TAKING a day off the coastal hike, I set off in the early morning to a past haunt where I first stayed in the inner western suburb of Dulwich Hill. At the top of the hill I discovered the hostel where I had stayed for several weeks when I had first arrived in Sydney back in 1997. It had significantly deteriorated in the decades since I had stayed there, and reading reviews of the place it had gone very much downhill. A quick glance at the front entrance was enough for me, so I headed back towards the city stopping at Waterloo for a few hours before taking the train out west to Penrith.
The hilly terrain the city and inner west are famous for gradually eased into a sweeping plain. The clouds pervading the coast gave way to a clear sky and the temperature rose to a little over thirty degrees. The city itself has not experienced any temperatures over thirty degrees since February with what is turning out to be quite a cold summer. The west on the other hand gets very warm, with temperatures rising up to 48 degrees in some heatwaves.
I eventually reached Penrith where I did have a little time to explore before taking the train all the way back into the city - a very long journey for anyone living out there needing to commute each day.
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