Along with the on-going issues of my wife’s thyroid illness, she is also being treated for a problem with the Achilles tendon in her right foot. This has necessitated weekly visits to a physio at Campbelltown Hospital, about 60 kms north of our place. The journey there and back is a pleasant one with good quality roads and little traffic. We have also combined the weekly chore with lunch at the always-excellent Appin Bakery and a great deal of exploring of the backroads on the Southern Highlands.
Today was a little different in that we didn’t have a lot of time after Helena finished her physio as I had an appointment back down here to help a mate install a recalcitrant printer (don’t start me on Canon printers, what a nightmare). However, the weather was superb and there was time for a leisurely lunch. Instead of eating at the bakery as we have been doing, we bought lunch there but moseyed down the Appin Road and ate at the Cataract Dam (see above). The picnic area was deserted and we had the whole place to ourselves. After eating we drove down to the dam itself and took some happy snaps before heading back to Wollongong. It couldn’t have been more pleasant (see photos in gallery below).
However, not long after entering the gate of the dam area my wife remarked that it was a little like returning to the scene of the crime. You may wonder what she meant but the picture below may give you a clue.
You see, it was at this very place, in 1974, that I rode a motorcycle for the first time. It was at our church’s Sunday School picnic and my mate Bob Holden, turned up on his brand new TX500 Yamaha. His wife and daughter came in the car but, as it was a beautiful day, Bob rode the bike. I had seen it already as Bob had just returned from 2 years working in the mines at Mount Isa and had returned with it, plus a band new Holden Premier. I was never interested in bikes but I loved the car!
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and, as the conversation ebbed and flowed, Bob said to me, “You know, you really should try riding a bike, it’s great fun.” Now Bob was a car fanatic like me and I had been more than just a little taken aback at his conversion to motorcycling, but I wan’t really interested. As the afternoon wore on, Bob persisted, assuring me that it was easy, the controls were simple, it wasn’t going to fall over, etc, etc (I’m sure the clip from “On Any Sunday” is playing in your head.)
Eventually, more to shut him up than anything else, I agreed to a quick lesson followed by a lap of the car park. My gear was totally unsuitable (as you can see), the TX had a very long-travel clutch lever and it required quite a lot of revs to get it off the mark without stalling it, but I persevered until I got it and one lap of the car park became two, became six and I’m sure you can see where this is heading.
So today’s visit to the Dam was the first time since that fateful day, nearly 40 years ago, that I had been to this location. To say that it brought back many memories is an understatement. I am sure that, had my wife known that day what that little jaunt around the car park would lead to, she would have taken steps to ensure that it didn’t. From small things, big things grow.
On the way home we also stopped at the now-deserted Bulli Lookout and took some photos too. All in all a very nice day and it was very cool to return to the seat of the “crime”