Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, so the saying goes. But here I am, revealing everything on my blog! There was no secret wedding, drunken episodes or gambling stories. No, our trip was pretty tame by an introvert's standard. 

We spent 2 nights in Vegas, staying at Harrah's. The rooms are pretty standard, but what's annoying is the resort fee is an add on charge which is separate to the room price. The resort fee almost doubled the total accommodation cost. 

Some activities we got up to while in Vegas: 

1. Buffet at a Chinese AYCE restaurant. We took the bus to the restaurant, then shopped at Albertson's for some fresh fruit and food

2. Watched the Tournament of Kings show. It is a show and dinner, the latter which includes a whole (small) chicken, potatoes, bread roll and corn cob and unlimited soft drinks

3. Went to Sphere to watch Postcard from Earth. Sphere is a new attraction in Sphere, opened in Oct 23 and has 270deg cinema screens. 

4. Went outlet shopping - such bargains! Unfortunately ran out of time and nearly missed our show at Sphere

5. Day trip to Grand Canyon

 

A1 Bakery, Sydney Road Brunswick

Brunswick is well known for Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries on Sydney Road. When we were at a gallery nearby, we wanted to visit A1 Bakery after missing it a few months ago (was closed). This time, we managed to eat there after navigating the process. There is a separate line for takeaways, and dine in. One has to queue up in the dine in line to get ushered to a table on the left side of the shop, then make their way to the queue for the cashier where the order is placed and paid for. 

There were so many people and so many items from the menu to choose from so my order was a bit rushed. I ordered the Hummus with Lamb ($12) + Pickles ($3). The cashier asked whether I wanted 'sujuk' but I had no idea why she would be asking if I wanted sausage with the meal. It was only afterwards that I imagine she might have asked if I wanted pickles, which were $3 extra. I did not like the pickles, by the way.

 

The hummus was delicious and even better with the addition of oil and mint leaves. 

I also ordered the A1 Special Pizza ($12.50). It was very oily but I liked how much vegetables there are on the pizza, and how thin the dough is unlike the usual Italian tomato sauce based pizzas. We could not finish the whole pizza so brought a couple of slices home in a paper bag. It was soaked through with oil 10 minutes into the journey home. But hey, there are 3 components to make food taste good and I say not to skimp on any of them when dining out. Otherwise, just eat at home where one can omit or reduce the amount of oil, sugar and salt as wished. 

There is a weekend surcharge (10%) and card payment surcharge so in the end I paid more than I expected. We settled at a table eating side by side with other customers because it was quite a cramped space, on interesting tables that were fashioned out of logs of wood so that no two tables are the same. 

I am still wondering whether I had ordered the tastiest dishes on the menu, but I guess I'll have to find out the next time I'm in Brunswick!

Nana Thai Hotpot, Bourke St CBD

There is a line each time I pass by Nana Thai restaurant, so I was intrigued to try it out. I finally visited the restaurant with a friend for their value for money Mookata set ($45) that is for 2 people. For those who do not know, mookata is the best of both the hotpot and bbq worlds. There is a domed BBQ plate in the middle, surrounded by a shallow hotpot. When one grills the food on the BBQ plate, the oil from the proteins drip into the hotpot which adds extra flavouring to the blanched food.

There is a large amount of food provided for $45 - there were a plate of veges, vermicelli, egg, cabbage, mushrooms, and a separate plate of proteins like pork neck, pork belly, pork liver, bacon, calamari, prawns. 

The chilli dipping sauce was a viscous sauce which did not taste very nice but because the meats were not marinated, it was the only flavouring available. If there was a watery chilli, lime, coriander mix it would have been good. 

 My friend was not too happy with the quality of the meats, they thought it was not the freshest, but I think they were good enough for $45. The restaurant is a bit cramped and the seating reminds me of the authentic dining experience in small stalls in Thailand. You can say both the food and the ambience is authentically Thai!

Four Seasons BBQ House, Bayswater

Four Seasons BBQ House has been in operation for over 10 years in Bayswater and we have been there several times. There is good wok hei in their dishes. I would say it is an authentic Cantonese restaurant that can give the 'chow lous' (fancy Canto dinner restaurants) a run for their money. I am not sure if their name copies the famous Four Seasons in London but they do sell some good roast meats here, like roast duck and roast pork. 

