Category Archives: Travel

Chicken gravy means chicken gravy only, no chicken please

Posted on June 11, 2013 | 25 comments

I know the title is very confusing but I will try to explain it.

Last night, AS and I were out and so we decided to eat out. We were discussing what to eat when we saw this South Indian restaurant. I like Indian food so it looked like a good choice to both of us.

We went inside and were given a six sitter table as they didn’t have any empty table for two. I didn’t know much about South Indian dishes expect Dosa so I asked AS as he had spent 5 years in South India.

Anyway, finally we decided to eat Chicken 65 and set meals. AS ordered Anjappar popular non veg  meal which comes with Chappati, rice, chettinad chicken, mutton gravy, fish gravy, rasam, kootu, poriyal , curd and appalam.  For me, I decided to go with Anjappar regular meals that comes with rice, chicken gravy, mutton gravy, fish gravy, rasam, kootu, poriyal , curd and appalam. I knew I couldn’t finish all that but I wanted to try the meal. We got extra chicken as AS told me, from his experience in India, that the meal would have only a few small pieces of meat.

While we are waiting for our food, one of the waiters came and asked if they could sit some other customers on our table too. Don’t get me wrong, I am all up for socialising but not when I am out with my husband trying to enjoy dinner together, I really didn’t want a total stranger on the same table sitting next to us listening to our conversation. So we said Sorry but we wouldn’t be comfortable to have others on the same table. I know it seems rude but they still had tables available in the restaurant but it seemed they didn’t want to use another six sitter table for just three people.

I was actually shocked to see that they even asked about it but AS told, me that it is common in dhabas in India but not in a proper restaurant.

I have eaten North Indian meals before so I was thinking this would be similar but I was so wrong. Firstly, the food was so spicy that I knew I couldn’t eat it all and to top it off, the chicken gravy, fish gravy and goat gravy were just that, gravy, no meat. When I was reading the menu, I had thought it meant chicken with gravy but, no it actually meant just gravy.  I am sure I am not the only one who would be confused by the menu. It seemed quite funny to both me and AS. I was just glad that we had ordered a separate chicken dish which was good but quite spicy.

During the meal, one of the waiters came and tried to put some more dishes on the table. We told him that we hadn’t ordered any more food and he left. He was going around the restaurant and had no clue which table the food he was carrying was for. The tables had numbers but I guess because they put more than one customer in one table, the waiters were getting confused.

Seriously, they are running a nice looking restaurant in Sydney but it was a bit chaotic. AS was telling me that he felt like he was in India with loud South Indian music from the TV, the Bollywood music from speakers and waiters running around in every direction.  But even if their idea was to create an authentic South Indian restaurant environment, they should have given a customer like me a choice to go for a medium spicy meal so that I could at least eat my food. Or maybe I am asking too much from them. I guess I will stick with my favourite dosa when I visit a South Indian restaurant. Anyway I ended up eating only around 1/3 of my meal as it was too spicy. I do eat spicy food but this was super spicy.

The other thing I observed while having dinner was the waiters. I saw one waiter dressed so inappropriately. Sorry I do not want to make fun of him but he is in a customer service business and he was wearing a Wallaby hat (bright yellow), multi coloured jacket and a sunnies while he served and the other waiter was wearing a black shirt with sequence embroidery as if he was going to a club. I seriously think they need a dress code so that the customer can identify the wait staff. I am not really judging people but the business definitely could have used some rules in place.

Please let me know what are some good South Indian dishes (not too spicy though), if you know any. I am always up for trying new food  🙂

Please share you different experience trying new food.

Have a great weekend everyone

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

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Mustang in Lonely Planets Best in Travel 2013 List

Posted on May 22, 2013 | 36 comments

The other day I was so happy to read the following article and I am sharing it here. Yes, Mustang, the picturesque town in Nepal has mangaed to get on the list of best places to travel in 2013 list.

I have never been there and I hope to go there in the near future. Here are some information regarding the place.

