The BIG Moreton Bay Fig tree.....

On the Lawrence to Grafton Road, right HERE, is a magnificent Moreton Bay Fig.
I've been meaning to grab a photo of it for ages and took advantage of a run into Grafton earlier this week to finally get around  to it.
(Click on the photo and it will open up much larger).

The tree's roots must have been "trimmed" where they meet the road....perhaps ages ago, when the road was just a dirt track or maybe when the surface was asphalted.

The tree is so large that the canopy crosses the road....and how great it is to see that rather than cut the branches off, the powers-that-be have merely trimmed them to allow road traffic to pass underneath.

Moreton Bay figs are amazing trees - they rely on a small wasp for their regeneration, live to about 100 years and their root system above the ground forms huge buttresses.

Here is some information on the tree, botanical name Ficus macrophylla.

Tehachapi Loop

My friend Steve, who lives in Hemet, California, was recently passing the famous Tehachapi Loop during one of his regular business trips in California when he chanced upon a BNSF freight train negotiating the track at the same time that he happened to be there.

It's a consist made up primarily of double-stack containers, with a few auto-carriers on the rear and hauled by four what appear to be GE "Dash 9" (or maybe ES44) locomotives.

The following photographs were sent to me by Steve.
All enlarge when clicked.

 

Thanks, Steve!

I envy you the opportunities that you have to see this piece of railroad history on a regular basis.

Up, Up and Away!

My 70th. birthday was celebrated over six-month's ago (November 2015) and as a special gift I was presented, by my wife, son and daughter, with a 45 minute flight in a helicopter.
I deliberately held off taking the flight until the weather moved out of the stormy, unpredictable summer and well into the calmer period of autumn.....late autumn, in fact.

So yesterday (Wednesday 25th. May) I headed up the highway from Yamba to beautiful Ballina, a 75 minute drive and it was a simply superb autumn day; 23 degrees, light breeze and a blue sky. Just a perfect day for my first flight in a helicopter and a perfect day for top-down motoring in the MX-5.

On the way to Ballina I stopped at New Italy - a roadside rest-stop with picnic facilities, cafe, art displays etcetera. This location commemorates the settlement in the area of approximately 130 Italian immigrants back in the 1800s.

 Note that all photos enlarge when clicked. 

My flight was booked with Air T&G, a helicopter-flight business operating from Ballina Byron airport.
They have three Robinson R22s, two R44s, a Bell something-or-other which is a "Huey" look-alike, and a Bell 47, which anyone who has watched M.A.S.H. would immediately identify.

After being weighed and leaving behind anything of a loose nature (keys, mobile phone, pen) I was taken out to the little two-seat R22 by my pilot, Ryan.
With the aircraft and Ryan both dressed in black it looked like something out of an action movie!

After a pre-flight briefing we climbed in, donned a headset each and Ryan went through the checklist then fired her up.
We had to let the engine warm up for about five minutes and, once ready, Ryan did a radio check, advising other aircraft in the area of our intentions (it is uncontrolled airspace at Ballina) and we "taxied" out to the edge of the runway. Yep...taxied. About a metre above the ground!

On the way to our launching pad we passed this Bombadier CL-600 operated by Execujet, out of Sydney.

Past the general aviation hangars and services.
The hangar on the right contains what appears to be an ex-RAAF (or maybe RNZAF) Victa Airtourer.

We held short (hovering a metre above the ground) for a Jetstar service to make its landing.
Once he had touched down and commenced taxiing we were clear to lift off and, in the words of The Fifth Dimension, we were "Up, Up and Away"! 

We tracked inland initially...west towards Alstonville, flying at 1000 feet, over many macadamia plantations, one of which (or part of one) is pictured below.
The country is so green that it's almost unbelieveable - like being in Ireland!

We turned northwards, heading to the coast near Byron Bay, and passed near Bangalow.

There are quite a few palatial residences in this area; this one was once owned by Paul Hogan.

This is a new section of the Pacific Highway which was only opened within the past twelve months.
It includes twin tunnels which pass through a hill that, although providing spectacular views, was very twisty, slow and dangerous.
This new section of dual carriageway is part of the major restructuring of the Pacific Highway currently in progress between Woolgoolga and Ballina.

Below is a shot of the northern end of the tunnels, with the old highway alignment on the left and the new dual-carriageway road on the right.

