These boots were made for walking.....

Thursday 19th October

Today, we hopped on a bus into the city of Sydney. Bright blue sky and temperature of 28 degrees. Starting at Martin Place, we made our way to Circular Quay from where the ferries take commuters across the harbour or go to Manly. 

The city was vibrant and bustling with tourists and workers alike. The iconic Opera House was on our route, where we partook of an ice cool beer, then we walked around the huge harbour by the Botanic Gardens, accompanied by the lunchtime rush of office joggers! 

At a bend in the bay is MacQuarie's seat where the wife of Governor MacQuarie would sit and contemplate life in the Harbour. From here, you could see across to Woolamaloo, where in the past, many new immigrants came ashore to start life in a new country -the £10 POMS. Now it is a naval base.

Completing our circuit, we returned to the city centre through the Botanic Gardens which were very well laid out and we saw many free roaming  ibis birds and rosellas chirruping in the trees. We visited a special exhibition at the Calyx Centre all about pollination. Did you know that bees see 'red' as ' black' and therefore do not pollinate red flowers? Instead, they prefer blue or lilac flowers.

Late afternoon, we caught the doubledecker train back to Rockdale.

Highlight of the day: having a beer at the Opera House whilst looking at the famous Harbour bridge.

Wednesday 18th October

On Wednesday, we followed the Princes Highway north along the coast through Nowra and stopped at Kiama for lunch by the lighthouse.

 Kiama is famous for its Blowhole but the wind must have been driving in the wrong direction for the sea to force up out of the hole. However, excitement was in store as we were able to spot quite a few baleen whales 'spouting' and frolicking in the bay. They are now making their way back to Antarctica. This has to be today's highlight.

We then continued towards Sydney taking the Tourist Drive which meant going along the seacliff bridge which is an engineering feat.

Our campsite for the next four nights is at Rockdale, a residential suburb south of the City.

Canberra to New South Wales

Saturday 14th October

On Saturday, we left Bright to make our way to Canberra. We had hoped to cross the Snowy Mountains but a late winter meant that there was still a possibility of snow chains being needed; not an option for us. Also by going via Canberra, we could visit Robbie and Alana ( Ron and Ann's son and daughter in law). We passed through Happy Valley which was very green and pretty with many cattle farms leading to the Kiewa Highway.

Once on the Hume Highway, I took a turn at driving and we stopped for lunch at Gundegai, which is famous for the story about a drover whose dray got stuck in mud and the bullocks broke the yoke. While they sorted out the problem, the drover's dog went to sit on the drover's tuckerbox (food box). This is now commemorated with a statue of the dog.

We arrived in Canberra, late afternoon, but due to many activities going on, our chosen campsite was full. However, we managed to get a pitch at the Exhibition site, which was basic but gave us a free view of the training run for the pony trotting.

Sunday 15th October

Sunday morning, we drove to the Anzac War Memorial, very impressive. The Anzac Parade which runs from the Memorial down to Parliament House has many statues commemorating the various wars that Australia has been involved in.

From there, we stopped at Lake Burley Griffin by the Carillon which was playing tunes.

 The main bell at the Carillon was made in Loughborough. After a picnic lunch here, we drove to the suburb of Belconnen where we visited Barbara, a friend of Dianna and Mike's. She is very bright and bubbly and gave us a warm welcome with tea and cake. We had a lovely conversation with her.

We made our way to another campsite, with time for a swim in the pool before going to Robbie's for dinner. They have a gorgeous little girl who was delightful.

Highlight of the day: Meeting up with friends.

Monday 16^th October

The day dawned beautifully sunny and warm and our route today was to take us to the New South Wales Coast. We headed for Bateman's Bay where we had to visit a dealer to repair the leaky toilet in the van. That done, we continued south as far as Bermagui which is a fishing port.

We also visited the historical village of Tilba where we had been nine years ago. We then turned back and stopped at Narooma for the night. It was a campsite separated from Handkerchief Beach by tall trees which were home to many rosella birds. We had a late afternoon walk on the beach before dinner.

Highlight of the day: Well, it has to be the repair of the loo, doesn't it!

Tuesday 17th October

Today, we woke up to bright blue sky again, very warm and we took the Tourist Drive northwards towards Bateman's Bay again. We passed an old quarry site where they had used the granite for building Sydney Harbour Bridge. We stopped at Moruya Heads for a walk on the beach and had a lunch stop at Mossy Point where we came across two old fishermen who were guttung their catch for the day and feeding the local seagulls, some gannets and a very hungry pelican!

Our stop for tonight is Ulladullah, on the headland and we have lovely pitch overlooking the harbour. We sat out for Happy Hour and the temperature was 31 degrees.

