Exploring Victoria - the State

Well it’s about time that I get around to updating this blog as many people are reminding me that it is now sorely out of date. But I have an excuse – we just returned from an amazing 10-day trip through the southeast corner of South Australia over to Victoria where we drove the Great Ocean Road, went through the mountains and returned home. Because I can’t possibly do justice to most of the places with my own photos, I have added some links on this page so that you can all experience a little of what we saw.

So let’s get started. We left Adelaide for Mount Gambier to spend a few days with the parents of my friend Terriann. The beauty of the countryside continued to leave us dumbfounded as we wound our way through country roads to a farm belonging to one of her friends…where we were very warmly greeted by a giant man with huge paws for hands and one of the warmest smiles I have ever seen. Craig and his girlfriend treated us (6 adults and 6 girls aged 4 – 12) to lunch and a tour of the farm. The kids got to play with the farm dogs and ducklings, but the real treat was cuddling the baby guinea pigs. It is important to note at this point, that guinea pigs are considered a delicacy to some…and we kept the fate of the fuzzy little guys a secret from the girls as they snuggled them and named them all. As you can well imagine, at this point I was a little concerned about what in fact was being carved on the dinner table and asked Craig what I was about to eat – he motioned towards the field where I turned to see a flock of goats happily grazing.

After lunch, we got a tour of the sheep farm and the kids had a blast being herded by the dog (Pooch) and Craig who was manning the gates on the chute. The kids were running through the maze of fences and gates, working their way to the shearing shed – with dogs in hot pursuit. Anyways, it was a fabulous day and we said our goodbye’s and left for Mt. Gambier.

As we drove through the fields of sheep and cattle, set among the gum trees (a scene straight out of Thorn Birds) we saw our first wild kangaroos…the first of many on this trip. We arrived at the farm, again to the warmest of welcomes and greeted by the farm dog, “Mate”. We fell in love with this place, the apple orchards, the cow paddocks, the beautiful garden with chooks (chickens) wandering under the trees. We were treated to three days of cook-ups on the back veranda with all of the neighbours. We immensely enjoyed the farm experience…watching the 6 girls run around with what seemed like a whole pack of dogs at times. They got to feed the cows in the morning and Sophie and Elise got to bottle feed and 5-week old calf. They hunted for bugs and fed the chickens…spent 3 days tired and very dirty.

While in Mt Gambier, we spent a wonderful day in the Coonawarra - tasting (and buying) fabulous wines. Terriann had rented a bus and there were about 20 of us on it, enjoying the scenery and a lot of laughs. As you can well imagine, Dug I were the subject of many funny joke and our accents (didn’t know I had one?) continued to amuse all.

The next day, we went to the most amazing set of limestone caves nearby at a place called Naracoorte. They were unbelievable with the most amazing formations. The kids loved it. We even got to walk through a cave that is home to hibernating bats – even more interesting is that this cave was used for parties by the English in the early 1900’s. It even still has the signatures of kids who signed and dated their names with candles – one read “Kay, 1925”.

We then had to say our goodbyes and leave for the remainder of our trip as we headed south to cross over the Victoria border and drive to a beautiful seaside town of Port Fairy. It was stunning and we stayed in a house right on the beach. The girls and I went to collect shells and all Sophie said when we got down on to the sand was “this is shell heaven”. I think we will be bringing home an entire suitcase of seashells.

The day we left Port Fairy, we stopped at a park called Tower Hill, which is an extinct volcano. As you drive into it, the sides are thick jungle with grasslands forming the bottom. During some times, it is filled with water, but when we were there, it was a field, home to countless grazing emus. It was like stepping back in time…like the opening scenes of the Land that Time Forgot. We had a good time exploring the park, but the highlight had to be sharing lunch with a pair of pretty persistent emus. Sophie and I arrived back at the car a little later to join Dug and Elise for lunch…only to find that Elise had locked herself in the car as Dug was brandishing a stick, trying chase away the emus who were eying the contents of the cooler in our trunk. Wish I got a picture of that.

