Farewell

All good things must come to an end; A final report on Sydney to follow, but here's Paul and I on our very last day, looking away from the harbour and into the future-and the long, long journey home awaiting ahead of us!

Canberra

Canberra

As Victoria vanished, leaving behind the Snowy Mountains, and with the ‘alpine’ resorts framing our drive, we dropped into NSW and Canberra; what a contrast to the day before.

Modern purpose built wide streets, tree lined roads, the centre dominated by the War Memorial at one end and the Parliament House at the other (in a direct axis), this ‘New’ town was such a stark contrast to small town Australia we’d driven through, with their identikit main streets passing in moments before the road once more disappears into the landscape.

Canberra made another piece of the complex jigsaw of Oz click into place, from the cosmopolitan buzz of Sydney, the mellow medley of Melbourne, the crashing surf and stunning rocks of the Ocean Road, the Englishness of villages and towns, the sense of history embedded not in the culture but in the land itself, and now a man-made town reflecting contemporary Australia.

Our lake side hotel has a lake view, and we were in time for a splendid evening sunrise over the waters of Lake Burley Griffin. Our stroll down to the lakes edge for a floodlit view of the water’s skyline dominated by the Carillon Bells tower looming in the middle and framed by grandiose national buildings over the other.

The next day we walked from top to bottom of the glorious axis, from Parliament House down over the lake to the Australian War Memorial opposite. The walk drops down past the old Parliament House, where the Tent Embassy set up forty years ago still flourishes –a telling reminder of the ever present racial tension and conflict, despite the apparent integration.

This integration is nowhere more on show than in the amazing Art Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, where I was once again absorbed in floors of indigenous art, this time even more fascinating as the artists own life histories were woven into the accompanying story boards.

The National Museum of Australia, coming as it did at the end of my stay, proved invaluable in tying up many loose ends in my sense of this complex country, I’m ashamed of my ignorance in terms of its history, both land and people. Interestingly, despite the presence and celebration of indigenous art in the galleries, the national museum centres on colonialisation and beyond, and although full of  accounts of European immigration and settlement, the country’s history prior to the 1700s centred on the environmental rather than cultural.

Contemporary Canberra’s highlight was Parliament House, topped with an 81 metre flagpole with an Australian flag bigger than a double-decker bus, where, despite the Federal Parliament being in situ, we were free to wander at will in the splendid marble and timber halls, admire the tapestry lined walls and the portraits of the great and the good., and to climb to the roof for panoramic Canberra views.

Yet again I was moved to tears by the closing ceremony at the cenotaph, the lone piper in the setting sun, playing as the doors close on the shrine for the night. Despite the crowds which gather every day, from old to young, there is a consensus of silence, a collective moment of remembrance and reflection.

And finally Paul and I had a meal out! The unadvertised renovations at the hotel were an unexpected alarm call each morning (why can carpenters throughout the world not tell the time, 9am start always translated to 8am in their watches?), but a polite moan to reception prompted a courtesy invite to dine in their restaurant.

Paul made up for his fast food forages by enjoying a massive seafood starter and an enormous steak, and I enjoyed half a goat’s cheese and a salmon steak bigger than the plate-more than made up for the hammering!

(Tis so expensive here though, the 150 dollar voucher we were given just covered this, and three beers, we couldn’t make it stretch to wine-that’s over £100 for a two course meal, and although this was a good restaurant, it was hardly a Michelin starred establishment!)

 View from Parliament House, down past old Parliament House up Anzac Ave (lined with war memorials) to the Shrine, courtesy of Annie's camera and Paul's photography skills!

Ballarat, Bendigo and Beyond

Ballarat, Bendigo and Beyond…

Car duly intact, we set off inland for the long haul back to NSW, and Canberra…the journey home to England is looming ever closer for me, and the weather has suddenly drawn in… a cold front blowing directly from the Antarctic heralds in the  Oz autumn and a reminder of my imminent return to colder climes.

