case in point

Cape Solander

2009-07-05T17:54:00.002+10:00

Cape Solander is in Botany Bay National Park, on the Kurnell side. It's a good whale-watching spot with researchers and volunteers on-site daily during peak seasons (June-July). I'd been here before but didn't see any whales, so I didn't have high expectations. You can park right at the lookout, or get a shuttle bus from the discovery/visitor's centre.

The signboard at Cape Solander's lookout says that 1200 humpback whales have been spotted so far on their way north; it was a beautiful day with little wind, so I walked along the rough, weather-beaten bluffs, which stretched for hundreds of meters; piles of massive boulders littered the base of the cliffs. It was fairly wild and dramatic, and there was no protection, so you could stand at the edge and look at the crashing waves below.

whale spotting 101:

watch out for the plume that comes out of the blowhole

voila! a breaching whale!

a few times i trained my binos on the plumes, and managed to see a tail, or the arc of the whale's back, which was amazing enough as it is - the brevity gave the sighting an unreal quality - it's hard to be sure if i really saw it, even though i know i did.

I saw a group of people staring at a spot in the distance. Try as i might, i couldn't see anything even with all the pointing. I started walking towards the group, then for some reason i looked behind my shoulder and caught a whale completely IN THE AIR! It was unreal, that something so heavy can propel itself out of the water. It lasted only for a couple of seconds, and i felt like rubbing my eyes because i can't believe i was lucky enough to see it! even now the scene of a whale suspended mid-air is still in my mind...

This particular whale was quite 'acrobatic'. It breached several more times as it moved up north, so I was lucky to get these photos; I also saw it come out of the water head first a couple of times!

By the time I got back to the lookout, an additional 19 humpbacks have been added to the signboard, all in the last 2 hours (I picked up 3-4 at best...the researcher even spotted one seal hahaha). The wind picked up and it was getting late, so I left. The season will end in another couple of weeks, so glad I made it :)

Happy B'day Tammy!

2009-06-28T22:51:00.000+10:00

For Tammy's b'day, we went to Jazushi in Surry Hills. It felt quite weird, coming to a place that I used to walk pass regularly 10 years ago...

Anyway, it was a good choice - small and cosy, with great live jazz in the background. Food is Japanese/European fusion, and beautifully presented. Sharing is recommended, and together with the music, makes this place a great place for a group catch-up. It's hard to rave about Japanese food because there are so many cheap and nice Japanese eateries in Sydney, although there was one standout for me - the green tea noodle salad. I felt the Jazushi Fresh Combo of sushi and sashimi wasn't really good value at $49, but overall, this place has a lovely ambiance and well worth a try (NB: BYO Tue and Wed only).

Vivid - Cloud of Bats

2009-06-24T10:26:00.001+10:00

Vivid - Janus

2009-06-23T20:46:00.001+10:00

Vivid - Doves That Cry

2009-06-21T17:55:00.000+10:00

Lighting the sails - xii

2009-06-20T20:26:00.000+10:00

Vivid - Lumenocity

2009-06-19T15:44:00.000+10:00

Vivid - Jewel Box of Light

2009-06-18T11:33:00.002+10:00

Vivid - Rocklights

2009-06-17T07:44:00.003+10:00

Vivid - Fire flies

2009-06-16T08:05:00.002+10:00

Vivid - Vessel of (horti) Cultural Plenty

2009-06-15T15:42:00.000+10:00

Vivid - Rainbow

2009-06-14T08:51:00.000+10:00

Lighting the Sails - ix

2009-06-13T15:49:00.000+10:00

Vivid - The Rocks

2009-06-13T06:07:00.001+10:00

Vivid - Façade

2009-06-11T08:00:00.000+10:00

Pagoda consecration at Sunnataram

2009-06-08T15:59:00.004+10:00

Crappy photos taken with my phone on the last day of May, at Sunnataram forest monastery in Bundanoon

i was here end of last year, and the pavilions were yet to be built!

the materials came from a dismantled factory in Alexandria; teams of volunteer worked every wkd for 18 months to build the pavilions

putting gold leaf on one of the four pagoda tops; vaseline and garlic(!) were used to help the gold stick

entrance to the pagoda...finally complete!

crimson rosellas (red and blue) and king parrots (red and green)

The four pagodas, named after the Buddha's four principle disciples, were blessed by monks from different traditions. A couple of monks and Pramana placed the tops on the pagoda, then chanted and threw rose petals. The pagoda on the left is now finished, while monks get ready to ascend the pagoda on the right.

Primo Italiano

2009-05-30T15:45:00.000+10:00

glorious Sunday at Sydney's original little Italy aka Stanley st; the primo italiano festival this year is cupid-themed to match the wedding of 'Romeo & Juliet'.

a huge rocket and gorgonzola woodfired pizza $9

i saw many others eating this scrumptious pizza so i joined a queue 20+ deep. It really was quite good, and there was virtually no waiting time between ordering and getting the pizza. After i made off with pizza a couple of people asked me where i got it from.

the real wedding of Romeo and Juliet, rather, the actors who played them.

Polpi in umido (octupus cooked with white wine in a tomato ragu) ,with polenta, from Beppi's, $5

a bit too salty so the polenta cake provided good balance; that said i really loved the briny taste and scraped up every bit of the ragu.

Dessert from Bertoni Casalinga ($4 each). The almond, cinnamon and fig biscotti was packed with figs and so divine. The huge sugar-encrusted donut was too plain for me, but was surprisingly delicious after I chucked it in the oven.

After wandering around the side streets I was stoked to discover a fruit+veg section. Got some bargains - including a big bag of field mushrooms for $1.50 and a dozen of free range eggs for $4! I love shopping at little markets. hurray!

Happy B'day YY!

2009-05-24T23:26:00.000+10:00

Shinara on Pitt st; $26.50 for standard buffet and $36.50 for the premium that includes sushi, sashimi and dessert, all with a 2 hour limit. We had the standard and it was good value. The servings were tiny so we ordered 4-5 serves at the same time. The only gripe is the severe time lag between our order and getting the food on the table; so much so that we often forgot what we'd ordered, and ended up getting a whole lot of dishes after most of us were full. There were no side dishes except for kimchi, which was a shame. If there were little side dishes I'm sure I'd have saved the restaurant money by eating much less meat :P

YY with her maxi rainbow from French Riviera...not to bad, wish i could say the same for the service

WIDI 11

2009-05-20T08:50:00.001+10:00

WIDI 10

2009-05-19T07:58:00.000+10:00

WIDI 9

2009-05-18T08:52:00.000+10:00

WIDI 8

2009-05-17T08:51:00.000+10:00

WIDI 7

2009-05-16T07:44:00.000+10:00

WIDI 6

2009-05-15T08:05:00.000+10:00

hmmmm.....

right...

into OH&S nightmare

through a sea of wandering jew

thank god it's not summer :P

WIDI 5

2009-05-14T06:07:00.000+10:00

forest fruits