Only a few years ago it was “nobody’s been there”, now it’s heading towards “last chance to see”. The completion of a road connecting Mustang to China in the north and the rest of Nepal to the south will make all the difference.

Lo Manthang, or Mustang as it’s usually called, has been dubbed “little Tibet” or “the last forbidden kingdom”; though politically a part of Nepal, in language, culture, climate and geography, it’s closer to Tibet. The remote region is north of the Himalayan watershed and on the Tibetan plateau, and just south of the border with “big Tibet”, the Chinese one.

Life in Mustang revolves around tourism, animal husbandry and trade. Apart from nine kilometers between Chhusang and Syangboche (just south of Ghiling (Geling)), it is bisected, as of August 2010, by a new road linking it to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to the north and to the rest of Nepal to the south. Plans call for these final nine kilometers to be linked within the next few years, at which time the road would become the lowest drivable corridor through the Himalayas linking the Tibetan Plateau to the tropical Indian plains. The highest point would be 4660 m at Kora La on the Mustang-TAR border. Currently, the easiest and only widely used road corridor, from Kathmandu to Lhasa via the Arniko Rajmarg (Arniko Highway), traverses a 5125 m pass.

The below is an excerpt from the October edition of National Geographic magazine.

“Mustang, a former kingdom in north-central Nepal, is home to one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries. In this dusty, wind-savaged place, hidden within the Himalaya and deeply cleaved by the Kali Gandaki River—in spots, the gorge dwarfs Arizona’s Grand Canyon—there are an extraordinary number of human-built caves.

Some sit by themselves, a single open mouth on a vast corrugated face of weathered rock. Others are in groups, a grand chorus of holes, occasionally stacked eight or nine stories high, an entire vertical neighborhood. Some were dug into cliffsides, others tunneled from above. Many are thousands of years old. The total number of caves in Mustang, conservatively estimated, is 10,000.

No one knows who dug them. Or why. Or even how people climbed into them. (Ropes? Scaffolding? Carved steps? Nearly all evidence has been erased.) Seven hundred years ago, Mustang was a bustling place: a center of Buddhist scholarship and art, and possibly the easiest connection between the salt deposits of Tibet and the cities of the Indian subcontinent. Salt was then one of the world’s most valuable commodities. In Mustang’s heyday, says Charles Ramble, an anthropologist at the Sorbonne in Paris, caravans would move across the region’s rugged trails, carting loads of salt.”

Mustang has an average elevation of 13,000ft and is located to the north of the mountain giants of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna and is therefore north of the main Himalayan range and geographically is part of the highlands of Tibet. It is a vast high valley, arid and dry, characterized by eroded canyons, colorful stratified rock formations and has a barren, desert like appearance.

Naturally, most of the history is now a matter of legend rather than recorded fact, but it seems clear that Lo was once part of Ngari, part of Tibet and a rather loose collection of feudal domains. It was incorporated into the Tibetan Empire under the most famous of the Tibetan kings Songtsengampo. It was an important means of crossing the Himalaya from Tibet to Nepal, and many of the old salt caravans passed through Mustang. By 14C much of Ngari became part of the Malla Empire, whose capital was Sinja in western Nepal. It became an independent kingdom in its own right, under the rule of Ame Pal, the founder king of Lo in 1380. The present royal family can trace its history 25 generations back to Ame Pal, and the city of Lomanthang, was the centre of their power.

Well known, intrepid explorers such as Professor David Snellgrove and the Italian scholar Guiseppi Tucci visited Mustang in the 1950’s and it has largely been their tales of a Tibetan like arrid region that has fuelled interest in the area.
If you love nature or trekking, I am sure you will love it there so do make a plan to go and visit this beautiful place.

Enjoy some amazing photos from Mustang.

