James Mason's Blog -or- The Journal of Contemporary Lunacy

 What a difference 24 hours makes! Cool, gray, and rainy conditions for my second mountain peak in two days - Mount Exmouth. I do prefer the cooler weather and, unlike the previous day, I only saw a single person on the walk and that was on my way back. The major downside to this 17km walk is that the first 6km (so 12km out of the return distance) is along a maintenance trail and is really quite boring. There’s not much to look at apart from the forest immediately on each side of the road and it becomes tedious quite quickly. The persistent rain also made it a little muddy underfoot, particularly on the return leg. It is a significant relief to hit the turnoff for Mount Exmouth - immediately, the track is more interesting and some good views appear within the first few hundred meters. The track is only steep in a few places but it is a steady uphill climb the whole way (approximately 2.6km). The flora along the way is very varied and pretty and good views present themselves a numbe...

A glorious day for my first hike in Warrumbungle National Park - I wasn’t expecting 22 degrees and clear, sunny skies in the middle of August. The conditions made for some great viewing from the lookouts and peaks along the way. I undertook the Breadknife and Grand High Tops loop walk with a bonus detour to the peak of Bluff Mountain - it only added 3km but over quite a steep track. The views from the peak made the extra effort of the side trip well worthwhile. This “up” part of the loop is quite an accessible walk - the first half even features section of brick pavement and some comfortably wide stairs. It’s not until after Breadknife that it begins to feel like a “real” hike, with the trail becoming narrower, more winding, and rockier underfoot. It was busier than I expected, with a few groups as well as singles and doubles out on the path. I dislike encountering large groups on a trail, as they move slowly as a rule, are often loud, and can be a pain to pass. There were certainly so...

Of course, no walk through the Botanic Gardens is complete without popping into the Art Gallery of NSW. Some lovely early Australian landscapes and some very nice 15th–19th c European art make it well worth a visit . A graphic depiction of what happens after the reading of the Riot Act John Hoppner's Mademoiselle Hilligsberg - a personal favorite (I have a print en route) The view out the north windows isn't too shabby either

Looking towards Sydney Harbour It's just a very calming place to spend some time These lovely, peaceful gardens - just meters from the chaos of the CBD The Conservatorium of Music, surrounded by castle walls for some reason