Feeling locky?!

Some of our favourite locks ...

When we visited Wollongong last July, we were intrigued by all the locks at Keira Lookout. 

It seems the sentimentalists have locked onto Sea Cliff Bridge also!

There were many locks. Quite a few had traditional "locked together" messages but others displayed more unique sentiments.

I really liked the one addressed to Gerard (bottom left) for it's story - and the fact that the engraving was so nicely done.  The engraving standard varied widely and some people had favoured black texta as a cheaper option. It was clear that the cheapest locks rusted faster, though praps we shouldn't have interpreted that as an indicator of the relationship's staying power!

Sadly, there were a number of people who chucked the lock's packaging over the side - which tarnished the aesthetics considerably (top centre).

We'll be back

Even though the weather was unusually cold and windy (that's what the locals would have us believe!), we enjoyed our visit to the 'Gong.

There is still plenty to explore, so I'm sure we'll make another visit.

Erin and Nick took advantage of our complimentary coffee/hot choc vouchers after checking out - and then we headed off to Yanderra to visit friends who had been our lovely Yowah caravan park neighbours in July (2010).

Superb!

My documentation of the snake rescue was a bit rushed as my attention was diverted by the sound of something rustling in the nearby bushes. I initially thought it may have been a goanna but in fact it was a lyrebird! It was not keen to be photographed but ran ahead of us along the path quite happily - and Vaughan was able to squat near it for some time as it scratched in the dirt.

Superb Lyrebird

To the rescue!

We were walking along the lookout path when we met a couple coming the other way. They mentioned a snake just off the path, so of course we investigated.

We soon spotted the Diamond Python resting in the open.

It seemed injured, so Erin emptied her handbag and Nick manoeuvred the snake inside.

Contact was made with the local WIRES reptile person and we arranged to meet her later in the evening when we were back at our accommodation. She was appreciative of our assistance and quite pleased to have a snake guest for rehabilitation.

Until that handover, the snake remained safely encased in Erin's bag and tucked under her jumper for warmth!

(Keegan remained happily oblivious to the hitch-hiker)!

Where the monks live

When Vaughan woke, we showed him the lookouts and he was quickly able to identify Nan Tien Temple in the distance, "where all the monks lived" - (terracotta roofs on the base of a hill, centre of pic at left).

We sat at a mossy picnic table just behind Elmer Fudd to enjoy our afternoon tea of hot drinks and cake - while watching some very fat yellow birds.

Our next stop was Robertson's Knoll, another small lookout a short drive further around the escarpment.

Six Daughters of the West Wind

It was a short, pretty bush walk from the carpark to this sculpture installation - and another smaller lookout.

According to the Alcheringa, the dreaming of the local Aboriginal peoples, Mount Keira is Geera, the daughter of Oola-boola-woo, the West Wind. The story of the creation of Mount Keira is tied to the creation of the Five Islands, which sit just off the Wollongong coast. In the story, Oola-boola-woo had six daughters, Mimosa, Wilga, Lilli Pilli, Wattle, Clematis and Geera. They lived a-top the Illawarra escarpment, and one by one the first five children misbehaved, raising the ire of Oola-boola-woo, who cast them and the stone beneath them out to see, forming the Five Islands.

Geera, who was now the only child left on their escarpment home, had no one to play with and no one to talk to as her father was often away. Geera spent all day sitting, hunched over and watching the camps of the local Aboriginals and looking out to sea to her five sisters. Eventually she turned to stone, dust and leaves building up around her until she became a part of the escarpment. She is known today as Mount Keira.

A longer version of the story can be found on Page 6, here:-

Lock up, Keira!

Our departure from the temple was marred by Vaughan's insistent and repeated "I want ..."  Thankfully, he went to sleep on the drive up to Mount Keira Lookout (and woke in a vastly improved mood).  Erin stayed in the car while he was sleeping, giving Nick and I some time to explore.

The view was (of course!) impressive but more intriguing were the many locks fastened along the barrier fences. Although we hadn't spotted them anywhere previously it seems they are not unique to Wollongong:- Love locked!

Enlightenment?!

We were lucky to see a dragon dance while visiting

Nan Tien Temple

We spent a little over an hour at the temple.  There was so much to see (and photograph).  Of course, there are places where no cameras are allowed so you will have to imagine the massive Buddha statues and walls of golden embossed Buddhas ... 

On the way to the temple ...

... we took a few wrong turns, largely due to my not being able to read for more than a few seconds in a moving car before feeling nauseous - a failing that is compounded these days by requiring glasses to read accurately!

On studying the street directory more closely, aided by my spectacles, it seemed the C road I thought we were looking for was in fact Drummond Street! (Missed it by that much, as Max would say)!

Although I have visited the temple previously, I did not remember spending time in the small museum. There were beautiful silk embroideries that looked like 3D paintings, including a two-sided butterfly picture that was amazing. The stitches were so exact that they matched perfectly on each side.

We marveled over the shell and hair etchings also, done by a man in his 70s. We could only see them under strong magnification but he had done the work without any artificial aids. I'm sure he could have read the street directory without glasses too!

Who said pigs can't fly?!

It was still very windy the next morning. Nick cooked chorizo and bacon on the outside BBQ - and some rashers were blown off the hotplate!

We had bought some boysenberry jam and offered some to Erin for her leftover toast. Vaughan quickly commented that she didn't want to be poisoned!!

Gilligan's Island?!

No sign of Gilligan!

There was a lone palm tree in the roundabout adjacent this Video Ezy store, hence the name! We borrowed two overnight movies and retired to our cabin, out of the wind.

It was a pleasant evening. We had some very nice nibblies before our posh hamburgers - and all enjoyed watching Rango together, accompanied by some very good hokey-pokey ice-cream.

Nick and I shared some rose, which made for much hilarity when I climbed onto Vaughan's bunk bed and couldn't get down again!

Resorting to Surf and Leisure?!

I had taken advantage of a bargain deal-of-the-day offer earlier in the year to book two night's cabin accommodation at the Wollongong Surf Leisure Resort. The floor plan was "interesting", so the deal probably wasn't the huge bargain we had expected but we weren't ripped off either - and it was nice to just unpack our bags and provisions on arrival, without having to set up camp (particularly when the wind was so strong)!

Lookout, it's cold!

We stopped at the Bulli Lookout for a quick glance at the view, before the icy wind forced a retreat. After donning more layers, we ate our roast pork sangas in the nearby park - in the sun, trying to thaw out! 

Vaughan wasn't cold, so had lots of fun throwing his jacket up and flying it like a kite. The wind was amazing!