Climbers and scientists follow a trail above the Kali Gandaki River in Nepal’s remote Mustang region. More than 60 feet above are rows of unexplored man-made caves dug centuries ago. There may be thousands in the region.
© Cory Richards/National Geographic

To reach a series of caves dug into a cliff 155 feet above the valley floor, Matt Segal scales a rock face so fragile it often breaks off to the touch. Linked by a ledge, the 800-year-old caves, empty now, may once have stored manuscripts.
© Cory Richards/National Geographic

Dusk falls over the temples and homes of Tsarang, once the region’s most important town. In Mustang, where the centuries have not disrupted the traditional rhythm of life, the caves offer clues to a time when the remote Himalayan kingdom was a hub linking Tibet to the rest of the world.

Mustang (1) Mustang (2) Mustang (3) Mustang (4) Mustang (5) Mustang (6) Mustang (7)All the images below Credit: Gilles Sabrie for The New York TimesMustang (8)The Kali Gandaki riverbed in Kagbeni, Nepal. Most trekkers enter Nepal’s Upper Mustang region at Kagbeni. Mustang (9)North of Kagbeni, trekkers make their way along a high trail near Samar. Last year, nearly 3,000 tourists entered Upper Mustang, according to government statistics. Mustang (10)Farmers harvesting in the village. Mustang (12)A nomad’s necklaces. Much of Upper Mustang is desolate, inhabited by about 5,400 people.Mustang (11)A view of Lo Manthang, the walled capital of Mustang.  Mustang (13)A closer view of the capital. Mustang (14)A man appears at his window in Lo Manthang. Mustang (15)Shadows of people on horseback appear in the barren landscape around Mustang’s capital. Mustang (16)Just to the southeast lies Yara. Mustang (17)A farmer stands in fields near Lo Manthang. Mustang (18)Locals haul baskets between rows of prayer wheels. Mustang (21)Another view of Yara. Mustang (22)Tashi Kabum, a cave temple near Yara, opened to the public only a few years ago.Mustang (20)Inside the cave, a fresco representing Chenrezig. For Tibetan Buddhists, Chenrezig was a bodhisattva embodying compassion.

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Our Story: LOVE – Part 9

Posted on May 20, 2013 | 32 comments

This is a continuation of my previous post. Please read the previous posts here, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 and Part 8

The first time I heard the words “I love you” from AS I really couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to say so I was quiet for a while. As we were on the phone, AS was worried that he might have misjudged the situation and thought I was offended.

At my end, I had butterflies in my tummy and it seemed my heart stopped and was bursting with so much happiness. I was so happy and confused at the same time that I didn’t know what to say for a while. I wanted to scream aloud with happiness but my parents were in the same room asleep so I couldn’t do anything like that. Instead I said, “I love you too.”

As I uttered those words, tears wear running from my eyes. I was sure they were tears of happiness but I couldn’t hold them back. Something I never thought could ever happen to me had just happened, AS just expressed his love for me. I’m sure there are plenty of you that have experienced that wonderful moment of utter joy in the knowledge that the person you will spend the rest of your life with has just committed himself to you.

Sitting on the bed in the hotel in Sikkim, I could have never thought I would ever hear those words ever but there I was holding the phone, crying like a baby.

I could hear the relief in AS’s voice once he heard those words. I knew he was crying as well even though I couldn’t see his face. For a long time, both of us were silent and I could feel that AS was really happy as well. When he spoke again he told me that this will be the best day of his life forever.

I was so glad that we had reached that point and after some serious conversation started asking silly questions.

Me: So tell me honestly from when did you love me?

AS: From the first day I saw you at school.

Me: No way. Come on tell me the truth.

AS: I am serious.

Me: Then why didn’t you tell me before.

AS: I always thought I am not your type so held back.

Me: Actually a few of my friends told me that you like me but I always told them not to be silly. But I am just very happy that you told me finally.

AS: Me too. I was so scared for a while when you didn’t say anything.

Me: Ohoo sorry. I was just too surprised. Why were you worried anyway?

AS: I thought you don’t love me and saying those words I was going to lose our friendship as well.

Me: Ohoo I am so sorry. I was lost for words. I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t expect you would ever say it.

