Uncharacteristically, Ann had two days free in a row last week so we cancelled whatever plans we had made, packed hastily and headed south. I have been wanting to get away with her since our short honeymoon last September and I knew that she wanted to visit the Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong and the blowhole in Kiama.

Another strange event occurred at the same juncture - the sun came out and stayed out. We had 48 hours of average autumn weather, which is to say, we had sunny skies, mid-twenties temperatures and cool nights. I had almost forgotten how wonderful March and April are supposed to be, given the drenching of recent weeks.

Nan Tien is an interesting Chinese-style Buddhist Temple, beautifully set out amongst lawns and gardens. It is really quite enormous as temples go, with a pilgrim's lodge, meditation rooms, restaurants and a cavernous main hall accommodating a clutch of buddha statues. The Kiama blowhole, a tourist feature that I have somehow managed to not see for 58 years, was fun and very active. The swell was big thanks to cyclone activity in Queensland and the ocean had that somewhat menacing greenish tinge, each wave frothed with a whitecap, as if to emphasise the injunction to keep out. There is a little blowhole a few kilometres south of the main one and it too was spouting regular gusts of spray, each accompanied by a cute popping sound.

Later we drove further south through (an old stomping ground) Berry and on the Nowra for the night's rest. The following day we traced our way through the beautiful hinterland betwixt sea and mountain, crossing the Kangaroo Valley, past Fitzroy Falls and on to lunch in well-to-do Bowral. It was a lovely trip with my sweet darling wife.