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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    32

    Dolphins and then .... going south

    30. januar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We decided to go on a dolphin watching tour that included, for the stupid, a boom netting experience. My take on boom netting is being water boarded while being given an enema, not my (nor Bun’s) idea of fun.

    We set off with about 30 people in a boat designed for 150 and headed north. The captain did the safety announcements and then said that spotting dolphins was a group activity and don’t simply rely upon the crew. After about 20 minutes we saw a pod of maybe 10 dolphins about 200m away between us and a rocky headland. The boat slowed and we drifted along watching them surface and dive. With the dolphins moving and the boat pitching, it wasn’t easy to take photos or videos. Not the most entertaining experience but the boat isn’t allowed to get close to the dolphins and they were more interested in doing whatever dolphins do. None decide to come and surf our bow wave or leap out of the water in front of us. Never mind.

    The boom netting experience took place for the dozen people who did it. They appeared to enjoy it apart from one older gentleman who looked to be drowning.

    The 90+ minutes were very enjoyable. We returned to the port, had a coffee and then went back to Bertha via a couple of shops.

    We drove to Hyams Beach, the beach in Jervis Bay that has “the whitest sand in all Australia”. Sorry, we were told that Whitehaven Beach on the Whitsunday Islands, oh and also Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island have the whitest sand!

    When we arrived at Hyams Beach we were told that there was no swimming because of Blue Bottle jellyfish in the water. We went down and looked at the “whitest sand” and found it to be a lot less white than either Whitehaven or L. McKenzie, but that could be because of the ash and pieces of burnt wood mixed in with it. The jellyfish lay all along the edge of the water, we didn’t even paddle.. Time to leave Jervis Bay and head south.

    We weren’t sure where to drive on to. We reached Milton and decided to carry on to Kiola. Just outside Kiola we stopped to visit the information centre that tuned out to be a notice board outside a newsagents. While the board wasn’t helpful, the locals in the newsagents were full of information “it’s all burnt down here”. They suggested a campsite on Merry Beach so we drove down to it, checked in to find that there is no phone signal at all so we can’t plan for tomorrow - never mind, all part of the adventure. There are, however, a huge number of wallabies and kangaroos on the site, plus loads of ducks and rabbits. Bun is fretting that a joey has lost his mother, but I think they are just having some time apart and the joey is learning that trying to jump into the pouch of every wallaby you come across, male or female, will only get you a quick biff around the ears. I’m sure mum will find him when she’s had enough time on her own.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    The best site in Batemans Bay
    Oh dear, maybe we wont go down thereBurnt forestLilli Pilli beachFires in the hills?Just lazing aboutThe sun setting in the smoke haze

    South to Mystery Bay ... almost

    31. januar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We set off to visit Batemans Bay not really sure what to expect other than it had an information centre that we wanted to visit to sense-check our plans/options. We are heading to Melbourne and want to take in Canberra. One option is to visit Mystery Bay and then travel up to Canberra and along the main road to Melbourne. Another option is to go to Canberra and then back to the coast and go via the coast roads. Google maps shows one road closure in the south, so I was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem. The lady in the info centre suggested we download the Victoria State Roads app. When I did this I could see a mass of red closed roads around a lot of the south east corner that will make the coast route to Melbourne impossible. We were also told tat there is a fire outside of Canberra, the temperature is heading to over 40c and fire risks will increase. Frankly we’d prefer to be on the coast during high temperatures so our plan of going further down the coast road to Mystery Bay and then up to Canberra when the temperature drops appeared the best option. We went for a wander around to get some food and a coffee.

    Of the little we saw of Batemans Bay it was tired with many shops empty and up for lease. It was difficult to find a cafe (first world problem) that wasn’t part of something that deep fried everything. We eventually found one and Bun had a lemon curd and almond slice that she enjoyed so much she didn’t get around to taking a photo of it! 😂.

    Most of the main A1 Highway that we travelled on went through burnt forest and bushland.

    We continued down the coast and stopped at a small beach called Lilli Pilli. We stopped for no other reason than we loved the name. We walked onto the beach to be told that there were blue bottles in the water and on the beach 😡. We didn’t paddle, just looked around and set off to find a beach facing a different direction where the NE wind hadn’t blown the critters in.

    A mile or so further on we came to. McKenzie Bay, a lovely beach where there were many people swimming. We went In for a swim to cool off and emerged unscathed from jellyfish.

    We continued south to head for Mystery Bay. We found the info centre in Narooma, a large town about 10km before mystery bay but it was shut with a sign saying it would be open on Sunday 2 February, all enquiries to “the evacuation centre”. Would Brexit celebrations incapacitate them for that long? We drove to where we thought the evacuation centre was but were waylaid by a seal in the harbour so we stopped to watch it and chat to the fishermen.

    Apparently we have driven into a high fire risk zone and Mystery Bay (being a campground in the bush) has been evacuated to Naroomba. There are also between 200 and 400 Rural Fire Service firemen being accommodated in Naroomba to either go out and fight the fires or defend the town, it all depends upon the wind.

    The weather f’cast is for temps to exceed 40c and the wind to change from NE (blowing the fire back to areas already burnt) to westerly. Blowing the fire onto unburnt areas. If the wind strengthens then embers will go ahead of the fire and start more fires. Oh well, all part of the adventure.

    We found a camp ground that had a significant RFS presence with two fire truck parked next to our pitch, it was like having our own personal fire brigade.

