[SUBW-A] Trip Report - Walk & Pub Crawl July 27th

Schmelitschek, Cameron (Sydney-LIU) Cameron.Schmelitschek@LibertyIU.Com
Fri, 9 Aug 2002 15:10:07 +1000


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The Walk 
 
Party: Meredith, Jacinta, Edwin, Mal, Royce, Christian, Tom, Marcelle,
Cameron
 
After days of voicemail and stray text messages we had somehow managed to
give directions to the group of enthusiastic SUBWians who wanted to head for
a weekend in the Blue Mountains.  The weekend began by meeting those keen
for exercise and a day in the marvellous winter sunshine on Saturday morning
at Medlow Bath station and the house we were renting for the weekend.  
 
We eventually set off for the brief drive through Medlow Bath past Katoomba
Airfield and down to the lookout.  Rather than spend the day running into
other walkers and tourists we opted for a short scrub-bash to what looked
like a potentially interesting vantage point above a sharp gorge.  This was
tackled enthusiastically until we reached our lookout - or a spot that was
near enough.  Unfortunately the cairn spoilt the sense of discovery.  After
an enjoyable lunch sitting on the overhang and chatting we headed back to
the car, some of us feeling increasingly tender as the sharp and scratchy
scrub left its marks.
 
Back to the lookout we, nine hot & sweaty, disturbed a wedding photo shoot
using the Grose Valley as a backdrop.  I'm not sure whether we looked any
worse than the bridesmaids though...
 
Back to the house to prepare for the night out, and to try to light a wood
stove for heating and hot water - initially this was spectacularly
unsuccessful..
 
Pub crawl 
 
Party: Albert, Wendy, Joe, Dave, Roger Butler, Mitchell, Jacinta, Edwin,
Mal, Royce, Christian, Tom, Marcelle, Cameron
 
Dave took a video of the proceedings which may surface at some stage.  It
will tell a far better story than any written report - depending on the use
of post-production license.
 
A plan was hatched only shortly before we headed for dinner - we would catch
the train between pubs heading up the mountains each hour.  It worked out
really well, enough time for a few drinks at each stop but not enough to get
too comfortable.
 
6pm - 8pm we had dinner at the Gardeners Inn at Blackheath.  Very enjoyable
and quite reasonable considering the size of the meals.  Dave, Wendy and
Albert (thanks again for the cake guys!) joined us here.
 
8pm the train back down the line to Wentworth Falls and the Grand View
Hotel.  As Albert, Wendy & I drove to Wentworth Falls (we needed to drop off
some clothes) we passed the train and spotted the group.  Quite a sight with
Dave holding a captivated audience.  The Grand View was an impressive pub,
perhaps helped by the fact we were in the hotel bar rather than the public
bar.  The art gallery was very good.  Joe found us here having had a cold
motorbike ride up from Sydney.
 
9pm train to the Alex at Leura.  Found Mitchell on the train (after pulling
the hat off a sleeping commuter that could have been Mitchell.  She did have
volleys strapped to her back-pack).  We were in the front bar which is not
too flash - much better to visit when the back bar and the bistro are open.
Roy & HG provided some entertainment.  Mitchell did his best to catch up on
the drinks.
 
10pm train to Katoomba and the Carrington Bar.  ID checks for some people
but for some reason not Dave?  Two minutes later all 14 exited the bar, much
to the confusion of the doorman.  We piled into the Carrington Hotel around
the corner instead.  Many more drinks, Mitchell caught up quickly.  We were
joined in the pub by a large group who evidently just finished a Christmas
in July dinner, red wine bottles still at hand and all in various forms of
Santa costume - made for a great scene.
 
Around midnight (?) we left the Carrington and went to the Gearins.
Entertained by the choices of our group for the jukebox that were somehow
not in keeping with the rest of the crowd.  And some exotic chair dancing.
Unimpressed that the pub ran out of Vodka completely!  We left just before
2am, unfortunately missing Mitchell and Roger's jukebox selection which was
just beginning.
 
Waited on the Katoomba platform for the 2am train to Medlow Bath.  Very
funny scenes, music was coming out of a pub loud enough to dance to on the
platform...
 