Then on to a place called Apollo Bay - along the way, we traveled the Great Ocean road, which is a narrow and windy coastal road with magnificent views of limestone sea stacks and sandy beaches - truly amazing.

We arrived at our cottage in Apollo Bay just as it was getting dark…deep in the temperate rainforest. We were greeted by a cacophony of what I can only describe as screeching coming from high in the trees. We had our suspicions of what might be calling out from the dense trees, and they were confirmed as I stepped on to the deck first thing in the morning and was greeted by several kookaburras. They all lined up on the railings of the deck, waiting for breakfast. Turns out that kookaburras want nothing to do with rice cakes – they much prefer bacon, stolen fresh off the BBQ. These birds were amazing and provided hours of fun for the kids as they got to pet them and feed them bacon crumbs.

The next 2 days were spent exploring the Otways – a National park that boasts giant redwoods, ash forests, waterfalls and towering ferns. It reminded me of Cathedral Grove – damp and smelling of earth and a freshly watered greenhouse. We visited a place called the Otway Fly. This attraction is a steel walkway suspended 25m above the ground that wound through the rainforest giving a birds-eye view of the trees and ferns below. To get to the walkway, we wound through rainforest trails amidst 10ft high tree ferns along a path called Dinosaur Trail – hidden through the underbrush dotted along the path were life-size and very realistic dinosaur models. The kids were in heaven. We eventually got to the Fly, and even with my fear of heights, I was spellbound. However, we did eventually come to the main attraction – a 47m high tower and an arm of the walkway that swung like a pendulum. This is were I declined further exploration and had to watch the rest of my family climb 47m into the air with great enthusiasm while I clung to the base of the tower too scared to look up or down.

After this truly astounding morning, we made our way back to the coast to the Cape Otway Lighthouse. Given the “high” morning we had, I declined the climb up the lighthouse that sat on an 80m cliff edge. Of course, Dug and girls thought it was great. We have come to the conclusion that Elise has not fear at all and likely will spend her youth hurtling down a mountain on a snowboard!

Sadly, we left Apollo Bay and continued along the Great Ocean Road to the next amazingly beautiful town called Lorne. This is a little seaside town, famous for its surfing. We only had one night here, but could have stayed a week. We had a magnificent apartment across the road from the beach where we could watch the surfers. Even more incredible though, was the flock of visitors that we had as we sat on the deck enjoying a morning coffee – a flock of cockatoos that ate banana chips from the girls’ hands. These birds are so beautiful and big, much bigger than their pet-store cousins that we see at home.

Now off to the mountains. We sadly left the beaches and coast road for the Grampians – a mountain range near the Victoria/SA border. Of course, we had to pass though another wine region (and cellar doors) on the way!! We wound our way through the narrow and windy mountain roads to arrive at our last stop – a cottage in a little valley in the middle of a 1000 acre horse ranch. It was absolutely exquisite, totally private and nestled in among the gum trees with kangaroos at the edge of the clearing. We were again greeted by the farm dog – Sally, a border collie that led us on walks through the forest, leaving our sides only to be called in for dinner. This was truly a happy place of solitude and relaxation. We spent the next days exploring the rugged mountains, lunching with kangaroos and exploring the ranch. We celebrated the last night of our trip with a cheeky bottle of Rosé (yes, Dug drank Rosé) and a campfire, complete with marshmallows.

Sadly, we left our little piece of paradise, eager to return as soon as we can.

From the Mouths of Babes

Well this was bound to happen - the girls have adopted some Aussie lingo and are very comfortable in the usage of many of these gems. Before I continue with the next anecdote, the following translations will add to the humour of the story:

Stubbie - a beer
Mate - buddy, pal, comrade, friend, acquaintance, anyone really

Anyways, now to the story...the girls were eating dinner last night and Dug and I were puttering in the kitchen when Elise pipes up (completely out of the blue): "Duggie, can you get me a stubbie, mate and pass me the remote". Once Dug and I picked ourselves up off the floor from laughing so hard, we almost did get her one, just because she was so earnest.