    Let’s see what tomorrow brings.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    We are wherevthe yellow mark is. All part of the adventure
    1The sun through the smokeView from Bertha at 15:302Parked next to us, our personal fire brigade

    A bit stranded

    1. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We awoke to a very strong smell of smoke in the air and a very strange light. The sun couldn’t penetrate the smoke and gave the sky a colour that we’d only seen once before and that was during a solar eclipse. The firies had all left at around 7am and a couple of the mobile homes had already left.

    We sought advice from the camp manager. It has never been our intention to become part of the problem .... but not sure if nature will help us to achieve that.

    The Rural Fire Service released a map overnight showing the fires and the burnt areas, just as I have on my app, however, they added their prediction for fires if the temperature reached the expected 40C and the wind became westerly. The map put us in the middle of a fire hazard. This was purely a prediction but the advice was that we shouldn’t stray too far, Narooma is a safe place.

    We decided to go to Mystery Bay, apparently it hadn’t been evacuated yesterday, somewhere else had been. We set off the few miles down the A1, arrived at the Mystery Bay Road to find it closed. Back to Narooma for b’fast.

    We found a lovely cafe with views across the bay and treated ourselves to b’fast and work out what to do today. The reasons for coming to the area are to visit Mystery Bay and to see if we can get a trip to Montague Island to snorkel and dive with the seals. The boats were not going to the island because most of their bookings had cancelled coming to the area.

    We planned a couple of maintenance chores for Bertha and then drove down to see if the seals were about. The one we had seen the day before was still sleeping in front of the fish gutting table on the quayside. We then drove around to the harbour entrance where a number of seals were sleeping on the rocks on the inside of the breakwater. The sea was looking quite ferocious with waves breaking over the breakwater.

    Time for a dip. The temperature wasn’t 40C and there was little sun, but there wasn’t much wind either. There were a number of places to choose from, the beach in the estuary near the bridge, the beach with the shark net or the beach without the shark net. Knowing we weren’t going to be in the sea long enough to attract sharks, we elected for the final option..

    I’m sure the sea today was no colder than yesterday, but without the sun, it felt a lot cooler. A quick swim and out, back to Bertha for a cuppa. Back to the campsite to get a pitch, do some laundry and then go out to the cinema to watch Jo Jo Rabbit, a bit weird but quite entertaining.

    We walked over the road to the pub for a beer and watch the sun go down and the bats fly into nearby trees to eat the fruit and then we went back to camp. The new moon is bright red as the sun was when it went down. Smoke has been in the air all day, but the horizon showed a blue line between the sea and the smoke, so we guess the smoke was quite high.

    As I finish this, the wind has picked up and is shaking Bertha, the weather f’cast says winds of 46-59km/h, I wonder what that will do to the fires and what tomorrow will bring?    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Walk through the camp
    Wallaby foot/tail printsThe mound of stonesMystery BaeachI love this Rolls Royce, one of only 200 made and in such good conditionSunset through the smoke over Canberra

    Canberra - ACT

    2. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Well that all ended with a bit of a damp squib, which is probably best. The firies were up even earlier at about 6am. By the time we stuck our head out of Bertha the place was like a ghost town, The wind had turned to the west, but the weather was cold - unpack the fleece!

    We took our time clearing up and decided to try Mystery Bay again and found the road was no longer closed so we went down to see what we could find.

    Mystery Bay (https://www.southcoasttravelguide.com.au/myster…) obviously has a mystery, but we weren’t going to attempt to solve that. It also has a very large natural campsite, one of the few remaining on the east coast of NSW, but we didn’t need to camp. The reason for going was to find the beach of souls, a place I had been told about at a previous campsite. The beach is a sacred place for the local aborigines, some of whom still camp permanently at the Mystery Bay Campsite. There is a mound of blue stones and no one knows where they have come from. If you sit near the stones then you feel closer to your ancestors. Well it has to be worth a try.

    We found the bay and the stones without too many difficulties, although the campsite has an eeriness about it that made us a little uncomfortable.

    Well I tried, I did my best mindfulness experience but I didn’t feel any closer to my ancestors. But I gave it a go.

    We went over the next headland but there wasn’t much to see so we wandered back to Bertha, drove down the road a bit further, looked at another bay and then decided to find out if it was safe to make the journey to Canberra.

    The Narooma information centre was open and said everything was fine, but things can change. We looked around the museum about the local lighthouse before going to find a coffee to plan our route.

    As we sat deciding whether to go north or south to Canberra, the skies opened and it poured with rain. That was probably a relief for a lot of people.

    We took the road north, via Batemans Bay. When we had driven south, we had taken the tourist routes that went closer to the coast. The route we took today was the A1 that was more direct but went through a great deal of burnt forest.

    Later we went through the town of Mogo, full of boutique shops, rather hippie and Asian. Several houses/shops in the high street had been burnt down. One shopkeeper said that Mogo used to be a tourist town in the middle of a forest, now it’s just a town in the middle of a burnt forest.

    The road from there was very steep and made Bertha puff a lot. Second gear at 40km/h was not fun. The problem was that some of the bends were hairpin and signposted for 25km/h. From that speed, on a steep gradient, I couldn’t get Bertha into third .... well I could, but she just slowed down. Fortunately there are plenty of overtaking lanes and, for the longest stretch, there wasn’t anyone behind us. We came across more burnt out forest and a small patch of smoking forest, but the rain continued to fall so we guess all but the largest fires would be dowsed “naturally”.

