This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 25-year-old bookmark and can proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).
Today’s travel notes
The TC’s mum is in town! Yesterday the TC took her mum and the family to The Basin, near Palm Beach just north of Sydney. The Basin is one of the bays in the Hawkesbury waterways, on the shores of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. To reach it, catch a 20-minute ferry ride from Palm Beach.
This worm heard that the outing would involve a ferry crossing and some splashing around in a lagoon. Being a pulp fiction kind of guy, water is anathema to me. So I stayed at home and sent Naught, my trusty stunt worm, instead. You may remember Naught, from his debut in my post about Shelly Beach.
Naught’s impressions? If you’re looking for a relaxing day out of Sydney, where natural beauty and serenity vie with the kookaburras for your attention, The Basin is beaut.
Recommended eating
Take a picnic lunch. There are no restaurants or shops at The Basin, but you can grill food on the barbecues provided.
The book I’m in
After Shock, by Sam Fisher. A good action story, the second in the series about the E-Force rescue team.
Let me tell you a secret: This worm was comfortably ensconced in Philip K. Dick’s book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? But the TC hoiked me out of there, saying her brain is too lazy for that book at the moment.
The photos
Naught, my stunt double, taking a dip in the sparkling waters of The Basin:
Palm Beach Wharf:
Heading out from Palm Beach across an arm of the Hawkesbury River, destination The Basin. Don’t be deceived by the halo. This is not Saint Wordsworm, but Naught who has already donned his protective coat:
The heads and hills of the Hawkesbury River waterways:
Fellow wayfarers:
Bennets Wharf, the ferry stop before The Basin:
The entrance of The Basin’s lagoon, seen from the ferry:
The ferry approaching The Basin Wharf:
Jonathan waits at The Basin Wharf to greet the travellers:
Wallabies abound at The Basin. This mother has a full pouch. The pink cross struts are the feet of the little joey inside the pouch:
Another wallaby on the shores of the lagoon:
A kookaburra takes an interest in the picnic:
A bird’s eye view. Will ya look at that beak! At this stage even a stunt worm is well advised to take cover:
This is the blog of a 25-year-old bookmark. I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC) .
Today’s travel notes
Me and the TC have been back home for a couple of weeks now, after our trip to San Francisco and Seattle. Jet lag is a thing of the past. The trip is already receding into the mists of memory.
Did we ever go at all? Sometimes this worm thinks a good book is more real than life itself.
Speaking of real life, there just has to be a better form of long-distance travel than the aircraft. The TC is not a good traveller. After about six hours on a plane, she becomes miserable, mussy and messy. Very messy.
Me, I’d suggest teleportation. Just drop into a fax machine and materialise on the other side of the world. Make sure it’s a high-definition, high-colour fax machine, or you may lose some vital bits.
Travel tip
Don’t double-knot your shoe laces until you’ve been through airport security.
Recommended restaurant
Home sweet home.
The book I’m in
The Villa, by Nora Roberts.
A good old-fashioned intrigue set in San Francisco and Italy, seasoned with romance and noble wines.
The photos
Me back in the bosom of my family:
Sunrise in Sydney
Hand was a bit emotional on my return. I was touched. Peg took centre stage as usual. In an uncharacteristic bout of soppiness, Drool allowed The Rival and Naught to drape themselves all over him. Naught is stuck in his waterproof suit. I don’t think we’ll ever get it off him. I did tell him of the perils of lamination, but he just would not listen. At least I escaped his fate. That’s the beauty of having a stunt worm.
Sydney is heading into winter. The sunrises are begrudgingly gorgeous at this time of year:
Sunrise in Sydney
With the longer nights and the swap to daylight saving time, there’s a chance you’ll be awake to enjoy a sunrise over the sea:
This is the blog of a 25-year-old bookmark. I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC) .
Today’s travel notes
There’s a heat wave on in Sydney, Australia. If you like the heat, this is where you should be. Weather reports say we’re the hottest place on the planet this weekend.