Walked back to the house, disturbing the silence of Medlow Bath.  Really
could have used a 24hour food outlet.
 
Not fully certain what happened back at the house - things were beginning to
get blurry (must have been tired from the walking that day).  Recall the
backyard hose being used to substitute a creek for the skinny dipping.  Oh
dear - Dave was still recording.
 
Sunday morning - Siobhan, the Queen of Breakfast and Champion of Hangovers
arrived with a hamper of fruit, cereal, juice, bacon, eggs, sausages, a huge
bowl of pancake batter, fresh bread from Blackheath bakery, coffee grinder
and a bag of beans.  Our hero!  She had driven out from Sydney at what must
have been 6 or 7am.  We had a long and leisurely breakfast sitting on the
deck in the sunshine.  All that was left was to collect the cars from
Blackheath & Wentworth Falls, clean the house and amble back to town.
 
A great weekend was had by all - thanks to everyone who came along.  Looking
forward to the next social event being planned.
 
Cheers,
 
Cameron

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be aware, that in order to maintain consistency with our website 
address www.LibertyIU.com, the Email address of Liberty International
Underwriters has been changed to LibertyIU.Com. For example, the e-mail
address Any.Person@LibertyInternational.com has now been changed to
Any.Person@LibertyIU.com This will come into force with immediate 
effect, your attention is appreciated.
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>The Walk 
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Party: Meredith, 
Jacinta, Edwin, Mal, Royce, Christian, Tom, Marcelle, 
Cameron</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>After days of 
voicemail and stray text messages we had somehow managed to give directions to 
the group of enthusiastic SUBWians who wanted to head for a weekend in the Blue 
Mountains.&nbsp; The&nbsp;weekend began by meeting&nbsp;those keen for exercise 
and a day in the marvellous winter sunshine&nbsp;on&nbsp;Saturday morning at 
Medlow Bath station and the house we were renting for the 
weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>We eventually set 
off for the&nbsp;brief drive through Medlow Bath past Katoomba Airfield and 
down&nbsp;to the lookout.&nbsp; Rather than spend the day running into other 
walkers and tourists&nbsp;we opted for a short scrub-bash to what looked like a 
potentially interesting&nbsp;vantage point&nbsp;above a sharp gorge.&nbsp; This 
was tackled enthusiastically until we reached our lookout - or a spot that was 
near enough.&nbsp; Unfortunately&nbsp;the cairn spoilt the sense of 
discovery.&nbsp;&nbsp;After an&nbsp;enjoyable lunch sitting on the overhang and 
chatting we headed back to the car, some of us feeling increasingly tender as 
the sharp and scratchy scrub left its marks.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Back to the lookout 
we,&nbsp;nine hot &amp; sweaty, disturbed a wedding photo shoot using the Grose 
Valley as a backdrop.&nbsp; I'm not sure whether we looked any worse than the 
bridesmaids though...</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Back to the house to 
prepare for the night out, and to try to light a&nbsp;wood stove for heating and 
hot water - initially this was spectacularly unsuccessful..</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Pub crawl 
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Party: Albert, 
Wendy, Joe, Dave, Roger Butler, Mitchell, Jacinta, Edwin, Mal, Royce, Christian, 
Tom, Marcelle, Cameron</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Dave took a video of 
the proceedings which may surface at some stage.&nbsp; It will tell a far better 
story than any written report - depending on the use of post-production 
license.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>A&nbsp;plan was 
hatched only shortly before we headed for dinner - we would catch the train 
between pubs heading up the mountains each hour.&nbsp; It worked out really 
well, enough time for a few drinks at each stop but not enough to get too 
comfortable.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>6pm - 8pm we had 
dinner at the Gardeners Inn at Blackheath.&nbsp; Very enjoyable and quite 
reasonable considering the size of the meals.&nbsp; Dave, Wendy and Albert 
(thanks again for the cake guys!) joined us here.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>8pm the train back 
down the line to Wentworth Falls and the Grand View Hotel.&nbsp; As Albert, 
Wendy &amp; I drove to Wentworth Falls (we needed to drop off some clothes) we 
