We made a trip on Saturday again by car: this time to the south of Sydney to Kiama, where we were very lucky and could see the blowhole working very hard))

Kiama is about 120 km to the south from Sydney, located at the coast. ‘The name Kiama is from the aboriginal word Kiaram-a, to which some sources give the meaning “Where the sea makes a noise“‘. It has two blowholes - a bigger and a smaller one. They were discovered ‘by George Bass on his voyage of coastal exploration on December 6, 1797‘, but it was known by the local Aboriginals before, who called it ‘Khanterintee’.

I discovered only after the trip on Internet, that there is a smaller blowhole as well, not too far from the other one, so we just missed it this time…But no worries, the bigger one made us amazed already.

So what is a blowhole exactly? It is a kind of hole in the rock at the coast, from which the water is blown out under high pressure. It becomes first vapour and falls back to the ground in big drops. There was a board with a good picture and text explaining the phenomenon:

`The Kiama Headland is composed of volcanic rock called latite. A volcanic extrusion, known as a dyke, cuts through the latite. The dyke is composed of a softer rock called basalt. Over millions of years the softer basalt has eroded faster than the latite creating a tunnel under the headland. Eventually part of the headland collapsed creating the Kiama Blow Hole.

As each wave surges through the tunnel, air is compressed in the rear chamber building tremendous pressure. As waves subside, pressure in the chamber releases forcing the trapped water up the blow hole with loud `whoomp`.`

If the blowhole functions at full capacity, the spout comes up about 20 m high- maybe sometimes higher-, and it makes a tremendous noise, so you even feel the energy under the rocks. It is nice to watch it for a while and waiting for the biggest launches. Believe me, it surprises everybody. And it is worth waiting because the spouts are not standard high, neither in frequency nor in `quality`.

It is said, that the success of this phenomenon depends on a lot of things - the height and the direction of the curls and the height of the sea. For the bigger blowhole for example the waves coming from the south-east are the most prosperous.

There is already a safety fence built around the hole after many accidents. This blog from a Hungarian guy tells a story about three unlucky persons who wanted to have a shower in the water vapour. Unfortunately the shower was not the best idea, because a sudden enormous break took all of them under the rock, and

they had to be taken in away in a coffin. Sad story. I am not sure if it is true, maybe it is only an urban legend, but it is true, that somebody in the NSW Parliament had already asked for this fence in 2000 because of the many serious accidents earlier. In that speech there were mentioned other true and sad stories.

So there is a smaller blowhole in Kiama as well, and it is good because it is said to be working more balanced. It prefers the surfs coming from the north-east.

A white lighthouse has been standing behind the bigger blowhole majestically since 1887, where young couples like posing for wedding photos. I share their opinion, it is a really romantic place.

I read that around 600 thousands visitors arrive here every year, which means about 11 and a half thousand people a week. It is a huge number, isn`t it? As I remember there were about 100 visitors already together

with us at the same time on Saturday -an hour before sunset. Luckily, the place around the blowhole was not overcrowded, so it was fine.

Anyway, there are blowholes in other places in the world as well, for example in New-Zealand I would be very curious about this one. And about any other ones of course. Have you seen other blowholes? Do you want to share your story and pictures? It would make us very happy!!

But until then watch this funny video about the blowhole working in tough times!)))

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A few weeks ago we got a little brochure called Epping Community News. Fortunately Attila had a look and showed it to me -otherwise it would have been thrown away almost immediately. There was one thing which was already interesting and made a little smile on our face. There was a box with some facts about the new railway line construction project in Sydney: what was promised and what is the reality…

This new line was built between Epping and Chatswood, and was opened not so long time ago, in February. We have made a few rides with it already as we are used to go to the Macquarie Shopping Centre sometimes, especially when we need something with good quality and not from the `hot dollar` shops nearby.

You can even smell the rock flour of polished surfaces, and the whole construction is so big, that it almost seems empty; however it is used by more and more people every week. Maybe this was the original reason to let people use this line free of charge for a while (till 8^th June), I mean, to attract more potential travellers.

One of the most interesting things about this line for me is the way they designed the space for elevators and escalators in the three middle-stops. It seems unusually big, high/deep, and wide, so really `airy`. The power of the air conditioning is tremendous. Any way, it is not designed for people, who are afraid of heights, I am pretty sure…

Check out this video, it gives a good impression about the stop at Macquarie University, which is similar to the other two stops:

Here you can see that the escalators are not in a so called channel, but in a huge hall. Next to the escalator there is only a transparent plexiglass wall, so you can see pretty nicely the deepness around you or the other escalator above you. I recall how my legs were shaking for the first time when we were `travelling` up to the surface: I was scared a bit, so I had to catch the handrails on both sides. Attila who was standing behind me was laughing on me, of course))) It was a kind of adrenalin rush, so we decided to go down immediately -just for fun and adventure -, but this time with the elevator. This has a glass wall as well. We can tell you, it is also a nice experience to stand in front of the glass very closely, and the way up to the surface is even better, because it is going relatively fast and you can feel the deepness again. So I think, it is a challenging construction. I am just wondering how others feel themselves for the first time arriving at these stations…

But these are only our personal feelings, so here are the facts about the project itself!