I have fond memories of Four Seasons in London where I ate my first HK style chow hor fun with roast duck. OMG, it was so so good. The hor fun had wok hei, and the roast duck is just unlike anything I have eaten in Malaysia. The sweet, salty, fragrant roast duck was fabulous. Then I came to Australia and all Cantonese roast ducks are like that and there are plenty of HK chefs around. That's when I vowed not to leave... 

Last year when we went to California, I discovered there are even better HK style food around. I think these foods are even better than the ones I had eaten as a kid in the island of Hong Kong. If I ever go back to the US, it would be for the HK food. 

Anyway, back to Four Seasons BBQ House's review. We ordered the Duck with Taro and Salted Egg Tofu ($23). 

I did not expect the duck to be covered in white creamy taro sauce. It was different, it was like West Lake Duck, but with gravy. West Lake Duck is a duck dish where mashed taro is pasted to duck slices then deep fried. 

The salted egg tamago tofu ($23). I was unsure what tamago tofu was until I realised tamago = egg in Japanese so it's the Japanese egg tofu that is used in this dish. I love the Japanese egg tofu for the fragrant egg smell and taste so it was an auto order for me. Luckily we had some kind of gravy from the duck taro dish otherwise our meal would have been very dry. 

 The latest reviews from Google shows that the restaurant has had some renovations and a change in the menu. They are no longer offering roast meats, in which case a rebranding of their restaurant name may be in order! 

Daon, Mitcham

One of our favourite Japanese / Korean restaurants in Mitcham has closed and was replaced by Daon, a Korean restaurant. We decided to try it out for dinner. We ordered the pork galbi ssambap ($28). Ssambap means wraps and rice so the set, which is enough for 2 people came with lettuce, side dishes, pickled radish slices and a bowl of rice. The protein is marinated pork loin served in a heated plate, how cute!

The online menu (aged barely a month ago then) states that the set comes with beef bone broth, but when we sat down to order, there was no mention of the beef bone broth on the 'new' menu. I had been looking forward to the collagen broth so I enquired and the restaurant very kindly obliged and gave us a bowl of bone broth. It was peppery and tasty. It was nice to have a side of soup, because the pork galbi and everything else did not have much sauce. 

We ordered the tuna mayo kimbap ($15) to supplement the meal. It is on the expensive side - $15 for one kimbap roll. Taste wise, it was tasty but $15 is probably too steep. 

There are other dishes available such as big pots of stews ($45) which are suitable for group dinners. 

Top marks for the obliging owners who served us the beef broth even though it is no longer in the menu! 

Yun Yang Temple, Narre Warren North

Yunyang Temple is a very serene and beautiful place to visit. It has a big stone staircase leading to a main worship hall and there are a few other smaller halls for gatherings. The best part of the temple are the grounds and the garden. There is a large man made lake filled with water lilies, a stone bridge in the classical style, outdoor pavilions housing statues of Buddha, and a small manicured garden at the older end of the property.

We saw a peacock and some kangaroos when we there on the last visit. Yunyang Temple is only open on Sundays 9am to 2pm. If there were any special occasions like Wesak Day that falls on another day, they may also open for special ceremonies that require registrations of interest. Unlike other temples, they may not have a regular roster of volunteers or paid workers to watch over the temple and its 32 acres of land so that explains the limited opening hours.

A family of kangaroos enjoying the peaceful surroundings until we and another family interrupted their peaceful time. It was such an unexpected find, and is the first time we saw a kangaroo at the temple. I was looking at the flower beds when I looked up to see these kangaroos next to me in the next flower bed.

Plum trees in full bloom by the stair case leading to the main worship hall. These blossoms have a beautiful pink red colour but it is too bad that they can grow to be big trees which are unsuitable for my garden. 

Large man made lake filled with water lilies with statue of Guan Yin and a stone bridge. It was a sunny day with a light breeze so it was perfect to walk around and admire the gardens. 

An outdoor pavilion with a golden statue of Buddha. Sometimes, there are bowls placed nearby for donations. It would be very bad karma to steal from the donation bowls so coins remains in the bowls even though they are clear for everyone to see.

Water lilies of different colours live in the lake. This one is red, there are also some very large white/yellow ones nearby. Yesterday, I watched a re-run of I Live Alone where Park Narae went for a temple stay in South Korea and the nun who runs the cooking and meals brewed lotus flower tea for every participant. Interestingly, the tea was just a single lotus flower in water. The simplicity of temple food makes people appreciate the beauty of nature.

