22 February 2013 - Sydney Tourist Park, Miranda, NSW

Today we went to Como. Now isn't that a more positive note to start this posting ? Como and the shoreline of the George River/Botany Bay, so celebrated in the paintings we saw at the Hazelhurst Regional Gallery a few days ago, have until today only been glimpsed from the train windows as we have sped past on our way into the city.

Como and the other small station of Janelli are frequently missed on the tight commuter schedule and so we were aware that transport to the former could be problematic. However with use of the appropriate timetable, we found ourselves on the station platform before midday and set off toward the shoreline along the charming residential streets of Como. We walked on passed the famous Como Hotel , one of the oldest buildings in the Shire. The hotel began its life as a German club in 1878, used by the Germans constructing the railway in this part of the city. Henry Lawson, one of Australia’s great writers and a favourite of mine, lived at Como West in the last few years before his death in 1922 and is believed to have been a frequent visitor to the hotel. I noticed an article the other day in the local freebie community newspaper about the upcoming sale or auction of the hotel. Hopefully any future owner will take great care of this very elegant building.

I decided I would photograph the hotel from down at the water’s edge, however we became side tracked by a path that led off toward the rail bridge which spans the harbour, and soon found ourselves on the Como – Oatley Walkway. The walkway was opened in 2006 and is quite popular if today’s walkers and runners are any indication. We passed through corridors of lantana and ladder ferns, high above the harbour now screened by a mass of trees. We stopped a group of women to ask where the path went, having found ourselves so randomly there. Oatley, they explained. Turn this way, and then that and you will find yourself in Oatley township. And so we did; a charming village surrounded by many lovely retirement units and great swathes of green park. We soon found the railway station but had to wait for a train bothered to stop; most sped past to more important stations.

We alighted at Sutherland as I was keen to check out the Boatshed at Woronora, marked on the map as being south west of Sutherland on the Wononora River and location for yet another art exhibition to commence this weekend. With an inadequate map, we headed off on foot in the general direction, found a pathway through Prince Edward Park, past the cemetery and steeply down through rocky bushland that had seen fire in the not too distant past. While the wildlife was limited to a few peewee and a languid kookaburra, I had the sensation of being back out in the bush; a great delight. Down and down we went, Chris concerned about the steep return, not for his own sake but for mine. I assured him we would probably get a bus back however we were walking blind and as we neared the water level, I doubted the existence of any public transport within cooee.

We had come down to the Woronora River, surrounded in wooded hills and with charming residences right on the river with their own wharves. We did not find the Boatshed, but did see a group of canoeists which turned into the Forbes Creek to end their adventure. A school trip perhaps? We checked our map again and found that the only way out was the way we had come or a very very long walk up hill and down dale along a maze of sealed roads. Then we saw a bus go by, the wrong way.  Checking the map yet again, we figured that the bus would have to come back the same way soon, and sure enough, a few more minutes and we were able to hail the bus, which duly wound its way back up the steep streets to Sutherland. Chris said, “That was jammy!” That was a new expression on me. I thought we had been rather tinny to have caught a bus that passes only every hour.

From here it was a simple matter of catching one of the many trains heading for Cronulla and thus hopping off at Miranda and making our way back down the hill to this Tourist Park. A delightful outing for the day. And I never did take any photos.

Once home we checked our emails to see if there was a response to the stern wordy email we had sent off after breakfast to the warranty company expressing a mass of negativity. Obviously they were taken aback by the whole matter and are taking the weekend to think on it all. Maybe?

In the meantime, mechanical matters are progressing, a fact confirmed by Maurie this afternoon. The car should be ready on Monday. For him this whole matter will turn out well; he will receive payment from us on collection of the vehicle whereas he would have otherwise had to wait until the 20^th of the following month.

Tonight we have heeded the weather warnings; wild winds, wilder surf and torrential rain moving quickly down from the more northern parts of the New South Wales coast. Today Ballina and Coffs Harbour have been badly effected, particularly as they are still recovering from the last round of bad weather. Our awning is now down and our outdoor furniture is stowed under the caravan given that we do not have the landcruiser which normally  doubles as our storage shed.