This is when all savvy Sidney-siders hit the beaches. Shelly Beach is one of the best. It’s all happening: scuba-diving, snorkelling, swimming, paddling, stand-up and sit-down canoeing, splashing or just plain lying around.
Shelly Beach is part of the Cabbage Tree Bay reserve, at the quiet end of Manly Beach. Unlike the rest of the Sydney ocean coast, Shelly Beach points north rather than east. It’s tucked away in a little fold of the coast and has a character all its own.
Travel tip
Stay cool.
The book I’m in
the witches of chiswick, by Robert Rankin.
Ha ha, very funny, especially if you’re an erudite worm like me.
The photos
Introducing Naught, my stunt worm:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Actually, Naught is a copy of me, clad in laminate so that I don’t have to risk the wrinkling, colour-leeching and sagging that inevitably result from an extended dunking.
Naught is not bad at bobbing about. Here’s an underwater scene at Shelly Beach. The bobbing bookmark makes a less-than-convincing entrance near the end of the video:
They say imitation is the best form of flattery. Not that this worm is in need of flattery. I’m quite aware of my own worth. I’ve named my stunt worm “Naught”, in honour of another underwater wonder, the Nautilus. And also because “naught” means “nothing”, and although Naught may look like me, he isn’t me and therefore he’s really nothing at all. (I just needed to make that absolutely clear.)
We didn’t find Nemo, nor even Captain Nemo, but Naught is a good alternative. And he seems to have found a mermaid:
Shelly Beach in Manly
There are lots of different fish in the water too. The TC managed to catch one or two in her camera lense. Here’s one:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Here’s another, pretty if you like that sort of thing:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Here are a few silver and striped specimens, perhaps in search of Nemo themselves:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Next up is a blue groper. There are few fish that have caught my interest, but this one does have a good quirk or two. A groper sees a sex change as part of the normal scheme of things. Rumour has it that all gropers start out as girls. Then, when the whim takes them, they turn into boys at the flip of a fin. Boys are blue, girls are greeny-yellow. They can live as long at 35 years, so they have plenty of time to choose their favourite colour. They can grow to about 60cm long. This one is blue so I guess it’s a boy. He’s followed by a flotilla of fans:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Here’s an “artistic” photo of a shoal of tiny little fish that swam round and round the TC, moving too fast to get a good picture:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Above water, Shelly Beach is all go too. Here’s a view from the west side of the beach, looking north towards Manly:
Shelly Beach in Manly
It’s a family beach, with a somewhat disquieting atmosphere of stormy prettiness. Kookaburras and cockatoos wheel above, gropers and other finned things swoop below. Sandwiched between is a layer of swimmers. And Naught, the bobbing bookmark. Any undercurrents are, on the whole, on their best behaviour. The overall effect is intriguing rather than menacing. Most days, anyway.
Here you’re on the west side of the beach looking east:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Now you’re in the middle of the beach, looking north towards Manly:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Here you’re standing on the rocks at the east side of Shelly Beach, looking west across the beach:
Shelly Beach in Manly
This photo is taken from the rocks on Shelly Beach, looking north towards Manly:
Shelly Beach in Manly
The TC made a short video to show it all happening at Shelly Beach. It reminds me of a page from a beginner’s language course, with people doing all sorts of things, contented smiles on their faces and useful little bubbles with the French/German/whatever words describing their activities. But luckily for you, there are no speech bubbles on this video.
As the camera pans past the rocks on the west end of the beach, you will see the well-known Bower surf break. It’s popular among Manly surfers, because it’s one of the last breaks to close out in big surf and offers the cleanest right handers in Sydney. That’s what they say. Take a look:
Meanwhile back home, it’s very very warm. Sydney is treating us to a heat wave. The tree ferns are suffering:
Shelly Beach in Manly
Poor old Drool really wanted to go to the beach too. I told him he’d sink like a stone. Or at least like a faux stone. Drool and Naught have one thing in common — there’s not much real about Drool either:
