the best (and the rest)

well, we're not travelling anymore. and in fact, as life has thrown a bit of a curveball to us, i'm actually sitting at my parents place, waiting to start the next chapter of my life. i'm looking out the window at mountains of snow, having been welcomed with a classic winter storm only a few days ago. so, i thought i'd sum up the best (and the rest) from our 4 years in oz. i won't include the obvious "beaches, weather" because, well that's just obvious. of course i loved the beaches and the weather! but there were other things we loved (and hated) too.

things we loved:

triple j- by far the best radio station ever. it's non-commercial and plays great music all the time. it's got a news program aimed at gen Y, and different music shows to appeal to all musical genres. i will definitely be listening to this online...

as a sub category to that, i will also say australian music. we've discovered many a great act by listening to triple j (and being around aussies). they have some amazing artists that we will seek out if/when they come on tour. it might be worth holding on to our itunes australia account.

plastic money- it sounds weird, but it's not. australian money is plasticized, meaning it can get thoroughly wet and be no worse for it. not truly appreciated until you take pants out of the washing machine and find a 50 in the pocket.

mobile phone plans- aussies leave us in their dust when it comes to mobile/cell phones. with all mobiles having the same number (04...) it makes for easy nation-wide communication. they also don't charge you to receive calls or texts, and have much better deals then we ever had in canada.

the coastline- i said i wouldn't mention beaches, so i'm not. but this doesn't just mean beaches. the coastline in australia is simply amazing. from crashing waves and sheer cliffs, to lapping waves on white sandy beaches and everything in between. you'd be hard pressed to find another country with such a diversely beautiful coast.

maruspials- i can`t explain what it is about marsupials, but who doesn`t love them? kangaroos never stop being funny and koalas are cute and terrifying at the same time (hello, ewoks!). emus, echidnas, platypus. i mean, do i even need to explain?


things we didn't love:

internet- they may have us beat with phone plans, but they sure as hell lag behind on the the internet. aside from being incredibly expensive, it's also painfully slow. all the time. when i first arrived and was trying to set up a plan, the guy on the phone said to me "oh, you're from canada? well, you're going to be disappointed with our internet". 'nuff said.

customer service (lack thereof)- i find it absolutely amazing, but customer service in australia is appalling. from the barrista to the bar tender to the chick in the dress shop. always making me feel guilty for asking for their help or making me feel like i'm interrupting them. at work. you don't fully appreciate canadian customer service until you don't have it anymore.

cost of living- i know, i know, there are many places in the world where the cost of living is high. but more then just the cost of housing, EVERYTHING is more expensive in australia.it`s a bit of a media friendly issue right now. it made sense that things were more expensive when the aussie dollar was only worth half of an american dollar, but now that aussie dollars are worth more, it`s just nuts. besides, isn`t it all coming from china anyhow? surely it should be cheaper to ship things to australia then the usa...

distance- this is more associated to living in perth, but man! is it far. not just other cities in the country (or out of the country for that matter) but anything. the closest place that people holiday from perth is 3 hours south. and it`s nice, but there is a mass exodus of perthites during any holiday time, so it`s really not worth heading down. the rest of the country is just so freakin`big. and unlike canada, where we keep our open space to the north (for the most part), the large part of unliveable territory in australia is smack in the middle. incovenient at best. and don`t get me started on the cost of domestic travel...


things we`re ambigous about: some things are neither good nor bad, or both loved and hated

australian tv- aussies have a surprisingly large quantity of tv shows. game shows, reality shows, faux game shows with the same people on it every week (usually a b-list celeb), drama, comedy, etc. etc. you think of it, they have it. some of these shows we loved (good news week, for example) and many we hated (7pm project and most reality shows). most of the shows were of candian-cbc quality. most of my aussie friends love aussie tv. it just doesn`t fully cut it for me.

