Prince Edward Park

[khiemtran]

It's a glorious winter Saturday in Sydney and Liem has been dragged away from Minecraft for a walk in Prince Edward park.




This park is more-or-less right in our backyard. It also has a steep climb which is good practice for certain Malaysian mountains.



At the bottom of the park lies the Woronora River. We had a bit of time, so we hired a canoe like one on the right of the picture and went out for a paddle. (No photos, because I didn't want to risk my non-waterproof camera.)



On the way back, we saw a lady walking along the top of this water pipe. (She was walking her dog, but the dog was following at ground level.) This is actually the main water pipe that takes water from Woronora dam into Sydney.



The water is actually going uphill in this picture, heading for a large reservoir in Sutherland, where it will ultimately get piped to houses like ours.



I don't think you want to open this hatch, unless you really know what you're doing...



Here's where the pipe crosses Forbes Creek. We actually canoed on the same creek a little downstream.



As you can see, it's quite shallow at low tide. It might go fun to have a little explore and go further upstream next time.



If you look closely, you can see there's actually water leaking into Forbes Creek. Apparently, there's actually a pressure valve over the creek (which is, after all, the most sensible place to put a valve), but I don't know if that's where the water is coming from.



Heading back (and up), we soon see something else interesting. Can you guess what these are?



I thought they might have been some sort of bee or wasp nest, but they're actually the nests of arboreal termites. Somewhere, there'll be a tunnel down to the ground, which the termites will use to go out to gather their food. I might try to get a closer look next time. (I was a bit wary at the time of getting too close to what looked like the world's most enormous wasp nest...)

Comments

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely place to hike and canoe. I'm envious. Truly. I had no idea Cairo would have almost zero "green spaces" and that you would have to pay to access them. :-

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I think that would drive me batty after a while. What do you do if you need some solitude?

The Woronora river valley is certainly very pleasant (probably even better if you live in one of the houses by the water). It's quite nice now that Liem is big enough to walk there and back, so it's now in range for an afternoon walk. What I'm really interested in doing now is exploring some of the rivers and creeks a bit more. The man at the canoe hire place suggested we head upriver next time and have a picnic on a little beach up there. Sounds like we might have started a new era of family adventures now...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Those arboreal termites are rather scary--conceptually, anyway. Somewhere, there'll be a tunnel down to the ground, which the termites will use to go out to gather their food. --which allays my concern that they were eating the tree in which their nest was built (which would have been poor planning). Do they eat wood, though?

The ferns in the second picture are wonderful.

The water pipes seem terribly vulnerable to accident or tampering--but on the other hand, I guess having them above ground like that also makes them easier to repair?

sae foho --"climb a mountain" in Tetun. Just learned that today.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Do they eat wood, though?

They do, although some species also keep farms of fungus that digest the wood for them. I don't know if these ones do that though.

The water pipes seem terribly vulnerable to accident or tampering--but on the other hand, I guess having them above ground like that also makes them easier to repair?

Yes, they do look a bit vulnerable. There are other parts which are encased in concrete or buried underground. I guess it was just cheaper to build them above ground, especially for the steep ascent up the hill.

[soon_lee]

For me, downhill is worse because of my knees. Uphill is more self-limiting; it's hard work but I get puffed so have to slow down.

Because going downhill is not as aerobic, you can go faster without getting puffed, but that is not always a good thing: your knees get jarred a lot more, especially if you are carrying a heavy pack. And if your knees are already a bit dodgy to start with...

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've already invested in a pair of walking poles. Have you ever done Mt Kinabalu?
I had a chat with one of the girls in Mountain Design who had climbed it and she said her knees gave out on the way down, even despite having the poles.

[soon_lee]

Nope, never done Kinabalu. Longest tramp I ever did was the Milford Track, a four day walk and a mere 1000m up.