Sculptures by the Sea – 2023

No way was that a year!?

It’s hard to believe but it really has been a year since we did the Sculptures by the Sea coastal walk from Tamarama beach to Bondi beach. Incredible! (Click here for that one). That was on the final day of the Sculptures exhibition last year (Nov. 6th). This time I saw it with some friends (Neil and Dawn) who were over from the UK.

The exhibition ends on 6th November (again), which is next weekend. Also we did this walk on a Friday. It was busy enough however. I am sure it will be as packed out as it was last year over the weekend. We kind of happened across it by accident. We were doing the full Bondi to Coogee coastal walk and I only realised what was going on when we arrived at Bondi beach.

Anyway here are some photos of this year’s Sculptures by the Sea exhibition… Enjoy.

Examples of the many exhibits..

From Grafton we took the much longer route to Brisbane via the town of Casino and the mountain pass border crossing on the winding B91 road. 

Casino

The town of Casino was initially called Cassino after Cassino (near Monte Cassino) in Italy. It is known (locally at least) as the “beef capital” of Australia. 

We had breakfast, took a quick look around then moved on.

Border Crossing

It was a long drive but the scenery is worth it. The B91 road becomes route 13 once you cross the border into Queensland. All the way up to the high point border, and for some time after crossing, the sight of Mount Lindesay dominates the area. I wonder if you are allowed to climb this one?… Anyone know?

Brisbane

Before heading for a well known lookout across the city we passed by a Hindu temple. A Ganesha temple to be more exact. I have seen places like this in India but they were older. Obviously this one looks brand new and shiny as it was only opened in 2015.

It is located almost 40km south of the city centre but it was worth the slight detour. Kind of odd really as it is in a relatively remote location. The inside was very colourful but photography is not allowed. I am no one to complain about rules like that in such places. The outside of the temple is spectacular enough. judge for yourselves. 

We only passed through Brisbane’s suburbs but we stopped at the Mount Coot-Tha Summit lookout – which offers some excellent views of the city and surrounding coast. And guess what? It was very busy. Naturally…

There were other angles but generally the overall view was always obscured by the rows of trees they have at the lookout point. Why the f*ck do they do that??! It really is nuts! They build roads paths fences and in this case restaurants at the lookout and allow trees to grow and spoil the f*cking views. It is a very big pet hate of mine. But time to move on and reach our destination…

Sunshine Coast – Coolum Beach

The Sunshine Coast is long and there are many towns along its length. After navigating the congested motorway to get north of the city we finally arrived at our chosen destination – Coolum Beach. Kind of half way up the length of the Sunshine Coast. Not to quiet but not as built up as one or two other resorts along this stretch of holiday heaven. Just about right for me.

This was our base for five days and time to relax. More to come of course….

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I wasn’t going to write about this but then I thought about what I wrote way back when I started this blog. It was supposed to be about my hopes and fears for my son. Among other things of course. It has morphed into all sorts, but mostly things that involve his opportunities and travels. I have tried and failed to avoid political type posts in the past and this is another example…

But maybe, right now, you could say that we are living in very dangerous and troubled times.

Then again, when has that not been the case? I grew up in the days of ‘the cold war‘ when the news/media would have you believe that a nuclear war could start at any time. They even went through a phase of producing documentary style dramas about how it might happen and, worse still, what it would be like to survive a nuclear holocaust.

This latest “dangerous times” I am talking about is of course the recent start of a new conflict/war between Israel and Palestine. Or is it the Gaza Strip? Does Palestine even exist outside of that small area? Anyway, I digress.. Here we are (again) watching a distant war unfold in the Middle East, wondering how it will affect us.

In fact, it already has.

Distant Wars Impact On Our Streets

Since the conflict started a few days ago, my son’s school has restarted for the final term of the year and they have employed armed security guards at the main gates. It might be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction but there are some Jewish kids at the school and the school is clearly not taking any chances. But can they sustain that level of security from now on? Will they try to do that? Should they?

You must surely know who they feel the threat is from. And therein lies the main problem. It is not the wars in the Middle East that are the problem. It is that there are people from that part of the world who bring it to the streets of Australia (and other countries of course). Already there has been a lot of tension in Sydney and the Jewish community has been on alert. Also, we happen to live in an area where there is a relatively large Jewish population. And all Jewish schools always have armed guards! Think about that one!

Look. I don’t want to get into the arguments of who is to blame for this latest war. It is a complicated situation and, not living there I really have no right to take sides. But these things are happening here right now and this could just be the start. The same will be true in many places around the globe of course.

What’s Next?

Then there is the threat of escalation. It is sure to escalate beyond what will inevitably be a one sided bombardment by Israeli forces. All the talk is of Iran being drawn into the fray. For me that would be just stupid. If/when that happens you can be sure that the USA will also get involved (if they aren’t already). And the natural follow on is that Russia and/or China then get dragged into it. Crazy times for sure.

Am I worried? No. Not particularly. The reason(s) is simple. Apart from the obvious – don’t worry about what you cannot control – it is as I stated above. I grew up when the cold war was at it’s height. I never worried about it back then and I won’t now. But the wider implications of this latest Middle East war could impact on all our lives.