as a side note, aussies clearly also have a different type of humour or appreciation for tv then we do. case in point- i think they are singlehandedly keeping 2 and a half men on the air.*gag*

nationalism- while i do love that aussies take pride in "buying australian", having their own magazines, celebrities, movies, etc and are more culturally independant then canada, it comes at a higher price. nationalism takes an unforunate turn on many occasions, and borders heavily, and uncomfortably, on racism.

festivals- i think aussies have the most music festivals per capita. clearly, the year-round awesome weather sure makes it easy to enjoy! they come in all shapes and sizes, all genres of music. but festivals come at a price. literally. and they`ve all merged into one. whereas in the past they were genre-specific, it`s now just a matter of "how many different bands can we get" and "how much more can we charge people for it?". plus, for the most part, you are surrounded by drunken iditos (no, not unsual at festivals, i know) who are sweating all over you (also not unusual) and jumping around to a beat no one else can hear (clearly not unusual, but my least favourite part of festivals!)

slang- aussies love to abbreviate. all the time. anything they can. which is kind of fun, but mostly just annoying after a while. sure, i`ve picked up some things from them (jumper, arvo), but many things i just can`t bring myself to say (chook, carn). it took me months (years even!) to figure it all out. mostly, if in doubt, you just cut a word in half and add an "o".


right. well. that`s it really. i started writing this post just after i arrived back in canada.  i`ve been home for a month now, and i can truly say that i both miss australia and am happy to be home. it`s funny how 2 different places can make you feel totally whole - canada and australia have so many similarities and yet so many differences. each of them being unique. and each of them making me happy. am i glad to be home? absolutely. do i feel like i`m done with australia? hell no. and when i head back, i`ll be sure to keep you updated.

but for now, this is it. my last blog. because, as it stands, michelle and john are no longer in oz.
xo

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

now i have that song stuck in my head.

we have finished our road trip. it's a rather sad time because we had so much fun that we would have loved to keep going. the unfortunate reality is that we need to work to fund such amazing holidays, and so, we are heading back to work.

as such, i've decided to write a list of some of our favourite (and least favourite) things from the trip.

favourite place: it's a toss up between the grampians and the blue mountains. both were slightly off the beaten path and both were great for hiking and other such outdoor activities. there were minimal obnoxious tourists and camping was reasonably priced.

most overrated place: the great ocean road. i dare say it. sure, the 12 apostles were lovely and yes, the coast line is magnificent. but the place is totally a tourist trap, with small seaside towns being jammed to capacity, tourists up the wazoo, charging obscene prices to do anything from getting a coffee to actually trying to see the sights. to be fair, the non- ocean part of the road (or the hinterland, as they say) was definitely worth it. i'd recommend the drive in winter.

favourite sunset: lucky bay, esperance

favourite road sign: skiing kangaroo in the grampians  and "merge right" (take that perth!)

least favourite road sign:  "form one lane" (it's so ambiguous) and a smattering of the "arrive alive, don't sleep on the road" signs. some of the photos were completely unnecessary (eyes with toothpicks in them, for example)


most happy to pay for: the bobsled track at kosioszko national park

least happy to pay for: campsites. totally overrated

best animal sighting: koalas! in the wild! and the top of a platypus in the river

worst animal sighting: the dozens or so dead 'roos you see on the road at all times

thing that surprised us the most: a few different ones here (some will likely not make me any friends...)

- that it was cold during the australian summer. cold enough to warrant jeans, long sleeved shirts, jumpers and hot drinks whilst sitting inside the van. it's much better then being too hot, i admit, but still surprising.

- that many australian tourists are not very friendly. we only met a small number of "local tourists" who were at all enjoyable to talk to. most were loud, obnoxious and made us feel like we were intruding on their space or something.

- that australia has more hills then we thought (i'd like to say mountains, but i still find that hard...)

- how big australia is. i say this as a canadian: it's a big f-ing country.

- that the tourist info centres generally didn't have much info to provide to tourists...

things that didn't surprise us at all:

- the signage across the country was poor. at first we thought it was a perth thing, now we know it's an australian thing. poor signage = difficult to get around.

