The fire road to the swimming hole was quite steep, and I lost at least one beer along the way.

Several large cities around the world blend tame and wild elements within the same boundaries. Portland, where I attended university, is certainly one of them. Its park, within a 15-minute bike ride of the city centre, covers more than 5,000 acres and offers some of Portland’s best cycling. Sydney, where I now live, has similarly impressive attractions. Yesterday, I visited Warragamba Park, just outside Penrith, after a morning of work at the Richmond campus, where I also caught up with Nathan.

I left home early so I could reach the campus before 8:30am. After a pleasant drive, I arrived and helped haul equipment out to the trees for the experiments, then retreated into the demountable to plug in my laptop and read. My former co-worker Nathan, now a faculty member at Boston University, visited the site, and we discussed the finer points of carbon and technology. A few hours later, once the experiments were complete, Nathan, Remko, Daisy, and I helped push the tractor back and pack away the equipment. I locked the gates and left for Warragamba Park.

My route took me south from Richmond through Penrith via Mulgoa Road, then to a small group of shops in the village of Wallacia. I bought some beer and snacks, turned towards Silverdale, and then took a dirt road to the right towards the swimming hole. The fire road was quite steep, and I lost at least one beer along the way. The swimming hole reminded me of home, and I opened the snacks and beer. Four hours of hiking through streams, being stung by strange insects, and applying three coats of sunscreen later, I said my farewells, hiked back up the trail, and went home. Apart from the countless shards of broken glass around the water, it was a great little adventure.