Jenolan Caves - One of The Oldest Places on Earth!

3 Sisters at Katoomba

It had been a while since our last family outing so it was time. 

Having grown up in Australia, I had engaging memories of the stalagmites and stalactites that adorn the caves at Jenolan. As the kids have mostly lived overseas I thought a little Aussie culture was due. 

In addition, Patrick needed driving hours, (both night and day) to complete his Learner Driving requirements and as it was a 2.5 - 3 hour drive each way, that settled it. (Even though they were a little freaked because they had recently watch the scary movie "The Descent" which involved caves and horrible ugly cave dwellers and lots of blood).

The new freeway makes this quite a quick trip now so we had time to stop in Katoomba, grab a coffee, admire the gorgeous blue winter sky, mountain range and change drivers before heading on to the Caves.

Caves House view from the hike from the Car Park.

The Jenolan Village

One thing you have to know is that confined spaces give me an anxiety attack. I guess you could say that I experience Claustrophobia. When we descended into The Catacombs in Paris, all of the oxygen left my body and my legs went weak and I knew that I had to get out of there.

When the giant steel door slammed behind me in the tunnel to the caves, the same thing happened. However, this time I was moved along with the crowd and had no choice but to continue. As long as the people got out of my way and I could see the end, I was OK.

I distracted myself with the surrounding beauty, taking photos and listening to stories and I am proud to say I made it through perfectly well. The caves are actually airy and quite large. I think the tunnel was the most difficult part.

There are a great many to caves to choose from but we agreed that The Temple of Baal sounded best and I'm really glad we did. It was spectacular!

  

  

  

  

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about Geology but I can tell you what we learnt from our Guide. The caves are made from Limestone. It was one of the first rocks to appear on earth and is composed of skeletons and marine organisms that were solidified by Volcanic ash. You can read more here. Oh and she was super excited about Calcium Carbonate! 

The Caves have been recently dated by Dr Armstrong Osborne from Sydney University as being 340 million years old. For you science buffs, you can read more in the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. Or a summarised article can be found in ABC's Science News.

   

We couldn't all decide on a second cave so we opted instead for a walk around the lake and a game of "Spot The Platypus"!

YES the lake is blue. Apparently minerals that have run off from the caves make it this colour and YES we found the Platypus!

View Back to The Grand Arch from The Blue Lake

NOTE: There is nothing worse than seeing photographs of a place that looks great, then you go to this place and find that the photos were completely enhanced and it looks nothing like it did in the photo at all. Therefore I decided that for these images you would get to see them right out of the camera. You will probably see sensor dirt and all sorts so apologies but at least you know that if you go to Jenolan, what you see will be similar, if not better!

Oh and for you camera buffs, this image of the original cave entrance was taken at 51 000 ISO. Love my Canon 1D X.

Nina Beilby is a professional photographer based in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia. You can see more of her work at www.ninabeilby.com.au. 

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Christmas Lights and Fireworks

Eager to begin new family traditions, we thought we would visit downtown Sydney to view some of the festive seasons attractions. The city was spectacular and did not disappoint.

We opted for the train into the city as Carols In The Domain were on (Australia's largest concert held in The Royal Botanic Gardens) and parking was already at capacity. We started at Saint Mary's Cathedral which was beautifully lit with coloured lights. We walked through the church where the girls lit some candles and payed their respects.

We didn't stay for the full display as we didn't want to miss the fireworks at Darling Harbour but we were there long enough to see the statue procession and receive medallions and rosary bracelets handed out by the acolytes. You can view more about the "Lights of Christmas" here.

I was surprised to see the shops still throbbing with activity at 9pm.

Our plan to watch the fireworks from the bridge was obviously leaked to the rest of the visiting population but we managed to find a decent viewing spot and even a bench for us to all sit on, and me to stand!

This failed but I like it for some reason!

This was all very hot work and were all desperate for water so we stopped for ice cream!! (and water)...

On the way home, we stopped by Town Hall to another spectacular display of lighting. I love our city and so glad that we now this family tradition to look forward to each year.

Full Moon Fun...Super Moon 2012

I'm usually pretty tired from shooting at the end of the day but when my job cancelled for the afternoon, it was the perfect opportunity to head to the beach and wait for the super moon - the closest it has been to earth in 18 years! The kids were delighted. We had talked about it so I was glad to make it a reality for them.

 They frolicked in the warm autumn waters for a couple of hours. The sun had gone behind the hills and still no moon. I was beginning to worry that the headland might be too far out or that were in the completely wrong location when BAM, the giant moon peaked over the horizon.

OK kids, it's cold and dark but for the moonlight, I believe it's time to go home!!

There are more Super Moon images on my photography blog.

ANZAC Day March 2012 - Marist College

Patrick...

There have been many firsts for my children since arriving back in Australia and today Patrick was able to participate in his first ANZAC parade. 


His school, Marist College were one of the bands that walked beside our soldiers through the Sydney streets in remembrance of those who sacrificed in the name of peace.


Band teacher, Rod Herbert did a marvellous job preparing these boys as they had attended many a morning practice and also recently performed at the Royal Easter Show.


You can see more of the actual parade here on my professional blog. I also explain a little about the significance of the day...

Getting ready...

Patrick is the tall trumpeter, 3rd row back.