- bogans are everywhere

- australia has a magnificent coastline. truly.


that's all i can think of right now. it was a great holiday indeed. and i would highly recommend it to anyone, but most definitely my friends currently living in australia. i think we often travel to far off places in search for wonder and awe, but to be honest, it's often just on your doorstep. i've travelled in canada in the past and felt the same way. it may not seem as exciting, but i guarantee you'll never regret exploring your own country (or your adopted country)

xo

moolooloba

say that 5 times fast. moolooloba is a small coastal town about an hour north of brisbane, on the sunshine coast. it happens to be where my in-laws are currently residing. it also happens to be the final destination on our cross-australia road trip.

after leaving the blue mountains, we spent 2 days doing longer drives then usual, to make our way up to the sunshine coast. we stopped overnight near coffs harbour, nothing too exciting really.

we arrived in moolooloba on australia day- mid afternoon. we'd seen plenty of flag-wearing, bundy-drinking bogans along the way so it was nice to arrive here and relax, with no crowds to contend with. our evening was spent catching up with the in-laws and some friends.

we've been here for a few days now. nothing too exciting i'm afraid. the condo we're staying in makes me feel like we're living in florida at the moment. i can't explain it any better then that really. if you've been to florida, you'll understand. otherwise, we've been giving betty a good clean (i think i heard her purr...) and are getting ready to sell- hoping that someone else will want to take her for another road trip and have as much fun as we did.

we can only hope they'll love her as much as we did.
xo

the blue mountains

one of the 3 sisters

after a rough night of sleep (who knew that the camp we'd set up was right beside a very active train line!), we drove into the blue mountains. it's a bit of a deceptive name really, they should maybe be called "blue canyon" because that's what they look like. suppose because they are part of the great dividing range, they were once large mountains. they get their name because of the blue haze that appears over the trees. the blue mountains sit approx 1 hour west of sydney and are, as such, a rather popular holiday destination for sydneysiders. i completely understand why. they are spectacular!

3 sisters

we drove into glenbrook and got some info at the tourist bureau. we managed to sneak a short hike in that afternoon at wentworth falls. the sheer rockface provided an excellent backdrop to the towering falls. not very big, but beautiful indeed. we followed the "undercliff" track, which is exactly what it sounds like- a track that takes you under one of the shelves of the cliff. it was all a bit muddy and slippery but worth it for the views.

we then stopped in katoomba, the main tourist centre in the blue mountains. we went to the 3 sisters lookout, an oft photographed sight in the mountains. and then we trekked our way down the "giant stairs". we didn't go the whole way down though, because we knew we'd be doing a rather long hike the next morning and thought we should save our legs. a good choice in hindsight.

blue mountains

katoomba was unimpressive. it felt like it had been a hoping place sometime in the 70's or 80's, and then had been neglected. there were some run down areas, which isn't what you expect in such a highly touristy place. so we drove on and found a campsite about 15 minutes outside of blackheath, a much smaller community just west of katoomba.

the following morning, we ventured off on an 8 hour hike down the canyon. it's not often that you do a hike where the descent comes first. we decided to time the walk down and double it for the expected time up. the first hour or so was straight down. literally. my quads were burning a bit at the bottom, which didn't bode well for the return trip. again, the trail was a bit muddy and slippery at points, but the views made it worth the effort. there weren't many handrails or anything guarding you from the cliff edge only a few centimeters from your feet, so you had to walk with care.

falls at govetts leap- long hike

the hike was listed as "experienced", which i would say was a fair call actually. we got about 2/3 of the way to the turn around point when we decided to turn back. the trail had become overgrown and traipsing through the thick bush (thick, scratchy bush at that) wasn't all that fun. so we turned and stopped at junction rock for a quick swim and some lunch before starting the walk back up to the top. we shared our lunch with a small, ballsy lizard who kept getting closer and closer to john. we eventually gave him the seed of a nectarine and he left us alone!