    We arrived in Canberra, found the campsite, went for a swim ( they have a pool), made dinner and have worked out all of the sights we will need to see. The weather is set for warm with a chance of rain - all adds to the adventure!    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    View from Mt Ainslie across Canberra. Government House in the middle in the distance
    War Memorial leading to Government HouseWicked wabbits everywhere3Canberra in 1953, photo taken by my father from an RAF Mosquito. No lakes!Australian sense of humour?Model of Canberra today along the same axis as the aerial photograph

    Canberra City

    3. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    This was a strange place. It didn’t exist in 1900 other than as a sheep station in the middle of nowhere - In 1824, Joshua Moore built a homestead named Canberry, whose name was derived from a local Aboriginal language; its meaning is disputed Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901, when the British Parliament passed legislation enabling the six Australian colonies to collectively govern in their own right as the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia decided that it needed to have a capital, but could not use any of the capitals of the existing states. It had to be within the state of New South Wales, but at least 100km from Sydney.

    Once a suitable location for the capital was found, in 1911, the Australian Government launched an international competition for the design of a new capital. Walter Burley Griffin (from Chicago) submitted designs drawn by his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, and beat 136 other entrants to win the competition. However, his plan was never fully realised as he stayed in Chicago and an Australian government committee Was appointed to oversee the building of the city, but they didn’t particularly like the winning design and started selecting elements from various plans and began reworking the winning design. So much for democracy.

    I won’t bore you with the design principles etc. As a city it has a beautiful layout, big man-made lakes created by damming the river, plus some magnificent buildings. However, in our eyes it lakes soul, life and any sort of “vibe”. It lacks the hustle and bustle of a city. We have been in Brisbane and Sydney at 5pm and watched the cafes, bars and restaurants fill up in the city centre; that didn’t happen in Canberra, it was dead.

    I’m sure that the commute to work along the multilane roads carrying half a dozen cars is very easy, but I wonder if Canberra needs a million or more people living in it to give it some energy?

    We drove up to the tops of Mount Ainslie for a spectacular view across the city    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    A soldier and IED sniffer dog
    One of the walls listing the soldiers who have died in service since the Boer WarThe dome of the chapel holding the grave of the unknown soldierPrivate Joseph Botrill

    War Memorial, Hall of Memory and Museum

    3. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The war memorial didn’t look much from the top of Mt Ainslie but was an amazing place that, along with the incorporated museum, required two visits to get around the majority of it.

    The Hall of Memory is absolutely beautiful and it was quite a moving experience just being in it. Better pictures and a virtual view is at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/visitor-informatio…

    There are stained-glass windows on three sides of the Hall of Memory, each window divided into five panels. Each of the fifteen panels features a figure in the uniform and equipment of the First World War, and typifies one of the quintessential qualities displayed by Australians in war.

    “The Byzantine dome of the Australian War Memorial is a familiar national icon. Its mosaic interior rises to 24 metres above the floor, drawing our gaze upward. From the base of the dome, stylised hands deliver the souls of the dead through clouds and dark blue sky to heaven. The spirits are symbolised by simplified, winged coffins in shapes that suggest Egyptian mummies. From a central spiritual sun, over which the stars of the Southern Cross are superimposed, seven shafts of light radiate to the cornice (the lower rim of the dome) and symbolise the seven-pointed star of Australia.”

    There were many delays from conception to completion of the Hall of Memory. The artworks in the Hall of Memory had not been installed by the end of the Second World War, but it was decided that the stained-glass windows would still be dedicated to the First World War, and the Second was to be commemorated in the wall mosaics.

    The memorial is located so as to be visible from Government House, the rationale being that MPs can see it and should remind them that their decisions have consequences for the people they are there to serve.

    There are the names of over 102,000 Australians who lost their lives in war since the Boer War. A recording of young children reading the names is played during the day. A service is held at 4:55 every afternoon, when the story of one of the servicemen is read out, followed by the last post played by a bugler. On the day we watched, heard about Private Joseph Botrill. During WWI, he had been in France less than a month when he was killed. His body was never recovered. These occasions are all recorded and are available on the War Memorial Website.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    View from the cafe

    Canberra Arboretum and Bonsai Display

    6. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    It took two attempts to see the Bonsai exhibition. The arboretum is open until 8:30 pm so we chose to go there at the end of the day only to find that, while the gates were open, the exhibitions were all shut at 4:00.

    A wonderful display of bonsai trees at the arboretum that will probably look great in 20 years time and amazing in 50 years time.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Flood levels in feetMarble model

    Long Track Pantry & Gundagai

    6. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We left Canberra to go to Macedon where we planned to spend the weekend with friends . We split the journey over two days and planned a couple of breaks

    We stopped at Long Track Pantry for lunch. The cafe/restaurant is in Jugiong that is just off the motorway. The town is pretty remarkable in that it is, in essence, quite unremarkable, but attracts people travelling along the motorway to come off and spend their money in the town. The fuel station has pretty cheap fuel, there is a free campsite with good facilities plus there is the pantry, an ice cream shop plus a recently refurbished hotel. The pantry has an additional business of producing chutneys and jams that they use and sell in their cafe/restaurant, plus have a shop nearby. When so many rural towns are struggling, this town appeared to have a pretty good way of attracting money in.

    Later that day we stopped and looked around Gundagai, another rural town off the motorway. Gundagai still has “Merry Christmas” flags down the high street and Christmas decorations over the shop fronts. Surprisingly this is not the only Australian town to have ignored the bad luck associated with taking decorations down before the twelfth night.