This temple is probably at the top of my list for picturesque temples, second to the Heavenly Queen Temple in Footscray which has a view of the Maribrynong River.

 

Cinnamon, Wantirna

The schoolyard rhyme goes - Cinnamon and spice, and everything nice - and how true it is! I think Cinnamon Indian and Nepalese restaurant is a good find. The price is reasonable - for example the tasting board of meat below was $39, which can feed 2-3 people. The service is friendly, and the portions were larger than the usual Indian fare (which is reasonable, given the price is also 'larger' than the usual)

The restaurant seems to be quite popular because there were already a number of big tables occupied when we rocked up on a Thursday night. We ordered the Butcher's Board, which had 2 rosemary lamb cutlets, 2 seekh kebabs, 4 tandoori chicken pieces, 2 chicken sekuwa (wing pieces), some salad on the side and 2 garlic naans. All the meats were marinated wonderfully. They were seasoned well and cooked beautifully. I found a chicken wing sekuwa still pink in the inside but other than that, the rest of the dish was cooked really well. There is a real art of being able to char the outside well but still retain the juiciness of the meat inside. The chicken tikka is a good case to point - I have had plenty of dry ones but these ones were juicy and moist on the inside with a char on the outside, but not too burnt. 

I liked the thoughtfulness of the small salad on the side, it helped to cleanse the palate and cut through the meatiness of the dish. 

The eggplant aloo ($20) was ordered to provide some gravy to the meal but it ended up a good choice because I loved the creaminess of the gravy and used the naan to sop it all up. It seems like a similar curry base to butter chicken, which means I should probably exercise extra hard when I get home to work off all the butter, oil and cream used to make this dish delicious!

I love how the curries are served in medium sized wide brimmed bowls for a change. The little tin bowls usually used in Indian restaurants always look to me like they are for kids' meals. The presentation of the meats were also beautiful and bountiful. 

Oscar Piastri Burger, Grilld

Wow, look at this eye catching burger! It's the Oscar Piastri Burger only served for a limited time at Grilld. It has papaya sesame seeds on a charcoal bun, Wagyu beef patty, bacon, lettuce, cheddar cheese slice and chipotle mayo. At $18.90, it is more expensive than the usual burger we usually have at Grilld, which is the Mighty Melbourne $15.90 but boy, is it not more interesting?

To be honest, I can never tell the difference between a wagyu beef patty and a normal beef patty. When the meat is all grounded up, and I doubt they would be from the best cuts of beef, it would be difficult to pinpoint if either one is wagyu beef or not. Wagyu is meant to have a higher fat marbling and more tender (because of the fat), so I imagine using regular beef with a bit more fat might achieve a similar result? 

Our dinner - Oscar Piastri and Mighty Melbourne burgers, and onion rings. 

 

Annie's Cafe House, Bayswater

Annie's is a new restaurant opposite the Bayswater train station, taking over from Kokoro Japanese restaurant. When we got there, they were closing or about to close but they were very welcoming and insisted we stay and dine in. They close at 7pm so be sure to have an early dinner or takeaway if you would like to eat here for dinner. 

We ordered the grilled chicken bun (vermicelli) ($17) and sliced beef and beef ball pho ($18). The prices were a higher than other restaurants but the portions were generous. 

The bun was full of fresh vegetables, and grilled chicken. Not too much vermicelli, which was great for me who is avoiding eating too much carbs. 

The broth in the pho was wonderful. It tasted home made and did not seem to have added msg. Our only gripe was that the broth was not hot enough. 

There are limited seats in the restaurant so I believe the restaurant mostly does take away orders. When we were there, we saw someone who ordered a load of banh mi for takeaway. The friendly ladies who run the restaurant would usually pop in complimentary spring rolls as well (we didn't get any, probably only for take aways?)

Their banh mi's seem to be popular, especially since it is close to the train station where people can grab and go on their way home. Banh mi's are $11 and it is good to have another banh mi place in Bayswater. 

 

Omurice House, Mitcham

The egg shortage is at the top of my mind these days. I have gone to a number of supermarkets in the past few days in search of their basic eggs (as opposed to free range, organic or eggs laid by chickens massaged daily by certified Reiki practitioners) and they have all but disappeared from the shelves. Who have been buying these eggs for Easter? It would have been cheaper to buy chocolate eggs to celebrate.