the return trip was much quieter because well, it was one of those hikes where you can't really talk because (gasp) you're (pant) just (wheeze) trying (gasp) to breathe. we didn't have to stop too many times, but afforded ourselves a few breaks to catch our breath (both from the walk and from the view!) turns out that we made a good decision to cut the walk short, because about 200m from the top, it started drizzling. and only just after we arrived back to meet betty in the parking lot, it started to rain. quite a bit. it would have sucked to be stuck on the trail in the rain- it was difficult enough as it was. the climb up the rockface would have been a bit more treacherous, what with the no guardrails, slippery rock and sheer drops.

we spent the rest of the afternoon (what was left of it) at a wonderful cafe in blackheath. not much else to do in blackheath i'm affraid. it's similar to katoomba (only much smaller) in that it seems a bit derelict. like it was a great little village back in the day but everyone's forgotten about it now.

we certainly won't forget the blue mountains. they are simply amazing.
xo

canberra

canberra waterfront

the first thing anyone said when we suggested we might stop in canberra was "why?". nice, no? as the nation's capital, it felt like the kind of place we should stop. you know, it just felt wrong to tour a country and not explore it's capital. but aussies (and in fact, many people) find canberra a bit boring. we found it to be lovely.

we arrived in the middle of the day on a thursday. a good time to visit a city, i think. canberra is incredibly green (in colour, not politics...), and is clearly a very planned out town. it's like a giant park space, which happens to be a city. it sits amongst (what i assume are man-made) lakes and small hills of greenery. after a stop at the (uninformative) tourist bureau, we made our way to the botanic garden- where we lazed away the afternoon, reading books in the park. a nice way to spend the afternoon really. in the evening, we rode our bikes into the downtown area. now, having come from perth, i was both surprised and impressed that sleepy ol' canberra had a somewhat hopping downtown. and it didn't shut down at 6pm. no one kicked us out of the restaurant at 9pm. how nice.

random carousel in canberra

in the morning, we managed to find a nice market  to pick up groceries before we drove over to the AIS. the AIS, for those not in the know, is the australian institute of sport. it's where most major australian athletes (and not minor ones too actually) train and perfect their sport. it's a huge complex, with pools, gyms, tracks, athlete village, etc. it started some 10 years before the sydney olympics in an effort to up the quality of australian sport (canadian sport officials, take note. australia is doing a much better job then us...)

after spending a bit of time in the city (and enjoying some delicious gelato at the mall), we drove off, bidding goodbye to the capital. we pulled over at a random rest stop on our way to the blue mountains.


xo

the great dividing range- part 2

view from the top

we woke to sunny skies and decided to make our way to thredbo- the heart of the australian ski fields. the great dividing range is often referred to as the australian alps (only in australia, of course). someone said to me "oh, are you going to the alps" and i looked at them like "uhm, no. i'm staying in australia thanks". they were a bit annoyed that i didn't know of the "australian alps" but you know, whatever. has anyone ever heard of the australian alps? i find it a bit hard to accept- that there are alps here- not that i've ever seen the alps in person. but, the great dividing range is well, more like the laurentians. hardly what i would qualify as the alps. but apparently some millions of years ago, the great dividing range was in fact, as big at the himalayas. it's just such a weird concept. australia seems to be such a young country politically, but the oldest geologically.

anyhow, thredbo is your classic ski village. alpine looking complexes for people to rent, exorbitantly priced restaurants, ski gear for sale in the middle of summer and not much to do but enjoy nature. which we did.

we took the chairlift up to the top of thredbo, mostly because we had to. they generally don't recommend people hike to the top because it's quite steep (i wonder how steep a skihill can be, but whatever). so, up we rod. it cost quite a bit of cash to take said chairlift, but lucky for them it was worth the trip. there's something eerily comforting about chairlifts. brings me back to my youth.

