Thursday 27^th Nov, Canberra the Capital City of Australia


At the National Australian Museum


  



Spirit Exhibition

 

Spent the morning at the National Museum of Australia. Wonderful Aboriginal display. Also, a wonderful display 


Horse sculpture using technology from time past.

called “The Spirit of the Horse”!

This was the history of the horse in Australia from the arrival and survival of one stallion, one mare and two colts, through to today with Olympic 

Spirit Exhibition

riders. What a great story! Met a grade nine class in the revolving movie theatre that explained the history of the country from its birth to present day.  Very interesting theatre, it revolves around you.


Great Fun!

Great GF sandwich at the museum, chicken, brie and caramelized onion toasty! Alan had a delicious chunky beef pie. Lattes too!

Lattes





Lazing on the couch.



Water wheel.

Sheep Sculpture

Afternoon spent in the downtown looking at the architecture, sculptures and fountains.   The Canberra Christmas lights down town is set up for a spectacular Christmas light display.  Apparently it has made the Guinness Book of World Records three years running, so this year it was moved to the capital. We saw pictures of last years show - looks amazing. Unfortunately we won't be in the capital when they hit the lights! Had fun shopping in the mall and that was the end for the day!

Flat Rock - No Snakes!

Wednesday Nov 26 – Flat Rock

Flat Rock

This morning was quite cold.  I had a hard time getting out of bed.  We had a beautiful thick wool blanket on our bed and no I did not want to cut it up for hooking as I was far too cold!

We drove the local one-way gorge drive of 4 km – again a single lane on a twisty steep road! The rocks were fantastic, well worth the drive.

We next went to Flat rock. This location we learned about from a shop owner in Bendigo.  She had listed a few places for us to stop as we headed to the nation’s capital of Canberra. Our instructions included a diagram and what tree we were to turn and stop at! Somehow we made it.

Once there, we stop and climb up a somewhat derelict path.  I was particularly nervous about snakes!  At the top, I saw what I thought was a fox running past.  We were amazed at the view on top of the Flat Rock.  What a large flat rock in the middle of the country side. Well worth the stop and no snakes!

Back in town we find the Beechworth Emporium and after a good look around at the Auzzie made items we purchase a few. We stop at the candy shop and enjoy the amazing displays, but did not purchse any sweets. On the next street we find the Divine Linen store, another great local store.

On the road, our next stop is the Woolshed Falls…this was also mentioned by the lady at the Whole Foods Store.   

The sign at the falls indicates this area was at the turn of the century a location where they mined gold.  Today it is a tourist attraction. We do find near the facilities, a sign that says no entry do to exposed mining shafts in the area.  The remnants are still being felt even after all these years.

We carry on the road and make our next stop at Tarcutta to check out another wool shop.

Not far up the road we pass the Tarcutta Textile Company and stop in.  We have a very nice visit with the owners who learn of our trip, and I show them my rug hooking, and teach them how. Before I know it, I am in the back of the factory and into the working warehouse to see all the textiles, patterns and woolen goods. What fun.  They throw out all their pure wool scraps!!! Rug hookers – check them out!  They then provide me with a big bag of woolen scraps that I can take home. What fun!

We purchase a few of their Aussie products before heading on to Canberra.

The countryside changes from mountains to rolling hills, much like NZ.  It is very dry and everything is in need of water.  We loved the rolling landscape.

By chance we met this couple from Western Australia when we were looking for accommodation. The local “I” was closed, so we were looking at the map when they arrived, quite lost.  We managed to help them find their hotel, so we went there to and ended up in a lovely brick motel-efficiency unit at the local Yowani Country Club.  I even managed to get a discount.

We had dinner in their dining room and called it a night and ended up sitting with this same couple. We gave them our large bag of fresh pecans and the nut cracker, this cannot be brought into Canada. They are moving from Perth in Western Australia to Wonga Wonga in New South Wales to live near their friends.

This had been a long day on the road.

Tomorrow we are going to see the city of Canberra.

Joss House Temple

Tuesday Nov 25 – Joss House Temple

We are headed into Bendigo to see the Joss HouseTemple.  This temple was an 1800’s place of worship for the many Chinese workers here to harvest the gold during that century.

The volunteer is thorough in her explanation of how the Chinese arrived to search for the alluvial gold (above ground) in the area during the gold rush.  They established a Chinese settlement that functioned on its own apart from the city pf Bendigo.  As part if that settlement, they had a temple where they could worship.  This temple was one of 7 that they were able to learn of in the area.  It was last used in the 1930’s and sat derelict till the Second World War when a new munitions factory was developed behind the temple.  At this time, the council asked that it be protected.  It was reopened in the 1970’s as a historical sight.  It is also open to those that wish to use it as a house of worship.