Next funny Elise story - she is going to be really mad when she finds out that the entire world can read these stories. The girls are pretty obsessed with making "nature houses". These are plastic tupperware containers that they fill with rocks and dirt and leaves to attract various wild critters to come and live in them. There are currently 5 of them in the back yard. Anyways, back to my story. I was home with Elise this afternoon and she was busy making a nature house out of a sandwich container. This house was intended to hold her pet lizard called "lizzy" - it is important to note that we don't have a lizard named "Lizzy". So Elise was out catching ants for Lizzy and in spite of my insistence, was bringing them inside to put in the nature house. In she comes - ant in each hand - good sized ones clenched tightly between thumb and forefinger...when she starts to yell - "they're biting me - they're biting me!" She starts to cry, very loudly, still yelling that she is being bitten. So here's the scene...Elise is crying and screaming, the dog is going crazy in the commotion, and there are ants now dropping out of the container all over the kitchen floor. It was like "Wild Kingdom" - beasts locked in a battle of survival. Elise was in pain, but determined to keep these ants tightly clenched in her hands. I'm sure they did not appreciate the humour of the situation or maybe had some insight into the fact that if they survived the squeezing, they were going to be fed to a non-existent lizard called "lizzy". Regardless it was funny - Elise was holding on out of pure stubbornness and the ants holding on for dear life. The ants finally won and Elise dropped them and then promptly squished them both.

My time here has taught me to appreciate the small things in life...

It's Raining...finally

Well the title speaks for itself - it has finally cooled down and we woke up to rain yesterday. It's not "sideways, driving, wet-to-the bone Victoria rain", but at least it's a little rain. I know, I know...there's no sympathy from the BC crowd who have started growing mushrooms between the toes and are sprouting gills, but trust me, extraordinary unrelenting heat and unrelenting rain are pretty close together on the continuum of miserable weather.

We had a nice Easter weekend. We even got a visit from the Easter Bilby - see http://www.easterbilby.com.au/. The bilby is a rabbit-sized endangered marsupial that has been adopted as part of the Easter tradition and many chocolates are in the shape of a bilby. Anyways, the girls were thrilled to find out that the Easter Bilby and Easter Bunny had both found their way to our house here and delivered a treasure of hidden chocolates.

We took a trip out to the Barossa Valley on Saturday with some friends. They took us to the Whispering Wall, which is a dam that has such incredible acoustics that if you whisper against the concrete on one side, your words can be heard perfectly on the other side...140m away! It was pretty neat. In this picture, you can barely see Dug and the girls on the other side talking to friends standing just underneath me.

Then on to the wineries!! We went to McGuigans, then carried on to one of our favourites - Torbrek (Malcolm - thanks for the introduction to this one). Absolutely fantastic!! It was hard to wipe the smile from Dug's face as we got to taste some of the best wine ever.

We continued our weekend with a trip into the Adelaide Hills - a beautiful countryside full of winding roads and charming little towns. Speaking of winding roads...we have come to the conclusion that this part of the world is host to some of the most dangerous and rudest drivers we have ever come across. I'm sure that many Australians are excellent, safe drivers, but you can be sure that 1 in 4 tailgate incessantly, speed, refuse to allow anyone in front and are generally nasty behind the wheel. My apologies to any Aussies who belong in the category of good drivers. But you have to admit that you take your life in your hands, especially on the country roads which are barely wide enough for 2 cars, no divider and have speed limits of 80km/hr! Dug is an excellent driver and he was visibly rattled by the flagrant display of machismo and arrogance by people thinking that they belong on a Formula 1 race course.