AS: I was planning to tell you when we met in Kathmandu in a few weeks. But I was woried you would be engaged to some random guy by then and I would be too late. I didn’t plan for it but it felt right to say it today. I am just glad with the result. M, you are my only love. I have never loved anyone like I love you and even all those year when we hardly talked, I always remembered you and loved you with all my heart.

Hearing those words from his mouth was the best of all. He felt at that moment like he couldn’t go another second without telling me how much he loved me. It was very authentic, and true to our relationship.

We talked for another couple of hours and both of us were so happy and it seemed crazy to hang up. I had so many questions for him and I am sure he did too. But it was really late for me and he insisted that I go to bed. We were still talking and I don’t remember when I fell asleep but the last thing I remember was his voice before I fell asleep.

The next morning when I woke up, the mobile was still on my hand. I recalled what happened last night and was beaming with happiness. When I checked my mobile, I had another message from AS that says,” M, I have never been this happy in my life. Thank you for being the reason for my happiness and I love you.”

The message doubled my happiness and I was just over the moon that whole day. As I was getting ready for breakfast, my phone rang. Without checking, I knew it was AS so I answered.

Me: hello (with big grin on my face)

AS: hello my love. How are you, did you sleep well?

Me: Yap I did (still grinning)

AS: So what are you doing today?

Me: Dad told me that we got the permit to go to Changu Lake so heading there soon.

AS: That is good news. Have fun and take care.

Me: I will. BTW there may not be network reception there so we won’t be able to talk.

AS: I am going to bed soon so I will call you when I wake up. By then you should be back.

Me: That sounds good. Sleep well.

AS: Ok take care. I love you M. I wish you were here with me so I can give you big hug.

Me: I know. I wish we can meet soon too. I love you too A. Hope your ticket will work out so I can see you when I get back to Nepal.

AS: Ok go now and I will call you later. Love you dear.

Me: Love you too.

I went to eat breakfast and went to explore the beautiful lake. For me everything was looking more beautiful, greener and more amazing. I was so happy about our conversation from last night and the next morning, I was literally day dreaming. Then I got another sms from AS. It made my day even better and then he sent two more before I got the last one that said have a good day and he is off to bed now. I send him a few messages with some nice words. At that stage, I was in an internal euphoria and I was not able to write many lovey dovey things. There were millions of things I wanted to write in those messages but always decided against them.  By the time we got to Changu Lake, I could see there was no reception at all on my mobile.

The journey there was very interesting. The ethereally beautiful kilometre long 15 m deep Tsomgo / Changu lake is nestled at an incredible altitude of 12,400 ft. TSO means lake and MGO means head in Bhutia language. The vast expanse of crystal clear water is situated on the Gangtok-Nathula highway and is revered by the Sikkimese as sacred. The Nathula pass was part of the famous Silk route connecting the plains of Bengal with Tibet and from thereon China.

Changu Lake (4)The lake is also of special significance for the Jhakris [faith healers] of Sikkim who congregate here annually on Guru Purnima from all over the state to offer prayers.

Around the picturesque Tsomgo Lake is woven a rich legend; Sikkimese folk-lore narrates that Tsomgo was initially at Laten, several km away from the present Tsomgo (lake). One night an old woman of Tsomgo dreamt that the lake at Laten would shift to Tsomgo. She was warned to leave the place as soon as possible. The old lady hastened to inform her other yak herder friends but they paid no heed.

She hurriedly milked her dri (female yak) and poured the milk on the ground for good luck and left the place with her yaks for Lhachungkar near Thegu. Just before leaving, she saw an inordinately fair lady with gleaming grey hairs, entering Tsomgo. Immediately the earth turned into water and formed Tsomgo lake. The two obstinate yak herders are believed to have been submerged in the lake along with their yaks.

In the times gone by, lamas (Buddhist monks) are said to have foretold the future by observing the color of the lake’s water. If the water had a dark tinge, it foreshadowed a year of trouble and unrest in the state.

