New Year Celebrations at "The Entrance"

It was 31st Dec, 2016. All of us were eagerly waiting for the NEW YEAR 2017. The last new year, we had been to the new year fireworks at Sydney Harbor Bridge. The Sydney Harbor Fireworks was just amazing. But this time we did not have the patience to go early and reserve the place 4-5 hours before the event. Hence we decided to go on a trip. Destination - "The Entrance". We would miss watching the fireworks though.

On 31st Dec morning , we left for our trip. At first we visited the Shelly Beach. It was just an hour drive from Sydney. Shelley Beach was not much crowded even on the new years eve. It is indeed a lovely beach and does provide facilities like changing rooms, Shower areas, etc

At first we all changed to our swimming costumes and then entered the beach. We played in the water and also in the sand and made sand castles. The weather was quite hot, but the cool breeze along the shore was a huge relief. We spent around 2 hours at the beach.

Then it was lunch time, We parceled some fish n chips from a popular outlet and went to a sea side bench to enjoy our lunch. The food was really awesome. After a delicious lunch, we played some games there and lied down for a quick nap.

Finally, we left for "The Entrance". that was another 10 mins drive from Shelley Beach. The Pelican Feeding at the Entrance is something you should not miss. The Pelican feeding is usually held at 3.00 PM everyday.

The Entrance was too crowded with lots of visitors. Some people had already reserved a sea side place with tents for the New Years Eve. It was quite difficult to get a parking slot there. Finally manged to get one after a long time.

As we entered the beach area, we were welcomed by a big flock of Pelicans. It was an amazing view.

There were also many amusement rides to entertain both the kids as well as the adults, probably new year special event. My daughter had a gala time enjoying every ride. There was also a swimming pool for the kids and all the kids were just loving that. Charvi spent around an hour playing with other kids in that pool.

All of a sudden, our attention was caught by some hoardings put up which mentioned that New years fireworks was supposed to be held at the Entrance at 9.00 PM. Immediately we decided to wait and watch the fireworks.

We had some some light dinner and were then waiting eagerly for the fireworks. We managed to get a nice place by the sea side to view the fireworks. The crowd had started gathering around the place.

The fireworks started sharp at 9.00 PM and lit the dark sky with vibrant lights. Watching the fireworks by the water side was an amazing experience. The crowd was also quite enthusiastic.

Soon after the fireworks, we headed home. We wanted to reach home before midnight to watch the Sydney harbor fireworks live telecast-ed on TV :)

Blue Mountains Trip

Another weekend with my dear sister and brother in law in Sydney. This weekend, we decided to go towards the west side to the Blue Mountains.

Started for the trip immediately after breakfast. The Blue Mountains is about 1.5 hours drive and the route is quite scenic and pleasant.

At first, we went to the Katoomba Waterfall Reserve and lazied around the piknik area for some time. After that we left for a short trek to view the waterfall from the top. 

My hubby and bil left for a bigger trek down to the waterfall and we (me, my sis and daughter) headed back to the piknik area. We played in the playground, then with the disk and then chit chatting. 

After about an hour they came back from their trek. From the pictures they shared, it looked like an amazing trek and wonderful place.

It had past the lunch time and all of us were hungry. We parceled some food from the katoomba city centre and came back to another piknik area to enjoy our lunch. The place was really cool and pleasant. Sometimes living in the hustles of the city , we long for such peace. Being with the nature frees you from all stress and relaxes your mind and body.

After the food, Charvi had some dancing sessions and we all were trying to learn dance steps from her. Was really fun though.

Next destination - the very popular "Three Sisters" point.

After taking 2-3 rounds around the three sisters view point, finally we managed to get an awesome parking spot. The three sisters is actually three mountains standing next to each other. This place is usually very crowded. But to my surprise, this time it was less crowded. There is a pedestrian bridge to reach the first sister. This is someting i had never saw in our previous 

After spending some time there, we left Katoomba and headed for our next destination - Wentworth Falls Lake Reserve. This was on the way back home.

The area around the Wentworth Falls Lake is developed very well with playgrounds, piknik areas, barbecues, etc. We reached there late in the evening. It was quite cool and nice and there were just handful of people. We all enjoyed feeding and watching the birds. 

We took a short walk to the other side of the lake walking by the dam.

All good things come to an end and so are the vacation and trips. It was time to head back home.