at the top of thredbo, you can start the 13km return trip walk to the peak of kosiuszko- which is australia's highest peak. it sits some 2200 meters above sea level, but the walk only takes you up maybe 1000m. the walk was pleasant, mostly along a graded steel walkway. it's definitely a highly touristy walk, but again, the views were quite lovely so it was worth it.  we took the chairlift back down after our walk and decided to explore the village a bit more.

getting ready to luge down the track

we made our way to the bobled track next. i have a very vague recollection of doing something similar in lake placid as a child. essentially, you "luge" down the "bobsled" track, in what i can only describe as a GT snowracer with wheels. there's a "gear stick" that you either lean on to go faster or pull back to slow down. no helmets. no instruction. you hop on this little sled and get whizzed up the hill on a track, then are released at the top where you begin the descent. it was good times. john nearly ran me over a few times, mostly due to the fact that his bodyweight allowed him to go faster and therefore catch up to me. i tried leaning forward with all my might, but sometimes i just couldn't go any faster.

after our glorious day in thredbo, we packed up and went back to our campsite and settle in. the next morning, we drove off along the tourist road- which should really be called the "i hope you have nothing better to do because this is painfully slow driving" road. lucky for us, we had nothing better to do. the drive was slow, but nice. through an area that had been heavily affected by the bushfires in 2003- many a dead tree gracing the mountain side.

we drove on to the yarrangobilly caves, on the other side of the national park. we chose the "self explore" cave, mostly because it was cheaper but also because the tours had already finished for the day. the cave was cool (both literally and figuratively). we then made our way down the track to the thermal pool on site. if it had been in canada, i'm sure a resort would've popped up next door and charged an arm and a leg. as it was, we paid nothing because we already had our national park pass.

yarrangobilly cave

the spring that feeds the pool gushes about 100 000 liters per hour. per hour! not that you could feel it at all. it's a comfortable 27 degrees all year long. and whilst it looks like a pool from the outside, it's just rock and algae on the bottom (about 2.5 meters below). we had a pleasant swim before we scampered back up the trail to betty.

we spent the night just outside of cooma, a small town not far from canberra.

xo

the great dividing range- part 1

trying not to freeze in the river at our campsite

following the incredibly good advice of our tourist info bureau volunteer, we made our way to the great dividing range. but not before stopping in bombala- the platypus capital of australia (not that it's advertised in any book, map or other such tourist info brochure).  mr. tourist bureau told us that if we wanted to see platypus ( "not that there's much to see"), that bombala was the place.

so, we stopped for the night. we pulled into the platypus reserve and set up camp. i (honestly) sat out on the little platform for an hour waiting, watching the incredibly still water in the bombala river, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive platypus. i didn't see much, but boy did i freak out when i saw the small, v-shaped crest in the water with a small body driving forward. i shouted for john and in doing so scared the poor little platypus away (i saw one the next morning too, but it was the same deal. not much to see really. sadly).

platypus, for those who don't know, are very odd. in my opinion, it's like a beaver and a duck got drunk one night and woke up to regret it. according to the sign post, the platypus is one of only a few monotremes (it later says the only other one is an echidna. why not just say "one of two" i wonder?), which means that it's a mammal who lays eggs. which is so weird. the baby platipi are called puggles.  puggles! anyhow, even in a platypus reserve, they're hard to spot and when you do spot them, you don't see much. they can hold their breath for 14 minutes and therefore don't really pop up all that often. they are waterproof, which is just cool really, and used to be killed (like all other animals) for their pelt, back in the day. i can't imagine wearing a platypus, but then, i don't eat meat either...

tree in the water, lake jindabyne

after bombala, we drove to jindabyne, the small town at the base of koscioszko national park. the national park houses the main snowfields of australia, namely thredbo, perisher and charlotte's pass. jindabyne sits right on a lake and is only 45 mins from thredbo, the main hill in the park. the day we arrived, it was hot and blue skies. we sorted our renting kayaks and decided to laze by the first freshwater lake we've run into in a long, long time.

