Tulip Time

Tulip Time Festival Bowral 

Tulip Time Bowral Turns 100 

Bowral's Tulip Time Festival is celebrating its 100 birthday.  This is the first time we are here to see the tulips. It is mid-September, and the weather starts to warm up. We had a perfect time enjoying the tulips, Bowral townscape and street parade. 

Bowral Spring

We walked around Corbett Garden. The garden is filled with colourful tulips. Time seemed to slip through our fingers while we were busy taking pictures of the colourful tulips.

Tulips (Corbett Garden, Bowral)

Bowral has a lot to offer when it comes to restaurants, cafes and takeaways. It is often very lovely to sit at a sidewalk cafe in the sun. This time, we chose to dine in at Bowral Thai to recharge and relax. 

Bowral Thai (Bong Bong Street)

The staff were friendly and helpful. The restaurant has a collection of booklets on Buddhism, meditation, local Yoga classes, offering a nice read while waiting for the yummy curry to come. 

After a nice meal and most importantly, a cup of Thai Milk Tea, we were ready for the Street Parade.  

 

A Colourful Life Street Parade

Camping @ Cattai National Park

Camping next to the Hawkesbury River

Cattai National Park is about an hour's drive from Sydney CBD (if the traffic is good). There are two parts of the Park, the Cattai Farm area and Mitchell Park.  

They are around five minutes drive apart from each other. The Cattai Farm area provides grassy camping area beside the Hawkesbury River while Mitchell Park is great for bush walking and picnicking. 

The nearby Scheyville National Park has a historical walk around the Migration Centre dated back to  the 1940s and 50s as well as a circuit walk around the Long neck Lagoon. 

The Kangaroo Family (Cattai National Park) 

Our last camp trip at Cattai was during a long weekend in June. It was warm during the day and it got a bit chilly when the sun went down. Camp fire is permitted in designated areas so don't forget to bring firewood.

Kangaroos at dawn (Cattai National Park)

At times, it can be quite foggy in the morning, though very picturesque along the river. We woke up with the birds and an early morning (7am-ish) walk on the farmland was rewarding with sightings of mobs of kangaroos (Eastern Greys).  

Windsor: a town of history 

Cattai campground is 13km north of the historical town Windsor. If you enjoy town hopping, a visit to the surrounding Pitt Town, Windsor, Wilberforce and Richmond is convenient and a must.  

Staffs at both Windsor and Richmond tourist information centres are  knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. They have abundant information about the towns along the Hawkesburry and bush walks in the area. It is definitely worthwhile to drop by and have a chat. If you are there on Sundays, try not to miss the Windsor Sunday market. 

Traditional Lebanese dish at Sue's Kitchen 

In Windsor, Macquarie Arms Hotel is   atmospheric, has good food and live music. Sue's Kitchen serves delicious traditional Lebanese dishes. Both are great places to go and reward yourself after a day's bush walk. 

Florabella Pass (from Warrimoo to Blaxland)

Angophoras on Florabella

Florabella Pass is a pretty and interesting walk on the Lower Blue Mountains. The walk starts from Warrimoo train station and ends at Blaxland station. 

We left our car near Blaxland station then caugth the train to Warrimoo. The train trip was only 3 mins. 

From the station, cross the Great Western Highway on the overpass. We walked past Warrimoo Antique Shop, came to the Boulevarde, followed Boulevarde till the end then turned right into Arthur Street, then right into Florabella Street. The pass is signed 'Florabella Pass'. 

The walk is approximately 300 metres ascent and decent. It took us 3 hours and 27 mins to finish. We walked in a comfortable pace and took time taking photos, exploring side tracks, and caves. Very pleasant walk in the sun on a cold winter morning. 

Cave along Florabella

Fern along Florabella