passed the train and spotted the group.&nbsp; Quite a sight with Dave holding a 
captivated audience.&nbsp; The Grand View was an impressive pub, perhaps helped 
by the fact we were in the hotel bar rather than the public bar.&nbsp; The art 
gallery was very good.&nbsp; Joe found us here having had a cold motorbike ride 
up from Sydney.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>9pm train to the 
Alex at Leura.&nbsp; Found Mitchell on the train (after pulling the hat off a 
sleeping commuter that <EM>could </EM>have been Mitchell.&nbsp; She did have 
volleys strapped to her back-pack).&nbsp; We were in the front bar which is not 
too flash - much better to visit when the back bar and the&nbsp;bistro are 
open.&nbsp; Roy &amp; HG provided some entertainment.&nbsp; Mitchell did his 
best to catch up on the drinks.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>10pm train to 
Katoomba and the Carrington Bar.&nbsp; ID checks for&nbsp;some people but for 
some reason not Dave?&nbsp; Two minutes later all 14&nbsp;exited the bar, much 
to the confusion of the doorman.&nbsp; We piled into the Carrington Hotel around 
the corner instead.&nbsp; Many more drinks, Mitchell caught up quickly.&nbsp; We 
were joined in the pub by a large group who evidently just finished a Christmas 
in July dinner, red wine bottles still at hand&nbsp;and all&nbsp;in various 
forms of Santa costume - made for a great scene.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Around midnight (?) 
we left the Carrington and went to the Gearins.&nbsp; Entertained by the choices 
of our group for the jukebox that were somehow not in keeping with the rest of 
the crowd.&nbsp; And some&nbsp;exotic chair dancing.&nbsp; Unimpressed that the 
pub ran out of Vodka completely!&nbsp; We left just before 2am, unfortunately 
missing Mitchell and Roger's jukebox selection which was just 
beginning.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Waited on the 
Katoomba platform for the 2am train to Medlow Bath.&nbsp; Very funny 
scenes,&nbsp;music was coming out of a pub loud enough to dance to on the 
platform...</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Walked back to the 
house, disturbing the silence of Medlow Bath.&nbsp; Really could have used a 
24hour food outlet.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Not fully certain 
what happened back at the house - things were beginning to get blurry (must have 
been tired from the walking that day).&nbsp; Recall the backyard hose being used 
to substitute a creek for the skinny dipping.&nbsp; Oh dear&nbsp;- Dave was 
still recording.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN 
class=004034302-09082002></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=004034302-09082002>Sunday morning - 
Siobhan, the&nbsp;Queen of Breakfast and Champion of Hangovers arrived with a 
hamper of fruit, cereal, juice, bacon, eggs, sausages, a huge bowl of pancake 
batter, fresh bread from Blackheath bakery, coffee grinder and a bag of 
beans.&nbsp; Our hero!&nbsp; She had driven out from Sydney at what must have 
been 6 or 7am.&nbsp; We had a long and&nbsp;leisurely breakfast sitting on the 
deck in the sunshine.&nbsp; All that was left was to collect the cars from 
Blackheath &amp; Wentworth Falls, clean the house and amble back to 
town.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=004034302-09082002><FONT face=Arial size=2>A great weekend was 
had by all - thanks to everyone who came along.&nbsp; Looking forward to the 
next social event being planned.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=004034302-09082002><FONT face=Arial 
size=2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=004034302-09082002><FONT face=Arial 
size=2>Cheers,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=004034302-09082002><FONT face=Arial 
size=2></FONT></SPAN>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=004034302-09082002><FONT face=Arial 
size=2>Cameron</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>
<table><tr><td bgcolor=#ffffff><font color=#000000><pre>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be aware, that in order to maintain consistency with our website 
address www.LibertyIU.com, the Email address of Liberty International
Underwriters has been changed to LibertyIU.Com. For example, the e-mail
address Any.Person@LibertyInternational.com has now been changed to
Any.Person@LibertyIU.com This will come into force with immediate 
effect, your attention is appreciated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</pre></font></td></tr></table>
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