    Just before Gundagai there is the world famous “dog on a tucker box” statue

    Gundagai is famous as a river crossing that was needed when settlers moved west. The town grew up there because of the crossing. Initially the town was built on the river’s flood plain and the settlers ignored the aborigines warning that the river floods. When the river flooded by almost 40 feet, almost one third of the inhabitants perished along with an unknown number of travellers. Local aborigines saved nearly 100 people from tree tops and building roofs before the waters subsided.

    The town has a number of heritage buildings and two old bridges that span the flood plane. There is also a beautiful model of a church built out of local marble over almost 40 years by a local mason. The smallest piece is 3x3x3 mm. There are zillions of pieces.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Holbrook and Macedon

    6. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We spent the night in Albury Showground. The Showground sites are usually pretty good value because they cater for people travelling around rather than family holidays. Other than toilets and showers plus electric and water hook-up, that may be the only facilities they have. No swimming pools, playgrounds, camp kitchens etc. Due to the amount of area available, it’s also quite easy to keep away from everyone else. Often the site is not staffed and money is left in envelopes and pushed under a door or put in a box.

    Albury Showground was pretty rubbish. Located at the end of the runway, next to a rail line, near a main road. The electrics were literally “to die for”. It took a lot of courage to connect to one electric box only to find it wasn’t working. I then had to pluck up the courage to open another box and stick my plug into that; fortunately it worked. No water supply nearby, no BBQ etc.

    For the first time since we have been on the road, we broke open our single ring gas BBQ to cook some Baramundi (fish) for dinner. Other than the slight drizzle, it all worked well. Why didn’t we cook in Bertha on the posh cooker? We didn’t fancy sleeping with the smell of fried fish!

    Next morning we set off for Macedon but not before visiting Albury town and wandering around the botanic gardens and art gallery (MAMA - Murray Art Museum Albury). The botanic gardens offered two walks, one a rainforest and the other a heritage walk, we did the heritage walk.

    I wanted to visit Holbrook, that is just off the motorway, because it has a submarine in the town centre. I thought this was peculiar for a town a few hundred miles from the sea.

    As we drove further south and west the weather became cooler and the landscape changed. By th time we arrived at Macedon we could have been in an English village with rose gardens and mown lawns    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Mount Macedon War Memorial
    4John and BunnyHanging Rock

    Mount Macedon and Hanging Rock

    8. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Macedon is overshadowed by Mnt Macedon although that is not visible from John and Kerry’s house due to the trees obscuring the view.

    John took us for a drove a gave us a bit of the history including the Mnt Macedon Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. There is a graphic account of that fire (the fires) at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/emergency/2013-02-1…

    John took us up to the war memorial at the top of Mnt Macedon before taking us to Hanging Rock, yes that is THE Hanging Rock made famous by the book “Picnic at Hanging Rock”.

    Hanging Rock is certainly different and a lovely place to scramble around. Next week they are showing the film at the base of the rock, might have to go to that.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2

    Daylesford - “All aboard”

    9. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We were lent a car to go exploring, so set off to Daylesford Market. Actually the market was less like a produce and craft market and more like a large car boot sale. However, it enabled us to buy Kerry a pink rose called “Forget Me Not” with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Society.

    Daylesford also has a rail line that runs to Bullarto and is kept going by volunteers. unfortunately it does not run steam locomotives but we fancied a trip and bought to return tickets. The “clickerty clack” of the wheels was quite soothing and evoked memories of train journies taken in my childhood before lines were laid with seamless joints.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    SisterhoodHas someone been feeding the seagulls?Dog therapyBun with niece Elizabeth and her husband DaleBun and ElizabethHmmm, wet here too!Shame we didnt manage to go, it would have been a great experience, but not at the cost of pneumonia

    Family time at Barwon Head

    11. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Carole (Bun’s sister) arranges a family holiday for her adult children and their families each year. Barwon Head is a popular place for them to holiday. We stayed 15 mins walk away, in a caravan park, so that everyone has space. We spent most days and evenings with them. The weather was generally a bit miserable, overcast, windy and drizzle; that was a bit disappointing. We took a few opportunities to go to the beach. The youngest generation (14m to 8yrs) didn’t feel the cold as they all had short wetsuits, not so good for Bun and I.

    We left Barwon Head on Saturday and drove back to Mount Macedon to stay at our friends’ house while they are away. The rain has left some roads flooded and the verges waterlogged.

    We planned to go and watch the film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” open air at Hanging Rock but the weather was atrocious, wind and rain. We decided to go to the pub for a meal instead.

    We have been well looked after by one of the near neighbours who has known Kerry for very many years. We also have he offer of a beach house near Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road, that should be good.

    The weather is a brighter but much cooler than we have been used to and we have been wearing jumpers and fleeces, but kept shorts other than going out for dinner.

    Today is bright sunshine and expected 27C. There is a saying in Melbourne, “if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes”. It changes very fast so not sure how reliable the f’casts are.

    We are now heading into Melbourne to see what is there.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Melbourne, day one

    17. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Getting into Melbourne was quite straightforward, buy a travel card, top it up with money, catch a train from Macedon and get off at one of the three central stations in Melbourne. The journey was only one hour. Getting around was not so straightforward, buses, trams, taxis and walking. It took us a bit of time to gauge the scale of the tourist map we were given, but got about successfully.

    Eureka Skydeck 88 is the highest observation platform in the Southern Hemisphere. 88 refers to the floor number, there are 92 floors. It’s about 285m above ground, the lift takes 38 seconds. Part of the deck is an overhang of the building and has a glass floor. The floor has 360 degree view around Melbourne and the surrounding area. Each year there is a challenge to run up the 1642 steps, the record is currently just 7 minutes.

