I had relatives (4th cousin) living in the Blue Mountains at Wentworth Falls so took the opportunity to visit them. It was nice to hop off the backpacker circuit for a couple of days. The train from Sydney runs a regular service and I was met at the station before heading to their home. It was not what I had expected, styled as a castle with a tower and with medieval antiques inside and out. Johnnie had designed the place himself, had it signed off by an architect and then had to find brickies capable of building it. Its unique and nicely reflects his character.
Lyn has a strong interest in family history and it was through her tracing of Johnnies family that we got in contact. My parents had met them at a wedding in Ireland so one thing led to another and here I was. We spent the afternoon seeing the local sights such as the 3 Sisters, Wentworth Falls and the local Hydro hotel built in the 1920’s very Art Deco and almost lost in a recent forest fire. We ate at home that night and it was great to get a good home cooked meal.
Next day Johnnie had to present one of his two weekly radio shows at the local community radio station Blu FM 89.1. Wednesdays is his country slot & I joined him in the studio. As I know little of country music I had little to offer but being there took me back to the days when I was involved in MCR 100 FM in Manchester.
I stayed that night but had to be off early next day to return to Sydney for my final preparations for Thailand. These include sending home excess clothes & kit (I want to look 5kg from my pack), picking up malaria tablets, replacing wrecked clothes and updating this journal. Also hoping to catch up with Paul from Samoa & NZ, John from the Stray bus and Julie from the Green Tortoise before I fly off on Sun.