when we arrived at the kayak rental place the next day, sure enough, the wind decided to pick up rather intensely. but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless, and even did our "good samaritan" cause of the day, by alerting the rental company that some poor family good marooned on the beach (the youngens in the family couldn't fight the wind).

after our kayak adventure (in freshwater!), we made our way to the snowy mountain cookie company factory outlet to purchase some "imperfect" but perfectly delicious cookies. mmmmm. cookies. after which, we headed to the local microbrewery pub and watched the sun set over the lake before making our way back to our fantastic campsite for the night.

xo

gippsland

fog rolling into malactoota

the south-eastern area of victoria is better known as gippsland, name after a governor  or something like that. it is generally a splendid little area of australia. in the grey, dreary, rainy skies, not so much.

after we left phillip island, we made our way to leongatha. it took us a few tries to find a caravan park that wasn't full (due to it being school holidays still). lets just say that the only reason i remember that the town was called leongatha is because we forgot what it was called so many times (and had to look it up. even while we were still in the town), i looked it up so often that it finally stuck. we decided on leongatha after we pulled into a caravan park in another random town and noticed that it was really more of a "trailer park", true to form. when i went to explore the campground and happened upon the bathroom and saw the sign that said "ladies, close the door behind you for your own safety", it sealed the deal that we should keep looking...

the caravan park in leongatha was surprisingly comfortable. not very big, not very busy. 5 minutes from town, but incredibly quiet. and green. but it didn't really make up for the fact that it was raining. we took the opportunity to get stuff done in leongatha (i like to keep saying it to make sure i remember the name). nothing particularly exciting, though we were around when the volunteer firefighter alarm went off (and scared the shit out of me). needless to say, we moved on in hopes of outrunning the rain.

kayaking in malacoota

we stopped in bairnsdale on our way out. this was, interestingly enough, one of the "random towns" an australian had told us about ("i'm from bansdale. but most people would think it was barnsdale. but it's actually spelled bairnsdale". wow. really? how interesting...). we happened upon the first actual informative person at the tourist information centre.

interesting fact: most people "working" in the tourist bureaus are volunteers. we know this because it says so on their name tags. as such, they don't know shit. for the most part, the info they provide us with has been bad, faulty or both. but finally (finally!) we found a volunteer worthy of his name tag. he was so enthusiastic about telling us where we should go that we (gasp) actually followed his advice. but before we sped off to the great dividing range, we made our way to the coastal town of malacoota.

malacoota is (i think) the eastern most town in victoria and is nestled right between the raging tasman sea and a small lake (which is technically just an inlet, but whatever). we arrived on the first sunny day we'd had in days (!). we managed to (finally) rent some kayaks and went off to explore the "lake" region. it was quite enjoyable, until the wind from the ocean blew in. shortly followed by an intense fog (thankfully, we'd returned the kayaks by then).

the guy renting the kayaks tried to convince us to stay another night but we decided we'd had enough with the rainy gippsland coast and started our drive to the great driving range.


xo

i don't know where that is

- "i'm from nowheresville. just south of smalltown, not far from port obscure".
- "riiiiight, so, where is that in relation to (insert major city here)?".
- "well, it's about an hour east of bordertown and just past randomville".
- "uhm, ya. i don't know where that is. where is it in relation to (insert major city here)?"
- *blank stare* *shock* *horror*

waiting. waiting. waiting.