Beautiful country around here; lush green and soft, rolling hills extending inland to the Great Dividing Range.
You can make out Mount Warning, that sharp peak in the centre of the ranges, which was spotted and named when James Cook sailed the Endeavour up the east coast in 1770.

The photo below that of the countryside is the view along the pristine beach extending north to Brunswick Heads and beyond to Hastings Point.

Ryan had us cruising along at 1000 feet and a little under 80 knots.

We met the coastline just north Byron Bay and then started tracking south, dropping down to 500 feet.
I have not edited the colours in the photo...that is exactly what we saw. I think the ochre tint is from the sand being stirred up.

The next series of shots are of the lighthouse at Cape Byron, the most easterly point on the Australian continent.

We saw plenty of dolphins on the way south to Ballina, and even a manta ray. But no sharks....which was good because there were dozens of surfers.
Sadly, no whales. It appears that the warm current is still making its presence felt further south but they should be on the move pretty soon.


We arrived at the mouth of the Richmond River, where it meets the Pacific Ocean at Ballina, and turned inland to approach the airport, with a final view south along the beach towards Evans Head.

Ryan held the helicopter short of the approach as we waited for a light aircraft to do a "missed approach" practice and then we were on finals and ready to touch down.

Of course, I had to have the obligatory photo taken as I sat in the R22, so here you go....

That yellow disk is not a landing light!
It's lens flare, from the sun.

What a fabulous experience this was. Totally absorbing, and thoroughly enjoyable.
I will do it again, one day.....maybe get a chance to do a whale-watching or a "hands on" flight.

Thanks, family.
This is up there with the hot-air balloon flight for my 50th.

Crossing the Clarence by ferry

There is a vehicular ferry which crosses the Clarence River at Bluff Point, about a kilometre north of Lawrence, a village which sits on the west bank of the river.

Many people use this ferry (and also another further upstream at Ulmarra) every day.
It is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is the busiest vehicular ferry in NSW.

Because there are two ferries located here there are never any times when regular maintenance interferes with the service.

A trip across the river - about 400 metres - takes around three minutes.
(Further upstream, at Ulmarra, the river is wider and the ferry trip at that crossing takes about twice as long).

Here is a short video of a "ride" on the ferry....taken last week when I did the return trip from Yamba to Grafton via the "back road".

May be viewed in HD (720 or 1080).

The Road Trips - Yamba to Canberra via the Inland route & Return via the Coast.

From Yamba to Canberra took two days - broken overnight at Coonabarabran. That was about seven hours from Yamba, via the Pacific Highway to Grafton, Armidale Road & Waterfall Way to Armidale, the New England Highway to Tamworth and then the Oxley Highway to Coonabarabran.

The next day saw us drive to Canberra via the Newell Highway to Dubbo & the Mitchell Highway to Wellington and Molong.
From Molong we took the minor roads down through Canowindra to Cowra and thence the Lachlan Valley Way via Boorowa to the Hume Highway south of Yass, then the Barton Highway to Canberra.
That was another seven hours.

The change in the environment is amazing: we left the greenery of the coastal fringe, with its sugar cane and dairy farms, climbed through sub-tropical rain forest to the New England Plateau, then to the open expanses, wheat and sheep of the Central Western Plains.

The return journey was via the "normal" route: Federal Highway to Goulburn, Hume Highway to Sydney and then the Pacific Highway to Yamba.
Video highlights were recorded, edited and uploaded to You Tube. Here are the links and I suggest that, as they are in 1080HD, it would be best to play direct from YT and not through this blog:-

Below are several photos - most of which are included in the videos.
They will enlarge when clicked.

This map - an extract from Google Maps - shows the route we followed from Yamba to Coonabarabran - the extent of the first day's drive.
The Armidale Road, from Grafton to the junction of Waterfall Way, a few kms past Ebor, was the "worst", but only because it was twisty between Nymboida and the top of the range. The surface was fine.
The major highways - Waterfall Way, the New England, the Oxley, the Mitchell and the Newell - were excellent and allowed for fast, safe driving, with sparse traffic. Even the semi's were separated by several kms.

The above shot was taken when we stopped for morning tea and a "behind the bushes" comfort stop!
Somewhere between Nymboida and Ebor.

The reserve at Ebor Falls (above) has picnic facilities, including water on tap and toilets.