Eggs are one of my favourite food, and I am not in a good state with only 5 eggs left in the fridge. Whenever we go to restaurants, I would always be tempted to order dishes with eggs. Recently we went to Omurice House which serves omurice in a BP petrol station. Normally the location would be a great deterrent, but I went ahead anyway because I just love omurice. We had one of the best omurice at a Japanese museum cafe, of all places. I licked the plate clean. 

Omurice House is geared towards the takeaway trade, so there is a computer for ordering at the entrance, and there are only 12 seats in the restaurant. It is located inside the BP kiosk so it was interesting to see the confused looks on the people's faces as they come into the kiosk to pay for the fuel they just pumped into their car. I imagine I can see their thoughts of, 'What are these people doing here? Oh, they're eating.. but who in their right minds would eat in a petrol station? What are they eating? Hmm.. that looks interesting. Maybe I should try it out sometime'.

We ordered the Japanese creamy curry sauce with pork katsu ($17.80) and Beef Don ($14.80). 

The egg was so beautifully shaped, it was almost too good to eat. It was just set, creamy and delicious. It would have been good if the rice was fried rice instead of plain white rice because the Japanese creamy curry sauce was bland. It was like the Campbell's condensed creamy chicken and corn soup and did not have much flavour. From the reviews, a sauce with more oomph like Malaysian curry sauce would have been better. The pork katsu was nicely fried and is lightly or not seasoned. 

I am not sure if it was just us, but the Tanindon was also a bit bland. I missed the salty sweet broth that accompanies these rice bowls. 

 Other than the skill that went into shaping the egg on top of the omurice, I felt the other components were like average, home cooked food. I think anyone who would like to try this place should order dishes with known punchy flavours and request for a salt shaker on the side. I also think the order would be just as good eaten at home (takeaway), because sitting on tables in a petrol station is not the best set up for a leisurely dinner. 

Chopstick Delight, Mulgrave

I am so glad for all the old style Chinese restaurants around the world. You know, the ones that make you feel like you've stepped back in time upon the first few steps into the place. Dusty Chinois decorations that serves no purpose and do not blend into the surroundings (perhaps purchased in bulk from a $2 shop), well trodden carpets and well sat in chairs, white tablecloth overlaid with white paper to save on laundry fees and a waving cat at the cashier counter. 

I am glad for these old style Chinese restaurants because they transport me to a familiar past and where good food and tasty, traditional dishes abound. 

For example, this steamed house made tofu with minced chicken and chopped olive leaves ($28.80). I have not seen this dish anywhere else, and olive leaves? I did not even know they were edible. Perhaps olive as in the colour? Either way, it is tasty, but the overall taste is a tad sweet for me. I would have preferred it to be soy salty, but that would have been a normal dish and is not what I came for. 

The restaurant is known for its Pipa Duck ($80) but it would have been too much food for us so we ordered another dish from the menu. This is deep fried minced fish and taro cake ($32.80). Tossing the sauce aside, the fish and taro cakes were bouncy and delicious. It reminded me of pipa tofu. I would not be surprised if there was some tofu in the mix. The taro imparted a great fragrance and the fish was delicious. Like the tofu with olive leaves, this is an interesting dish because I had not come across a dish where fish is mixed with taro, but it works. 

 Half of the menu are plastered on the walls in Chinese characters which unfortunately neither us or Google Translate could read properly. The restaurant was very small with only a few tables so it was easy to look around and point to what others were eating. The table beside us had a beef hotpot dish where the beef slices were splayed like a skirt on a Barbie doll (sans the doll), Pipa duck, a stir fried fish fillet dish plus a few other dishes. Many of the other tables ordered celebratory dishes like lobster and duck. 

The service is customarily the Chinese hospitality - cursory to no welcome, very down to business and straight to the point. When I went to pay by cash, the cashier short changed me by about $10 and was not even apologetic about it. If anything, she might have been a bit annoyed that I picked up on the error. If you do venture into the restaurant, be prepared for the higher than usual prices, cramped and awkward seating, count your change before you pay and enjoy the good food. 

Hor Kitchen, Russell Street CBD

I have heard many a good review about Hor Kitchen, a Malaysian Chinese restaurant in the city. One of the dishes I was interested in was the yin yong, so called because of the two different type of noodles used in the dishes - fried rice vermicelli that provides the crunch, and the silky smooth flat rice noodles covered with egg chiffon sauce. 

