31 January 2020

Today is our last day in Wollongong. We leave on the train for Sydney in about an hour, and we’ll spend two nights in Sydney before flying home. It feels very strange and a little sad to be saying farewell to the apartment which has been our home for three months!

On our first full day in Wollongong, back in November, we went to Kiama. And so, just to round things off neatly, on our last full day in Wollongong, we went to Kiama again. It is one of our favourite places. We walked from the big blowhole to the little blowhole, several bays along the coast, then had crab claws and chips at the harbour fish and chip shop (these places are familiar to some of you!) We had a real treat there, as a fishing boat came in, and was instantly followed by three cheeky pelicans. The fishermen then filleted their fish on a special bench by the harbour, and every now and again threw some fish to the seagulls and pelicans.

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But then, we noticed a stingray in the water by the fisherman, just gliding up and down the jetty, scavenging for fish titbits. Grandad managed to capture this in the video clip below.

As we watched, two more appeared: ominous black shadows in the water, slipping underneath the pelicans, and scooping up any fish they dropped. They were very large – the largest was probably 1.5 metres wide, with a rather intimidating barb. Actually they looked beautiful: gracefully gliding, with their wings gently flapping, showing a silver underside. But I’m not sure I’d have wanted to be in the water!

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For our final evening, we had dinner at Steamers, a restaurant right beside City Beach, and watched the waves rolling, and the sky turning pink. We walked home around Flagstaff Head, spotted a naughty pelican stealing fish from a fisherman’s bucket when he wasn’t looking; then through the city centre where the rainbow lorikeets were roosting and making their almighty din; and finally, back to our flat with the sun setting red and the bats flying. Essence of Wollongong!

Goodbye, Wollongong!