Highlight of the day: A kookaburra came to join me for Happy Hour, sitting on the van door.

All things BRIGHT and BEAUTYful.....

Friday started out a beautiful sunny day and we drove back to Porepunkah before turning up the Mount Buffalo National Park road,climbing up through the gum trees with tumbling waterfalls till we got to the Mount Buffalo Chalet which in Winter would be a hive of ski activity. There was a lookout from which we could see a wide vista of mountain ranges including Mt Bogong, Mount Arthur, Mt Hotham and Mt Feathertop, not forgetting Mt Kosciusko (Australia's highest mountain) in the far distance. These mountains are all densely covered in trees which gives of a blue haze. We have a painting of Mt Bogong at home, so we could put the scene into perspective with the painting.

As we got to a higher altitude, the gums became white and devoid of leaves and looked quite ghostly. We reached a car park where there were pulleys for the ski fields and the Horn mountain (1725m). Here, we turned around and stopped at Lake Catani for lunch before descending to the Ovens Valley. We then continued through Bright and the roads climbed up again to Tawonga Gap where we could look down on the town of Mt Beauty and the Kiewa Dam.

Bright is a beautiful town with many European firs and broad leaved trees which are very colourful particularly in Spring and Autumn.

We learned from the owner of the campsite that back in the 1930s, many Italians came to the Ovens Valley and bought up 10 acre lots to grow tobacco. Later, the Australian Government wanted to reduce the number of tobacco licences and the multiple operators in the Ovens Valley didn't receive new licences so they diversified and now the crops are mainly, chestnuts, walnuts, olives and grapes.

Highlight of the day: Being up amongst the mountains.

Food, Glorious Food... and Drink

What a tasty day!

Yesterday morning, we had an extra look round the town of Yarrawonga. Back in 1971, a friend offered to take me out for a drink in the evening in the town and the venue turned out to be at this Milk Bar (not a pub!) where I had a milk shake.

Heading back over the Murray river into New South Wales, we made our way to Corowa. This was where we had spent a weekend in 1972 for the Rutherglen Wine Festival. This time, we called in at Chambers' Winery, a family owned vineyard and we were shown around the cellar door by Vanetta. It was very interesting seeing all the old oak barrels and learning how the grape gets from vine to bottle. A few sips later, we left armed with some bottles of cabernet sauvigon and muscadelle.

Needing more substantial sustenance for lunch, we later had a great steak pie, an Aussie special!

Next port of call, was Beechworth, a living legacy of the 1860s gold-rush era. Many of the distinctive honey coloured public buildings still remain, including the courthouse and jail where Ned Kelly was charged and remanded for the murder of three Mansfield policemen. Beechworth is also very famous for its bakery. Yummy!

We then continued towards Bright in the Ovens Valley, driving through Myrtleford and Porepunkah, where we spent our honeymoon in 1973.

Back in the 1900s, many Italians farmed in The Ovens valley and their crop was mostly tobacco. There are still some drying sheds to be seen. However, today the crops of chestnuts, walnuts, apples and grapes are more likely to be found.

Again, we are camped just on the river bank and the owner of the site assured me we should be able to see platypuses at dusk.

Highlight of the day: Wine tasting. What else?!!

Cruising down the river....

From the Grampians we took a cross country route to Echuca, a historical port on the Murray River dividing Victoria from New South Wales. The Murray river rises on the slopes of Mount Kosciusko in the Snowy mountains and divides the two states as it flows for 2100kms before entering the sea near Adelaide SA. Historically, the river was very important for transporting logs and bales of wool to the ports.

The countryside we traversed was 180 degrees sky overlooking flat fields of wheat, sheep or cattle grazing land and Peter said: “Long straight roads, tall gum trees and blue skies.” The roads were very straight with no traffic except for some large roadtrucks. Some roads were gravel roads with a single width tarmac down the middle and one had to drive on the sandy side verge to avoid oncoming traffic. We passed the school bus at one stage, dropping children at their farms at the end of the school day. Some are quite a way away from the nearest town. The Captain allowed me to have a turn at driving the van today too.

The town of Echuca has a central main street like most country towns with a mixture of Victorian and modern architecture. The shops are shaded with wrought iron bedecked verandahs.

Many of the paddle steamers built in the 19^th century have been restored and it was on the PS Pevensey that we had a very pleasant morning cruise along the river Murray and then looked around the Discovery Centre explaining how Echuca Wharf developed and prospered. Echuca was the port used in the filming of 'All the Rivers Run' a TV series in 1982 and the PS Pevensey was the paddle steamer used in the filming of the series.