- "well, it's not far from littleton"

i see this is getting nowhere. but this is exactly the type of conversation we've had on (numerous occasions) with australians when we ask where they're from. now, don't get me wrong, providing such detail is great, i guess, but as it turns out, i'm not from this state. heck, i'm not even from australia. but they seem to interpret my (obviously) canadian accent as a local dialect from the nearest township to theirs, thereby implying that i know where they mean.

it couldn't be more frustrating. and it's not helped by my lovely husband who (so polite and friendly) says "oh ya. really eh?" when he also has no freakin' clue where they mean! i have taken to just saying "i have no idea where that is" but all i tend to get is a look of disdain. how could i not?

here's the thing. i am also from a ridiculously large country. and as such, when people ask me where i'm from, the first thing i say is "canada", even if the person asking me has a north american accent. if they say that they're also from canada (or i am in canada to start with), i say "oh, well i'm from ontario". sometimes it stops there, because the person is from BC and has no idea about anything beyond the west coast. if not, i may continue on and say "well, it's near montreal and ottawa". if they say they're from ottawa too, then i may (hesitantly) say "oh, i'm from cornwall". they generally have never heard of it.

i would NEVER expect anyone to know where my hometown is. even if they are from an hour away, i will always point to the nearest big city then go from there. australians, for some reason, assume that everyone knows where everything is. how far is it from sydney? well, it's 4 hours east of randomtown.

i'd like to think that australians to understand the size of their country and then put together the fact that even australians wouldn't know where every random little village is (in relation to another little village at that). and, i would expect that they would understand moreso that if someone isn't speaking with an australian accent, the odds of them knowing anything about the location of anywhere in this country is completely absurd. but as it stands, they just assume you do.

when we ask the europeans we meet where they're from we get "germany" or such thing. pressed for more detail, they almost harrumph and give us a bit more detail (but snicker to themselves) and say (in german) "as if they would know. but we'll appease them anyhow". then we say "how close is that to the-only-major-city-we-know-in-your-country" or whatever, which they tell us. then we nod knowingly, thinking to ourselves that we have no freakin' clue where that is. but they didn't tell us the suburb, or hamlet, or lake they live on. nope. they wouldn't expect us to know such a thing. 2 hours north of berlin, well i might have an idea where that is i suppose.

as it is, i just find it funny. it keeps happening and i keep laughing at it all. and i keep saying (more boldly) that "i have no idea where that is". frankly, i would never tell someone i just met that i was from cornwall, just south of moose creek and west of long sault, not far from alexandria.

even though i could. because technically it's true.

xo

phillip island

phillip island is a small island about 1.5 hours south of melbourne. it is apparently an awesome island for surfing, watersports, bushwalks and wildlife viewing. unfortunately for us, it was raining. a lot.

we arrive at phillip island one evening, hoping to catch the famous penguin parade- a nightly viewing of the penguins arriving on the beach. this happens sometime around sunset (lately, 8:30pm or so) and there is upwards of 1000 penguins involved. the night we arrived, it was pouring. really truly pouring. so we decided to (illicitly) camp for the night just off the island and return to enjoy it all the next day instead.

alas, t'was not to be. we had one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. difficulty with my bike, requiring it to be serviced on the island, inability to find kayaks to rent even though the tourist information people told us "where" to go and that it wouldn't be a problem, and then when we finally sorted out our day, the rain stared upon us. again. rain rain rain. more rain.

we had planned to visit the chocolate factory on the island as well, but it was going to cost us some cash, which we don't particularly like to be seperated from, and it was bulging at the seams with sugar-infused children. two negative ticks.

at the end of the day, we were so annoyed with nothing going right and with the weather, that we decided to bugger off and forget the penguins. so off we drove to random town after random town trying to find a place for the night (or 2) where we might get power and access to some indoor activities to wait out the rain.

the weather bureau is predicting rain for the next few days. our travels may be less then exciting if that's the case. as it turns out, there's not much to do on the gippsland coast if it's raining. fingers cross the that the weatherman is wrong and we can start exploring again tomorrow morning.

xo

the dandenongs

the view from the dandenongs

frankly, why wouldn't you want to visit a place called the dandenongs (ha!)? i couldn't care less if it was a hole (which it wasn't) because it has such an awesome name. and one of the main villages: sassafras! "i live in sassafras. in the dandenongs (ha!)". i almost want to move there just to say it.