    After the Skydeck we walked along the river on to the Botanic Gardens and then past the (shut) Shrine of Remembrance. The river was busy with many teams out skulling I. For sand eights. The gardens were beautiful, made more so by the first day of sunshine and warmth that we had for over a week. There were many people sitting out in the late afternoon sunshine.

    We walked back to the train station along the “south bank” where there are bars and restaurants, this was far more how we expect a city to be, busy, vibrant and exciting.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Part of the artwork walk
    Flinders Street Station"The Clocks" at the station, a key meeting point in 1953 and kept when the station was alteredChina TownWhat a look!We didnt go in ... but quite fancied itMorning drizzleAfternoon rainView from the train on the way home

    Melbourne - day two

    18. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    What a difference a day makes. Blue sky is covered by dark cloud and the temperature is don almost 10C.

    We planned to go to the Queen Victoria Market that is in the north of the city. We caught the train, arrived in the city and set off on foot. As we walked through the shopping area it started raining so we slipped into doorway until eased and carried on. About 400m before we reached the market, the heavens opened. We sought refuge along with many others. As we discussed which road to take, we were asked if we needed help only to find the guy who asked us was wearing a Queen Victoria Market shirt. He took us to where we could see the entrance to the market.

    The market consisted of a many sheds, each maybe 150m long and 50m wide with rows of stall in each. There were large areas that were empty but there were still too many stalls for us to contemplate going around. After an hour or so we felt hungry so went across the road to where the fresh produce market was and, behind that, a small food hall.

    We went on to find an information centre who gave us details of how to use the free trams and also a “street art” tour that I downloaded onto my phone.

    We set off for china town, (stopping to buy plastic raincoats - just in case) but were very disappointed by how empty the streets were and the absence of Chinese bakeries selling sesame balls, snowballs and char sui baos, 😡. We’ve been told that many Australians are boycotting Chinese areas, which is pretty sad. However, I still didn’t understand where everyone was given the huge Chinese population we have seen .... maybe they are boycotting the area too?

    We set of on the street art walk which was really a guide around some of the better graffiti in the area. Towards 6pm, as we were approaching the end of the walk, there was a huge storm that flooded the roads and left us seeking refuge again despite the plastic coats. The storm lasted maybe 15 minutes and then evening became quite pleasant as we wandered back to the train and “home” again.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    One of these people has the correct clothing and equipment for this walk ... the other is a tourist
    The view made the ascent and hyperthermia all worthwhile"Father and Son" honour the two generations who fought in the two world warsThe roof in the shrineWood and copper fittingsDo you have any crumbs to spare?The smoke came from the BBQs and there was a heavenly aroma of food being cookedMonica and Bun sharing some mussels

    Melbourne - day three

    19. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    The weather is as depressing today as it was yesterday.. A friend took us to “The Camel’s Hump” lookout so that we could see the view. Unfortunately it was up in the clouds and we couldn’t see much, but at least we stretched our legs on the walk up there.

    We were dropped off at the station and caught the train back into the city where we took the challenge of getting around by tram. First stop was back at the Shrine of Remembrance”. A lovely building that has a large central room where the memorial to servicemen is, but this is surrounded by approx 100 brick pillars that support the shrine and this space contains the exhibitions. We found the exhibits a bit disjointed because of all of the pillars.

    After the shrine we ventured back onto a tram to return to the central area to catch the City Circle Tram - “The City Circle, also referred to as Melbourne tram route 35 is a zero-fare tram running around the Melbourne City Centre in Australia. Aimed mainly at tourists, the route passes many Melbourne attractions while running along the city centre's outermost thoroughfares, ...”. These are old trams and the one we caught was standing room only. No air conditioning made the tram the warmest place we’d been over the last few days 😊. Unfortunately we couldn’t hear the information that was being played to tell us about the places we passed, but at least we were warm and stayed dry.

    We stayed on the tram around to Queen Victoria Market that becomes a night market on Wednesdays during the summer months. This is predominantly a food market with many stalls preparing, cooking and selling a wide range of food. We met our friend Monica who had never been to the evening market. As with many markets there was also a range of live music being played at three different locations.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Found in our bathroom.
    Where's the clutch?Luxury, back into shorts, but still a long sleeve shirtView from Camel's HumpView on WednesdayView on Saturday

    Prepping Bertha for sale

    22. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    While we thought that buying a vehicle in Australia was rather tedious, selling one in Victoria that is registered in Queensland may be even worse. Never mind, all part of the adventure. She is advertised in a couple of places and we have had a couple of enquiries. We need to fix a couple of things, give her a good clean (red dust still appears everywhere) and she needs an oil change and replacement oil and air filters which is many times more expensive here than the UK.

    We managed to find a second rose to match the one we planted last week.

    The main issue is selling Bertha, but this is followed by the need of a “roadworthy certificate} (RWC), similar to our MOT except the cost - $350 rather than £39. The RWC that we have from when we bought Bertha in November, was issued in Queensland, so not valid here in Victoria and a vehicle must have a current RWC before it can be sold. The other problem is that a RWC is only valid for 4 weeks when selling the vehicle! Mind, it’s only valid for 2 weeks in QLD.

    While Bertha was having an oil change, I was given a Mercedes A class as a courtesy car. It was a manual car, but without a clutch! I sat in the drivers seat rather confused, a gearstick of a manual car but only two pedals of an automatic car. Very weird.

