The end of daylight savings consigns summer into a distant memory, and has left me reminiscing about the days spent by the sea and the countryside.
不經不覺夏令時間又結束，這個夏天給我留下了不少海濱和郊野的回憶。
I spent a weekend winding down in Sydney from 10th to 11th December. Although I’ve been to Sydney many times in the past, I could rarely have two whole days totally to myself unlike this time, so I took the opportunity to explore some new places of interest. On the Saturday afternoon I took a saunter around the lake in the Centennial Park and enjoyed the sights of the myriad of waterfowls and flowers. In the afternoon I went to The Rocks district and took in the views of the Harbour Bridge as well as the suburb of North Sydney on the opposite side of the harbour from the Sydney Observatory and Dawes Point at its foot.
去年12月10至11日到悉尼過了一個悠閑的週末，雖然以往已到過悉尼很多遍，但難得是一個人有兩天隨心所欲到處逛，所以便趁機發掘一下新去處。星期六中午先在百週年紀念公園環湖漫步，細賞各樣花卉和水鳥，然後到岩石區（The Rocks），從天文台山和山腳的Dawes Point多角度觀賞悉尼大橋和對岸的北悉尼區（North Sydney）。
On the Sunday morning I rose early to watch Real Madrid versus Barcelona in a bar, then took a bus to Maroubra beach in the south with the intention of walking along the coast to Bondi beach. When I arrived at Maroubra there were already about 100 people surfing! Maroubra looked like a very popular surfing spot.
星期日一早起床，跟人擠在一家酒吧看皇家馬德里對巴塞隆拿球賽後，便乘車前往悉尼南面的Maroubra，打算沿著海濱一路走到Bondi海灘。那時候Maroubra海灘已很熱鬧，海上大概有百多人在玩衝浪了！Maroubra大概是個熱門的衝浪地點吧。
Catching the early waves - otherwise it will only become more crowded!
衝浪要趁早，否則祇會越來越多人！
There is a string of beaches to the south of Sydney, all linked up from Bondi to Maroubra by a 14 km Eastern Beaches Coastal Work which mostly follows the shore line apart from a couple of small sections. The walking trail provides plenty of vantage points for the beaches tucked in the series of bays and the rock beaches at the bottom of cliffs and boulders. The spectacular views of waves pounding the shore in particular allow the passers-by to appreciate the full force of nature and the fury of the sea.
悉尼以南海灘一個接一個，從Bondi到Maroubra有一條全長14公里的東區海灘濱海徑（Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk）連接，除了途中有兩三小段外，濱海徑是依岸邊的岩石而行，沿途可居高臨下，望到一個又一個的海灣和沙灘、岩石底的石灘和拍打岩石的澎湃波濤，令我感受到海的威力和大自然的造化。
It was a rather easy walk to Coogee beach, the mid-point of the Coastal Walk, as it didn’t take me even two hours walking at a leisurely pace with plenty of photo stops. I knew very well that the weather forecast predicted a heavy shower for Sunday, and although it stayed sunny throughout the morning I could already notice the clouds rolling in steadily from the west. My lunch stop at Coogee proved to be a turning point, as I walked into a shop with still fine weather but walked out with gloomy skies. Not long after I walked the beach to continue the coastal walk, I could see a couple of lightning strikes and hear a loudspeaker announcement from the life savers at Coogee beach telling the swimmers to get out of water soon because some heavy storms would arrive soon. It sent a shiver down my spine and all I could thought of was to find a shelter as quickly as possible as it was all open air around me. Within only 10 minutes the skies became completely pitch black then opened up with a downpour. I ran to take shelter at a random place and waited for 20 minutes before the rain weakened, but at that point I decided to put off the rest of my walk as the shower persisted.