the dandenongs (ha!) is a hilly-region (suburb?) of melbourne, only about 45 mins from town. it oozes money and charm, in a way that only hilly-villages can. it was raining, on and off all day, so we opted against doing one of the dozen or so hikes that are in the area and instead settled on being (window) shoppers.

sassafras, like all touristy mountain/seaside villages, was quaint. it had all the necessary shops to place it squarely in the tourist town bracket: the 3.5 cafes, 2.2 high end restaurants, 3 up-market clothing stores, a vintage shop, a lolly-shop, a gourmet food store (which we thoroughly enjoyed), 1000 antique shops and a toy-store. a proper one, with wooden toys and rocking horses in the window. we had a lovely time chatting with the owner of the gourmet shop, were baffled by the quantity of teapots and mugs in the tea-shop (blinded, more like), and well fed at the cheaper of the cafes. after we perused all the shops, we got back in the car and sped off to the next village (olinda) to see what it had to offer.

well, it had the 3.5 cafes, 2.2 high end restaurants, 3 up-market clothing store, a vintage shop, a lolly-shop, a gourmet food store (which we thoroughly enjoyed), 1000 antique shops and a toy-store. a proper one, with wooden toys and rocking horses in the window. the same one as sassafras. and the same lolly shop. oh, but olinda did have a jewlery store. take that sassafras!

we decided, much as we love window shopping in the expensive stores and sampling delicious foods in the gourmet shop, it was time for us to leave the dandenongs (ha!). sadly, we didn't stop to see puffin' billy, an old steam train that takes you on a 50km journey from belgrave to olinda and back, nor did we manage to get to the zipline place (too expensive anyhow really) but we rather enjoyed meandering the village streets. and honestly, with the rain clouds looming, we just kind of wanted to move on. so we did.

dandenongs (ha!)
xo

melbourne and geelong

kite surfers in st kilda

i should technically put geelong first in the title, because we stopped there first. but well, i feel that most of my australian friends would be scandalized. i mean, geelong is geelong but melbourne! well, it's melbourne (pronounced mel-bun by aussies, who seem to forget there's an R in the word).

we stopped in geelong for the night after we decided to give the GOR the sack. free camping by the river seemed like a much better idea then expensive camping with thousands of others. and so it was. we pulled into a small park by the river and set up shop for the night. it was hot. very hot. 37 and humid hot. sticky, wish-you-could-take-more-then-your-clothes-off hot. and the mosquitoes were insane! so our night in geelong was rather unexciting as we tried not to melt in our (non-air conditioned) van. we were very nearly successful too...

when we woke, the debilitating heat had settled (sort of). we went for a bike ride around the river before the sun really came up and started sizzling again. (it didn't end up doing so in the end. i mean, it was hot but not unbearable. and not as sticky). geelong's river is small but nice. it has a lovely bike path following its length. and seems to be a mecca for rowers and fishermen.

we went into the city for the rest of the day- loitering at a wonderful cafe (called mr. hyde. i recommend it if you're ever in geelong) before venturing into the big city to visit with some friends who'd recently moved. and i mean recent. like, arrived the day before recent. when better to crash with friends then when they have no furniture or food i ask?

our friends happen to live only some 15 minutes away from st-kilda, a trendy little suburb on the foreshore. there were some looming clouds and high winds, so we didn't spend much time near the beach. but we did happen to catch the few hundred kite surfers gliding around the bay.

following a lovely evening with friends (with too much food, drink and tomfoolery) we headed into south melbourne for the south melbourne markets and some much needed breakfast. let me tell you, i only spent about 24 hours in melbourne but i like it. a lot. in fact, i'm looking forward to visiting said friends when they do have furniture and food (which really is the better time to visit, in my opinion). did i mention they live near a fantastic shopping centre?

we called it quits on melbourne only because our friend was starting work the next day and we didn't want to be a bother. also, their cat and i don't really get along very well. actually, not true. their cat loves me (which cat doesn't?) but her dander and i are at odds.

xo