Heading for the mountains

I hope you like looking at photos, because that's what I have in store for you this posting. Lots of photos (taken by Pam and me) of flowers, foliage, lichens, water cascades and more, all of them a highlight of our wonderful day spent with friends at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens at Mount Tomah.

This is our 'cool climate' botanic garden, as it does get very chilly (and occasionally snowy) in winter up here in the mountains. The spectacular spring flowers are mostly South African proteas of various kinds (although there is a NSW Waratah as well among our pix). Pam's camera kept on heading for the lichens (I expect to see some paintings of them in coming months), while I gave my iPhone a thorough battery-flattening during our post-lunch walk. At the end of the post I have a few notes on how to get there, etc. And whatever you do, book a table at the restaurant there. It truly is fine dining up in the hills. 

Finally, one of my infamous pan shots courtesy of You Tube, looking over the gardens on what was a beautifully warm but unfortunately hazy day.

Here's the details.
Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is on the Bells Line of Road, which runs from North Richmond/Kurrajong over to Lithgow. The Gardens are a few kilometres past Bilpin. It took us a bit under two hours to drive there from Marrickville, and I do suspect that October and November, when all the spring blooms are out, is one of the two peak seasons (the other is in April and May, when the autumn colour is on show). 

The restaurant there is truly a fine dining experience, not cheap, but as good as you'd find anywhere in Sydney, and all the produce used in the restaurant is locally sourced. If your budget is tight, pack a picnic basket, as it's a super picnic spot.

Here's a link to the Gardens' website: http://www.mounttomahbotanicgarden.com.au