Changu Lake (7)Nathula area has three lakes – Memonchu, Kupup and Tsomgo – and out of three, reports have shown that the Tsomgo Lake is heavily polluted. Tsomgo wetland is amongst the most productive & biologically rich ecosystems and also amongst the most endangered. This wetland is a lake complex joined by some other water bodies Manju I and Manju II.

Changu Lake (1) Changu Lake (3)

While we were there, we got an opportunity to ride a yak and go around the lake. It was one of the most amazing things I have done and my parents were happy about the ride as well. The ride was slow but very interesting as the Yak owner was trying to direct the obstinate yaks in the right direction every few minutes. Some paths were so narrow that I was scared that both the yak and I would fall off.

Changu Lake (2)

The lake was so bluish green and beautiful. The air was crisp and pleasantly cold and we saw lots of snow melting around us.

Changu Lake (6)I have to say it was one of the most beautiful places I have seen.

Changu Lake (5)After we were done we went to the main area. There were several shops selling snacks, souvenirs, warm clothes and snow boots along the periphery of the lake. We had our lunch (momo) there, bought some souvenirs and got back in our jeep to get back to hotel.

Changu Lake (8)On the way back, when we reached the area where there was mobile reception, I got 3 messages in my mobile one after another. All of them were from AS and all of them were equally heart melting. I guess I had not had those feeling for so long then that I felt like crying reading those words. But I had to stay composed in front of my parents.

As soon as we reached the hotel, I messaged him back and when we all had dinner and everyone went to bed, he called me.

Again we talked for hours. He gave me the good news that he would be coming to Kathmandu on the 1st of January. It was a relief because I was booked to go back to Sydney on 15th of January which meant we could spend 2 weeks together. I was not even sure what the future held for us at that stage but I was ready to give it a go. I hadn’t felt so good about anything for so long that I was scared to think it might just be a dream. But every time I spoke to AS, he made me feel so good each and every moment that I began to relax and was slowly accepted that good things were really happening to me. All of the things that were happening were real and AS loved me.

Every time he utter those four words,” I love you M”, I was over the moon. I have to be honest; until this day when he utters those words to me, I can feel the same feeling I had the first time. I know it sounds crazy but I love him more every day and my life would be empty without him.

We talked about so many things that evening and I fell asleep while on the phone.

I will continue more soon. Until then, take care.

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

Go to Part 10

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Our story : The Proposal – Part 8

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 22 comments

This is a continuation of my previous post. Please read the previous posts here, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6  and Part 7

As I boarded the plane to Bhadrapur airport, I was just relaxed and excited to start the holiday. But at the back of the mind, I knew that it would be impossible to keep in touch with AS via chat. The flight was not long and it was still afternoon when we touched down at Bhadrapur airport.

Our guide/driver was there to pick us up and it was going to be another couple of hours in a car before we crossed Nepal India border. He was going to be with us for the next 10 days throughout our trip in India and Nepal. We planned it that way so that we wouldn’t have to travel in public transportation and we would know we are safe with him.

I asked the guide if they have prepaid sim cards with data plans that I can buy easily. He told me that prepaid sim are easy to get but data is very expensive and the speed may not be very good. I decided to get the sim anyway and send AS a message with my new number.

That day we reached Darjeeling late at night. All of us were very tired after a long flight and the ride after so went to bed early. I was watching TV while my parents were asleep and my mobile rang. I was surprised and picked up thinking that it was our guide but it was AS. I was happy to hear his voice and glad he called.  He had just woke up and decided to call me before he went to work.  He told me that he was just checking the number so he could send me messages later. We talk very briefly and hung up. I went to bed after that.

The next day was fully planned with sightseeing in Darjeeling so we got up early. As I woke up and checked my mobile, I had a message from AS.

It said, “Good morning. Enjoy your day and have lots of fun. Will call you later.” It was a nice way to wake up in the morning. We had breakfast at the hotel and went out to see the beautiful Darjeeling.

For me Darjeeling was meant to be the clean, green and beautiful place but was a bit disappointed to see so many people and so much pollution. But I have learnt travelling to so many places not to be disappointed from any place but to do and see as much as possible.

