Tales of the Subaru - The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Backpackers

The Three Sisters

The excitement of Easter, followed almost immediately by ANZAC Day, coupled with Canadian house guests, has seen us seek retreat at the Holy See of Leura while the Reverend Principal Emeritus Foy is a rockin’ and a rollin’ with the earthquakes in Manila. 

That got me thinking about the old turkey trots on the way into the Coney Island building at Luna Park but then my mind does wander if given even half the chance. 

Anyway, Andrew makes interesting and timely holiday choices.  And whilst more or less on matters of religion, I must say it's lovely here, especially during autumn, but I couldn't live in a tourist enclave.  I’d be making blood sacrifices to Moloch within the week.  I grant you it's dark but I'm beginning to appreciate where Ivan Milat was going with that whole nasty backpacker business.  Of course I would expand on the genre to include all tourists, especially those who come from countries where standing on the road is considered to be quite the norm.

Katoomba Tucker Tip #1

We had an excellent vegan lunch at the Pho Moi Vietnamee Restaurant (pronounced and written, as always, in the style of Kath Day-Knight).  It was a lovely change from the usual pork, pork, duck and more pork that most Vietnamee serve although it is on the menu if you have to have it which I don’t - ever.

Wishing we'd ordered seconds of the vegan spring roll vermicelli salad, we wandered upstairs to Aldi for some milk, butter and crumpets, just the weekend essentials, but a combination of the wandering tribes of backpackers and screaming school holiday tourist kiddies coupled with the queue at the single checkout sent us straight across the road to Woolies.  And just as with Aldi, the Fresh Food and Poker Machine People also attract more than a smattering of local colour from a distinctly less than fresh gene pool but unlike Aldi there are plenty of accessible checkouts.

Wine Chilling Tip #1 and Restaurant Condemnation

I popped a couple of bottles of wine into the Rt Rev Foy’s highly efficient freezer to chill for dinner and I must take a moment to commend the brand which is LG.  You could cryogenically snap freeze Grandma in there then thaw her back out again for Mother’s Days and Christmases for the next century!  Two hours was an hour and fifty minutes too long because when we got to the on-site Tamarin Indian Restaurant (and don't go there, really just don't!) the riesling I had been so looking forward to simply refused to pour. 

Now I've been shoving white wine in the freezer for 40 years or more but have only recently rediscovered riesling which is in longer necked bottle which of course alters the whole thermodynamics of the process.  Do consider that if you're looking for a quick chill and accompanying drink or you'll be waiting like we were, horrified by the saltiness of the prawn marsala.  “Where were these prawns caught?” I asked, “The Dead Sea?”  Our server missed my point completely.

Next morning saw us off to catch up with old friends Anne and Phil and to meet their new dog, Zorro who is a very enthusiastic young Chihuahua and the tiniest canine I have ever seen.  Anne simply must go to her very next fancy dress party as Paris Hilton with Zorro in a knock-off designer handbag!  But here's me getting off point again.

Zorro took an immediate shine to Peter and Peter to Zorro.  I rather liked the wee chap as well but not quite as much as Anne’s absolutely stunning scones and homemade plum jam.  Of course while the scones were quite satisfying Zorro would leave you wanting more.

Peter & Zorro

And more there was!  We really didn't need lunch but trying on pants at Rivers builds both an appetite as well as a wardrobe which had previously been trouser deficient because I detest long pants.  We are, however, taking a cruise to Hobart for Dark Mofo in June so I suppose one must go prepared.  I wore nothing but shorts and Hawaiian shirts when we visited Iceland two years ago but who knows what kind of weather Hobart will serve up?

Katoomba Tucker Tip #2

This is not the first time I've recommended the Basil Nut Cafe which is in the arcade that runs between Katoomba Street and the Woolies car park.  It's right next door to Sanctus which sells all manner of Roman Catholic novelties and trinkets.  That's worth a look in itself.

I digress yet again!

Basil Nut has a fairly extensive menu but what we like best is their Asian Street Food selection.  We went with the Thai Fish Cakes, Shrimp & Crab Meat Net Spring Rolls, Money Bags and finally Crab Meat & Lychee Wontons which are worth the drive to Katoomba and back for alone.

My parents had quite a lot of friends, mostly referred to by me as either aunty or uncle as children respectfully did back in the day.  A good many of those friendships centred around the Hornsby RSL Club of which my highly proficient book keeper father was treasurer for a full 40 years.

Life's Great Regrets #793 (randomly generated)

Like most of the men who frequented Hornsby RSL Club my father was a piss head and a two pack a day smoker.  His devotion to the club consumed any relationship we may have otherwise enjoyed while I was growing up and the smoking consumed his lungs while drinking compromised his kidneys and liver.  When he finally died of organ failure after a full month of intensive care following an infection acquired during surgery for lung cancer I smashed every ashtray in my parents’ house and burned my father's archival ledger collection.

In hindsight there was one classic 1950s Aboriginal motif ashtray I wish I'd spared plus just one example of my father's superb book keeping.  His ledgers were pure art, both in terms of style and also accounting skills that are now long lost to the likes of MYOB and QuickBooks.

While some of my parents’ friends weren't always entirely compos or unclouded by cigarette smoke there was one couple that was.  Daphne and Doug Smith were the very nicest of all the people in that social circle and the ones I always looked forward to seeing.  Doug was a gentleman and Daph the kindest and funniest lady I had ever met, giving of herself in every way and a tireless supporter of those in need.

I reconnected with their daughters Liz and Victoria at the celebration of Doug’s life a few years ago then again more recently at Daph’s.  And here's where the true worth of Facebook kicks in, it's not all about psychopathic trolls and cat videos.  Victoria saw that we were in the Mountains so invited us to morning tea with her husband Phil, their kids and Liz.

Glenn, Liz, Victoria & Peter

I haven't had a better morning for years!  The stunning Jamison Valley view from Victoria and Phil's house aside, we celebrated all four of our parents and just enjoyed one another's company.  Given that both girls were raised with their mother's passion for equity and social justice it came of no surprise to find that we were all of a common mind on most matters especially those of a socio-political and environmental nature.  And Victoria makes the best apple and cinnamon cake!

I was recounting our previous day’s post-pants acquisition activity which saw me discover a rather nice green Depression Glass jug in a local bric-à-brac shop, green glass from that era being somewhat a passion of mine.  Next thing out came a green Depression Glass creamer that had belonged to Daphne - now a gift to me.  I was so moved that things very nearly became emotional for a moment but I held it together and accepted the gift from Victoria, Liz and Daphne with the grace in which it was offered.  It now has pride of place in the collection and will be well used.

Orchard Tip #1

No autumnal trip to the Katoomba area is ever complete without a visit to the Logan Brae Orchard which is out along the Shipley Road at Blackheath.  Their Pink Lady apples are the best and their hot apples pies are not to be missed.  Apple cider is also a huge part of the business which makes glaringly good sense since every single piece of fruit isn’t marketable - sustainability trumps waste, the only kind of trump that interests me!  They're only open weekends in season so best check.

We continued westward from Blackheath against the rather dense flow (or not) of the  returning Easter/ANZAC/school holiday traffic then hung a right at Mt Victoria and eventually got onto the rather lovely Bells Line of Road which, though busy, moved all the way down the mountains.

So now we're home with our elderly cat, amusingly peculiar chooks and two boxes of apples which will be eaten fresh, steeped in homegrown lime juice then dehydrated or stewed and frozen to accompany our winter crop of rhubarb.  That's Life on the Fringe in the Heights-of-Hornsby.