    Today has been the first bit of real sunshine for almost a week during which time we have felt quite cold on many occasions, we never packed for such low temperatures. We have been preparing to get back on the road, washing, tidying etc. We took the opportunity to have a cuppa in the sun and then walk up to the camel’s hump to see what the view is when it’s not in cloud.

    Tomorrow we are off to the Great Ocean Road ....    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Bells BeachIs Patrick still surfing, well his spirit at least.Setting off once moreSome of the 240 steps to the bottom of the waterfallGiant Fern, only found in ... evreywhere?View from The Coast HouseSun setting as we make our way along the GOR

    Great Ocean Road - setting off

    23. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    What a beautiful day, back into shorts and tee shirt. Tidied and cleaned the house where we have been staying, packed Bertha and set off. We started off by turning the heating off!

    It’s great to be back on the road with the mystery of what’s around the bend, where are we going to stay tonight, the feel of the wind through my hair 😂 with new and sometimes unexpected things to see.

    The GOR starts in Torquay and mostly follows the coast. It winds, rises and fall around the headlands and bays. Driving Bertha in the bright sunshine it was delightful but a convertible sports car would be fabulous .... and then frustrating when you come up behind Bertha! There are many pull off areas encouraging slow vehicles to allow others to overtake.

    The surfing film Point Break (Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves etc) features Bells Beach where we stopped and watched the surfers. Although the final scene of the film is set at Bells Beach, the scene was not filmed there. In the film Patrick Swayze doesn’t return from riding the ultimate wave. What they didn’t say in the film is that the reason was because 2km down the road there is the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery where Patrick stopped off at and ate so much chocolate and ice cream he wouldn’t have been able to swim. He never made the ultimate wave but drowned in a pot of Ma’s Carrot Cake ice cream. We had to research the place and I felt I had to try new flavours, I had two scoops, the carrot cake and then the spicy avocado ice cream. I will never again eat avocado ice cream 🤮. Wisely, Bun had the coffee flavour.

    We detoured from the town of Lauren up to Erskine Falls where it was good to come across a 30m waterfall with a decent amount of water flowing.

    The sun was setting behind the hills as we arrived at “The Coast House” 5001 Great Ocean Road. This is a beach house owned by a friend of a friend of a friend. We have been given permission to stay here, but will sleep in Bertha.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Walk back from the beachNot the hardest to spot"What you lookin'at? Thebonly koala that was awake and moved .... not a lot.2Koala hunt preparationHmmmm, maybe there's a koala in one of these trees.

    Great Ocean Road - Koala Hunting

    24. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We wandered across the road and along a well mown path to get to the sea opposite the Coast House. We had been told to be aware of snakes, but the path was narrow and spiders had made webs across it, so we were most concerned about getting a face full of spider and web - actually I wasn’t concerned, Bun was walking in front! Always the gentleman, I walked at the front on the way back. Blackberries are out ... autumn is coming. In one months time we will be flying out of Australia ☹️

    We have seen koalas in rescue centres, hospitals and wildlife parks, but no wild koalas in their natural habitat. We have been told that there are a couple of places in this area where koalas are almost “guaranteed” - hope they are not like the manta rays and go on holiday when we go visiting!

    Kennet River is back along the road we drove down yesterday, there we found “Kafe Koala” which sounded like a good place to start. While planning and having a coffee, the Beatles “Hard Days Night” Album (I think, happy to be corrected) was playing in the background, not what we were expecting.

    Off up the track where we had been reassured we would find koalas hanging from every tree. We quizzed people who were walking back down from the forest and were reassured that koalas were up there.

    Several couples and families drove through the forest, not sure if they managed to see any. We were guided to a tree and yes, there was a koala in it. Known for sleeping 20 hours a day, they don’t move so there is no hope of a better pose. Fortunately the day was grey and overcast, OK , grey koalas against a grey sky may not be the best combination, but as there was usually sky behind them, they would have been nothing other than black shapes if the sky had been any brighter.

    Spotting koalas was difficult. Walking up hill, looking up into the sky when it’s raining means eyes hit with rain drops, neck ache and the risk of walking off the track and falling down the side of the steep hill. We knew that they sat in the cleft of branches so we initially looked near the tree trunks, but then found them draped quite a long way along branches.

    Well it was a successful walk, six or seven koalas later we were becoming koala 🐨 blind and decide to walk back to Bertha. On the way back down the track we met two minibuses with blacked out windows. The doors opened and out jumped a load of Chinese, some in suits, dresses etc looking very smart. One of the easiest ways of spotting a koala was to watch where others pointed their camera, but where’s the fun in that?

    After the excitement of koala hunting we walked along the river for a while and then drove back along the GOR to Apollo Bay, a historic town with a sandy beach where people can actually get into the sea, much of the coast along the GOR has been large waves crashing onto rocks.

    Wandered about, then back to The Coast House to edit and crop the photos.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Great Ocean Road - Koala Hunting Day 2

    25. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today the sun shines, but we will not be returning to the coast house so need to make sure the house is clean and pack Bertha.

    Cape Otway is surrounded by the Otway National Park and the park is a forest of eucalyptus. We were assured that we would see Koalas. Seeing them would not be sufficient as we’d seen them yesterday, we needed to see one that wasn’t 100m in the air and only showing its bum.

    As we turned off the GOR onto the road leading to the Cape Otway and the lighthouse, we remembered how the people we’d seen driving through the forest yesterday, probably hadn’t seen any koalas, would we be able to find somewhere to stop to get out and have a look around?