We carried on to another wildlife park and I have to again be negative about his experience. At many of the wildlife parks, visitors can purchase food for the animals - this is typically pellets that look very similar to rabbit food. At this place, visitors had the choice of peanuts or COOKIES!! Or if you didn't want to purchase food, I was told at the front desk that we could feed the animals whatever we wanted, with the exception of the otters - they were on a diet because they were getting too fat. I was shocked and absolutely appalled to see people feeding these poor animals cookies and Cheetos and whatever crappy junk food they had with them. It was heartbreaking to see people throwing cookies and potato chips at sad looking monkeys and droopy eyed dingos - it was kind of like charging admission to a dump so that people can watch once-majestic bears eat garbage. Anyways, we won't be going back there...

Our Easter weekend finished off on a high note at a brewery, for a fantastic plate of antipasto/ploughmans lunch and a cold beer. They sell their beer in 2l jugs with handles, that you can bring back for cheap refills. Brilliant!! You can't imagine how happy Dug was leaving the brewery with a belly full of meat and cheese and a jug of beer in hand!

Hot, hot, hot.

Well, first of all, I'm sure that many of you have heard about Adelaide's record heatwave. If you haven't, we're in the middle of record hot weather - day 9 of high 30's. This breaks the previous 8-day record set in 1934 and according to the forecast, we are in for the same temperatures until early next week. Apparently, March is supposed to have an average temperature of 26 degrees...we would enjoy some of that right now. We are getting used to the hot days, but it's the hot nights (with less than stellar AC in the house) that is tough. Too bad we couldn't refit our water cooler to run ice cold beer instead!!

Anyways, back to our adventures...we went to Belair National Park last weekend for a quick run outside before it got too hot. What a beautiful place. While the kids were playing on a big playground with a fort and underground tunnels, I was bird-watching. We looked up to see 3 kookaburras sitting in the tree, not the least bit concerned for my presence. I couldn't snap pictures fast enough. I then moved around the tree a little and to my amazement, saw 2 tawny frogmouths sitting on another branch. You probably haven't heard about them - they are nocturnal owl-like birds that look like branches when they sit in the tree. Needless to say, I did not manage to get a picture of these, but the park warden said that we were very lucky to have seen them as they are quite a rare site. We then walked around a small lake nearby. The bird life continued to amaze us - we could have watched for hours...if it wasn't so hot.

For any of you who are interested in birds, I have uploaded a bird photo album (pics that I have copied from other websites) onto the blog that chronicles the birds that we have seen to date in the wild. I'll keep this updated as we see more.

Till next time.

Continuing our travels

We took a little day trip to Glenelg, which really is a southern suburb of Adelaide only about 30 minutes drive from us. What a spectacular place - just beautiful. It' right on the beach...a little resort town full of neat restaurants and shops. It's a busy place with lots going on - buskers, camel rides on the beach(??), an amusement park for the kids.

The highlight of Glenelg though was the Rodney Fox Shark Museum - filled with pictures and memorabilia of his 40-year relationship with great whites. If you don't know who he is, the short story is that he's the once abalone diver who was attacked by a great white (I'm sure you've seen the famous pictures of his wound) who now dedicates his life to protecting them. He has been featured in National Geographic is is known all over the world - read about him at http://www.rodneyfox.com.au/. Just in case you're interested, go to that site and see some of the pictures in the Gallery that were taken during his Port Lincoln shark diving expeditions (I mentioned these in the last posting). Anyways, back to Glenelg...we arrive at the front desk to pay our admission to the museum and I am asked by a very nice lady (who realized that we were foreigners) what brought us there. I told that I knew the story of Rodney Fox and had seen many of his documentaries and admired his work. She said something like..."well you can tell him yourself" and he steps out from behind the counter. Turns out she is is wife and we had a lovely chat - it was a real honor to meet him.