Ballarat at first sight seemed enormous,  with sprawling suburbs and many MacDonalds, but the lake (once we’d found it!) provided welcome relief, just as the sun broke through the clouds. Once a deep flowing blue, the lake been ‘reduced’ by draught and draining to wetlands, so another familiar sight, algae and ducks, rather than black swans and surf!

The historic town centre was oddly enchanting. The ‘gold rush’ town buildings are quirkily different to the ‘usual’ colonial avenues, the legacy of banking, trading, and mine towers, complete with bells, plus miner’s memorials and histories lining the streets evoked a deep historical sensation.

The mixture of odd and new, as everywhere in Australia, continued  into the bizarre here, when we entered the massive MacDonald’s for a recuperative ice cream  and found ourselves sitting inside a renovated museum of the once enormous ‘Bakery’ on Bakery Hill, three floors complete with kilns/ovens/ etc-one of the weirder settings I’ve eaten ice cream in!

Ballarat art gallery proved as good as its reputation, the Australian art, featuring the usual Glover and Streeter showcase works, also showed much of Ballarat as it was during the gold rush, and told the moving history of the Euraka stockade-the original flag on show is movingly torn and bloodied-clearer in art than in words.

Arrived late at Bendigo, to find a very quaint motel, but alas also a very full and crowded one. Our downstairs tiny cubby-hole echoed all night with bumps/crashes/voices…Paul has spoilt me with more upmarket rooms since he came out, and I’m out of practise with the previously acquired hostel ‘deafness’.

On the plus side, the motel was right in the historic centre of Bendigo, another gold rush town with a fascinating history, and another excellent art gallery. The Grace Kelly exhibition is a crowd puller, so I avoided that and spent another absorbing hour in the aboriginal and contemporary sections here, wandering all alone minus a sound musing the works whilst Paul took himself off around the gardens to watch the parrots and bats which abound here.

This town is full of quirky shops, fountains and sculptures, plus the usual botanic gardens, and we wandered the lanes among the requisite churches and spires, mining towers, bells and monuments before embarking on the four hour drive across Victoria to NSW and Albury lake (gave me a chance to catch up on ‘The Archers’ podcast Paul has kindly provided…I reckon I’m only about 6 weeks behind now).

Tonight we’re at Lake Hume, staying in a resort overlooking the water and the ‘mountains’ (genuinely called the Alpine Resorts) behind, and we spent an interesting/adventurous evening clambering around the lakefront, getting lost, and as dark fell, increasingly going round in circles-at one point we could see the hotel so clearly we could have touched it but couldn’t find our way out of the woodland or beach…poor Paul was keen to find some supper, he thought he’d have to swim out, catch a fish and eat it raw…

Even when the scenery seems tame, odd touches like kangaroos jumping past in the rest stop by the highway, cockatoos catching the crumbs, and the diverse greens of the numerous gum and pine trees remind that this isn’t England-its become home to me now so I’ll see 'real' home with new eyes when I return.

Great Ocean ‘Road trip’ continued…

Wednesday

Left Lorne with a real sense of regret, Paul and I had loved this quaint seaside town, with its historic pier, quirky shops and wonderful beaches/walks, seemingly untouched by the tourists pouring along the Ocean Road above it.

A flat tyre brought us to an abrupt stop earlier than planned, just as the rain fell, poor Paul donned his Mac and his mechanical skills, whilst I found the shipwreck plaques and wrecks which litter the road/beach and read about the many lost at sea along this coast…..

The drive continued along the winding, twisting cliff top road through valleys, rainforest, stunning views opening up over crashing surf and calm golden bays, until we turned in to the Kennet river to see the koalas, so cute and so tame, I wanted to take one (or two) home! Luckily there were few people around and many koalas, sleeping high in the gum trees or feeding at eye level in the hedges…one even tried to reach out and feed from me, she was so close, (do I look like a eucalyptus??).