I went with a Vietnamese friend who loves beef, they even asked me to cook beef rendang but as I had no experience cooking rendang and even less experience cooking with red meat, it was a dismal dish. Much better to order it at a Malaysian restaurant. 

We ordered the Yin Yong ($17.80) and Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak ($19.80). The yin yong came with aplomb in terms of presentation. Look at it below, the fried rice vermicelli 'stood' erect by the side of the dish. It was impressive looking but the fried vermicelli had been pre fried and had lost its crunchiness. The sauce was a little gluggy and did not taste like the thickened, garlicky, clear looking sauce I was used to. The hor fun was nice because it had wok hei and was the best component of the dish.

I am not sure what it is with the people I mix with but they are not fans of wat tan hor! Oh, how can they not admire the wok hei of the charred flat rice noodles and the smooth egg chiffon sauce that is so easily slurped down the throat like a soothing nectar? Nothing wrong with them of course, everyone has their own tastes in food. My dining companion did not like the yin yong, and this time, I could not blame them..

 They much preferred the nasi lemak which came with a bull's eye egg and papadum. The sambal was not great because it lacked the depth of flavour, consistency and sweetness but we found a delicious chili sauce on the self service stand to substitute. The sauce was a mixture of chopped up coriander, red and green chillies and I think lime. A free flow of this chili sauce soon flooded our table, since we were sitting so close to the self service stand it was not an imposition. It had a spicy and acidic kick that made us yearning for more. 

The rendang beef was delicious. I am not sure which cut of beef was used, but it could have been beef gravy that was cooked long enough to still have a bite but doesn't completely melt away on touch. This should be how a beef rendang is. 

Cha Kee Hong Kong Cafe, Mount Waverley

Gaz was wanting to do his good deed of the day, to donate blood at the Red Cross but he was told that because he had gone to Thailand less than 5 months ago, he would have to wait until after the 5 months mark to donate blood. Different countries in South East Asia has different waiting periods. For example, Singapore had a waiting period of 4 months. This is because the risk of contracting malaria in Thailand is higher than in Singapore. 

Instead of donating blood, we ventured to the nearby shops and spotted some new restaurants that we had not dined at before. There was a new dumpling place which seemed quite mono-menu serving dumplings only. The prices did not look like they were value for money so we shifted our attention to another restaurant we had passed by but not dined at before called Cha Kee. 

We ordered a dish off the lunch special menu: steamed pork ribs with rice ($18.50) and a special combo ($16.50) of rice macaroni with satay beef which came with toast and 2 of the following: egg, luncheon meat, sausage or ham. I chose the egg and luncheon meat. Both our meals came with drinks so we ordered a hot HK milk tea and iced HK milk tea. 

The steamed black bean pork ribs sounded delicious on paper - I think we had expected something like the dim sum steamed pork ribs but what we got was quite different. It was less 'silky', the sauce did not stick very well and had a strong black bean and soy flavour. I guess it's important to approach matters with an open mind. I already had a preconceived idea of what this dish should taste like, so I was disappointed when it did not meet the standard in my head. 

The special combo on the other hand, was great! The satay beef on top of the macaroni was cooked beautifully. It was well coated with satay sauce and even had some wok hei dare I say. The sauce was fragrant, wish I knew which brand of sauce they used. There was generous pieces of bok choy on the side which was good because the pork ribs did not have any greens. 

 The special combo is a good value, filling meal of HK classic cha chan teng food and is something I would order again. We saw couples ordering the steamed free range chicken (half for $29) and sizzling mixed grill (steak, chicken fillet and pork) ($35) that came with a gigantic bowl of rice. For brunch. They must have been very hungry..

Doggie

4 months ago, a dog appeared in my driveway while the car was being fixed by a mobile car repair person. I'd scratched the front entering into the garage. To my defense, it was rainy and it was a tight squeeze. But Gaz will tell you that it was just bad driving. The result was some pretty unsightly long scratches, some of which were deep enough to expose the fibreglass material of the bumper.

The car repair service was great and fixed it to look as new. It was a mobile service which means they come to the house with their tools to fix the car. It was a franchise called The Touch Up Guys and we had a lovely man Gary Marshall who worked on the car. He diligently sanded the affected area to the base level and applied 3 layers of paint to match the rest of the car over a few hours. The total charged was $600. I had read that auto shops charge anywhere between $150 to $1000 so it was within the range.