我邊走邊停下來拍照，輕輕鬆鬆地花了個多小時到了中途點Coogee海灘，其實那天天氣預測是會有一陣大驟雨，雖然早上一直放晴，但途中也察覺到有雲從西面慢慢湧至，在Coogee時開始風雲驟變，剛進一家小店吃午飯時天色還明朗，但出來是已烏密布，再踏上濱海徑後不久，便看見一兩道閃電，救生員在Coogee海灘的廣播也響徹半空，叫游客盡快上水，暴雨將至，我的心也慄了一慄，四周都是空曠地，我祇但求盡快沿著濱海徑走到可以躲避的地方，在十分鐘內，天色漸轉墨黑，繼而下起一陣大雨，我撐傘走到一戶人家躲避，等了二十多分鐘，雨減弱了但仍下著，我也祇好腰斬我的行程了。
The trip to Venus Bay back in Melbourne with my cousin’s family on New Year’s Eve, about 170 km south-east of the city centre, was a much less arduous affair. It was a day made for the beach as it was quite hot in town but felt appreciably cooler by the shore. So it was little wonder that the beaches at Venus Bay was packed with swimmers, sun-bathers and pipies hunters. Although my cousin’s family and I set out to collect pipies, we didn’t end up with much. Nevertheless we all enjoyed the constant crisp sea breeze and cool waves under the summer sun, as well as the leisure time we spent together.
到除夕那天跟表姐一家到墨爾本東南百多公里的Venus Bay就輕鬆得多了。那天市區天氣炎熱，但一到海邊暑氣消減不少，怪不得整個海灘都擠滿了人，不論是沙灘上曬太陽的，在海中嬉水的，或在水邊採蜆的，都各得其樂。雖然我們那天收獲不是特別豐富，但在炎炎夏日中，我享受了颯颯海風和涼涼海水帶來的透心涼爽，還有跟表姐一家共度的時光。
After a day at the sea, the scene changed to the green hills of the vineyards just outside Melbourne, with a couple of friends visiting from Hong Kong as well as another friend of theirs working in Melbourne. The visitors were interested in shopping for some good local wines and sightseeing in the countryside, and we thus went to the Yarra Valley wine region north-east of Melbourne. The region was dotted with a myriad of wineries and lined with an endless sea of grapevine-growing trellises across the gently rolling hills. We were indeed surrounded by such a picturesque view during our lunch with blue skies and the lush mountains afar. The winery that we visited after lunch was not particularly outstanding, but the museum there had enough to keep our stay longer. It was sightseeing of another kind, as the museum had an exhibition of paintings on Australian landscape and the many interpretations thereof by an Australian artist.
除夕下海後，元旦日輪到是「上山」的時候，我帶了兩個由香港來澳洲旅遊的朋友和她們另一個在墨爾本工作的朋友到郊外的三個酒莊，品酒買酒之餘欣賞一下田園風光。墨爾本東北的Yarra Valley區是澳洲其中一個大規模而有名的釀酒區，酒莊遍布區內大小山頭，一排排種植葡萄的籬笆在連綿起伏的小山坡上一望無際，尤其是午飯時面對著一片遼闊的葡萄園，在一片藍天和青鬱遠山的襯托下，我們也彷彿融入了一幅完美的風景畫中。飯後到另一個葡萄園，出品沒啥特別，倒是園內的藝術館挺有意思，裡面展出了很多澳洲風景畫和對澳洲自然景觀的不同詮釋，在館內繞一圈，也算是看風景的一種。
The beautiful summer time and those leisurely days will always be missed.
美好的夏天，悠閑的時光，總叫人懷念。
不經不覺夏令時間又結束，這個夏天給我留下了不少海濱和郊野的回憶。
I spent a weekend winding down in Sydney from 10th to 11th December. Although I’ve been to Sydney many times in the past, I could rarely have two whole days totally to myself unlike this time, so I took the opportunity to explore some new places of interest. On the Saturday afternoon I took a saunter around the lake in the Centennial Park and enjoyed the sights of the myriad of waterfowls and flowers. In the afternoon I went to The Rocks district and took in the views of the Harbour Bridge as well as the suburb of North Sydney on the opposite side of the harbour from the Sydney Observatory and Dawes Point at its foot.
去年12月10至11日到悉尼過了一個悠閑的週末，雖然以往已到過悉尼很多遍，但難得是一個人有兩天隨心所欲到處逛，所以便趁機發掘一下新去處。星期六中午先在百週年紀念公園環湖漫步，細賞各樣花卉和水鳥，然後到岩石區（The Rocks），從天文台山和山腳的Dawes Point多角度觀賞悉尼大橋和對岸的北悉尼區（North Sydney）。
The entrance to Centennial Park is next to the Eastside Horse Riding Academy, so the Park also serves as a training place.