More koalas lay in wait along the off-road turn to Cape Today, watching us as we drove past, down to the lighthouse and back –with comers shoot breaks enroute!

The splendour of the Twelve Apostles (now 8) rock formations took us both by surprise, after the relatively gentle stretch along farmsteads and rolling hills beforehand. The mid afternoon sun was right behind them, and not even the many people on the well trodden tourist lookout dimmed their glory.

But no people just round the corner at Loch Aird Gorge, and the fabulous Thunder Cave, where the sheer power of the water rushing into the cave is intimidating to watch (and deafening to listen to). Then a moving cemetery to those lost in the steamer shipwreck from the 1800s hidden in the bushes, and the sudden sight of stalagmites under the cliff just around the corner.

The setting sun over the Bay of Marty’s and the Bay of Islands was beautiful, the diverse colours of the rocks rising out of the white waters and the yellowing/orange and red cliffs behind.

And one final pleasure-a spa bath at the motel at Warrnambool, bliss!!

Thursday.

The beach with its miles of sand and surf kept us quiet for a few hours this morning whilst a garage ‘pit stop’re tyre limited our excursions, and then, post lunch we found the terrific Tower Hill reserve. Around every corner were Emus, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Koalas, and birds of every shape, colour and size, Enchiladas (which I’d seen in Taz and thought were big hedgehogs!)…the cameras have been put to good use, but just watching the wildlife in their natural habit was an experience I’ll never forget.

No one else was around, just miles of sacred tribal lands, forest, lakes, woodland-the reserve is in the land rimmed by an ancient volcano so even the rocks were spectacular, reds and blacks, and especially as the light drew in, there were so many kangaroos….we sat watching them graze as koalas watched us from the trees and emus crept in waiting for crumbs, magical.

A detour to Port Fairy to walk across to Griffith Island (had to be done) and see the mutton birds in the colony, and the small bush wallabies in the heathers-with the calm rivers framing one side, and then as you turn past the lighthouse, the superb surf for miles crashing from the ocean on the other.

Today I’ve seen the wildlife which defines Australia’s image, and they live up to their reputation.

‘Marvellous’ Melbourne *

(\*the nickmame during its turn of the century heyday)

Travelling down we had a glorious view of NSW as we drove across the state on Thursday (no koalas yet, despite many warning signs on the highway), the landscape reminded both of us of the Scottish lowlands.

We left Wagga Wagga disappearing under water again, and could see just how high the rivers were in the middle flood plains, as I type the west of the town is back under water. Luckily the old fashioned and very quaint motel we stayed in was in the East, and had been (so far) untouched by the wide spread floods here.

The Melbourne skyline rose out of the countryside in stark contrast, as did the traffic piling into it from all sides…thank god for our up to date gps, she’s been a godsend.

Being a Grand Prix weekend, the town is heaving, but luckily we booked so long ago we have a city centre spot, as our car was valeted off at vast cost to an underground car park somewhere  we went to admire the city skyline view from our 8^th floor window.

A relaxing spa /swim unstiffening our aching bones (5 hours in the car each day has taken its toll, we are getting old…) and as we left to wander around , a massive thunderstorm Thursday evening cleared the air (and the streets). So we walked around the city in our Macs, being British and undaunted by rain, watching lightening and getting our bearings…there is Grand Prix stalls and paraphernalia everywhere!

Friday:

Left Paul to wander around the Grand Prix stalls etc and I set off for the Queen Victoria Markets. Great fun, like an Oz version of Covent Garden/Borough Market but with the wholesale and local markets attached, its massive, hundreds of diverse stalls from the eclectic, retail, veg, pets, you name it you can buy it here.

I only bought a kilo of peaches for 50 cents, ate 4 and threw the rest away as too heavy to carry (see Sat!).

I’m a great fan of Oz fruit, so plentiful, varied and very cheap everywhere-Paul has already eaten his normal annual quota.