This afternoon, (Wednesday 11^th Oct), we travelled along the Murray valley to Yarrawonga where my mum and dad managed a hotel/botel on Lake Mulwala in the 70s. This complex has now been replaced by a very smart boating resort. Lake Mulwala is a large man made lake and there are still many tall tree stumps poking up out of the lake.

Highlight of the day: Cruising on the paddle steamer

The Grampians

The Grampians are a sandstone mountain range to the west of Melbourne and can be reached by a very good freeway for most of the way, passing through wheat and grazing country. We stopped the first night at Ballarat which owes its prosperity to the Gold Rush of the late 1800s. There are many grand Victorian buildings to be seen here.

Ballarat is also renowned for the famous Eureka Stockade rebellion when the gold diggers recognised the inequalities between themselves and the privileged who held the land and government. In 1854, about 800 miners, led by Peter Lalor, burnt their licences and built a stockade at Eureka, prepared to fight for their rights. The short lived rebellion was successful and the licence fee was abolished.

Halls Gap is a very popular small town in the heart of the Grampians and the starting point for some good walking trails. In Halls Gap, there is the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre which houses a poignant photographic history of the area's original inhabitants. Very interesting, with lots of artefacts and aboriginal paintings on display.

Early in the day, we visited the Silverband Falls following a trail through the bush. A very sensory walk as we heard and saw lots of different birds, especially cockatoos and the aroma from the gum and myrtle was all around.

The bushwalk we chose to do was starting from the Sundial car park and walking up to the Pinnacle overlooking Halls Gap. This starts as a gentle walk then makes its way up the hill through the bush and some fairly steep rocky steps. It is 2.1km from the car park and it took us an hour but the view was well worth the effort. Spectacular scenery!

(Many thanks to Louise for her delicious fruit cake which gave us much needed nourishment at the top). It took us a further hour and a bit to get back to the van and then down to the Lakeside Tourist Park where we were treated to flocks of cockatoos all around us and a mob of kangaroos who hopped into the campground in the early evening!

Highlight of the day: Reaching the top of The Pinnacle again.

Friends' Reunion in Melbourne

The next stop on our journey was Melbourne. We flew from Hobart to Melbourne with Virgin and the journey into the city and out to the eastern suburb of Croydon was very easy. It was interesting on the train journey passing through suburbs which we remembered, especially Hawthorn where we lived after we married.

We received a warm welcome from our friends – Ann and Ron, lots of catching up.

Tuesday dawned, a bright spring morning and we drove into the country visiting Warrandyte in the morning and Marysville later.

In February 2009, as we were leaving Australia last time, Marysville was virtually destroyed by the Great Bush Fire on what was called Black Saturday. Only the bakery survived. It is amazing how the town has been rebuilt and the vegetation regenerated. Near here is the Steveanson Waterfall which was in good flow. Driving through the very tall eucalyptus trees and the giant ferns was very impressive not to mention seeing kookaburras and cockatoos.

 

On Wednesday, we caught the train into the city and wandered along the Yarra River along South Bank, hopped on the free tram to Fitzroy Gardens where Captain Cook's cottage stands. The gardens were beautiful with all the blossom and spring flowers Hopping back on the tram at Parliament House, we went to Rathdowne Street where Peter had worked for GEC in the 70s near Exhibition Hall. We walked down Bourke Street ( the main shopping street) and back to the station.

The population of Melbourne is rapidly rising and property prices are high. It was very noticeable that there was a greater number of Asians, mostly of Chinese origin than there used to be years ago.

Thursday, we went to the Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda, up in the Dandenongs before meeting up with our other friends Louise and Malcolm for a very nice lunch. Then we switched our cases from one car to the other and next stop was Beaumaris by the beach.

Friday started windy and cold but we drove along some of the beaches along Port Philip Bay, including Brighton with its colourful beach huts and Sandringham with its yacht club. and then went to South Melbourne Market where we had lunch and browsed some of the stalls. The fruit and veg stalls were of very good quality but more expensive than at home as were the orchids and other flowers. On the way back to Beaumaris we stopped for a drink at the pub in Richmond where Louise and Malcolm's son is the chef. The staff had just recovered from a very hectic weekend as the Richmond Tigers – Aussie Rules Football had just won the Premiership Final after 37 years of trying.

Sadly on Saturday, we then had to say goodbye to our Melbourne friends but Louise kindly drove us to Tullmarine where we picked up our Apollo Campervan. As we were about to drive off, the manager said we had to change to another van as they realised it would have reached its limit for the long rental. We rejected the second van on the grounds of a very dodgy noise coming from under the bonnet. Third time lucky and with an apology, a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates we set off for the Grampians.

Highlight of the week: catching up with our very good friends since the Seventies.