The country to the city and back again

Getting out of Melbourne traffic and back to pokey roads was such a relief for us simple country folk. So why did we go back? The Bendigo Aunties were planning a shopping trip, taking the train into the city, so we decided to take the opportunity to see the centre of Melbourne without having the car. We spent the whole day walking around - down the south bank of the Yarra, and back along the north bank and around the city. There were only a few patches of sun (much to the photographer's annoyance) but at least it was fine. Although we didn't have time to go into any museums or galleries, we did get a good feel for the big smoke, and are convinced that we aren't city slickers!

The Great Ocean Road

We really enjoyed the few days we had exploring The Great Ocean Road. We went back to the 12 Apostles three times to see them with different light. We definitely want to come back here and explore when we have more time.

Since leaving the coast we've been visiting friends and rellies, which has been really fun. Only two weeks until we get 'home', with a few more friend/rellie stops on the way.

Adjusting to the Mainland

We’ve had a bit of culture shock coming back to the mainland. Traffic goes faster (and there’s a lot more of it), and the roads are wider and flatter! We drove between Tynong North and the eastern suburbs of Melbourne a few times last week and found it very bizarre to not be able to see mountains. It felt like the Great Western Tiers should have been out to the left and Ben Lomond to the right.
We enjoyed catching up with friends and family in and around Melbourne (thanks everyone for your hospitality). We stayed at Mill Valley Ranch (a Christian youth camp) and our car and caravan fitted in well with the historical feel of the place.

Getting out of Melbourne and to the Otway National Park was wonderful. We found a nice little picnic area beside a river that had been planted with California Redgums. Nowhere near as big as their California counterparts, but a reminder of our trip to the Sequoia National Park about 13 years ago. Autumn is the season of lichen and fungus, and we came across some great specimens on our walks.

Farewell to Tassie

We spent our last week and a half in Tassie in Burnie. We had a solid week of marking, but were also able to catch up with friends, mostly from Burnie Baptist. There were some great wet, cold and windy days to remind us why we're looking forward to winter in Qld this year, but there were also a couple of lovely sunny days. We fitted in an afternoon to the Rhododendron Garden

enjoying the autumn colours. Dazz spied a freshwater lobster in one of the lakes, and he kindly sat up on a rock near the surface of the water for some photos.

We're in Victoria now, and have begun catching up with friends & family. Next week we're off around the Great Ocean Road so stay tuned...

Greens Beach

Here are a few pics from our Easter weekend at Greens Beach. We feel like real Tasmanians now that we’ve spent a ‘long weekend at the shack’! We did a few walks (nothing too strenuous, thanks to the kids) and Dazz and Glenn went fishing a couple of times. Yes, he did catch a fish (one flathead, to go with Glenn’s seven)… and he managed to keep his pants on the whole time (at least as far as I know).

I AM a woman!

Here’s just a quick story to keep you amused until I have time to put together a few photos from Easter at Greens Beach with our friends (marking is keeping us from more enjoyable pursuits just at the moment).

We’re camped on the Tamar River, just near the Batman Bridge, and the Protector of the house walked me down to the toilet the other night, since it was dark. As I disappeared inside the loo with my torch I heard the Protector say ‘This is the women’s’.

There was an undecipherable noise and then the Protector repeated, ‘This is the women’s toilet.’

‘I AM a woman!’ came the clear reply of the Irish backpacker girl camped just down from us.

Then followed much apologising because he couldn’t see in the dark, embarrassment for both of them, and plain old laughter on my part. One day the Protector is going to get us into real trouble…

Blackberry Jam

When we arrived in Tassie last May Dazz kept stopping to look for blackberries, but they were well and truly finished. For the last few weeks he kept saying he wanted to make blackberry jam, but we've either had the van on and not been able to pull over when we've seen bushes, or when we have stopped all the ripe ones have already been picked.

Finally, he went for a walk the other day and came back with a bag of berries. After stopping in to show off his haul and get some sugar he headed off to the camp kitchen. An hour later he arrived back with a lovely jar of jam. It had been about 20 years since the last batch and he hadn't forgotten the family recipe! A few days later he made another jar, so of course had to also make pikelets to go with it.

We've enjoyed camping under Mt Roland - it's a great view whether it's sunny or cloudy or raining.

Mt Roland

Our third walk for the week really took the cake - as long as the previous two combined (at about 17kms) and probably about the combined elevation too (900m). We were both exhausted Saturday night, and a bit stiff and sore on Sunday, but once again the views were worth it. There was a great variety of vegetation, from tall timbers, to rainforested creeks, to sub-alpine plains and of course, the rocky summit. There's something about looking at mountains (including Cradle Mountain) from the top of another mountain. We even saw a few snakes. We're now camping in the shadow of Mt Roland while we get back to the real world of work (marking) for the week.

Mt Amos

Camping close to Mt Amos allowed us to pick the window of opportunity for walking, setting out as the cloud was breaking and then coming down as the cloud once again began coming across. As usual it was hard work going up, but the views were certainly worth it!

Dazz has put more pics from our recent travels on the link over to the right, but none of Mt Amos yet.

Meander Falls

Meander Falls is the last of the 60 Great Short Walks on our list! We haven’t done all 60, because four are on Flinders/King Islands and one is only accessible from the train/ferry between Queenstown and Strahan. Some of the walks have been short and easy, many of them have been hard work, but all have been worthwhile. Meander Falls included a 500m ascent, but we decided that the falls at the end weren’t as nice as the ones along the way. We’re now down near Freycinet waiting for a sunny, blue sky day to climb Mt Amos for some great views of Wine Glass Bay and the surrounding areas.