On to the next adventure - we had our first encounter with an Australian beastie of the creepy crawlie sort. I was up late by myself and was just locking the doors. All the lights were out, except for the TV and as I walked through the kitchen (in my bare feet), I caught something out of the corner of my eye on the floor. I thought is was a lizard, realized it wasn't and thought that maybe it was a small snake. At that point, I had the good sense to back up and turn on a light. Turns out the bugs here are BIG, really freakin' BIG. It was a fine specimen of the Giant Australian Centipede and before you click on this link, keep in mind that this thing was about 5" long and the body (not including the legs) as thick as my index finger http://images.zacharoo.com/animals/centipede/centipede.html. Anyways, me being me, I captured it under a plastic container for the night so that I could show everyone else my find in the morning. Dug was not nearly as enthusiastic about it as the girls were, but the girls and I had a Free Willy moment and let it go in the garden. I have also learned a very valuable lesson - to shut the doors before it gets dark and wear slippers.

Southwest Australia - the Odyssey

Well we have just returned from our first roadtrip. We decided to explore a little town called Port Lincoln - a town that is famous for tuna and great white sharks. They actually do offshore tours at this place where people pay money to get thrown in a shark cage for an up close and personal experience.
We visited Lincoln National Park, which surprised us by being so remote while only a few kilometres outside of town. Much of the park was inaccessible due to poor roads which was a bit shocking considering the state of the good roads. At one point, we were greeted by a sign that read "road ends in 500m", then "road ends in 250m". Needless to say, we were more than a little curious to find out why the road ended - was there a reason why it needed to end and if so what would it be? Well, as we came over a very small rise, we indeed came to the end of the road - literally and figuratively. We found ourselves upon the end of Australia and the start of the open Southern Ocean - with rugged rocks and crashing waves rivalling the roughest of BC's coastline. It was spectacular and the picture doesn't even come close to doing the scenery justice.

We then carried on to the other side of the park and found a secluded beach - we were the only ones on it. The girls were in their glory looking for shells.

The day we left ,we stopped at a wildlife park to feed some beasties. I must add in here that 5 weeks into this trip, we have yet to see a kangaroo outside of a park...except of course prone by the side of the road. The birds were amazing, flocking all around us and landing on our heads and in our laps, under our feet. Elise's experience with the magpie goose a few weeks back made her keep her distance from the birds - I don't blame her because they nipped when the food didn't come fast enough. Unfortunately, my camera batteries ran out before I could snap any more pictures and I missed capturing one of the funniest sights yet...a big wombat fast asleep on its back with its stubby little piggy legs straight up in the air. I thought is was dead until it scratched it's little wombat parts with its stubby piggy foot.

Til next time...

A quick update

Well it’s about time that I got around to updating this site with what has been happening since we arrived. It’s hard to believe that we have been here for a month already!

So where to start…the girls have started school and are loving it. Sophie is in a grade 2/3 split and has settled in to an English class no problem. She even got a perfect score on her second spelling test. “Bravo”…or shall I saw “well done” instead. Sophie has made lots of friends and is really enjoying taking recorder lessons. She starts gymnastics next week.

Elise is fully engrained in Kindy now – she goes to school Monday and Wednesday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday from 9 – 3. They serve snacks and hot lunches from the kitchen within the Kindy. When I asked Elise what she had for lunch last Thursday, she replied with “I had 3 cheese and soy sauce sandwiches”. Very puzzled, I asked the lady in the kitchen the next day, she cleared it up for us – they were cheese and vegemite!!

I have fully embraced gardening the Aussie way. This means trying to keep plants alive with no rain and very strict watering restrictions…like watering once a week. What this means is that we have to conserve all gray water from dishes, laundry and baths to then carry it bucket by bucket to the garden. I am starting to get a nice green lawn and I have bought tones of flowers and pots to add some colour to the yard. Just to keep them alive, I have to water twice a day when it’s really hot. But the good news is that I have lots of gazanias, hibiscus, oleanders, vincas (like impatiens), mandevillas and even a frangipani (plumeria).

The people that we have met here are fantastic. They are so warm and kind and have embraced “the foreigners” and all of our strange customs and words like we are family. They all want to share their homes, their dinner tables and fantastic bottles of wine. The incredible people more than make up for the unbelievable take your breath away 39 degree heat.

Well, have to sign off for now.