Melbourne

Our first day in Australia started with a drive through Melbourne on our way to a wildlife sanctuary. Glenda fell in love with the furry little koalas. They eat very low energy eucalyptus leaves, so their normal habit is to sleep 18-22 hours per day. Only a God who has a wonderful sense of humor could have made their faces, probably after a second glass of Chardonnay. There were also wallabys, echidnas, kangaroos and my favorite, the platypus. It’s the only mammal in the world that lays an egg. Next we took a train ride on a little narrow gauge coal fired steam engine known as Puffin’ Billy. The small railway was devised as a depression-era scheme to provide jobs. It also had the effect of uniting several of the very remote towns in the mountains around Melbourne. Its other claim to fame is that it inspired a composer to create a piece of music also called “Puffin’ Billy”, which was chosen in 1955 to be the theme song of the CBS children’s show “Captain Kangaroo.” Finally we went to the Yarra Valley, known for making some of the finest Australian wines. We had a wine-tasting, followed by a gourmet meal, complete with appropriate wine-pairings, at the Rochford Vineyards. As the cultural capital of Australia, it is easy to see why this “veddy, veddy British” city of Melbourne is repeatedly voted as the most livable city in the world.Read more