So we visited the Peace Pagoda. The place was not only peaceful as the name suggested but beautiful, clean, elegant and impressive.

Darjeeling (5) Darjeeling (6)

We spent some time there and then went to Bhutia Busty Gompa Monastery. From there went to a temple nearby and then visited Darjeeling Toy Train museum.By then it was afternoon so we had lunch and after lunch went to ride the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

Darjeeling (2)

We took the Joy Ride which was a 2 hour ride starting from Darjeeling Railway station, stopping for 10 min in Baptesy Loop and then going to Ghoom station. There it stopped for 20 minutes where you can visit the small Museum and then the train comes back to Darjeeling Station. The coaches were very old. It was a novelty and was interesting.

By the time we were back, the sun has set so we met our guide at the train station and went for dinner. I was having great time with my parents and my parents were enjoying the trip as well. As we were going to view the sunrise at Tiger Hill the next morning, all of decided to go to bed early and were back at the hotel by 7.30pm. As I was about to get ready to sleep, my phone rang.

It was AS who had just woken up. Because of time difference I was not expecting much communication with him but it was nice of him to call. We had our normal chat for a while. I am not even sure what we talked about after that but he was talking to me while getting ready for work and having breakfast. And then I was still on the phone when he went to work. Only when he was at his office, we hung up. I didn’t realise at the time that I was on the phone with him for over an hour.

After I hung up, my mum asked me who I was talking to and I just told her that it was AS. She didn’t ask me anything more so I went to bed.

Next morning, I was up again at 4 am to watch the sunrise. It was really cold but we had our quick breakfast and hopped into the car to go to Tiger Hill for the amazing sunrise. It was worth the wait when the sun finally rose and the sky turned orange. The view was astounding and as the sun rose, the mountains became visible and their colour changed from red to orange to yellow.

Darjeeling (1)

After sunrise when we were going to the tea garden, AS called me again. We had a short talk as he was going to bed. I wished him good night and we hung up. The tea garden was really nice and we had a great time in Darjeeling for next few days doing all the touristic things.

My parents and I enjoyed every moment we spend together.

Darjeeling (3)For the next few days, AS called me in the morning and evening and send me text messages in between.

I was wondering at that point if AS meant anything more than friendship but again the same thought kicked in that there is no way AS would think of me as more than a friend and I would look silly if I thought anything else as well.

Darjeeling (4)

From Darjeeling, we went to Sikkim. I really liked Sikkim as it reminded me a lot of Kathmandu. Even though we were in India, I didn’t feel like I was outside Nepal while we were in Darjeeling and Sikkim as everyone there spoke Nepali and we didn’t have any language problem.

Every time AS called, I would tell him our plan for the day and he would update me about his flight ticket issue. Then we would talk for hours about anything and everything. One of the topics we always talked about was marriage and finding a suitable partner. As my parents kept bringing that topic up every now and then, I needed someone to talk about it and AS was perfect as he was in the same boat as me.

I am sure he must have spent lots of money during that period as an overseas call doesn’t come cheap. From time to time I would tell him not to call so often but I loved his calls too. I have to admit, all the talks and texts had made us very close. I really liked him and was so glad I had someone to talk to.

One evening when AS was on the phone, I was telling him about our plan to go to Lake Tsongmo or Changu Lake, a glacial lake in the East Sikkim,  some 40 kilometers (25 mi) away from Gangtok at altitude of 3,780 m (12,400 ft). We were having bit of trouble getting a permit to go there as it is China – India border crossing. Everyone had told us that it was a beautiful place so we really were looking forward to going there.

As we were talking, the topic changed from my trip to our school days. We were laughing remembering silly things we did in school and how it was so much fun going hiking and going to libraries. There were so much of memories from those days.

It was very early morning for AS so he was just walking in a park near his place. He was describing me how the sun had just started to rise and how beautiful it looked. He was really into the moment and describing very thing he could see and taking me there with him. I was lying on the bed after dinner as it was evening for me. When I closed my eye, I could imagine everything he was describing. I can’t remember how long we had been talking for but it was the first time, he said the words that stopped my heart. I really couldn’t believe what I heard.