The state library has a superb exhibition of ‘Love and Devotion from Persia and beyond’ a collection including earliest illuminated manuscripts from the Bodleian library in Oxford. It took me hours to peer a the intricate detail of the manuscripts and the heritage-there was Chaucer, Shakespeare et al repeating the classic tales passed down from Persia, fascinating (even Eric Clapton’s Layla stems from here). The complex ink/paint/embellishments from centuries ago on fragile materials were so tiny the library provided hand held magnifiers. It was brilliant, I loved it.

I had an emotive session at St Francis Church, the oldest Catholic Church in Victoria-this country has some stunning churches of every type/shape/age (Paul and I both adored the modern new build in Parametta, arising out of the flames of the historic building in a contemporary silver and gold metal design, much unexpected). I found myself in the Lady Chapel in time for rosary and drawn to join in –legacy of a religious childhood.

Later Paul and I wandered around the Botanical Gardens, Paul taking in the difference-ness of trees and plant life of Australia, past the tomb of the shrine of Remembrance, and then along the city river bank-the Yarra through Melbourne echoes the Thames through London, even down to the revived paths and harbours.

As night fell we found the ‘Lanes’, a bizarre, eclectic mix of old and new alleyways and arcades which intersect the main streets of this tree lined city. The classical Block and Royal Arcades, built for Edwardian ladies to parade along, with their glass domed ceilings. Tiled arches and mosaic floors are the most famous, but I loved the café lined alleyways and the urban lanes and thirties arcades. There is much urban art everywhere here superb sculptures line the streets and squares.

Saturday

We began today by admiring the Royal Exhibition Buildings, Crystal Palace by any other name, and through the city parks to Q Vic markets for massive shopping forage-we now have enough fruit to start a grocers shop!

Post delicious picnic, we set off in the beautiful sunshine to see the city in the sun, as the clouds have cleared and it’s a gorgeous day. The architecture here is fascinating, glass skyscrapers between colonial buildings, much twenties and thirties buildings, and spectacular and colourful contemporary architecture such as Federation Square.

Paul ‘had’ to stay in the city’s designed ‘Grand Prix’ square to watch the qualifying on the massive screen there! This evening we walked around China Town staring at the miles of oriental food stalls/restaurants/shops/etc crowded among and underneath the historical colonial buildings –very odd-look up, its old western skyline, look straight and you’re in the East…

Sunday

Mothering Sunday in the UK, so lovely to have cards to open here as I’d completely forgotten, and was very touched-thanks folks!!

Paul had a brilliant day at the grand prix!!

And I had a fantastic day at the Art Galleries-the Ian Potter Contemporary, the Museum of Moving Image for the history of Oz TV, the absorbing collection at the NG of V, and the Shrine of Remembrance-where I watched the flypast for the Grand Prix and could look down over the track, albeit in the distance…

I’m getting used to the shape and form of tribal art now, the story patterns and traditions are making sense, I recognise consistent themes, tropes and motifs; it’s transformed the canvases from what seem vibrant and complex colourful ‘mosaics’ into myths and legends, told not through recognisable images/word but through shape and form, it’s a very different art taken from emotional awareness rather than cognitive senses complex and fascinating.

I ended by walking the Fitzroy/Treasury parks, past Cooks Cottage, an ancient Scarred Tree dating from aboriginal times, (so called as its criss crossed deep scars date from its use for sharpening spears, etc) and then down Colllins Street, Flinders Lane and other key historic streets of the brilliant city, watching the sun setting over the river, the view a weird mixture of glow through the skyscrapers and shadows over the verandas, urban art sculptures contrasting with leafy avenues and blooming gardens.

The Great Ocean Road: St Kilda to Lorne

Monday

Monday and down to St Kilda and the beaches first, before setting out on the road. This is the part of Melbourne we had yet to see, and the weather today is 27 and gorgeous, the perfect beach day.

Walked along the south Melbourne beaches first and then along to St Kilda pier, with its spectacular view of the city skyline…today the water was clear, calm and full of fish sparkling in the warm shallows.

