A NSW South Coast Spring

Jeannie and Grant Hemphill brought their children Jasmine and Joel to spend a few days in the Wollongong area in late October 2010. They saw and soaked in a world so different form north-west Sydney, where they reside, and here are some of the captured impressions, covering Austinmer Beach, the UOW Wollongong Campus and the Wollongong Botanical Gardens.

Whirlwind in Wollongong

Many parts of Planet Earth had witnessed a flare up in climate related natural disasters

in recent times.  The Illawarra coast of New South Wales experienced one in early spring this year when a combination of high winds, quick temperature changes and its locational vulnerability to the open oceans

caused a bit of havoc. Above, the UOW Wollongong Campus saw tree branches being brought down half blocking an inner circuit road.

The metal sheets on top of the fitness equipment specialists tore over from another building across Keira Street in Wollongong, but not before destroying the windscreen of the petite black coloured car which happened to be parked in their path.

An example of uprooting near the freeway from the Gong towards Sydney.

The roof tiles of this shop house at the southern end of Wollongong CBD could not withstand the

gusty winds.

Snacks, Breakky and More

In most of South-east Asia, there is this strong concept - and practice - of having supper, the meal before one turns in for the night, a kind of night cap without the alcohol, but with the oil, the spices and more.
Apart from feeding the palate, it is also a social ritual, an opportunity to take in the cool breezes of late evening in lands that endure much humidity and day time temperatures above thirty degrees Celsius.  Supper supports economic activity and is a micro-economic forerunner of the stimulus that post GFC, several nations have implemented.

In contrast, across the Great Southern Land, Australian residents still find it relatively difficult to locate and secure food commercially sold after 9pm, whether in smaller conurbations like Wollongong, NSW or even in the capital cities. Oh ya, there is the ever open Seven-Elevens or petrol stations that offer warmed up frozen prepacks, or the shish kebabs sold by enterprising stall holders at midnight. Most of the action takes place much earlier in the day, perhaps to serve as winter warmers, quick lunch bites or casual brunch meals for those who can afford to while the time beside oceans, rivers and busy city pavements.  The food can be as varied as in a Moroccan market or Italian piazza, and no longer confined to pies, pasta or chikos.

Whether it is the weekend treat of melt-in-the-mouth cake slices with a dash of butter (from a Parramatta, NSW cafe), or a steaming spicy bowl of har mee (prawn flavoured soup noodles) from Lee Garden at the HSBC Centre along George Street in Sydney CBD, the best time slot is between 11am and 3pm to savour them when you find yourself in Australia.

A bento-styled serving of Vietnamese crispy skinned fried chicken (above, from the Golden Tower in Kingsford) or a wholesome and warmed up potato and chicken pie (below, from Out For Lunch in the UOW Wollongong Campus) are welcome on cold and windy weather days.

For those on the run, at work, business or for leisure, sushi rolls (above) are perceived as healthy, inexpensive and easy snacks. One can broaden the experience of the palate on a hot summer's day by drinking fresh coconut juice from Fiji or finish off after a meal by having a light sago jelly.  The selection int he image above is from The Oriental Tucker in Parramatta.

For a sit-down lunch, try the bean sprouts stir fried with Portuguese-inspired salted fish flakes, accompanied with rice, Malaysian or Singapore style, at the Sambal Restaurant in North Ryde, NSW.