MAD

At that time there was an explanation of why neither side (The USA and the then Soviet Union) would want to start a war. It was called Mutually Assured Destruction, or simply MAD. (Clearly the acronym came first in this case eh?) In other words it would be mad to start a war as both sides would lose once the nukes started flying. Both would be destroyed.

Yeah. Nobody would win so why would they even bother? Right? That’s the theory, and it worked for me back then; and still does. Just.

However, it does bother me that other countries like Iran will almost certainly get dragged into the war. It may not lead to an all out (world) war but it will be very bad for us all. I am not sure some American politicians understand that. Then again, maybe they do; and that does worry me! Perhaps that should worry us all….

Anyway I just thought I should document my thoughts on this. As always, when my son is old enough to read this (i.e. be interested enough in the content – he can already read of course) then he will see how I saw this potentially dangerous time in history. His history.

We always knew that we wanted to go to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland but how should we get there? By air or by car? We finally decided to take the long drive up north so that meant a stop over around the half-way mark. We chose the small town of Grafton. 

Grafton

The town of Grafton sits on the banks of the Clarence river, more than 620km from where we live. It takes well over 7 hours to drive there when you factor in the recommended (and much needed) rest stops and food breaks. So we set off first thing in the morning so as to arrive when there was still a few hours of daylight. 

En-route we stopped in Kempsey (just north of Port Macquarie) for a break. This is a place worth a closer look at some point. Famous for being the home of legendary Aussie country singer Slim Dusty and the now Aussie classic, the Akubra hat, which is manufactured in south Kempsey. 

The town of Grafton is in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and grew up in the late 1830s around the so called “red gold” rush – the logging of the large cedar trees in the area. Nowadays the main industries are logging, farming and tourism. At that time the only way to cross the wide Clarence river was by ferry and so two separate towns formed – the main town (north) and South Grafton. Once the railway spanned the river in 1932 the two more or less became one. 

The population of Grafton is just under 20,000 and the town seems to be doing well with many businesses and places to eat and drink. There are also some excellent examples of well-preserved buildings. And yes; there is an old Gaol in Grafton (see above) but although it is a very well preserved building it is not open as a tourist attraction. Instead it has been taken over by businesses. Just as well perhaps as even I am feeling “gaoled out”…

The town is famous for its Jacaranda tree lined streets although only a few were in bloom when we were there. 

 

The following morning we once again headed off early with another long and scenic drive across the border and via Brisbane. More to come…

More? How long were we there for? It seems like we covered a lot in our trip to ‘Tassie’. In fact, I can confirm, we really did. Probably why I felt like I needed a holiday when we got home. Anyway, here are a few more quick visits/trips we made (or stayed) around the fabulous island state of Tasmania…

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Richmond Gaol (and town)

Richmond is a small town about 25 km north-east of Hobart, with a population of less than 1000. Its most famous landmark is the Richmond Bridge, built in 1823 to 1825.  It is Australia’s oldest bridge still in use.

Another claim to fame (or should that be infamy) is the Richmond Gaol which is said to be the oldest colonial gaol. So, despite being somewhat “gaoled out” we had to take a look.

Much smaller than most of the gaols we have visited around Australia it was still interesting to see it. Yes. Even though we are now officially “gaoled out” (if that is even a thing) these old places of punishment, pain and suffering draw us – me anyway! – like a moth to a candle flame.

Perhaps its most famous inmate was the man who became the inspiration for Charles Dickens’ character Fagin in his book Oliver Twist. In 1830 Isaac “Ikey” Solomon was tried at the Old Bailey in London. He was found guilty of receiving stolen property – a criminal activity Solomon ran with his wife Ann. By all accounts they had been pretty successful at it, operating their business from a jeweller’s shop. Solomon was sent to Richmond Gaol in 1831 where he became one of the javelin-men – prisoners who were paid to watch over other prisoners.

Overall Richmond is actually quite a pleasant little town (more a village) and would be a nice place to stop for a couple of days.

Tullah and Lake Rosebery

It was ANZAC Day so many places were closed for the day. In the north-west region, while en-route to Cradle Mountain National Park we managed to find a place that was open and serving breakfast. And what a great little spot it was too. Tullah Lakeside Lodge in, well, Tullah.

This area seems full of lakes. Some natural, some man made hydro schemes providing much of the electricity that powers the state. Tullah sits on Lake Rosebery. The scenery in this tranquil location reminded me a lot of upstate New York where I spent some time working in my youth. Beautiful. Especially with Mount Murchison in full view just to the south.

Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay

On the east coast of Tasmania – about half way up (so to speak) lies the protected peninsula of Freycinet National Park. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and you are rightly charged entry to the park. You may hear the park referred to as the jewel in Tasmania’s eastern coastline. And it is easy to see why when you hike up the track close to the top of Mount Amos.

At the northern end of the park the Cape Tourville lighthouse looks east towards New Zealand’s south island.

Tall Trees and Waterfalls in Mount Field National Park

Mount Field National Park is just northwest of Hobart. Well, about an hour and a half drive away to be more exact. Another place you could easily spend a whole holiday but (as usual) we were just passing through…