After a look in the brochure I felt I had to check out the information on other websites on Internet. So I made my short research, for example on Wikipedia and I read some parts of the Action for Transport 2010, and I put the information together. I think there was a little difference between them, but the main issue did not change.

About the railway line between Epping and Chatswood, I can tell you, that this is a `link` between two lines running from south to north, a few stops before they reach each other in Hornsby.

This kind of `link` was already designed by Bradfield in the 20s, but the project was postponed because of the Great Depression. Then, a few decades later, the plan got being discussed again in the 90s. It was announced in 1998 that a new railway line would be built between Chatswood and Parramatta, through Epping. This was planned to be ready in 2006, it would be 28 km long and cost 1.4 billion dollars.

This was the shiny start…But in 2003 it became clear, that they could only build half of the line, ending in Epping, which means a 12.5 km long railway. That is the same line we have now. It was planned for old Tangara trains as well, but in 2007 it was revealed that these types can not operate because of the `steepness of the tunnel`. That is why OSCARS (Outer Suburban Cars -you see, Aussies really like acronyms) trains are operating now.

Then, in 2008 -two years after the railway should have been opened - during the first tests they realized that the sound in the tunnel is so loud -” sound levels on the train were 90 decibels, as loud as a 737 plane coming into land” - that they had to relay the “mats, connected to the rail tracks and concrete slabs to reduce noise “.(Wikipedia) This doubled the costs up to 2.4 billion dollars.

So briefly about the project: half of the line was built three years after planned and from twice as much money…But I definitely like it)))

Source:

Epping to Chatswood railway line

Action for Transport 2010

Railway-technology.com

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When you look at postcards of Sydney, the first two icons you will see are the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but the third one is probably the Sydney Tower. Even if you spend just a few days in Sydney, the Tower is certainly worth a visit.
The Tower has two restaurants, a café and a lookout platform on four different levels. Probably the lookout platform is the most popular, and the sight can be really stunning. You can walk around and spend two minutes upstairs, but you can also take your time and spend two hours, that is what we did.
Because we live in Sydney, we could pick the right time to visit the Tower. You should go when the weather is nice and the sky is bright. We made sure to be in the Tower about half an hour before sunset started. It is a very popular attraction, so especially in the weekend – when it is possibly very crowded  - you have to wait some time to get into the lift that brings you up, which actually takes two minutes.
During daylight you have a perfect view on the harbour and all the bays, all the way to the Ocean. Unfortunately the Harbour Bridge and Opera House are half hidden behind the skyscrapers, but with some patience you can find many well known places like Town Hall, Hyde Park, Darling Harbour or even the famous Coca-Cola sign on Kings Cross…

The sunset from the Tower is really stunning and very special as the Sun disappears behind the mountains, while the sky colours red and orange. During the twilight all the city lights are turning on, and you start wondering how long the people in the skyscrapers keep working, as all the office lights are on as well. You can use free binoculars as well –there are many of them –   they can zoom in so much that you can possibly see your friends walking on Watsons Bay, close to the ocean.
Sunset goes very fast, so about half an hour later it is completely dark which gives another completely different sight. Sydney by night is a very different Sydney. The harbour and ocean disappear in the dark, but the large buildings and roads become much more obvious because of the large amount of traffic.
In case you want to make pictures, be sure to bring a tripod as you will need long exposure times, but the results can be truly rewarding.

If all this is not enough, you can pop-up your ticket and experience the sky-walk. You get a special suite and a guide will bring you to a different platform. Here you can really feel the wind, hear the sounds of the city and enjoy the view directly, not only from behind a window.

Finally, don’t forget: there is the OzTrek included in your ticket! It is an active audio-visual show that shows you some typical parts of Australia. The highlight is a very `energetic` film, with huge screens around you and moving chairs.  We recommend you not to eat just before going inside, it is a quite rough bumpy ride and you will be shaken around a bit.

• http://www.sydneytower.com.au/
• 305 m high
• 2^nd highest lookout platform in the Southern Hemisphere
• Opened to the public in August 1981
• Opening hours: Sunday to Friday: 9:00am to 10:30pm, Saturday: 9:00am to 11:30pm
• Single tickets from 15 to 25 AUD (combination tickets including Tower/Aquarium/Wildlife World have discount)

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