After our Joss House tour we head to the Bendigo WoolenMills.  This mill makes Australian woolen items right here and we make a few purchases. They sell beautiful wool that is machine washable. Laurie would like this as it is much like our favourite wool from Bowmanville.

Picnic at Waroona Lake, I have the usual corn cakes with peanut butter and honey and Alan has found a food truck! He has a Tex Mex hot dog which is a small hot dog with Mex hot sauce, cheese, sour cream and broken taco chips, all on a large cheese bun.  He thoroughly enjoyed it!

We leave Bendigo and carry on to Beechworth.  We stop at Mooroopna to get gas.  They provide us with a bit of local information and we head on to Beechworth.

Finally we arrive in Beechworth and it is in the mountains….beautiful.  We find a place for the night at the Beechworth Cabins.

After supper we hike around the town.  It is a beautiful little town steeped in gold mining history from the 1850’s.  Many of the original buildings are still standing as a testament to the hard work of those that brought the town to life.  The trees in the local park are from all over the world and are quite spectacular.  They were planted by a rich local in the early 1800’s.  

Tomorrow we are heading toward Canberra.

Talking Tram

Monday Nov 24 – Talking Tram

The day begins with the Talking Tram Tour. An excellent way to see the city and learn its history.

Alan is fascinated by the local mail carrier here!

Once on the tram, the driver takes us on a historic tour of Bendigo.  .

The tour head through town and speaks to the history of this gold mining town and the people who participated in it.  The history goes back into the 1800’s and is very informative.  Eventually we arrive at the tram sheds and have a good look at the building with a very large collection of historic trams.  Some are in full working order, others are being restored for service. 

Back on the tracks, the tour continues as we head towards the Chinese section of the town.  The Chinese had a large contingency here during the gold rush days.  They were proud, hardworking people with large gardens.  The vegetables saved the towns people by offsetting the effects of scurvy in that age.

It starts to rain and we return back through the town in the pouring rain.  The large river beds were empty, but for a tiny trickle, and after the rain were raging.  In the 1800’s they had paved each river with large stones as the miners sent too much debris down the rivers and they would get clogged easily.

We heard that there was flooding in Eaglehawk, so we went and checked our apartment. It was fine.  After lunch we tour the down town of Eaglehawk. Everything closes at five, so we are done for the day.

Country Towns

Sunday Nov 23 – Country Towns



Breakfast Stack!

Today we head northward.  We skip breakfast and head out of the hotel.  Off to Woodend again to check out the historic town.  We had a lovely breakfast at a café. We had egg stacks for breakfast.  They started with crispy potato rosti, then smoked salmon, then spinach 
and cheese followed by a poached egg and then topped with hollandaise sauce…truly amazing.

We drive up the hill towards Bendigo but stop at first at Kyneton to shop around the town. We both like Kyneton, it has that old town charm.

At Bendigo we go into the “i” where they find us accommodation. We rent a store front, converted into a tourist apartment in Eaglehawk, a suburb of Bendigo.  It was nice, so we are going to stay two days.

Most of the day was driving and checking out the local towns, so we are quite tired.

Country Fire Department

Saturday Nov 22 – Smythesdale Fire Department



Watch for the Kangaroos, Wombats and Echidnas.

We are heading to Melbourne today.



Is this a gold nugget?

Many of the churches in the area are made of blue stone.  They are beautiful.

 


 Smythesdale is a Champion Fire Department!

4 wheel drive heavy duty bush fire trucks.

We drive through Smythesdale where a fellow is working at the local fire hall.  We turn around to take pictures and he invites us in for a tour.  We climb all over the new truck (only 3 months old) and he explains all the functions.  We take many pictures inside the truck and out and he is very happy to show us.  He also provides some good history material on the fire service which we will take back to Andrew Petrie.



Woodside Park - Amazing Horse Farm!

Ballarat is a large city and we stop at the “i”, here the attendants say it is a good thing you are not looking for accommodation here this weekend as we have a horse race event (Ballarat Cup) and all the town is fully booked.  It is a beautiful gold mining town and had we know what was here we might have stayed for a few days.  We take a few quick pictures and move on.  Maybe next time we will stop here again.