    We needn’t have worried as we came across several vehicles on the side of the road and people pointing cameras almost horizontally into the trees. We pulled over, walked back to find a koala on a branch about 10m into the forest and maybe 5m off the ground. What’s more, it was awake and moving!

    We stayed and took loads of photos and just watched it change its position and scratch itself.

    When we drove back along the road nearly 4 hours later, she was still on the same branch.

    Having found our ideal photo op’ it was sad to come across a dead koala on the side of the road as we drove out of the forest.😞    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Strange dead trees. Burnt years ago?
    Me! Hanging on 🥵Australian and Aboriginal flagsYou can see how happy i am to be there.

    Cape Otway Lighthouse

    25. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    “Cape Otway Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia and considered the most significant. Built in 1848, the lighthouse known as the ‘Beacon of Hope,’ sits 90 metres above the pristine ocean of Bass Strait. Hundreds of lives were lost along this shipwreck coast – a sad but fascinating history which led to the building of the Lightstation on the cliffs edge. For many thousands of 19th century migrants, who spent months travelling to Australia by ship, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe, Asia and North America.

    The site of the lighthouse tells the history and why it was so significant. In short, ships left America and Europe, headed due south to “the roaring forties” (winds at latitude 40 degrees that are very blowy), skirt around Antarctica, nip north east up to south Australia through the Bass Strait between the south coast of Australia and Tasmania and then on to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane etc. Getting through the Bass Straits was known as “the eye of the needle”. Ships had not seen land since leaving home, three to six months earlier and chronometers were not so accurate, plus cloud cover made using sextants intermittent. The gap they were aiming for was only about 75km wide (although the distance is greater than that, Kings Island sit mid way between the mainland and Tasmania. 75km was less than the errors that might occur over the time taken to get to Australia .... hence shipwrecks along the coast. After one wreck resulting in the loss of almost 400 lives, something had to be done, so Australia started on a programme of lighthouse building around 1845. Cape Otway Lighthouse was often the first site of land after leaving Europe or America, hence its significance.

    There is also an aboriginal heritage centre where we learnt about bush tucker, warrigal greens, lemonade bush, yam daisy and pig face. Our diet has now changed.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    The Twelve Apostles

    25. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    A “must see” stop along the great ocean road, these sandstone pillars were originally called “sow and piglets”

    “What are now universally known as the Twelve Apostles were originally named, “The Sow and Piglets.” The Sow was Mutton Bird Island, which stands at the mouth of Loch Ard Gorge, and her Piglets were the 12 Apostles.” “An English man, George Bass named the The Sow And The Piglets in January 1798 . Charles La Trobe’s map dated 1846 also shows them as the Sow and Piglets, and included a lot more than 12 stacks, including lots of smaller ones”. “When they were christened the 12 Apostles by Victorian tourism in the 1920s, there were only nine in the cluster. Now there’s eight. ... There are actually many more spectacular limestone formations along the wild coastline.”Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Ooops
    FEELS LIKE 6C!!!! May as well be back in CalneLoch Ard Gorge, the rear wall. Only place I've ever seen stalagmites other than in a caveThunder Cave - the entranceLondon ArchPort CampbellBay of Martyrs

    GOR day 4 - Almost blown away

    26. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We camped on Tuesday night at a remote show ground campsite, quite busy, quite exposed, just 100m back from the sea and down 800m of corrugated road.

    We have slept in Bertha during some heavy rain storms, thunder and lightening etc, but this night it was windy. The wind was 50kmh (30mph) with just much greater. Laying bed was a bit like being at sea. If we’d been on an African safari I would have said that there was an elephant trying to push us over. Fortunately, 3.5 tons stays fairly well put, some of the tents didn’t fare so well. There was some debris in the hedges just past us. One of the large steel rubbish containers was turned over.

    We didn’t have much hope for the weather on Wednesday, but it was bright, although very windy. A we set off to continue along the GOR, we could see the sea crashing against the rocks. I could have spent all day watching the waves such was the size and ferocity of them. No photos do them justice.

    The GOR is a motorhome motorway, so many RVs along the way and meeting the same people at each site along the way. We stopped at Loch Ard Gorge and then walked on to Thunder Cave.

    We went on to Port Campbell where we had some soup to warm up, not even all of the layers were keeping us warm.

    Next stop London Arch, formerly London Bridge. ”London Arch (formerly London Bridge) is an offshore natural arch formation in the Port Campbell National Park, Australia. The arch is a significant tourist attraction along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell in Victoria. This stack was formed by a gradual process of erosion, and until 1990 formed a complete double-span natural bridge.

    The span closer to the shoreline collapsed unexpectedly on 15 January 1990, leaving two tourists stranded on the outer span before being rescued by police helicopter. Prior to the collapse, the arch was known as London Bridge because of its similarity to its namesake.”

    Bay of Martyrs came next, getting a bit bored with rock stacks in the sea now. The waves are great though. “There is a fascinating history surrounding this part of Victoria, which is alluded to in the place names of other bays and lookout points – Massacre Bay, Massacre Point, Bay of Martyrs. According to stories that have spanned generations, Europeans killed a large group of Karrae-Wurrong Aboriginal men here. They did so by running them off the cliffs, whilst the women and children were supposedly killed in a swamp that is close by.

    However, there are many contradicting stories and, more importantly, no written evidence of what happened. All that is known is that the population of Aboriginal people dropped from a few thousand to almost none. Some theories believe this was caused by mass migration, but local folklore has other ideas.”

