Out came the walkie talkies again! Last year it was New Zealand, this year Australia. Two action-packed weeks in and around Melbourne, Victoria, with Sandy's colleagues from Nuts Ideas and Black Studio. The walkie talkie reference is due to the fact that we always drive in convoy and keep in touch (for endless toilet stops and photo opportunities) with walkie talkies.
We hired three cars (pictured here at our first destination: Wongarra, Great Ocean Road, near Apollo Bay).
Car 1 (the dirtiest): Phil & Sandy, Collin & Sharina
Car 2: Yeoh & Shannon, Henry, Jonathan
Car 3 (the cleanest): Ling & Eric, Jolyn and Joey, Ling's parents
We spent the first four days on the Great Ocean Road, to the southwest of Melbourne. The road hugs the coast and affords stunning sea views (from the left: Sharina, Phil, Yeoh, Shannon) ...
The first place we stayed at was the
Whitecrest Great Ocean Road Resort, a small cluster of modern apartments on a windswept hillside overlooking the sea at a place called Wongarra. We could only see one other house so I'm not sure what else constituted the village of Wongarra. Outisde was permanently cold and windy with large waves crashing against the rocky shoreline. It was very picturesque but best viewed from inside the cottage, which was super modern and warm. Pictured here are Collin (foreground) and Yeoh barbecuing on the verandah while icy cold winds blew in from the Antarctic!
It was just too cold to eat outside ...
But the next day it was 90 degrees and Phil was sunburnt (as usual). Welcome to Victoria! All four seasons in a day. (Sandy and Henry lunching in Lorne.)
Standing in the rolling green countryside and one could almost be in Wales ...
if it were not for the koalas hanging in the trees ...
and the pockets of giant-fern forests ...
Koala spotting at Kennet River.
Jolin entertaining the troops.
Our first koala! Like typical tourists we squealed with excitement at seeing our first koala bear. We then saw them on virtually every eucalyptus tree.
After a slow drive up the muddy logging tracks in the heart of the Otway Fly Ranges, we reached
Otway Fly Treetop Walk, an amazing 25-metre-high steel walkway, cutting through a temperate rainforest of Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Mountain Ash.
A 45-metre-high lookout tower adds to the excitement, especially as it sways in the wind.
And a cantilevered section extends out into the forest with no visible support, bouncing as you walk out onto it. Scary stuff.
Tree imps Jolin and Joey.
After Wongarra and the Great Ocean Road our next stop was to be Hall's Gap, up in the Grampians. On the way there though we took some time to see the famous 12 Apostles: impressive rock formations and once again, freezing winds blowing in from Antarctica. And this was supposed to be summer?
London Bridge ... this used to be connected to the mainland but crumbled into the sea not long ago, leaving two astonished tourists on the newly-formed island. They had to wait for several hours for a rescue helicopter to arrive!
Hall's Gap was our second stop in Victoria. Nestled in a valled high up in the Grampians, it was an ideal base for walks. Summer had finally arrived and we enjoyed beautiful hot sunny weather.
Flocks of parakeets screeched in the trees and kangaroos grazed in the garden. I took perverse pleasure in eating a kangaroo souvlaki while a family of kangaroos grazed not two metres away! The highlight of our stay in Hall's Gap was watching two large male roos 'boxing' for the attention of a female. This all happened a metre from where we were sitting on our verandah at night. Amazing!
Kangaroo souvlaki ...
The food was pretty dull in Hall's Gap (see above!) so we were forced to cook most evenings. Sandy and Collin preparing pasta ...
In a unexpected burst of energy we decided to climb to the summit of one of the mountains overlooking the town. The walk took a couple of hours and we saw more kangaroos and porcupines along the way.
Great views of Hall's Gap from the summit ...
While walking back down we managed to get lost but luckily found the track again.
Later that day Sandy, Collin, Sharina and I drove to some even better lookout points much higher up a different mountian. Stunning views over the plains towards Melbourne.