We carry on to the ladies suggestion and drive to Woodend, again no accommodation. Eventually after a lovely drive through the countryside and seeing elaborate horse farms we end up at the airport as we cannot find anywhere to stay.



Hundreds of Kangaroos!

Friday Nov 21 – Hundreds of Kangaroos!



Scenic one lane highway - Grampian Mountains.

Off To Stawell were a friend’s long-time pen pal, of over fifty years, lives.

We have been instructed to drive along the Victoria Valley road.  We are heading to Hals Gap and this road takes us through two sections of the Grampian Mountains.  We start our trek at about 10:00 in the morning and the light is perfect: a nice blue sky with fluffy white clouds.  Not far along we have to slow as there is a small kangaroo on the side of the road (a wallaby we think)…it is beautiful. 



Echidna.

The picturesque highway grows narrower and narrower until it is one paved lane.  We felt like we were on the edge of the outback again.  The trees are magnificent and very large.  They are mountains are all around us as we drive through the grassy valley.

Hals Gap is our first destination on the way to Stawell.  We stop at the Lake Bellfield a man made lake which is the reservoir for the Hals gap and Pomonal communities.

The Boroka Lookout is wonderful.  We find an Echidna on the side of the road. It is somewhat like a small cute porcupine, so I had to get out, get up close and take pictures.  It was so sweet.



Kangaroo with joey.

At the Boroka Lookout you can see for miles and miles (hundreds of km’s) in many directions.  An amazing sight and well worth the drive.

Finally off to Stawell. Here we meet with Judy and Barry, our friend Donna’s pen pal. We dropped off pictures and a letter, had a nice visit and were on our way.  It was so nice to meet them. 

Stawell is a gold mining town and the mine is still working the vein underneath the town.  At the viewing area, for the mine we see a small tunnel into the earth.  When a large Euclid dump truck arrives from out of the tunnel, we realize that the opening is enormous.

In the middle of the road is a lizard sunning itself.  It seems the local lizard (Shingle Back or Stumpy Tail). It has almost no tail!

On our return trip as we cross the plains towards Hals Gap we see and watering hole and a large group of Kangaroo’s.  It is the first time we have seen more than three or four in a group.  We turn around and take pictures. A quick count comes up with 41.



Just a few kangaroos on the cricket pitch.

After Hals Gap we are very careful to watch the shoulder.  It is bathed in shadows and we really don’t want to run into a kangaroo.  As we approach our town there on the side of the road is a great big kangaroo.  We slow and he retreats into the bush.  Around the corner we pass a little valley and there on the hill are hundreds of Kangaroos.  We quickly turn around and pull over to the side of the road.  Here are many…silently hopping around and grazing on the grass in the receding sunlight.  We watch for a long time, take many pictures then head back. We see a few more enormous herds of kangaroos before we get to town.

 As we approach the town, there are 50 more on the cricket field. We stop to watch them.  Alan manages to get an amazing video. Apparently in a month when all the grass is dead, it already looks dead to me, there will be hundreds covering the cricket green, as this will be the only grass for miles.

The Chooks and The Twelve Apostles

Thursday Nov 20 – The Chooks and The Twelve Apostles

Today we head down the highway to have a better look at the Twelve Apostles.  There is a bit of rain in the air so we quickly park at the Gibson’s Steps once again and have a look.  The tide is in so we don’t go back down the steps.

At the Twelve Apostles Marine Park the scenery is spectacular. These giant rock stacks tower over the swirling waters of the Southern Ocean and are just unbelievably majestic from any vantage point.  The rock stacks are the remnants of a retreating limestone coastline under constant attack by the sea.  The cliff faces are eroding about 2 cm’s per year according to the information provided.  

We are in awe at the size, colour, shape, sturdiness of the rock stacks.  They seem to float in space above the level of the water, the sea lapping at their feet.  What a view!

The Loch Ard Gorge is also magnificent..  This cliff side location is the site of an 1878 clipper ship wreck.  The ship was called the Loch Ard and after it sank only two of the 56 people on the ship were able to make it safely to shore.  They named the gorge the Loch Ard after the ship. 

Further on we see The Island Archway, The Razorback, Elephant Rock, Mutton Bird Island, Thunder Head, Broken Head and Sherbrook Estuary (a wild, rolling wave beach area).  At this location the waves come crashing in and you are glad you are not in a boat bobbing on the sea.

We pass the nice little fishing village of Peterborough on our way to Warrnambool. 

We stop for the night in Dunkeld and stay at the South Grampians Cottages. These are beautiful log cabins on the edge of town.  There are lots of chooks running around! The owner gave us a dozen chook eggs to eat.

