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Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong, Australia
Taken around February 1997

Wollongong is located about 80km south of Sydney. It is approximately an hour away by car and an hour and a half by train. The city is nestled between the mountains and the sea and the natural beauty of the area is breathtaking.

Within the second week upon arrival (to the university campus), we were taken around on a familiarisation trip and were also bused to visit the Nan Tien Temple (above), a famous landmark in Wollongong. Situated about 6km south of Wollongong, Nan Tien Temple is the largest Buddhist Temple in the Southern Hemisphere. It was my first time to enter a chinese temple. Peaceful, large temple grounds with beautifully landscaped gardens and classical architecture. The picture on the right shows the Pagoda, a stupa eight storeys high, which served as a burial place for the ashes of devotees.

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Symbio Koala Gardens in Helensburgh, Wollongong
23rd March 1997

Located just a few stations away towards the north of Wollongong was the Symbio Koala Gardens, a relatively small reserve where visitors can pat or merely look at native farmyard animals. There were about 120 species of animals which includes dingo, emu, ostrich, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils and koalas to name just a few. There were also demonstrations relating to snakes, wombats, eagles and koala handling, cow and goat milking, and the bottle feeding of lambs and kids.

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