Melbourne final days

After our quiet day woke up to some high cloud and typed up blog while I remembered what we had been doing. Weather cleared up so we went back to the Yarra valley and one of the small vineyards we had visited where they were doing lunches with a jazz quartet playing on the lawn.

Quite delightful and some local made ravioli and pinot noir later everything was right with the world. Unfortunately the clouds gathered just a bit early at 3pm so we came home through pouring rain, in theory to have a barbecue! However grilled meat later and some more wine and all was well with the world having been joined by Joanne one of Tricia's other daughters.

Fortunately woke up to better day on Monday and ventured back to Melbourne, got off the train at parliament and then walked to the gaol which held Ned Kelly amongst other felons, famous armour on show

so pretty interesting. They also had some details of a lady inmate, I shan't tell you what she was there for!!

To the Greek precinct for lunch (no good looking waiter though) before heading through Treasury gardens where Cook's cottage is situated, brought all the way from Scotland to show where the 'founding father' of Australia lived before his voyage.

There is also a Tudor village presented by Lambeth in thanks for food help after the 2^nd World War (a bit plastic but no doubt the thought was there!!).

Then on to the river where, as it was Labour day (bank holiday) fair in full swing with rides to make my stomach curl.

A different take on the city with the sun shining

and had supper on federation Square in an Italian restaurant specialising in skewers of fish and meat which with salad, chips and wine was a great way to end the day.

We began our trip to Phillip Island famous for it's Penguin Beach on Tuesday arriving just before lunch. Has villages called Cowes and Ventnor so very Isle of Wight like! We stopped first at a surfing beach, tested the water, very cold but wet suits obviously helped the surfers.

Sorry tried everything to save a zoomed photo showing this guy close up but couldn't save and upload so just have to imagine!

There are many lovely beaches

and after looking at some we checked into our hotel and changed into warmer gear and set off first for 'the Nobbies' a headland with islands off the south west coast

and saw a wallaby on the way to the penguin coast so have done well with indigenous wildlife!

Unfortunately photographing the penguins is for the professionals but we had great view from sky box as the penguins after a hard day fishing for food struggled with the rip tides on the beach before eventually managing to stand up and make a dash for the relative safety of the scrub at the back where they make their burrows. There are now so many that some have a very lengthy walk up the hill watched by us humans! Final day and after early coffee went down to Pyramid point named for obvious reasons!

Then onto another nature reserve area which includes a heritage farm with a few old breeds of animals and some great views before

arriving in  Rhyll for lunch which is a small sailing village

to a restaurant with lovely views too!!!!!!

Great end to our little side trip so back during the afternoon to pack ready for early start home tomorrow, will take a long time as going back to Auckland before heading to UK. It has been a wonderful trip and I could sooo easily just carry on travelling! Hope you have enjoyed all my notes look forward to seeing many of you in the not too distant future, you will be tested, but first I look forward to reading it all myself!

Signing off for the last time (this trip!!!!!!)

Janet

Melbourne part one

Flight from Sydney interesting for smoking mountains (hopefully not the beginning of forest fires)

Tricia waiting at airport waving flag and easy journey back to her daughter's home where we are cat sitting for Noodles.

Lovely house, they are a very fortunate couple to have such a spacious home at their age, so thank-you Marian and Mark and hope you have great time skiing in Canada.

Off to Yarra valley to do wine tasting, weather rather cloudy but very enjoyable tried a couple of large wineries, rather corporate, and two small wineries with much better wines and in one case we met the winemaker. However, we did get to see in one of the larger wineries, the grapes being taken into the crusher as they were harvesting already on the south facing slopes of the valley.

We had lunch in a cheese making dairy very low key and all the better for it, and made it back for a fish supper at home.

Public transport bus,train and tram to and around Melbourne. They have a free shuttle bus about their city

and we got off for lunch at Lygon Street which is the Italian area and saw an amazing pastry shop with gateaux to die for, (but resisted!) called Brunetti's and found a good pizza place for lunch. Continued on the bus to Dockland/Harbour town area now trendy apartments

Then caught tram to get full experience to get back to centre past an 'old' building i.e. more than 100 years

and went to the Immigration museum, interesting to read about how they controlled entry including a 'dictation' test given in any language they chose, so if didn't like the look of you gave it in a foreign language! Crossed the river, still the Yarra, to the south bank where there is also an arts centre so much like London! Also home to Eureka Tower, tallest in the city where you can go up to the top and walk on a glass floor looking down over the city, not Tricia's thing so I didn't test it!

Weather cloudy all day but didn't rain so quite good for sightseeing but photo's not in Sydney class.

