lookout. If you intend to explore the sanctuary, do add in another 1-2 hours.

The Gatehouse, now a Visitor Centre

Parade Ground at the Barracks. Looks like a desert to me.

To get the best out of your visit, do drop by North Head Sanctuary Foundation's Volunteer "booth" at the start. Friendly volunteers will be able to advise you on where to go depending on your interests and time constraints.

We were recommended to take their newest trail which would lead us to North Fort. Then there is an option to continue to tour North Fort or to exit the sanctuary and head towards Fairfax Lookout.

Newly laid path among Precious Scrub - one of the few remaining patches of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub.

There used to be around 5,000 hectares of this type of scrub between North Head and Botany Bay. Today less than 3% of this remains.

View of Sydney city from City lookout (duh)

Third Quarantine Cemetery - a cemetery with a gorgeous view although you need to be there to believe it.

Fairfax Lookout Point - an easy walk suitable for all ages with superb views of the ocean, harbour and Sydney CBD.

Not Fairfax Lookout yet, getting there.

One of the several lookout points at Fairfax Lookout. Railings are there to prevent people from getting too near and falling off the edge of the cliff. However this did not prevent a group of tourists from climbing over and walking along the edge for a better view. In fact on the day of our visit, a tourist was not lucky and fell down onto the rocks and died.

It's a 90m drop to rocks below from here.

If you come June-July or August-October,  you might be lucky enough to see humpback whales or southern right whales from here.

From Fairfax Lookout, the remainder of the scenic walk would take you to Cabbage Tree Bay Coastal Walk before ending at Manly Wharf. Due to change of weather, we skipped this part of the walk and boarded the bus instead.

p.s. Bus 135 goes to North Head Sanctuary and Fairfax Lookout.

For more information visit the websites below:

1. North Head Scenic walk & map - Manly Council - Manly Scenic Walk
2. North Head Sanctuary - North Head Sanctuary, Manly

44,000 Steps for Charity

Most Sunday mornings, we choose to sleep in and start the day a bit later. Not on Oct 26 tho as we were participating in Cancer Council NSW's Seven Bridges Walk 2014. With our starting point being Milsons Point at 7:30am, we were out of the house by 6:45am. A bus ride and a train ride later, we arrived at Milsons Point. We were relieved to arrive 10 minutes before kick-off time until we saw the queue! Apparently, at least a few hundred people were earlier than us.

Gulp! We thought we were early. The queue starts on the left behind the trees.

Fortunately, it was not a long wait. When the registration counters opened at 7:30am, the queue was fast moving. By 8am, I received my event passbook, wristband and limited edition Cancer Council NSW bum bag (for those who fundraised >$250). With cap on, sunscreen applied, water bottle filled and bum bag in place, we were good to go. 

See how fresh I looked at the start?

The 27km circuit was divided into 14 legs. At the end of each leg, participants were required to get their event passbook stamped as proof that they were there. Although this is a walking event (not a race), participants are not forced to walk the whole way as the organisers made arrangements for bus rides connecting one village to other. 

As per the event name, we had 7 bridges to cover throughout the walk. They were:

1. Sydney Harbour Bridge - the largest steel arch bridge in the world.
2. Pyrmont Bridge - stands at the entrance of Darling Harbour. This bridge is open to pedestrians only.
3. Anzac Bridge - longest cable-stayed span bridge in Australia
4. Iron Cove Bridge - last steel truss bridge to be constructed in New South Wales where rivets were used for field connections (this was before the introduction of high strength bolts)
5. Gladsville Bridge - longest single span concrete arch ever constructed. It celebrated its 50th birthday on 2 Oct 2014.
6. Tarban Creek Bridge - opened in December 1965. This bridge connects Gladsville Bridge and Fig Tree Bridge.
7. Fig Tree Bridge - built as part of north-western expressway linking the city with Sydney-Newcastle Freeway.

There were also 7 villages (list below) set up complete with water stations, entertainment and food stalls to help the participants carry on the next leg between the bridges. These villages were God sent for Mr H and I. We took advantage at every location - stopping for food, refill our water bottles and more importantly, to rest our feet! 

1. Milsons Point
2. Observatory Hill Village
3. Pyrmont Village
4. Rozelle Village
5. Hunters Hill
6. Lane Cove Village
7. Wollstonecraft Village

It was during one of this stops it dawned on me the longest I have walked in any one day is probably 10km (my average is about 7km daily). Hence this 27km in one day is nearly three times more than what I normally do and did I feel it. The last 10km was most difficult for me. Not only it was one of the hottest and sunniest days I have ever experienced since stepping foot in Sydney, it was steep uphills most of the way! 

Walk, stamp, rest and more walking throughout the day.

Highlights at the different bridges.

At 22km, I can only feel my ankles throbbing and nothing else. We were approaching Wollstonecraft Village. I wondered if I should throw in the towel and take the bus ride back to Milsons Point which is 2.2km away. It was already 3:30pm and we had been walking for 7.5 hours. To get the final stamp, we needed to be at Milsons Point by 4:30pm. I ran the idea with Mr H about taking the bus. He did not seem keen (which surprised me) and kinda ignored me while he looked for a shaded spot to rest. A few minutes later, I asked him again about the taking the bus. He looked at the bus stop just as the bus was leaving. He looked back at me and said we missed the bus, so let's walk. With heavy feet, I walked back to Milsons Point. Hahaha. At 4:00pm, we got our final stamp. 

