Sunday 25th April 2021
After a delayed departure ensuring I didn’t have Covid yesterday we set of on our little adventure with Mum very early today at about 8.30am.

Our first stop was Bundeena wharf/jetty at the entrance to the Royal National Park in Sydney. It was a beautiful drive and Mum has never been here. We had a nice walk around the rocks and watched the ferry from Cronulla arrive as this is the start of the Bundeena to Otford Coastal Track. As this is an overnight walk we would like to do in the future we drove around to check out the campground. We then continued on to Garie Beach for an ice cream stop and to enjoy the view. This was a very open beach with a bit of surf and patrolled by SLS. We then continued the beautiful drive through the Royal National Park, stopping at Governor Game lookout Royal in Lilyvale, then on to Otford Lookout, as we drove past the hang gliding take off point we saw a few hang gliders in the air. We continued down the hill to Stanwell Park Beach Reserve for lunch, watching the hang gliders land. It was a lovely morning of exploration.

After lunch we headed to Helensburgh to visit the Sri Venkateswara Temple which is Australia’s first Hindu Temple built in the traditional style of Hindu Temple architecture. It stands as an outstanding example of Hindu Temple Architectural Excellence. Located in a bushland setting, it serves as an impressive local landmark. It was being visited by many people from India, all in their traditional dress. It was very colourful and glamourous. We were one of the few white people here. Unfortunately no photos can be taken in the temple but as always it was adorned with gold and the usual opulence of the Hindu temples overseas.

We then headed to Berkeley to the Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist Temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Nan Tien is very different from most tourist attractions because there is so much on offer. The visual delights of grand architecture, art and culture including unique exhibitions and festivals, Buddhist festivals, vegetarian culinary delights, educational and healthy lifestyle classes and retreats, accommodation, top-class conference and auditorium facilities. There is also the spiritual and religious experience that is unforgettable and even life-changing for some. Also unfortunately, we were unable to book in to stay the night there as they had no availability, so we just enjoyed the walk around the grounds, went in the temples and enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.

At the end of a very full day we went to our hotel at Woonona (the Windmill Hotel), which fortunately they were happy to transfer our booking from the previous day because of our itinerary change. It was a great day.