The Amazing Port Stephens & Nelson Bay

It was a long time since we had gone on a long drive. Long weekend was approaching. It was Queen Elizabeth's birthday and a public holiday declared in Australia. In winter, its really difficult to go for a overnight trip. So, we decided to to go on a day trip. Trip to the amazing Port Stephens and the Nelson Bay...Yipee!!!

Port Stephens is around 2.5 hours drive from Sydney. Once you get out of the city, catch the Motorway M1 and enjoy the lovely drive till NewCastle. Further take the Nelson Road to reach the Nelson Bay.

We left early morning at around 6.30 AM and picked one of my husbands colleague on the way and reached Nelson Bay at around 9.30 AM. We took a halt for breakfast on the way at McDonalds.

At first we went to the information centre, to pick some maps and decide on the plan.

Port Stephens has 26 golden beaches to choose from. They also have ample of lovely restaurants and accommodation. Its a wonderful place for camping too with lots of camping sites and facilities. But we had to stick to our one day plan and make the best out of it.

At first we just lazied around some beaches. They have wonderful foot paths and cycle tracks along the beaches. In my opinion, this city can be best explored on bycycles. Since we did not have any, we tried exploring a part of it by walking. It was indeed a wonderful experience. Below are some few clicks taken during our walk.

We next headed to Tomaree Lookout. It is a lovely trek and should take around 45 minutes one way. Once you reach the summit, you can enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views of the lovely islands and amazing beaches. You can also spot the Lighthouse located on one island. The trek has some steep areas and most of it is paved areas. In my opinion, this is a must visit place.

From the Tomaree Lookout, we could watch the Zenith Beach. We could see the blue water splashing on the black rocks and the golden sands. Also saw some people fishing on the beach and getting a good catch.

We headed to the Zenith Beach. It was just as awesome as we had seen from top. We just played around on the waters and in the sands. The people who had come fishing, were still there and they had a very good catch. Looked like they were quite experienced in fishing. Some people had also come for surfing. Surprisingly this beach was not cold or windy. It was kind of sunny and that was a huge relief.

We then sat on the rocks and took some pictures. Just then I spotted some fins moving in the waters. Maybe the dolphins or the whales...not sure. We kept watching and they kept showing their fins now and then. Finally we decided to leave. Just then we saw four dolphins dancing along the waves and all in sync. It was a breathtaking sight and just made our day more fruitful. Just sitting on the beach, we had spotted four dolphins dancing along with the waves. What else could anyone ask for :)

We were waiting there to take a picture of them...But then they never appeared again and then we left for lunch. We went back to the city and toured the whole place. It had past lunch time. So many restaurants were closed. Finally found one and enjoyed our delicious lunch along with some live music.

Next we went to the beach side again. There was an open market. Charvi spotted a play area and started playing there. Play area is the most important thing for her. I guess it made her day. As Sumit went with his friend to explore the market and Charvi was busy playing, I enjoyed the beach and the waves and the sands.

After a strong caffeccino, finally we left around 6 PM. Reached home at 8 PM.

Sydney is full of beaches, But Port Stephens has something different to offer you, there is something different about its beaches. Maybe its the relaxing environment or could be the wonderful landscapes, but it is definitely a must visit place.

We have decided to visit it once again in the summers and this time, we will definitely take a halt there to explore it more and enjoy the sunrise too :)...Waiting to see you again Port Stephens ....

The Great Pacific Drive

New member in our small family...Our new car Ford Kuga. All of us ...full of excitement....That definately calls for a road trip. WOW...I really love these unplanned road trips.

We all had our own wishes. My wish - a visit to a temple, Next wish from Charvi - beach and the final wish from Sumit - a wonderful drive along the coast.

Sumit came up with a wonderful plan, visit to the Sri Venkateshwar Temple in Helenburg, Next  take the Long Pacific Drive till the Sea Cliff  Bridge and finally, relax on the Stanwell Park Beach. Wow, all credits to Sumit for this amazing road trip plan covering all our wishes :)

As it was a sunny day, we left for our trip after lunch. I packed a few sandwiches and some fried rice for our dinner. After all it was more like a piknik.

First halt - "Sri Venkateshwara Temple" in Helensburg. It is around 1 hour drive and the motorway is just amazing.

This temple looked like an Indian Hindu temple. It is really huge and has many small temples within its premises. For all those people who miss Indian food here in Sydney, there is also a canteen which provides Idli , Dosa, Puri . The temple gives peace to the mind as well as the soul. I was really missing my temple visits here in Sydney.

After spending an hour there, we started for the next destination "The Great Pacific Drive". What a lovely drive. I would say , Its one amongst the best drives in the World. The wonderful Sea Cliff Bridge standing between the mountains and the blue oceans and the clear blue sky.

There is a jogging path running parallel to the bridge. We took a short walk halfway through the bridge to capture different angles and views of the bridge and the mountains and the oceans and the cliff.

After the mesmerising coastal walk, our next destination - Stanwell Park Beach.

This is one amongst the best beaches I liked in Sydney. It is a perfect beach for families as it has a very large reserve for picnic, also for barbecue and all of it just very near to the beach. The best part is, it has a small pond just before the beach which captures some warm water. Hence the best place for kids to enjoy the waters. Australian beaches have chilling cold waters even in really hot sunny days. So, this pond was more like a blessing.

Charvi played some time in the waters, then we took a stroll on the beach. It has really amazing scenic views along the coast. It reminded me of many Bollywood movies with beach side shooting. In fact, it is a wonderful place for that. We had early dinner and then finally left back for Sydney with all these wonderful memories in our heart.