St Kilda pier and Luna Park look just what they are, relics of the Edwardian glory days of this now touristy but still fun suburb-the beach, albeit tiny and not as integral to the city as Sydney beaches, still ‘rounded’ our sense of the Melbourne marvel.

Off to Lorne, our first stop of The Great Ocean Road, and, once past the ghastly hour of motorway around Port Philip, wonderful beaches dotted with small towns and hills with sudden winding bends through valleys and peaks-to me, suddenly transported back to Tasmania!

Lorne is fun-our motel room here is right on the front, but in the quiet, older part of the small town, and has a balcony overlooking the beach and the pier, a lovely treat on arrival, to sit in the warm sunshine and here the surf (luckily Paul has gone upmarket with the accom choices, not over the top but definitely not hostel territory, I like it!!)

Walked down the rocky outcrops to the historic pier and watched the sun go down over the hills, and then back in the increasing dark along the sandy beach bay, as the night sky filled with stars.

Tuesday at Lorne.

Drew the curtains to find the sun streaming through the windows and glinting off a bright blue sea, white surf waves breaking on the sands…fantastic way to start the day, sat eating our brekkie admiring the sunshine coast.

Wandered along in the sun and sand down the beach, taking in the weird rock formations, bizarre, strange shapes, planes of flat rocks lying between sandy stretches interspersed with protruding stones and (sharp) edges.

Through a tiny path under the ocean road –it really does tuck into the cliff face, and was suddenly right above us here-and up to Stony Creek, now dried and full of lilies in the rocky waterholes.

Back for lunch to enjoy our balcony, and people watching on the beaches below. The town suddenly full of travellers enjoying ice cream and picnics and dodging the cockatoos which swipe any food they can-they were swooping over our balcony, chasing off the colourful, but alas smaller, parrots.

Spoilt for choice with bush walks inland, in the national park, we went up to Erskine Falls, surprisingly as spectacular as falls in the Blue Mountains, and then off to find the trek to Cora Lynn Cascades. Again an unexpected delight, the ‘path’ curved down through tall eucalyptus and fern tunnels,  opening out through the cascades, this time flowing over exposed ledges and gullies framed by luxuriant ferns and mosses.

Then round the lookouts for a view from the cliff tops, watching the cars negotiate the steep bends on the road below and the sea breaking on the bays. Sat on the balcony with our coffee and biscuits taking in the peace of the now empty beach and breaking waves.  The sunset walk along to the pier was so peaceful, no one around but us and a few fishermen watching purple skies and birds swooping over the sea.

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains

Left Sydney via Parmetta, to show dad this historic town as he’d only seen it from the ferry, and its old colonial/settlement houses.

Arrived at the appropriately named Three Sisters Motel, Katoomba, mid afternoon, to find this a wonderfully placed resort, walking distance to Echo Point, at the very heart of the canyon, and within a few minutes of the most spectacular views.

The Mountains are actually below the land, a very odd experience, looking across and down continually... that first day the valley and peaks glowed a dark blue (the mist haze, not always seen, we'd didn't see this again during our stay).

We walked to the Three Sisters rock formations and clambered along the walkways to peer over the edge, and then along to Katomba Falls, through the dusk, picking our way down through gullies and rocks.

 

On Tuesday we realised the full extent of the range, much of it has never been explored, looking across at peaks and mountains, down to rainforest and valley floors, as far as we could see.

Given the limited time, we opted for the National Pass trek from the conservation hut at Wentworth Falls, which dropped us down to rainforest and under waterfalls, along narrow rock steps, literally clambering along the cliff edge with rocks above us and the valley floor below.

It took us about 3 hours to hike the ‘walk’ –its mainly steps, our knees were knackered- ending up climbing up the Giant’s Stairwell (very long and steep!) underneath, through and up to the top of the Falls, water streaming down from a brilliant blue sky onto us as we pulled ourselves up the rock face.