As the weather predicted to get better Tricia offered to drive down the Great Ocean Road the following day which proved fairly epic. Started off cloudy and it is a fair way from where we started in the northern suburbs. Interestingly, quite a large part of the road looks like this

when I would have expected it to look like this!

The road was built by returning war veterans and there is a good memorial to their efforts

After stopping for good fish lunch in Apollo Bay and then turned off the inland(!) road to take a road to Cape Otway where the oldest lighthouse in Australia is situated. On the way Tricia said look out for Koalas and lo and behold I did!

Having seen them in the reptile farm in Sydney quite strange to see them in trees by the side of the road saw 3 altogether so chuffed. The weather had cleared up by this time so lovely views of the coast from the lighthouse,

which I climbed and Tricia stayed on the ground to take my picture.

It also had a 2^nd World War radar station, brings home that it really was a world war seems so far from what I think of as the war being in Europe, totally ignoring the USA/Japan aspect!

Back on the road to The Twelves Apostles rocks (a few missing now) as limestone being eroded by the sea, fairly spectacular high cliffs and rock formations and walking back from one of the viewing stations saw an echidna so good day for wild life as well.

Long drive back on inland roads and having left at 9.00am back about 10.15pm having stopped for only about 15mins on the way back for coffee and cheese roll, really felt for Tricia who had to do all the driving. Slumped on the sofa for a well earned glass of wine and news of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, seems the Pacific ring is well on the move at present, glad I've already done LA !

Quiet home day on saturday which was also sunny, so white wine and a book, what better!!

Sydney and a sunset

Arrived in Sydney to lovely sunny afternoon so great introduction. Had a chance to view some of the skyscrapers from my hotel room

whilst doing quick change so could head to the opera house.Ended up walking as not that far took just over 20 mins and gave a chance to judge distances on map.

Picked up ticket and then went for vastly expensive meal by the water before the performance began. Auditorium not as large as London but well laid out with comfy seats, not so impressed with the performance unfortunately, not good enough to stop my tiredness from travelling plus additional 2 hour time difference from keeping my eyes open all the time! Tried the subway on the way back which works pretty well.

Gentle start to the morning, no fixed call so eventually left hotel at 10am (a record for the last 3 weeks!) and headed for the museum which had some good displays not only of indigenous population history but also dinosaurs, gem stones and birds and insects, quite a mix. Picked up the hop on hop off bus outside and started my tour, weather dull and had rained while in the museum but stayed dry and got some pictures of the architecture both modern and old with rather attractive small cottage type houses with balconies and all close together.

Got off the bus next at the maritime museum which had a very interesting exhibition on the child immigrants from Britain which went on up to 1967,

kids only 10 to 14 in age being transported in reasonable luxury by ship and then moved to outlying farms and missions for minimal education and lots of work, some managed to make it through but quite a few rather sad stories from them not really feeling they belonged anywhere. Outside there was a replica of The Endeavour full size but still very small alongside a destroyer and interesting submarine amongst others.

Walked around Darling harbour and then to the Chinese Garden which is a lovely quiet area in the middle of the city and clearly a favourite place for weddings, two brides on the premises one being married while I was wandering around.

Also passed this 'fountain' rather more successful than the Princess Diana one!

Back on the bus to The Rocks area which had a market going on so wandered around that, fairly touristy but some interesting things and older properties right by the famous bridge.

Got nearly back to the hotel but decided to try out the monorail first so did a more or less circular tour on that above street level, picked up some shopping and had quiet night in as have to be up very early for wine tour tomorrow.

Up at 6.30am, not my time of day, but first stop was the reptile farm where there was more coffee (!) and we fed kangaroo's

and saw a baby koala up close

as well as the endangered Tasmanian devil

and Galapagos turtle.

Also more surprisingly pure bred dingos which are more and more rare and tired!

Continuing our journey on some back roads through the wooded hills and some farmland we saw kangaroos in the wild, white cockatoos, heard the bell bird (tinkling sound) and saw eagles, quite a bonus. Tasted quite a few wines before lunch never a good idea(!) an interesting slightly oaked Chardonnay much better than unoaked to my surprise and a good Shiraz.. More wines with lunch and then more after lunch where the sparkling ones were best both white and red to my surprise. Hazy remembrance of trip back to Sydney! Did revive enough to go out for supper to Darling Harbour for the view.

Nice late start again, for walk to circular quay to pick up the ferry across the bay to Manly which has a sea coast so quite a few surfers out plus a surfing school.

Walked round to Shelly beach in the distance

for some sun time then wandered around meeting some spiders (look away now the squeamish)

on way back to catch return ferry. Walked round the quay to catch evening dinner cruise on tall ship,

lots of other sailing boats out as lovely evening so good pictures of the opera house, bridge and sunset.

Great end to my short time here.