百週年紀念公園位處一個騎術學校旁，所以也是訓練學員的地方。
A dusky moorhen traversing effortlessly on the surface of the lake
雌紅松雞表演水上飄
A cormorant showing off its feathers
鸕鶿在「曬命」
Immersing in a world of birds
融入於鳥的世界
The market at The Rocks
The Rocks的市場
The former Australasian Steam Navigation Company building and warehouses, now turned into shops and offices.
昔日大洋洲蒸汽航行公司大廈和貨倉，現時為商店及辦公室
The panoramic view of the Harbour Bridge and North Sydney from the Sydney Observatory
從悉尼天文台山飽覽海港大橋和北悉尼區全景On the Sunday morning I rose early to watch Real Madrid versus Barcelona in a bar, then took a bus to Maroubra beach in the south with the intention of walking along the coast to Bondi beach. When I arrived at Maroubra there were already about 100 people surfing! Maroubra looked like a very popular surfing spot.
星期日一早起床，跟人擠在一家酒吧看皇家馬德里對巴塞隆拿球賽後，便乘車前往悉尼南面的Maroubra，打算沿著海濱一路走到Bondi海灘。那時候Maroubra海灘已很熱鬧，海上大概有百多人在玩衝浪了！Maroubra大概是個熱門的衝浪地點吧。
Catching the early waves - otherwise it will only become more crowded!
Maroubra beach, looking towards the opposite direction in both photos.
Maroubra海灘，相反方向的景觀There is a string of beaches to the south of Sydney, all linked up from Bondi to Maroubra by a 14 km Eastern Beaches Coastal Work which mostly follows the shore line apart from a couple of small sections. The walking trail provides plenty of vantage points for the beaches tucked in the series of bays and the rock beaches at the bottom of cliffs and boulders. The spectacular views of waves pounding the shore in particular allow the passers-by to appreciate the full force of nature and the fury of the sea.
悉尼以南海灘一個接一個，從Bondi到Maroubra有一條全長14公里的東區海灘濱海徑（Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk）連接，除了途中有兩三小段外，濱海徑是依岸邊的岩石而行，沿途可居高臨下，望到一個又一個的海灣和沙灘、岩石底的石灘和拍打岩石的澎湃波濤，令我感受到海的威力和大自然的造化。
The rugged rocky coastline
巨石嶙峋的海岸線
Swimming pools by the sea
海濱的泳池
Surviving and blossoming in the fierce elements
在疾風匈濤中生存和滋長It was a rather easy walk to Coogee beach, the mid-point of the Coastal Walk, as it didn’t take me even two hours walking at a leisurely pace with plenty of photo stops. I knew very well that the weather forecast predicted a heavy shower for Sunday, and although it stayed sunny throughout the morning I could already notice the clouds rolling in steadily from the west. My lunch stop at Coogee proved to be a turning point, as I walked into a shop with still fine weather but walked out with gloomy skies. Not long after I walked the beach to continue the coastal walk, I could see a couple of lightning strikes and hear a loudspeaker announcement from the life savers at Coogee beach telling the swimmers to get out of water soon because some heavy storms would arrive soon. It sent a shiver down my spine and all I could thought of was to find a shelter as quickly as possible as it was all open air around me. Within only 10 minutes the skies became completely pitch black then opened up with a downpour. I ran to take shelter at a random place and waited for 20 minutes before the rain weakened, but at that point I decided to put off the rest of my walk as the shower persisted.
我邊走邊停下來拍照，輕輕鬆鬆地花了個多小時到了中途點Coogee海灘，其實那天天氣預測是會有一陣大驟雨，雖然早上一直放晴，但途中也察覺到有雲從西面慢慢湧至，在Coogee時開始風雲驟變，剛進一家小店吃午飯時天色還明朗，但出來是已烏密布，再踏上濱海徑後不久，便看見一兩道閃電，救生員在Coogee海灘的廣播也響徹半空，叫游客盡快上水，暴雨將至，我的心也慄了一慄，四周都是空曠地，我祇但求盡快沿著濱海徑走到可以躲避的地方，在十分鐘內，天色漸轉墨黑，繼而下起一陣大雨，我撐傘走到一戶人家躲避，等了二十多分鐘，雨減弱了但仍下著，我也祇好腰斬我的行程了。
That's how the skies turned in a matter of an hour, from just before lunch at Coogee (top) to the moment before the downpour (bottom).
