Booderee NP, Jervis Bay

So, after a wonderful night up in the Blue Mountains, staying at Lillianfels (thanks guys!!) and eating at Darley's (greaaaat restaurant!) we headed for a coastal getaway! I've always wanted to find the really nice spots on the South Coast so I came up with a plan. Reading the climbing guide for Point Perpendicular, it was mentioned there was camping at Currarong, just south of the Shoalhaven River mouth - so we rocked up about 5 in the afternoon to be rather disappointed, Currarong, it seems, is a complete shithole. So we panicked and drove south, setting camp in the idyllic Booderee National Park on the southern side of Jervis Bay.

All in a nice bush setting

Lucky for the full moon as we forgot our lantern!

...just a 2 minute walk around the corner and...

Beautiful Jervis Bay! Green Patch Beach with an unsettled weather outlook

Min Alskling!

Oh yeah, Jervis Bay is a RAN base.

Your tax dollars hard at work! :D

I may need to get a tripod...

Next day we headed to the south end of the park and met some locals (above) and went for a swim on Bherwerre Beach in absolute isolation!

Bherwerre Beach

We then checked out Cave Beach, lovely spot with an even nicer campground which we'll have to stay at next time

Cave Beach, some surf here too

We were then joined by Nick & Kristin...

Ghost Kiss!

Beaches at night are always peaceful

Headed to the Lighthouse the next day for some sightseeing

After lunch in the ever charming Nowra, we headed for the hills to escape the searing heat. In the Kangaroo Valley, we found a lovely swimming hole at Flat Rock. Even got to ford a few streams to legitimise our 'soft-roader' :)

We also need to come back here to camp out! With canoes of course... after our dip, we headed up to the Southern Highlands for afternoon tea in Berrima then back home, a great few days escape!

bubbling away

Well, the good news is that I think the beer is on track! It has settled to about 25-26*C and is bubbling away nicely, ambient temp in the cupboard is 24*... so it seems I'll be needing a ton of bottles very soon!

NBBC Manly Small Batch ESB, take 1!

Well, today, Sunday is Brewday. Time for me to launch into the middle aged alchemy world of brewing! I chose a rich, ambery, malted to hell ESB (Extra Special Bitter) (or English Special Bitter, depending on final strength...) as it's pretty much my favourite beer and I usually hammer it down at 4 Pines - but at $9.50 a pint, there's only so many you can have! So, I kicked off sterilising all the gear with some Iodophor (iodine some-or-rather) to kill all the bugs and nasties...

Made some Hops tea and activated my yeast in some warm water...

and opened the malty goodness (x2!) which was then added to some hot water...

and mix well! It's then topped up with cold water, mixed further, to a target temperature of 25*, mine ended up about 27*, which is well in the range for the yeast, which is now added with the Hops tea.

Then she's all sealed up with the water lock on top to vent.

After it's all set, I drew some for a SG (Specific Gravity) reading using a Hydrometer. Start SG was 1.039 which is about right. SG is measured at the end of the Primary Ferment to determine that the yeast has finished it's job. Alcohol by volume can also be determined from SG.

So now I just have to sit back, relax and try to accumulate a bunch of empties for bottling! High Five!

Thanks Oscar :)

sore knees, dead trees and malt extract

Well, the other day, we had our first real heat wave for some time, 40+ really took it's toll on our little garden...

The tomatoes took a real beating along with the basil which is beyond hope, the oregano and mint should recover ok. No surprises that the rosemary and olive tree loved it but the real surprise was Maria's rose tree, going strong! The cat was pleased with the now cooler temps...

Meanwhile, I've been to the physio as my knee has been playing up a bit, turns out it's the same issue as my other one, a tight 'ITB' - or big ass ligament that goes from my bum to knee. So, I've more stretches and things to do, in the meantime, she's tried taping it. So after a little shaving my knee feels all nice & tight - worked ok for climbing the other day but it came loose pretty fast.

...and now for the real action! I've recently acquired a home brew kit (christmas pressie from the loving wife!) and it's finally being put to use, thus launching the Northern Beaches Brewing Co.! My first will be the Manly Small Batch ESB - whether it's 'english' or 'extra', well, I'll have to see how strong it turns out! I better get to work sterilising all my stuff & report back after!

Happy now caro?! :D

Invasion Day & a few in the blueys

Ah, yes. Australia day! When we get together, burn meat, be bogans - or poke fun at bogans and have a merry old time... This year was no different! At least the neanderthals down south didn't play up this year. We awoke to a very eerie (and rare) summer sea fog! Quite odd indeed! Despite the foggy weather, it was already warm so Maria & I went for a swim at the beach. Whilst the crowds were building, it wasn't quite total madness by then but still strange as Manly had a clear blue sky, but fog was still about and we couldn't even see the end of the beach or Queenscliff! It was good to see the boys in blue trying to keep us all in order, but marching up the crowded beach on horses?! That won my prize as the dumbest aussie day antics by a mile! 

The skys cleared and a few of my fans gathered on our balconey, the BBQ sizzled and the beer flowed freely with everyone contributing to a great meal & a great afternoon! 

I've also managed to get up to the Blue Mountains a few times in the last few weeks, enjoying a great few climbs in the summer sun at Mt Piddington. Most of the pics below are off Nick B's camera.

At the top of Hope (14) After climbing the corner to the right, Charity (10).

On the arete of SSCC1 (14), nice climbing!

yep, I'm an idiot!

Now this is a fun one, Cafe Racer (16). A few undercut caves, the a big swing out onto the face below!

I went right for some reason, had to down climb then head up the route proper, doh!

Alex taking a big swing on top rope on Cafe Racer