    Lastly, Port Fairy known for being “voted as one of the world's most livable cities with a population under 20,000 after winning the 2012 International LivCom award” - it didn’t impress us much, but the waves on the beach were huuuge.

    We continued along the GOR until it ended at Allansford. We wanted to push on as far as possible before stopping for the night and ended up in a small campsite next to Yambuk Lake where we found hot showered to warm us up.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Almost exploded eating this
    Umpherston SinkholeUmpherston SinkholeUmpherston Sinkhole2A possum looking for a treatGareden Cave Sink HoleBlue Lake

    Dead End, Sink Holes and food police

    27. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Yesterday had been windy but bright, today has been windy, drizzle, cold and overcast.

    We set of to go to Lake Condah that I had listed as “Old settlement. Aqua culture system etc”. “Lake Condah is a shallow basin measuring approximately 4 km by 1 km. The lake and the surrounding area contain evidence of a large eel and fish farming system that was built about 6,600 years ago. The Gunditjmara people used volcanic rock from nearby Budj Bim (Mt Eccles) to construct fish traps, weirs and ponds where they farmed and smoked eels for food and trading.” You’d have thought that Google would have been able to get us there but after a couple of miles of dirt track signposted as a no through road, and then asking us to turn right onto an invisible track, we decided to give it a miss and turn around..

    Everyone knows that each state in Australia has different laws etc. As we approached South Australia we suddenly remembered that it is illegal to take most fruit and many other food into the state. The fines start at $3,500 to a maximum of $100,000. They have a zero tolerance policy! Even a minimum fine make a bunch of grapes pretty expensive. Unfortunately we’d been shopping yesterday. Yes I’m mean but I also hate the thought of food being thrown away for no reason so, as we approached the state border we pulled into a forest track and made “lunch”. It consisted of everything we weren’t allowed to take into South Australia. Bun wasn’t sure that my salad that contained tomatoes should have blueberries added. Actually blueberries and tomatoes taste really good together, it was the olives that spoilt it. The second course was mango, nectarine and banana. We were stuffed and still had to resign ourselves to throwing food away, but we’d done our best.

    Mount Gambier, just into South Australia, has many sink holes. The area is limestone and has hundreds of sink holes and caves, plus old volcanoes. Many of the sink holes and caves are used for caving and scuba diving and present a big challenge with regular loss of life when individuals underestimate that challenge.

    “The Umpherston Sinkhole (or the Sunken Garden) is one of the most spectacular gardens located in the Mount Gambier region. It was once a typical limestone cave that formed by the corrosion of limestone rocks by seawater waves and the sinkhole was naturally created when the chamber’s roof collapsed. The Umpherston Sinkhole was made into a garden by James Umpherston in 1886. It is a beautiful sunken garden that offers a perfect setting for visitors to enjoy and spend some time.” “... as the sun sets, the Umpherston Sinkhole comes alive with hundreds of possums as they come into this tranquil garden to feed”.

    In contrast, the Cave Garden was a very sad place. Smaller than Umpherston, the bottom of it was littered with rubbish. As none of the paths went to the bottom, I guess that cleaning the rubbish out requires rock climbers.

    We drove up to The Blue Lake that is formed in an old volcano and famous for its annual colour change “During December to March, the lake turns to a vibrant cobalt blue colour, returning to a colder steel grey colour for April to November.” Unfortunately the only blue we could see were each others lips in the cold. The water was hardly a vibrant cobalt blue when we looked at it probably because it feels like winter.

    Lastly we went for a walk around the Valley Lake Animal Park but gave up when it started raining. Time to find somewhere to stay. We drove to Millicent where we are now the only campers on the recreation ground campsite.    Læs mere

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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Millicent Museum and Robe

    27. februar 2020, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    A rather late departure from the campsite after picking fresh veg from their garden.

    We have had our first breakage in Bertha, a real forest world problem, my small cafetière has cracked - lucky we also have a large one. There’s nowhere in Millicent that will sell a new one, so we thought we’d try the op shops (charity shops) to see if there was one; there wasn’t.

    We visited the information centre that has a museum attached and spent an hour or so looking around then displays. They have lots of horse drawn carts, carriages etc as well as information on local shipwrecks, some old dresses and uniforms worn. Bun almost picked a fight with 3 aussie blokes who made a comment that women wouldn’t be able to get their waists into the dresses these days. As they were three walking beer bellies, I’m surprised Bun didn’t simply say “pot calling the kettle black”, but instead she just said that she challenged them about that (and sucked in her waist). They did backtrack and almost apologise. I don’t think they’d seen Bun in the dark corner, lucky it hadn’t been their wives.

    After Millicent we went onto Robe, a coastal town with a good vibe. As we were quizzing the information centre, we heard some music coming out from a back room and found that there was t be a concert later that night. “Tribute to MTV Unplugged with Louise Adams”. Louise was a runner up in the Australian X-Factor in 2015.

    We decided that tonight would be a treat. Robe is well known for its fresh fish and there are a few good restaurants so we booked a table at one and then found a campsite that would give us a about a 15 minute walk back into town.

    Disappointingly the food was OK, but not special. Louise Adams was a fun concert. She played a number of tracks that had been played on MTV unplugged in the 1990s, plus a few of her own tracks. On Sunday she is performing at the Adelaide Fringe, so this is simply a warm up. There were probably no more than 50 people in the audience, a lot were family and friends, plus three dogs.

    The walk back to the campsite was very quiet, I think the whole town was in bed as only a few cars passed us during our walk back to Bertha.    Læs mere

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