9/6: Longish train trip to see a BLOWHOLE!

Our original plan for the day had been to use our Opal transportation card to go to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney for the day as it's only AUD$ 2.50 to travel anywhere with the card on Sundays. We had to scratch the plan though as the temp in the Mountains was only going to be 13 degrees C or so plus a chance for rain.

Instead, we looked at other places that were the furthest away to get the biggest bang for our buck that might be just a smidge warmer. The most viable option seemed to be the seaside town of Kiama located 2.5 hours away by train from Sydney's Central Station, which had good reviews as a day trip from Sydney. The journey took us through a National Park but we could only see trees though it so you didn’t miss much!

We were glad to see that there were 2 carriages in each Inter City train specified as Quiet Carriages which meant no phones could be used, no music on and people were limited to supposedly minimum chating. How wonderfullly civilized on a longish journey to have some peace and quiet in this noisy world. 

We arrived in Kiama about 10:30 and immediately made our way down to the beach via a lovely stretch of Norfolk Island pines after warming up with a hot cup of coffee. 

As you can tell from the photos below, it sure wasn't
warm in Kiama but we took solace in the thought it would have
 been so much colder in the Blue Mountains at least!

Saw more Norfolk Island pines here in Kiama than ever before in my life.
 I didn’t realize that Norfolk Island is located north of Sydney a fair piece out in the Pacific.
The trees looked majestic against the dreary sky,the rain threatening clouds and the rugged coastline.

The reason most people visit Kiama is for its Blowhole. Many compare the amazing show it puts on to Old Faithful in the US. Standing there, you can hear the roar of the waves before they pour through the cave and explode through a hole in the cave roof.

It turns out we were fortunate seeing the Blowhole in all its glory 
as many people trek here to see the famous spectacle but never see it blowing.

The Blowhole is best visited at high tide, we learned.What a shame it would have been
to come on such a long journey and not had a chance to hear AND see the water blow.

The Aboriginal word for this town means 'where the sea makes a noise.'
That made perfect sense as we sure heard the sea making lots of noise!

The aftermath of a 'blow.'

I had to wait a while to take this photo but the wait was worth it.

            I couldn't resist taking more photos of the Blowhole as we viewed it from other angles!

There was a solitary bench on the grass overlooking the water so we muched on our peanut butter/tuna sandwiches before getting too chilled to lounge about any longer.

The weather, the views all reminded me of being in Scotland some 40 years ago. 
I hope Steven and I will get there together someday.

Not wanting to give into the weather, we mustered on along
another lovely coastal path toward the town harbor.

The Rock Swimming Pool had no takers today.

We didn't know what or where Minnamurra was but we walked toward 'it' for a bit
before it began to drizzle and turned back toward the town.

Many people were sitting in the town's park listening to a
folk trio playing lots of Peter, Paul and Mary music. We enjoyed the
lovely sounds as we wandered in and out of shops in the bustling town.

I looked for a sunhat as I wasn’t thrilled, to put it mildly, with the bucket hat I had brought from home. Hard to get in the mood looking for one though when I was so cold even though I had hoped to get one before we go to Uluru in Australia’s Red Centre at the end of the week.

We love taking pictures of strange signs.
Going to Kiama was a pleasant and unexpected day trip from Sydney but a long journey all in all.