Leaving the coast, we ventured inland toward our next anticipated stop at Macquarie (mi-quarry) Pass National Park.  Like so many other landmarks, businesses, institutions and other entities in Australia, the park and pass are named for Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, a Scottish army officer who served as colonial governor of New South Wales (NSW) in the early 1800s and who is credited with guiding the colony from a penal outpost to a free settlement.  Opened in 1898, Macquarie Pass is a five-mile section of highway that traverses the Illawarra Range with a steep, serpentine strip of asphalt, fraught with hairpin turns where drivers of buses and trucks often have to start into the turn, reverse, and go forward again to make the curve.  Occasionally the busy road narrows to a single lane, elevating one's interest in what vehicles may be rounding from the next bend. The pass is notorious for accidents, and motorcyclists, who find the road too enticing to resist, are often involved.

Hugging the left side of a single lane, wondering what's coming around that curve

Although loathe to take our eyes from this challenging road, occasional sidewise glances revealed spectacular scenery through the pass with colorful sandstone outcrops, towering trees of many varieties, and huge ferns.  We had expected to encounter a visitor center, where we would stop and take a walk to get a closer look at some of these wonders, but alas, there was none.  And before we knew it, we were exiting the pass and the park and on our way to Fitzroy Falls just 15 miles away.

Fitzroy Falls

Located in Morton National Park (there seem to be lots of these), Fitzroy Falls was named for another colonial governor whose name, though not as ubiquitous as Macquarie, is frequently seen in Australia as well.  This 265-foot cascade thunders over the edge of an escarpment where the mild-mannered Yarrunga Creek tumbles into the valley below and flows into the Kangaroo River.  The fall was more impressive than we anticipated given the A$3.00 cost of parking, which included admission for two. As an aside, Australia does seem to be very generous with the national park designation.  We had already driven through two in the space of 20 miles on our way to Royal this morning.

Pushing on we reconnected with the Hume Highway which traces through the NSW region known as the Southern Highlands and into the Australian Capital Territory.  Much like America's District of Columbia, though more than tenfold its size, the ACT was ceded by New South Wales when the new nation of Australia decided to forestall competition between Melbourne and Sydney by creating a new city to be its capital.  Unlike Washington, DC, the area leading up and adjacent to Australia's capital city is very pastoral with one after another large flocks of sheep grazing in roadside pastures.

Arriving just before sunset, we checked into the East Hotel.  Though the highest rated hotel in this city of 391,000, the hotel has a stark, dark decor that evinces the gloomy atmosphere of a dungeon.  With one recessed light in a 400-sq.ft. room, one wonders whether this is a "bring your own light" kind of establishment.

Tomorrow we'll see what we can of the capital city before flying off to Tasmania the following morning.

Road Noise:

Perhaps because they live in a country where so many things can go so terribly wrong, Australians post warning signs for all manner of risks.  In the places we've visited, we haven't encountered any signs about the risks of all the dangerous animals here, but most everything else seems to be covered, even the hazard of letting your small child fall into the toilet.