Anyway, this dog had appeared while he was working on the car and wandered into the garage and around the house. Gary thought it was our dog so he let him wander around until he came to tell us he was finished with the job. It was then we saw the cute and curious dog. It was a bit scruffy, brown and white fur. It didn't look like a stray, it was just very curious to enter the house and started whining when we didn't let it in. We gave him a container of cool water and patted it. I called it Doggie.

A few months later, it made the journey back to the front of the house and explored the front garden. This time, it has a new pink collar which meant it definitely was not a stray, and that I should probably start calling it a 'her'. We gave it some cool water which it lapped thirstily at. Never once did it barked, although the dog in the nearby house yipped plenty, probably wanting to be out playing with the new dog. This dog looked like a hairy Russell terrier and is very well behaved. It took a bit of coaxing but it knew how to sit when told to. I tried to follow it home to see which house it belonged to, but it was too quick for me and left without a trace. 

Today, when I was outside hanging the laundry on the line, I could hear the whining of a dog over in the neighbour's backyard. I hadn't realised she had bought a dog so curious, I peered at the gaps of the fence to catch a glimpse of this dog. My heart jumped when he scampered over and tried to dig its way underneath the fence. I saw it's scruffy white fur, and then I saw the pink collar. It was Doggie! So, after all the wondering of where it came from, the mystery is finally solved. It lived just next door. I hope it would come around more often to say hi or play. 

Lily's Banh Mi, Scoresby, Water Lilies

This restaurant has become very popular ever since a Youtube reviewer recommended this restaurant. We went there on a weekend to try it out. We ordered a lemongrass chicken roll and a crispy pork roll ($10) each. 

One thing I liked about the rolls were that there was a lot of filling. Look at the generous amount of salad veges and meat. One roll did not contain pate, by accident or purpose I am not sure but it didn't taste like the banh mi I am used to.

One thing I did not like was the rolls were too saucy. The old Masterchef judges would lick their lips and say, 'Never too much sauce!' but I beg to differ. The rolls were literally dripping with sauce and it made for very messy eating. Pate should be the main lubricant with a little bit of sauce.

We were at the Wheelers Library and saw these water lilies in bloom. Aren't they beautiful!

 

Wilsons Promontory 2025

Our last trip to Wilson's Prom was about 6 years ago. It felt like time has flew and warped around. Looking back at some of the pictures on this blog of our trip, it felt like they were of another trip but it was actually of Wilson's Prom. It is good that the blog is my record of all the adventures we have done.

We stayed at Fish Creek Hotel this time even though the previous time was also at Fish Creek at a farm stay where we had a cottage to ourselves. In the morning when I went for a solitary walk, the herd of cows grazing nearby galloped to the fence line looking at me in a curious way. It scared the life out of me! This time, we were safely in a somewhat urban area and the only animals I could hear were the birds pecking on the tin roof of our motel block in the early morning.

We arrived on Easter Friday afternoon, having stopped at Leongatha for a prepacked lunch from home near the statue of Lenny and his horse. It was a really interesting story of a 9 year old boy who rode his horse from Leongatha to Sydney to watch the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The journey there took him 2 months. Parents those days were really trusting.

Sea squirts at Picnic Beach. We went to Squeaky Beach and Picnic Beach on the last day We were at Wilson's Prom. Having walked 10 kms or more up Mt Bishop and around Tidal River, the legs were not having any more walking.

View from the viewing deck of Picnic Beach. There was an option to walk another 500m to Whisky Bay but luckily we did not go because it started spitting afterwards.

Lots of little mussels on Picnic Beach. They were stuck fast to the rocks and looked like clusters of algae. Did you know that mussels take 2 years to grow to edible size of 10 cms?

Squeaky Beach.

It was cloudy on Saturday but great for climbing Mt Bishop and stumbling upon this beach from a route near the toilet blocks at Tidal River. I believe it was the North Bay Beach and is the first stop to Little Oberon and Oberon Beach which we did not go to.

View from the top of Mt Bishop. It was a 7.8 kms walk across a moderately difficult track. A memorable event happened on the way down where Gaz slipped on some rock on the path and fell off the edge of the track. He nearly rolled down the mountain if it had not been for a tree stopping his fall. 

Sunset from top of Mt Nichols. It was not a difficult climb but had nice views of the surrounding bushland.

One of the sculptures at Fish Creek. It turns in the wind but we couldn't wait for the right wind to blow to get it to turn to its more colourful side.