jamie goode's wine blog: R&R in the Blue Mountains

Sunday, June 07, 2009

R&R in the Blue Mountains

A quick update from the road. For the last couple of days I’ve been having a crazy time in the Blue Mountains, a beautiful national park that’s just a couple of hours’ drive from Sydney.

I’m travelling with Chris Coffey, who is a final year enology student at the University of Adelaide, and who won a South Australian Press Club bursary last year. Wine Australia reckoned I needed a minder/fixer for this leg of the trip, which includes a visit to the Hunter. We’re having a great time, and Chris is a great guy. The poor bloke has to put up with me for four days, though.
On Satudrday we got here and spent the afternoon abseiling with a local outdoor adventure company (http://www.rdmh.com.au/). Now I’m afraid of heights, so it was a real fear-conquering effort to step backwards over a cliff with just a thin rope attached to my waist.

We started off with a 5 m drop, then went to 15 m, and finally a 30 m cliff face with lots of overhangs. I thought I was going to die. The thing that made it a bit easier was that the two young guys doing it with us were clearly even more scared than me. And, of course, I didn’t want to look a prat in front of Brenda, our instructor. But afterwards I felt like I'd achieved something, and I was still alive, and I hadn't smacked my face into the rock, so overall I counclude that it was a great experience, in a beautiful setting.

Then yesterday we did a breathtaking day-long bush walk with another company (http://www.treadlightly.com.au/). Tim, our guide, was incredibly knowledgeable about the geology, flora and fauna of the Blue Mountains, and the walk was sufficiently challenging to be fun without being so hard that we couldn’t enjoy the views. It has wetted my appetite: I’d love to do a three or four day wilderness hike through this remarkable environment. Maybe I'm getting old, but I find being in naturally beautiful places quite uplifting. Spiritual, even.

Today we’re off early to drive to the Hunter.

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4 Comments:

At 6:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The timeless one-liner "It's a tough life"...comes to mind.

 
At 10:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goodness, there are people in the world with far more privilege, far more wealth, far more (without being rude) success - be they talentless tabloid regulars, oil tycoons, corporate high-ups... please go and complain at their good fortune instead, as their great prospects must surely be more offensive than Jamie's.


JMac

 
At 10:57 AM, Blogger Steve Borthwick said...

I see the chuckle brothers are in..

Jamie, if you think abseiling is good for your sphincter muscles, you should try paragliding there, that would take your mind off all that awful wine you've had to drink.

Thanks for the updates, v. int!

 
At 11:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jamie is, without doubt, a blessed and highly talented individual - good for him - what an extraordinary week.

 

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