It's just a very short walk from the parking area to the Top (or Upper) Falls and then a short walk down an unpaved walking track to the Lower (or Bottom) Falls.
These must be quite spectacular when there has been good rainfall.

The Mathew Flinders Motor Inn at Coonabarabran was very comfortable and has a very nice on-site restaurant.
This made for a comfortable, relaxed evening after a long drive: we were able to unpack the car, have a rest, have a shower and then stroll across to the restaurant for dinner and a few glasses of wine. Most enjoyable....and the staff are lovely.

Decor straight from the 1970s but clean, neat and tidy.
It would be a crying shame if the management/owners ever decided to "modernise". This is heritage stuff and should be kept - Mission Brown, Burnt Orange and all!

The above map shows the route on Day 2, from Coonabarabran down through Dubbo, Wellington, Molong, Cowra and then to Canberra.

Cameron Park, in Wellington, provided a convenient and shady spot to have morning tea.
The temperature on this morning was up in the high 20s so it was nice to sit in the shade in this peaceful spot.
That's the main road in the background.

On the Saturday night in Canberra we had dinner at the Vikings Club, Chisholm, and the last time I saw the sun setting over the Brindabella Mountain range was in May 2014....nearly 18 month's ago.
So I had to snap this shot with my phone.

Finally, my gorgeous grand-daughter Matilda, just turned nine years old earlier this month.
She's grown up a bit since her fifth birthday!

Lismore streetscapes

I paid a regular visit to Lismore the other day to have my car (Honda Jazz) serviced at Ireland Honda for the last time under warranty. Hard to believe that the car is now three years old; boy, have those years flown by!

Anyway, whilst it was under the knife I took the opportunity to wander the commercial & retail central part of the town and captured a few shots..........

I think that the trees are either Moreton Bay Figs or another member of that species.
Lovely shade trees - not that they were needed for that during my visit as it was fairly cool and moist.

Many of the buildings in Lismore hark back to the early years of the 20th. century and most have a Heritage classification.
Above is the very imposing Masonic Temple.
This building became the HQ of the Northern Rivers movement in 2011, when two other lodges closed due to dwindling numbers.
The refurbished Masonic Temple in Lismore was officially opened in February of that year.

I'm unsure what this building is - I forgot to check the placard at the front. It looks as if it has a religious heritage and is presently used as a marketplace for bric-a-brac, old wares and so forth.
The rear of it can be seen in the photo above of the Masonic Temple.

The Uniting Church, Lismore.
Before the Uniting Church was formed by the merging of the Methodist and Presbyterian "branches" of Christian religion, this was the central Methodist church for the region.
A very imposing structure in red brick.

This is a wonderful building that was originally the "Australian Joint Stock Bank".
Like many banks of that era its design simply says "we are solid, strong and here for a very long time"!
It's quite large...extends back a fair bit behind the frontage seen above.

Another bank building......and alongside an equally sold frontage on Richmond Chambers (probably accountants or lawyers back in the day.
The Westpac Bank was originally (when this building was constructed) the first bank in the new colony of New South Wales and that was exactly the name of the bank - the Bank of New South Wales.
They changed their name to Westpac back in the late 1980s.
Looking at the above facade, you can see the image that was being projected - one of strength, massiveness, solidity, longevity - all of which is stating "Your money is safe with us".

This is the tower of the Telegraph Office - which then became the Post Office and which is now defunct, the PO having moved into newer, no doubt rented, premises in the 1980s.
The tree-trunk belongs to a Jacaranda.

Magellan Street.....lots of nice coffee shops, cafes and general retail stores.
Shady trees and traffic-calmers make it pedestrian-friendly.

Still in Magellan Street - the original shire council building.
I think that Terania Shire Council was absorbed back in the late 1970s. It no longer exists, anyway.
A nice pair of legs protruding from beneath the door of the Toyota Hi-lux. :)

The Audio Room....my favourite destination when in Lismore!
Nick specialises in equipment for playing records and also sells old (and new) vinyl LPs.
The graffiti isn't really graffiti and it's nice to see that it hasn't been sprayed with graffiti.

Any building with the word "Chambers" in its name was, more often than not, tenanted by professional people such as lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, real-estate agents etc.
Note the modern public phone box.

The final building in this short tour is this magnificent three-story brick structure which is home to the Lismore City Library.
What is was used for in its heyday, I have no idea. It has the look of an institution of some sort.

I hope you enjoyed the tour!