Tomorrow we are heading to Stawell.

Lots of Koalas!

Wednesday Nov 19^th – Koalas along the Great Ocean Road

Chatby Lane Boutique Hotel was the nicest place to stay. They even delivered breakfast to our room as part of the cost! We had a lovely view of the ocean too.

Port Campbell is our next destination.  The road quickly changes from sea shore to rock cliff and up, up, up we go to a dizzying height.  It must have been difficult for the miners of the 1917’s to dig the road along such a steep cliff.

Our first big stop is at Mount Defiance Lookout where we take a few good pictures of the shore.  Then we are off to Boggaley Creek where we take a few steps from the car park down to the sea.  The shore is very rugged, yet molten looking. 

We splurge for sandwiches at Apollo Bay, they were excellent.  All along the main street, between the ocean and the main street are beautiful carvings.

Our next stop is Cape Otway lighthouse.  As we drive into the lighthouse we see all kinds of cars pulled off the road.  There in the trees are lots of Koala bears.  We saw over a dozen and some with babies! They were low enough in the trees to easily see them.  What a great stop.



Baby with mum watching.

Next we take the hike to the lighthouse and Alan encourages me to go up it.   It was a little challenging as it was very tall. Once at the top the view was breathtaking.

Back on the road we stop at the same spot to take more pictures of the Koalas…..very neat. 

At the stop closest to Port Campbell we stop at the beach walk to see the beginning of the 12 Appostles.  These are the famous Australian rocks on the drive. The shore has rugged cliffs and there is a narrow stairway downs the side of the cliff to the shoreline hundreds of feet below.  We take the trek down and up. What a beautiful spot, luckily the tide was out so we could walk past the first point.  The sun made it difficult to take pictures as it was so bright.

Dinner in Port Campbell was at Nico’s Restaurant. We had a home-made gluten free crust on our pizza! Quite delicious!!

GF Pizza

Tomorrow we are going back to have another look at the twelve Apostles and take in all the other points of interest.

Split Point Lighthouse

Tuesday Nov 18 – Split Point Lighthouse

The only place in Australia that we have seen these signs.

We are heading to Geelong where we are headed to the Great Ocean Drive. Alan glances into the massive wheat field beside us and there is a large emu feasting on the crop!

Coffee at Bunnings, similar to Home Depot, at Torquay. We are almost at the beginning of the Great Ocean road. 



Surfers

Life savers!

We stop at a beach and watch the surfers, in Torquay, as they make their way out to the waves.  There are also many new surfers learning the sport, a school group!

Next we stop at Bells beach that has beautiful sand, but also the beginning of the rocky shoreline we have seen in pictures.  There are surfers here too and they are all waiting for the next big wave.  We picnic further down the road at Point Roadknight.  The trees are wind-blown and gnarly, and they show their strength against the strong sea winds from the south Tasman Sea. 

We stop at Aireys Inlet and the Split Point Lighthouse to walk to the shore and take pictures of the light house.

The shore is soft and warm with the afternoon sun.  As we round the point we can see the top of the lighthouse and the rugged looking shore below.  The rock looks black and molten and we later learn that this area was an active volcano 29 million years ago called the Aireys Volcano.  We spend quite a bit of time wandering the shore then a bit later move up the hill to look at the lighthouse and the overview from the lookouts.  It is a great spot to see the sea.



Rock at the shore.

We continue our drive and stop along the shore to take pictures of the amazing houses dotting the mountain side.  We stop shortly after that to take pictures of the overhead sign “The Great Ocean Road”.  This road was built after the First World War, beginning in 1917, by 3000 returning service men to provide employment.  We marvel at the Arch, the monument and the words on the displays.  There is also the remnant of Remembrance Day on the monument.



Unusual home.



Bathing Beauties!

 



Looking at us from over the roof.



Visitor at Coffee.



Pier at Lorne.

We find a boutique hotel for the night. Chatby Lane is lovely. The local restaurant at the pier is recommended to us and we head out four Blue eyed cod and prawns, finished with the most amazing Pavlova.

Madison & Melbourne

Melbourne

Monday Nov 17 – Madison & Melbourne

Melbourne Train Station.

Interesting architecture in Melbourne.

It is morning in Bacchus Marsh and we are going into the city today.  At the train station we purchase a Miki card that provides electronic access to the trains. You put money on it and scan it at the beginning and the end of the ride.  Very smooth train ride into the city.  The station is beautiful with an unusual ceiling.