I felt as if I'd spent the morning on a film set of 'Fern Gully'. The heat was extreme at the top of the cliffs, but then it was chilly below the edge, and with the freezing water drops continually raining down, I ended up really cold, much to dad's amusement-he's still adjusting and was a mit hot!

Post much need picnic, we walked the Gordon Falls to Leura Falls hike, which goes overland along the very cliff edge, peering down and out at diverse green forests/eucalyptus trees/ferns/ and stark rock faces, waterfalls at every turn.

 

In the evening we wandered down to Echo Point, and by chance saw the most brilliant sunset.

It’s rare that the sky is completely cloud free, and watching the golden orb disappear over a mountain, surrounded by an abundance of colourful, diverse, parrots and cockatoos, was magical.

The reflecting rays makes the area seem light long after it should be dark, I guess because it’s high,  the stars appear in a light blue sky above yet darkness falls over the mountains opposite.

We were sorry to leave on Tuesday, and had to have one last walk, along the cascades to Katoomba Falls and back, admiring the glints of early morning sunlight on wild flowers, trees, rocks etc, watching the mist clear from the valley below.

As I type we have driven over 5 hours to Wagga Wagga, luckily the east side which is not flooded/out of bounds, and are collapsed in the motel ready to complete the run to Melbourne tomorrow (another 5 hours).

The drive has been good though; it’s a picturesque countryside, farmsteads, forests, rolling hills and plateaus, straight across New South Wales.

Next stop Melbourne (and for dad, the Grand Prix on Sunday).

We’re looking forward to seeing the sights and sounds of another city/state, next update to follow whenever we surface again.

Thursday:

I arrved back in Sydney exhausted, flying over/through an horrendous storm.

Sydney had a months worth of rain in two hours, thunder/lighting, etc, and Quantas gave us a rollarcoaster trip over it (all other airlines cancelled!). Felt as if I'd been on the big dipper continually for hours when landed!!

It felt very odd to be in a city again after the 'tiny' town of Hobart and deserted Tasmania, the people, noise and traffic seems enormous.

I walked for miles Thursday night to re-oriantate myself, and found autumn had arrived here too, despite the storm passing and heat descending by the minute...nearly got locked in the Botanical Gardens as everything has switched to autumn opening hours, very confusing.

Sydney Sights

Paul has had a whirlwind tour of Sydney!

Having arrived very early Friday, very disorientated, poor soul, having left the UK winter on Wed am and got here to 26 degrees at 7am Friday, I took him out to Manly beaches for sun/sea/surf and Oz culture!

Needless to say, he loved it (and the weather) and in the evening I took him on the ferry from Circular Quays around to Darling Harbour to see the city scape at night, under the Harbour Bridge and by the Opera House as the sun was setting.

he loved the bats in the Botanical Gardens, and the beautiful flowers all in bloom after the grey winter.

Sat we went to Watsons Gap and walked the South Heads, weather still gorgeous, and back around the city at sunset, using our ferry passes to the full!

Sun we went inland via the ferry to Parametta, which he adored, esp the wonderful view of the city coming back into the harbour from the river rather than the sea, and then, of course, he had to see Bondi  beach-which is tiny compared to Manly, obviously, but still kitsch and fun. Walked the Bondi to Coogee coastal path watching the surf crashing on the cliffs, and dodging the spiders.

(and other tourists/sunday locals-Sydney is busier now than when I was here, but also cruise ships here and weekend traffic, so hard to be sure)

Glorious sunset over the beach watching surfers!

So now tis Monday morning and I am sitting in the hotel lobby with our luggage (now doubled in size) waiting for Paul to collect the hire car, then off to the Blue Mountains etc...the only time we stay anywhere for any length of time is in Melbourne, so correspondance may be limited for a while road trip in progress...............fingers crossed will be fun though, looking forward to seeing more of Australia!!

We've got a day or two back here before returning to the Uk on March 31st, so saving city walks for then, as its beach weather without a doubt here at the minute!