He said, “M, I love you. “ 🙂 🙂 🙂

I will continue soon so do come back. Till then take care.

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

Go to Part 9

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North Coast holiday : Coffs Harbour

Posted on May 8, 2013 | 4 comments

From Forster, we went to our next stop, Coffs Harbour.

Coffs Harbour is a coastal city located on the north coast of New South Wales about 540 km (340 mi) north of Sydney, and 390 km (240 mi) south of Brisbane. It is a popular sea change destination attracting people to relocate from big cities to smaller towns on the coast.

As we had only one day there, we had our breakfast and went straight to one of the most iconic places in Coffs harbour, the Big Banana, one of the first of Australia’s Big Things (it celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005), with the World’s Largest Banana celebrating the region’s best known export. Coffs Harbour is the hub for a thriving banana industry.

Holiday (3)

The big banana was not as big as I expected but we took some photos in front of it and went to the next stop,  camel riding along the beach.

coffs harbour (2)

Unluckily the ride was at least an hour away so we decided to ditch the plan and went on a hike instead to the beautiful Muttonbird Island.

coffs harbour (7) coffs harbour (8)

Muttonbird Island is a great spot for watching birds up close; it’s one of the only easily-accessible places in NSW where the migratory wedge-tailed shearwater nests. It is also an important Aboriginal place, harbouring stories of the Dreaming and a wealth of traditional resources. The island, which is effectively one big hill, is connected to the land via a breakwall alongside the International Marina.

coffs harbour (4)

As we started our walk I could see that the trail seemed too long but as we ascend, I loved the place. All I could see was the green island and blue water. The sun was shining and the day was perfect to spend on the beach.

coffs harbour (9) coffs harbour (3)

A 500m paved walkway runs across the island to the other side. The path was well maintained so it was an easy hike and we saw many people around the island. Finally when we reached the top of the island, we were greeted by a council worker who was there to explain to us about the island and the birds there.

coffs harbour (11) coffs harbour (12)

Home to thousands of wedge-tailed shearwaters, also known as muttonbirds, the island is a protected Nature Reserve. Shearwaters are named for their ability to cut or shear the water with their wings as they skim across the surface. Early settlers called them muttonbirds for their fatty mutton-like flesh.

The muttonbirds spends the Australian winter in South-East Asia and travels thousands of kilometres each year to return to the same burrow on Muttonbird Island in August. The island’s plant cover hides the thousands of burrows and people are urged to stay on the track so as not to damage any of the burrows.

A pair of birds takes turns incubating a single egg and also sharing in the raising of their chick. They forage for food during the day and return to the burrow just after dusk. The muttonbirds leave the island for their annual migration in late April.

There are interpretive signs at the start of the walkway at the bottom of the island and along the path, explaining the lifecycle and habits of the wedge-tailed shearwaters.

The lady was really nice and it was an educational trip.

From top of the island, we could see an incredible 360-degree view across the ocean, beaches, harbour and marina, the city and the mountains. At the end of the walkway is a viewing platform, providing uninterrupted views of the waves crashing onto the rocks and of the Solitary Island Marina Park, which starts here.

coffs harbour (14) coffs harbour (15)

On the platform, there were interpretive signs about humpback whales. Muttonbird Island is one of the best spots on Coffs Coast for whale watching but unfortunately we didn’t see any that day.

coffs harbour (13) coffs harbour (10)

After an hour or so on the top, we decided to descend. As we were walking back to the car park, in the harbour, we saw a lot of of fishes which can be view from the top of the breakwater as the water is so clear.

coffs harbour (1)

Finally we hopped into the car and went for lunch which was to McDonalds that day. Then we just explored the other parts of the Coffs Harbour until it was time for us to move to our next stop, Port Stephens.

coffs harbour (5) coffs harbour (6)

Take care everyone, till the next post

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

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