# Paul Leonards Blog > This is my photo blog where I publish my photography and ideas for retirement ↓. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages - [About](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/about.md) - This page contains bits and pieces of a personal nature. In the Beginning........ I was born during the WW ll Pacific War when Australia was under threat of invasion by the Japanese military, in St Lukes Anglican private hospital in Sydney's Kings Cross. My dad was a GP who became a pioneer anaesth… - [Hobbies](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/hobbies.md) - I have had a lifelong interest in photography which has provided the rich material for blogging, my newest hobby. In 2010 a friend introduced us to day walking clubs which has been life changing. I am a member of the Sydney Ferry Appreciation group for photo opportunities as we travel on the ferrie… - [Index](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/index.md) - This is a big project. Some of these categories may not have been fully populated yet. We travelled to about 27 countries so there are a lot of memories. Click on the subject you want by scrolling up to the site's top navigation bar above. Featured: Australian Wild Flowers Travel Index (incomplete) - [My Library](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/library.md) - Click in the bottom right corner of images to make them smaller. One of the best ways to keep your mind sharp in retirement is reading challenging books. You have to decide on a genre which interests you and find stimulating books by researching awards for that genre. My reading interest is mostly… - [Retirement](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/retirement.md) - For most people, a lot of their life social interaction revolves around work and work colleagues. Retirement comes as shock when that interaction is gone. It is critical to a happy and healthy retirement that pro-active steps are taken to create new social interactions. This takes a bit of effort.… - [Sports](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/sports.md) - I have been involved in five sports in adult life. Sailing I have had a lifelong love of sailing which I passed onto my father and my son. My first experience of sailing at 15 was to find myself sitting on the bottom of an upturned small sailing boat, belonging to a son of one of my father's collea… - [Tests](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/tests.md) - NPA Antarctica Antarctic peninsula - [Travel](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/travel.md) - Since getting married in London in 1969, we have visited 27 countries together. Highlights have been Antarctica, South Korea and Cappadocia. From London we had an "East Only" Qantas ticket but we could get off anywhere as long as we kept going east to Australia. We are "adventurous" tourists not "a… ## Posts - [$2.50 Day Out - Watsons Bay](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/2-50-day-out-watsons-bay.md) - One of the best Sydney outings you can do. Watsons Bay is near the south entrance to Sydney Harbour. We had lunch at Doyle's famous sea food restaurant (centre) so a $2.50 day out ended costing $130 for two. There are cheaper eating options at the Watsons Bay Hotel or on the wharf. Don't forget to… - [Country of Month - South Korea](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/country-of-month-south-korea.md) - Seoul is only 8okm from the North Korean border (which we visited. See top image). What must it do to your head living so close to a nuclear armed weird dictatorship fixed in the 1950s? All the historic buildings were destroyed during the Korean war and have been replicated with a vaguely Hollywood… - [Berowra Wild Flowers Walk](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/berowra-wild-flowers-walk.md) - We did an 8km organised club walk from Berowra station and a bus to the start of the walk. The wild flowers were stunning. The track is very rough underfoot with magnificent district views. Suitable only for experienced bush walkers. There are many tracks in the area and it would be easy to get los… - [$2.50 Day Out - Kiama](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/2-50-day-out-kiama.md) - Historic Kiama is about 90 minutes from Sydney. It has an unique coastal charm as well as the Blow Hole. We had lunch at Diggies near the Blow Hole. - [Iconic Walks - Blue Mountains](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/iconic-walks-blue-mountains.md) - The Prince Henry Cliff Walk spans roughly 8 kilometers, connecting Scenic World in Katoomba to Gordon Falls in Leura while remaining high on the plateau edge above the Jamison Valley. It is about 2 hours west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains listed World Heritage Area. Stout shoes or boots essential… - [Oops!](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/oops.md) - Maybe there was a shortage of Flight Controllers? - [Good Reads](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/good-reads.md) - These are my latest fictional crime novel reads, all excellent. "Killing Floor" is the first book in the famous Jack Reacher series and the story behind the new Amazon Prime show. "Killer Instinct" is a riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success. Lee Child describes "Thirteen" as… - [Iconic Walks - 3 Bridges](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/iconic-walks-3-bridges.md) - Begin at Milson's Point Station. Walk Harbour Bridge / Pyrmont Bridge / ANZAC Bridge. End with city bus at west end of ANZAC Bridge or Jubilee Park light rail station at south end of Blackwattle Bay. - [Australian Native Wildflowers](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/australian-native-wildflowers.md) - Check out my native wildflowers collection from 16 years of bush walks. Post this URL in your browser and scroll down: paulleonardsblog.net/hobbies Enjoy! - [Sydney- Things to Do](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/sydney-things-to-do.md) - This is a new tour offered by the NPWS on South Head. There is a similar long standing tour on North Head (in background). - [Iconic Walks - North Head](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/iconic-walks-north-head.md) - This is the view from the north headland at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. It is accessed from Manly wharf. You can also take a spectacular ferry ride from Circular Quay at the north end of the CBD and a bus up to the lookout. A North Head circuit walk from Manly wharf is about 10km and can also i… - [Fam at Perisher](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/fam-at-perisher.md) - Grandma started skiing at about 8 years old. The rest are later ski tragics. - [Schools' Choral Concert](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/schools-choral-concert.md) - We attended the NSW Public High Schools' Choral Concert at the Sydney Opera House in June 2026 where our grandson was singing with a group from his high school. It was spine tingling to hear about 1000 young people singing together supported by their own symphony orchestra. - [$2.50 Day Out](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/a-2-50-day-out.md) - Our group had a Probus $2.50 day out by fast train and bus from Penrith Station to the Penrith Regional Art Gallery and lunch at the riverside "Cafe at Lewers" which was excellent. An interesting collection with local links. - [Winter Feast](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/winter-feast.md) - This was the annual winter feast of our Probus club at the Abbortsford Rowing Club on Sydney's Parramatta River. There was an impossible (for some) amount of food which was excellent as was the service. I even won the lucky door prize, a unique event. A wonderful ferry trip on a champagne Sydney wi… - [Wolverine](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/wolverine.md) - The things you see on a Sydney ferry trip. This guy was shooting a video for his YouTube channel "Wolverine Does Sydney". He didn't really impress as a Super Hero and his "ears" kept falling down but good luck to him anyway. - [Ski Club AGM 2026](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/ski-club-agm-2026.md) - We had our club's 60th AGM late June 2026 at the historic village of Collector, NSW, about 40 min drive north from Canberra, to accommodate our Canberra members, with lunch in the Dome at the Lake George Winery. The acoustics in the Dome were amazing. You could hear someone on the other side of the… - [NPA club walk](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/npa-club-walk.md) - On June 17 we did a 12km flat walk along the north side of the Parramatta River to Parramatta (in background) the colonial centre of Sydney in the 1700s. The river is now very shallow and the ferries can only operate to Parramatta wharf on high tides; also note the narrowness of the channel to the… - [Day Walking in the Namadji National Park](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/day-walking-in-the-namadji-national-park.md) - We spent three days at the end of May 2026 walking with a group (N=20) in the Namadji National Park near Canberra. This koala enclosure is in the Eucalyptus Forest section. These koalas are as agile as monkeys in their tree environment. We visited the NASA Space Tracking Station about 15 years ago.… ## Optional - [RSS Feed](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/rss/) - [Sitemap](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/sitemap.xml) - [Full content of pages and posts](https://www.paulleonardsblog.net/llms-full.txt)