一小時內的翻雲覆雨：由在Coogee吃午飯前（最頂圖）至臨下大雨的一刻（最底圖）The trip to Venus Bay back in Melbourne with my cousin’s family on New Year’s Eve, about 170 km south-east of the city centre, was a much less arduous affair. It was a day made for the beach as it was quite hot in town but felt appreciably cooler by the shore. So it was little wonder that the beaches at Venus Bay was packed with swimmers, sun-bathers and pipies hunters. Although my cousin’s family and I set out to collect pipies, we didn’t end up with much. Nevertheless we all enjoyed the constant crisp sea breeze and cool waves under the summer sun, as well as the leisure time we spent together.
到除夕那天跟表姐一家到墨爾本東南百多公里的Venus Bay就輕鬆得多了。那天市區天氣炎熱，但一到海邊暑氣消減不少，怪不得整個海灘都擠滿了人，不論是沙灘上曬太陽的，在海中嬉水的，或在水邊採蜆的，都各得其樂。雖然我們那天收獲不是特別豐富，但在炎炎夏日中，我享受了颯颯海風和涼涼海水帶來的透心涼爽，還有跟表姐一家共度的時光。
The countryside en route to Venus Bay
前往Venus Bay途中的郊野
An endless beach, an endless sea, and the endless blue skies - the stuff for endless dreaming ...
無盡的海灘、無盡的海、無盡的藍天，予人無窮的遐想After a day at the sea, the scene changed to the green hills of the vineyards just outside Melbourne, with a couple of friends visiting from Hong Kong as well as another friend of theirs working in Melbourne. The visitors were interested in shopping for some good local wines and sightseeing in the countryside, and we thus went to the Yarra Valley wine region north-east of Melbourne. The region was dotted with a myriad of wineries and lined with an endless sea of grapevine-growing trellises across the gently rolling hills. We were indeed surrounded by such a picturesque view during our lunch with blue skies and the lush mountains afar. The winery that we visited after lunch was not particularly outstanding, but the museum there had enough to keep our stay longer. It was sightseeing of another kind, as the museum had an exhibition of paintings on Australian landscape and the many interpretations thereof by an Australian artist.
除夕下海後，元旦日輪到是「上山」的時候，我帶了兩個由香港來澳洲旅遊的朋友和她們另一個在墨爾本工作的朋友到郊外的三個酒莊，品酒買酒之餘欣賞一下田園風光。墨爾本東北的Yarra Valley區是澳洲其中一個大規模而有名的釀酒區，酒莊遍布區內大小山頭，一排排種植葡萄的籬笆在連綿起伏的小山坡上一望無際，尤其是午飯時面對著一片遼闊的葡萄園，在一片藍天和青鬱遠山的襯托下，我們也彷彿融入了一幅完美的風景畫中。飯後到另一個葡萄園，出品沒啥特別，倒是園內的藝術館挺有意思，裡面展出了很多澳洲風景畫和對澳洲自然景觀的不同詮釋，在館內繞一圈，也算是看風景的一種。
The tranquil hills in the first winery visited
參觀第一個酒莊時的怡人山景
A perfect match of a delicious lunch and a delectable setting
美饌和美景，在這酒莊互相輝映
The Tarrawarra Museum at our last visited winery and the views outside the museum
我們參觀第三個酒莊的博物館及周邊的景色
After visiting the wineries, we had time for a quick visit to the Maroondah Reservoir (below) and the Spillway Waterfall (left).
參觀酒莊後，還有時間到Maroondah水庫（下）和旁邊的Spillway瀑布一遊。
The beautiful summer time and those leisurely days will always be missed.
美好的夏天，悠閑的時光，總叫人懷念。
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