Monsoon Trip to Ooty

We had been to Ooty a couple of times earlier. But this time, we wanted to experience the monsoons in the Nilgiris. Hence we decided to go on a monsoon trip to Udagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty.

At Charring Cross

Route:
Bangalore -> Mysore -> Bandipur ->  Ooty(around 300 kms)
There are basically two routes to go from Bandipur to Ooty. One is via Masinagudi which has 36 hairpin bends. It has very sharp hairpin bends and hence on a monsoon trip, we decided to avoid this route and take the other route via Gundlupet. This way it was around additional 30 kms, but safe driving.

Accomodation:
We stayed in "Holiday Inn Cottages", which is around 2 kms from Ooty city center. Its a decent place to stay. They have all the basic amenities like in house restaurant, Children's play area (which is really big and kids would just love it), generator backup(which is really needed due to frequent power cuts), geyser, hot drinking water supply, etc.
We booked a 4 bedroom room, as we were traveling with my in laws. It was around Rs. 3500 per room (breakfast included)

Day 1:
Due to the bad condition of the roads caused by monsoons and the frequent breaks demanded by our little champ, and also a lot of work in progress on roads,  it took us almost 9 hours to reach Ooty, which usually takes around 5-6 hours. The last time when we had gone in a lighter shade of monsoon, it took us around 5.5 hours. We left in the morning at around 6 and reached Ooty at around 3 in the afternoon. We had breakfast in a restaurant on Mysore road and lunch in a hotel just before entering Bandipur. My suggestion would be to leave a little early so that you reach on time.

A cup of hot chai with some hot delicious pakodas were ready for us when we entered the home stay. By then monsoon had already showed its presence. So we decided to visit the market area. Did some chocolate shopping with loads of home made chocolates. We had dinner in a Rajasthani hotel in Ooty, my inlaws being very happy with their food. Finally we came back to our hotel and planned for the next day.

Day 2:
After having a great breakfast, we left for Dodabetta, which is the highest peak in the Nilgiris. It is around 8 kms from city center. Once we reached there, it started raining heavily and was windy too. After waiting for around 10 mins for rain to subside, finally we left to see the peak. Also bought a rainbow colored umbrella from there, it was the most essential thing we forgot to carry with us. The valley view was covered with fog and mist. But it is really fun to hang there in the monsoons and the strong winds.

After Dodabetta, we decided to go to Conoor which is around 20 kms from there. It is a different city and the route to Conoor is just breathtaking. Do not miss out to visit Conoor if you plan to visit Ooty. There is a toy train from Ooty to Conoor and back. But it needs advance train reservations and also takes around 5 hours for the travel. More ever, car will take you around 2 hours only.

In Conoor, we visited the sims park. It is like botanical garden and is really vast. In Conoor, monsoons had subsided so we could really enjoy the sims park. It was lunch time and we managed to get a decent hotel just next to the park.

We decided to skip the view point called "Lambs Rock" as it may be cloudy  and valley view may not be possible. I remember the last time when we visited this place, the drive was really adventurous with very narrow roads covered with dense fog.

We started back to Ooty. On the way, there is a golf club. We stopped by to see golf, but the guard stopped us as it was military area probably. So we had to move further.

By the time we reached Ooty, it was evening and we went directly to the Ooty lake. It was raining quite heavily there. so no boating services. Horse ride is also available there.



Very near to the lake, there is a dinosaur park. I guess the ticket costs around 400 per head. If you are interested, you can also visit that. Since we were tired, we did not visit that place.

Day 3:
The next day morning also it started raining. After having breakfast, we checkedout from the home stay. On the way, visited the Pykara Lake and Falls. We reached home late evening.

On the way, as we passed through the Bandipur forests, could see many many animals on the way.

First Glimpse of Sydney

The Harbour Bridge

The Opera House

 After a long wait of 4 months, finally landed sydney on 10th dec, 2015. It goes into one more added date to remember.

We landed sydney at around 8 in the night. The first glimpse of sydney from the flight was marvellous which added some excitement as well as anxiety about our upcoming days.

Thought of buying a new sim for me right at the airport. ...and guess what...the guy at the Lebara counter was a hindi speaking Kannadiga.

The drive from the airport to Liverpool,  the place where hubby dear stayed for 4 long months, was thrilling at 120 kmph throughout. We were warmly welcomed by the house owners into their magnificent  house or i could say a palace.

The next day morning,  we visited the nearby westfield mall. This visit gave me an initial insight about the  warm nature of people here.  I could  see  their eagerness to welcome the outsiders.

The next day we went to  the sydney city area. Took the train from Liverpool and got down at Circular Quay. The station gives a wonderful view of the magnificent harbor  bridge overlooking  the beautiful Opera House.

We took a cruise to go to Manly beach which gives you a closer look at the bridge as well as the opera house. The 45 mins on the cruise was a wonderful experience.

Getting off at Manly wharf was altogather a different  world. It was loaded with tourists. Christmas  celebrations  in every corner and every street. After experiencing the advanced  Christmas  celebrations, we entered the  Manly beach...soaking into the sun, the sands and the sea.

Manly Beach

We had to take the same ferry again to reach back the Darling Harbor.  From there  we walked to see the opera house. Further we walked  to see the very old botanical gardens which will be completed 200 years in 2016.

At last we went to the sydney CBD area to see hubbys office and then back home.

In short, my first impression about people here is that they are warm and yet cool. They just love to talk and socialize with all the people. No discrimination...no racism. Sydney is just a wonderful place to come n enjoy life.

The weather gets unpredictable at times. In summer, sometimes its as hot as 40 and the next day can get as cold as 15. Very unpredictable! !!

Really loved the "Bindass" fun loving nature of people here.