Yesterday, I was planning to try surfing for the first time with my friend, Keith -- but when we got to the beach, we discovered that the waves were essentially flat. It just wasn't going to happen.
So we opted to go for a hike, and Keith suggested Royal National Park, located just south of Sydney. The train cuts through some of the land, so I had an idea what to expect. I certainly wasn't disappointed. The forest is decently dense, but the signs of land management are evident if one looks carefully. I think the right balance has been achieved in that regard. There are trails for hikers of all abilities. We took a trail that led to some nice cliff overhangs and eventually wound down to a small beach inlet containing a squatters colony. (We later found out from a local that during the Great Depression some of the coal miners built the shacks there and lived off the land and sea in order to survive, and have somewhat of a historical and unofficial claim to the land.) From there we headed back up to the top of the escarpment to circle back to our entry point. The hike was a little longer than we anticipated, but still a great workout! The total distance we traveled through the park was about 13 kilometers.
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