Weekly photo challenge: tour guide

One of the things I love about Sydney, my adopted home town, is the beautiful surrounds and the fact that there are more than 50 national parks, conservation areas or nature reserves within easy drive of the city.

Last weekend, on a whim, we decided to explore the Blue Gum Walking Trail. After a short detour past one of my favorite noodle joints in Chatswood, we navigated to the trail’s starting point at the Berowra Valley Bushland Park. Within steps, we were surrounded by trees and just minutes after leaving a busy city behind, we were in the forest.

On previous walks on the area, I’ve seen wallabies and other wildlife but on that day, the skinks were out in force, enjoying the summer sun.

Our hike took us across the a number of creeks with some well-places rocks providing an excellent crossing point.

At the end of the walk, we came across some ducks splashing around in the river, including one preening his feathers and showing off in front of me.

The Happy Gwailo and I live a fairly busy life working pretty high stress jobs so we always appreciate our down time. We are happiest when we can spend it out in the bush. I recently read about the Japanese philosophy of shinrin yoku or, literally, forest bathing. Spending time in nature reportedly helps to lower the heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress and contribute to your overall wellbeing. No wonder we enjoy being out in the bush so much, and living in a city like Sydney, we are lucky there’s so much green space nearby.

This post was inspired by the weekly photo challenge: Tour Guide.