After a relaxing stay in the Grampians, it was back on the road again. Collin and Sharina in dreamland ...
Next stop: the Dandenong Ranges, to the east of Melbourne. Collin, Sharina, Sandy and Phil stayed in Lavender Cottage, part of the
Como Cottages group in the small town of Olinda in the Dandenongs. It was almost like living in a Vogue Entertaining spread! There were a couple of great restaurants within walking distance, plus a well-stocked bottle shop selling high-end wines from boutique wineries.
The weather was so good we had breakfast in the garden. Sharina laying the table ...
Collin enjoying a sparkling wine and orange juice for breakfast ...
from the left: Collin, Sharina, Jonathan and Sandy ...
The cottages we stayed in were designed in traditional Victorian style ...
On one afternoon, Henry, Sandy and I visited a public garden, of which there are many in the Dandenongs, and enjoyed a quiet picnic lunch there.
Sandy depleting the local flora to make her necklace ...
And devouring an almond croissant for dessert ...
Views of Melbourne from the observatory outside Olinda ...
After a couple of very civilized days in the Dandenongs, we drove south to Phillip Island, home of the Little Penguins. As well as doing the penguin trip, we spent an afternoon on the beach watching the surfers. Phil decided to take a dip but was back out in 10 seconds flat. It was then he realised everybody else was wearing a wetsuit!
Collin auditioning for a shampoo advert, followed close at heel by pigdog 2 (the original pigdog lives in a caravan in New Zealand but that's another story) ...
Afetr a total of eight days on the move, it was nice to finally reach Melbourne and hang out in the city. And what a great city! We loved the cosmopolitan mix of people, genteel and not brash as we understand Sydney to be. Great food, interesting museums, fun shopping, good bars, Yarra Valley on the doorstep ... we fell in love.
Apart from an over supply of fish and chips on the Great Ocean Road and on Phillip Island, the range and quality of food in Victoria was really superb. Our favourite finds in Melbourne were Israeli (Sandy had a delicious shakshuka - eggs poached in a tomato and spicy pepper stew, usually a North African breakfast!), Columbian (Phil feasted on a dish of shredded meat with beans and cheese on plantain), Greek (kebabs and souvlaki to die for), Vietnamese and Chinese. Best of all must be the Greek cakes and pastries shop on Lonsdale Street that Steve and Katrina introduced us to.
Sandy and Phil eating Japanese on Brunswick Street in Melbourne ...
Sandy enjoying a seafood pasta in Lorne, on the great Ocean Road ...
Henry enjoyed his dish so much he started spontaneous air kissing ...
Phil's breakfast of Eggs Benedict in St Kilda ...
and Phil's lunch of skewered octopus five door's down in St Kilda ...
Another foodie highlight was
Queen Victoria Market. we enjoyed an eclectic breakfast of Turkish borek (spinach pies), Turkish dips with pita, Indian biryani, Aussie fish and chips, Chinese chop suey (we were hungry) ...
followed by one of Katrina's doughnuts ...
We loved the market and could move to Melbourne just to shop here. Sandy and I brought half a leg of prosciutto back to Singapore. Delicious! Whenever I'm peckish, be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or after the pub, I just shave a few slices off the leg (using a super sharp pineapple stripper!) and drop them straight in my mouth!
Collin, Sharina, Sandy and Jonathan went to see Pearl Jam in concert in Melbourne and loved it. Phil flew to Brisbane for the day to meet author
Janet Lim.
Due to Sandy's busy shopping schedule we only found the time to visit two museums ... the fascinating
Immigration Museum and the
Melbourne Museum, with it's excellent Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre.
Sandy dwarfed by an 18.7-metre-long Blue Whale skeleton in the Melbourne Museum. The whale washed up in Lorne on the Great Ocean Road, in 1992.
Wonderful architecture in Melbourne ...
We LOVE Melbourne! Thank you Nuts Ideas for yet another fantastic holiday!
