February 28

Lithgow to Sydney

I awoke to clear blue skies. The temperature had fallen overnight and it was about thirteen degrees. After a quick breakfast, we took a short morning walk a couple of kilometres around the village. After another rest, we left again, Ronny to her exercise class and Malcolm and I on a drive of exploration.

Closed on Fridays	Lithgow

The main target was the Small Arms Museum, the factory having been the town's main employer for a century. It supplies the army, the police and, doubtless, numerous overseas and secret customers with rifles, pistols, munitions etc etc. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Fridays so I was unable to learn more.

The revised plan took us along a back road, a very short distance from the town's water treatment plant, to view the fire damage. Had the fire travelled another couple of hundred metres, the town would have ground to a halt.

The trees were badly burned	Regeneration was happening fast

The two most interesting features were that some of the trees were already starting to sprout and the stream, dry for many months, was flowing well following the recent rains.

With time to kill, we drove a short way out of town, explored the green fields and then returned to collect Ronny from her class. We had a coffee in a very good café, which was laid back, almost hippy style. It resembled many similar establishments in New Zealand. It also offered one of the best coffees I had in Australia. Ronny  then did some chores in the town centre, giving me time to photograph a few buildings and also the Lithgow Flyer, Marjorie Jackson. She won double sprinting golds at the Helsinki Olympics. Back home again, we had lunch, checked the house again for my belongings and piled into the car.       Right: Marjorie Jackson, the Lithgow Flyer

First stop was Hartley Village, an old settlement now preserved as a museum piece. This was very quiet, the fall off in tourism becoming increasingly apparent. There were some fine old buildings which, on a hot and sunny day, looked very picturesque.

Very quiet in Hartley Village
The weather was beautiful	The train arrived in Springwood

We completed our drive to Katoomba, where we made our farewells and I boarded the bus to Springwood, where the train awaited. We departed after five minutes and reached Springwood after 45 minutes. I then joined lots of others on the platform for a fifteen minute wait  for the train. This arrived on time, I dragged my bags aboard and we made the long, slow, journey into Central.

We arrived safely about 85 minutes after leaving Springwood and I was soon out of the station having decided to walk rather than use the tram. I made a slight error, which cost me about 100 metres or so. Then there was a larger one as I followed the even numbers to where the hotel should have been. Unfortunately, the odd numbers are completely out of sync so I walked about 250 metres too far - uphill! Right: I decided not to use the tram

The hotel had changed name since I booked but they were expecting me. I noticed that they had an airport transfer bus for not much more than the train so took the easy option and booked a ride.

The room was a bit dark but was well equipped and comfortable. I paid a fortune for three days worth of wi fi then went up the road to buy a few provisions. Back at the hotel, I showered and changed.

The streets in Chinatown were heaving
The streets outside were heaving, what one would expect of Sydney on a Friday evening. Being on the edge of Chinatown, that seemed the obvious place to find dinner. I launched myself into the throng and selected a restaurant at random. The siu mai were excellent. The stir fried beef with choi sum was also good. I think I made a good choice and the food was similar to what I might have found in Hong Kong. I returned to the hotel.
	Beef with greens