Latte at the Hunger Game Café then we start walking through the centre of the city.  There are eight blocks each direction that is the downtown. A tram travels around it and provides free transportation for tourists. We wander through the shops marvelling the different wares.  Alan was quite taken by a cake shop that had a window stacked high with beautiful cakes.



Street marker.

City Tram

Madison meets us on the stairs of the Parliament building.  She navigates us easily through the down town to one of the famous allies.  The allies are full of cafes and shops.  We had a great lunch where we asked her all kinds of questions about going to Medical School in Melbourne. Madison was very obliging and patient with us.  She then walked us over the bridge towards the botanical gardens.  Here she headed out and we started down the canal.  We hope to meet with her on our return, after driving the Great Ocean Road.



Graffiti in an alley in Melbourne.



Another piece of graffiti in a Melbourne alley.

Art along the canal.

Outdoor space at the Melbourne Art Gallery.

There are huge boat sheds along the canal. Each is a separate rowing club.  There are hundreds of boats and as it was the day after a race, they were polishing them.  Quite a sight!

Church with Chris

Sunday Nov 16^th – Church with Chris

Sunday morning arrives and we have had a good night’s sleep.  We can here the rain falling on the roof so think it is going to be a wet day.  The coffee is very good, breakfast is just right and Chris has been very kind in including us in her meal dinner blessing (safe travel).

Sunday we are off to church with Chris.  Beautiful Anglican Church, here the children are raising funds for one of the local children who needs a wheel chair.  They went to a local bakery and made muffins, even gluten free, and lemonade.  It was delicious.  I have learned so much from Chris, even how to hook eyes. Yes, me with the eye phobia!

Thank you again to Chris and Jerry for the wonderful hospitality.  I will be in contact once we are home and the internet is readily available!

On the highway into Melbourne.

Busy highway.

Storm brewing behind the Australian Flag.

We drive on through Melbourne to the west side and book a cottage in Bacchus Marsh for the next two nights. Here we can get a train easily into Melbourne the next day. After supper we head to Mac’ers  (McDonald’s) where the girls there help us navigate the internet and help us with our phone. (Not an iPhone, that is for sure!) We contact Madison, a Canadian friend’s daughter and arrange to meet with her tomorrow.

Off to Meet Chris

Saturday Nov 15th - Off to Meet Chris – Another Rug Hooker 




Carving in memory of Soldiers from WW1

In town there are beautiful carved statues to remember the Great War just at the harbour. The view at the local lookout is great.  Here we get a good view of the Lakes Entrance waterway.



In the harbour.

Alan on the rocky shore.

The road flattens and straitens making the drive much easier.  We are heading to the village of Loch to see a friend of Miriam’s (Chris) who is a rug hooker with specialities in faces. 

Pink seaweed.

We continue along the road and stop in Barnsdale for a late and share a beautiful looking orange polenta, almond cake.  We purchase a full cake to take to Chris’s.

As we start to get closer to Loch, the countryside change dramatically and all of a sudden we are in a setting like we saw in New Zealand.  The hills are very steep with deep green hues.  Sheep and cows traverse the hills looking for the best blades of grass.

Pet lamb.

We picnic in Miraboo North and meet a family with a dog on a leash and a lamb jumping and frolicking behind them. It is one of four foster lambs. This one lives in the house with them.

Remembrance day poppy tree.

Remembrance day tree in Miraboo North.



Poppies on the tree.



Chris and Jerry (Gerry?) welcome Alan and I into their home.  I was so pleased to meet Chris and see her work.  She hooks beautiful faces and has explained much of her technique to me.  I am going to hook Andrew first!

We talk about rug hooking, portrait hooking, rug frames (Shediac frame?) and all things rugs and wool.  Chris and Jerry have a beautiful home and soon Jerry returns from cutting grass out back and joins in the conversation.   Alan and Jerry talk about all things Australian and Canadian, of course.  We join for coffee and enjoy our orange/polenta (almond cake) which is moist and deliciously sweet. 

Massive green hills all around us.

Chris hooks me up to Skype and I get to chat with Miriam. I am going to have to learn how to do this. Jerry and Chris invite us to stay the night.  What a wonderful visit.  Thank you both for your wonderful hospitality!

Chris and I continue our rug hooking conversation after supper and Jerry and Alan continue our chat.  In the later evening Chris asks if we would like to accompany her to church in the morning and we accept.

With a most enjoyable evening in the company of Chris and Jerry we head off to bed.


Wombat crossing.