Aboard the Grafton Express for Sydney - Crowdy Head, Australia
Crowdy Head, Australia
Where I stayed
Airport International Hotel, Sydney
I could almost write an entire travelogue entry about our farewells from friends before we head off on our overseas trips.
Once again we were to travelling along the lesser tourist trodden paths to countries regarded by our friends as ranging from recklessly dangerous to at the very best being of dubious nature or even unknown. Good hearted and overly cheerful farewells were almost always concluded with a solemn "Take care" or even "Just let the guide do all the talking..". It is never terribly re-assuring but then again we were travelling again back to our beloved Pakistan (a country we had unexpectedly fallen in love with) and then onto Kashmir and Ladakh, and other provinces of northern India. Given the poor media coverage these places receive (or rather "Where is Ladakh?") I expect we should well understand our friends' concerns. After all, we have a long standing reputation of travelling to places that certainly do not feature as top recommended travel destinations.
I am somewhat ashamed to say that at the very last minute I thought to look up our Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advice for Kashmir and was rather astonished that it gave a "Do Not Travel" warning which meant of course that our travel insurance would be void for the time we were there. At the very worst, advice for widely considered unsafe Pakistan (with the exception of the tribal and border areas) DFAT gives a "Reconsider Your Need to Travel" warning. I had never thought to look up Kashmir.... "A bit late now...." I recall our laconic Master of Saying the Bleeding Obvious Alan saying.
Dawn gave way to a sparkling winter's morning. Looking from our verandah across pristine Crowdy Bay and the surrounding Crowdy Bay National Park toward the clear blue-green profile of the surrounding Three Brother Mountains, I questioned myself, as I always do, why on earth we ever leave this piece of paradise on the mid north coast of New South Wales? But of course we were and about to set out yet what appeared to be another set of wonderful adventures. Again I wondered idly about what would happen this time and hoped this trip would not be quite so adventurous as the last when we arrived in Pakistan the day after the US army assassinated Osama bin Laden (Travelpod publication "Secret Threads of the Old Silk Road").
Shirley is a saviour for our travels. She has been our "house and cat minder" for the last four of our overseas trips. Now in her eighties, Shirley provides a fantastic service, patiently and efficiently looking after our house, feeding and caring for our four cats and even providing daily medication. It is always so reassuring for us to have her stay in our home while we are away. This day was no exception and Shirley as usual was right on time, bright and cheerful and ready to drive us to our local railway station of Taree for our train trip to Sydney where we would stay overnight before heading off to Shanghai the next morning. Shirley, now a pensioner, had travelled extensively in her younger days and as usual would have dearly loved to be coming with us. "Perhaps", as she reminds frequently "not to Pakistan though...."
The five hour train trip on the Grafton Express (A Countrylink express train which travels from Grafton on the north coast of New South Wales to Sydney) from Taree to Sydney is very pleasant and convenient, and the rural scenery is lovely. It had been a particularly wet beginning to the year and the countryside from Taree through the rolling hills to Gloucester and onto Dungog was lush and unusually green. Rivers and their surrounds still showed signs of recent flooding, clogged with fallen trees and river washed debris. In the shadows of a late winter afternoon, just south of Gosford the railway winds closely around the broad Hawkesbury River, the silent waters providing a wonderful symmetry of reflecting eucalyptus clad sandstone mountains.
We arrived in Sydney late in the afternoon, catching the ridiculously expensive private rail train to the International Airport Station. Although it is most convenient, the trains are certainly not fitted out for travellers and large travel luggage, and are often packed with other peak hour travellers.
The Sydney Airport International Hotel is no world beater as a hotel but it does provide reasonably priced and very conveniently located accommodation just five minutes from Sydney International Airport. We would highly recommend upgrading accommodation as the standard rooms are very small and very basic. The frequent shuttle bus however is an additional bonus as is the walking distance proximity to the St George Rowing Club which provides reasonable pub style meals, and is wonderfully located right on the waters of Botany Bay.