Clement was there to greet us after 8 hours of walking and helped with taking pictures of us at the "finishing line". I bought myself an ice-cream as a treat soon after.

It took us 8 hours and approximately 44,000 steps. What's important is we did it!

Overall it was a long, tiring but fulfilling day. In addition to that, I successfully raised $664.50 for Cancer Council NSW through this event. I would like to thank once again to my generous donors who helped me EXCEED my fundraising target:

• Rebecca Zagoudis - my very first donor & supporter!
• Assunta Spirit Alive!
• Nadiah Kimie
• Marissa Tan Ghazali
• Reyvo
• Charmaine
• Gaik Swee Lim
• Michaeline Lee - who helped me meet AND EXCEED my fundraising target
• Eva & Ellie 
• Hajar
• David & Fahimah
• Green Jig & Code Blue
• Marianne Rozario

 Your support not only will be valuable to Cancer Council NSW but also to me as you guys kept me going throughout the whole time. There were moments I thought I would not make it yet I could not let you down.

The good news is, donations can still be made until November 26, 2014. If you were inspired by my story and the cause, please donate via this link  https://sevenbridgeswalk2014.everydayhero.com/au/razlin .  

All donations go directly to Cancer Council NSW. Any donated amount goes a long way but if you are stuck for an amount, $27 would be a good one. That comes out to $1 per km that I walked.

Seven Bridges Walk turns 10 next year and if time/financials permit, it would be nice to be a returning participant. I am sure the event will be bigger, better and more happening. 

Pictures of Raya 2014

First batch to arrive from Shamseila,
Fredrick Gan, Hanafi & Emilia's kids.

Despite being away from home during both Raya aka eid celebrations this year, we still managed to cultivate the spirit here in Sydney.

1. Kad Raya Campaign - Reviving a dying practice
When we were children, it was common practice to send raya greetings to friends and family with a kad raya. This practice is slowly dying with the progress of technology. We have resorted to sending greetings via text messages, whatsapp, Facebook and sometimes electronic cards. Upon realising we would not be back for Raya this year, I started a Kad Raya campaign and encouraged my friends to send me kad raya via snail mail. 

I am pleased to say that my friends did not disappoint and the cards started arriving two weeks before Raya day. I looked forward to each day, wondering how many cards would arrive in the mail. The post lady who delivers to our building must have been surprised at the sudden surge of snail mail as it is normally bills that end up in our mailbox. Hahaha.

Second batch from Prem, Hilda, Roselynda and Adznul.

Third batch all the way from Netherlands - Zarinah.

Fourth batch from Firdaus (Tos), Wita, Debbie & The Steiners and Angie.

Fifth batch contains my first ever surat raya from Sukesh and family in NZ.
Sixth batch was a card from Fairuz and a postcard from Shana.

Seventh batch were from Noreen and Nurul.
Eigth and final batch from Paul Gan (2 cards) and Shima.

Not only the kad raya(s) were coming, we also received pleasant surprises in the form of instant food packets. Yay! Raya fare without having to sweat it out.

First to arrive from Nurul. Teh Tarik in the house!! 

Followed by ketupat palas and lemang from PERTH! Thanks Azlin & Luke!

Raya food galore continues after raya due to miscommunication. Thanks KA!

2. Raya Eve - Planting for the future
While families at home were slogging to prepare traditional food normally eaten on Raya day, Mr H and I spent our raya eve planting trees for the future. 

Out of focus pic of us with one of the many shrubs we planted.

Hope green gloves will help them survive as my fingers are not exactly green.

With others who choose to participate in this tree planting campaign.

3. Raya Day

It was a quite and lazy morning, total opposite from the hustle and bustle of home. In fact, Mr H was even scheduled in to replace his colleague at work for a few hours. Nevertheless, we made the best of this day - morning prayers followed by breakfast at Ikea :p. Later on that night, we had a Raya pot luck gathering with another couple who celebrates along with their friends.

Raya prayers held in a sports hall since the association's existing mosque could not cater to the big numbers that turned up.

A non-typical raya breakfast for us from Ikea.

Nasi impit & beef rendang for lunch.

4. Not exactly a short Raya
Raya celebrations at home would carry on for the next 30 days. In Sydney, it is just a one day affair. However I was quite pleased to stretch celebrations here for longer than a day by

• cooking raya fare several times more over the next few weeks (since I could not buy the ingredients in small amounts. Might as well utilise them instead of throwing away)
• attend Australian Malaysian Singaporean Association's Raya/Merdeka celebrations
• gathered the girls for another round of Raya/Merdeka pot luck dinner.

Still eating raya food on Day 5

AMSA's Raya & Merdeka celebrations

5. Aidil Adha aka Raya Haji
Raya Haji is a thanksgiving celebration and is celebrated on a smaller* scale compared to Aidil Fitri (unless you are from Kelantan or Terengganu). We still did not let the day go unnoticed and had a fusion raya lunch to mark this celebration.

Fusion Raya Lunch: Lemang, kuah kacang & roast chicken.

*smaller as in it is not common to send out greeting cards or go shopping for new clothes etc.


Looking back at these pictures, I would say we did quite well for ourselves. Despite missing the familiarity of our yearly celebrations, I will always have fond memories of my different Raya 2014.