Tour De Melbourne

We set off gingerly in the car at about 9.30am at snail pace to the station. We left plenty of time as last time we found no parking spaces. Same this time; not one and a sign saying clamping was in operation if not in a proper bay. We drove out of the station and across the road to a road area but they were all 2 hour bays so back to the station again. I ended up parking on the grass along with a couple of other cars. We just caught the train and bought a Melbourne day pass which entitles you to travel on the trains, trams, buses and ferries for the day. Ours was off peak and we thought a good price at $9.90. Claire had been reading the guide books and we got off at Flinders station where we caught a number 35 tram which just keeps going around the city centre all day. We didn’t need our day pass for this as it’s a free service which is great to get a feel for the city.

It’s basically an eight by eight grid again with Bourke the centre Street going east west (sort of) and Elizabeth Street going North South at the centre. There are lots of other things outside this grid like Queen Victoria market which is north of the grid where we headed to first stopping at the nearest tram stop. There are lots of clothes stales where I bought a cheap shirt at the first stall we saw and lots of cheap Ugg boots normally around $100 a pair but we found this one selling all for $39. They did have the Ugg label on but not sure if they are authentic but they were definitely sheepskin. Then you get to fruit stall areas, deli areas, food market areas, meat, fish etc etc. Back to the tram for our next stop at central pier and Melbourne docklands which was very pretty. Back to the tram again heading for the nearest station stopping at china town for a spot of lunch as we were starving by now. We made a good choice but it was quite slow but we were in no hurry and had a lovely meal at a reasonable price. From the stop at Bourke St and Spring St where we got off we spotted the restaurant called Gingerboy’s where I had booked lunch for this Monday just gone as we were in Adelaide. I did try to change the date but they didn’t email me back. I found this from England and it does look like a good one have a look www.gingerboy.com.au . Maybe when Ian and Jane came but we will have to use their name. The Michelin star rating hasn’t reached Australia yet and I guess they have a different system of excellence?

We didn’t have time to do the two or three things that I wanted to do and it looked like rain was imminent so let’s hope that Ian and Jane want to see Ned Kelly’s armour and the old Gaol where he was hung and the Contemporary Art at the ACCA. The ACCA is also off grid, the other side of the river on the south bank; I guess they are copying London having all the trendy arty things on the south bank.

We just got on the train before torrential rain; how come there are so many fires over here? We didn’t get a ticket and nor did the other cars parked out of marked spaces but the traffic was horrendous in Berwick to get home and I felt very uncomfortable following the police car all the way home; I hope they are not stalking me. Weather permitting we were going to drive to the Dandenong hills and Yarra valley tomorrow. I can’t say, “Dandenog’s”, I keep calling them the “Dongledangles”!

Oops!

A very uneventful journey back from the Grampians until we hit the outskirts of Melbourne at the end of the freeway. I overtook a guy in a red car wearing a hoody and he didn’t seem to like it as he accelerated up behind me. I got over and he accelerated past me quite aggressively so I just carried on as I normally would. He got a few cars away in the distance but I just carried on at my own pace ignoring him. He slowed gradually and I eventually caught him up in the outside lane. He pulled over to let me past then accelerated in the inside lane. I accelerated away to try and get away from this lunatic then he braked violently. I carried on fast past a couple of other cars to try and get some distance between us when the last car that I had overtaken accelerated up behind me. What the hell was going on this little stretch of road? Then I found out; the last car I overtook suddenly came alive with flashing lights and he was indicating me to pull over. I pulled over onto the hard shoulder and again he beckoned me to get further over onto the gravel which I did.

He came up to my window and asked me to get out which I did then he proceeded to ask all the usual questions but he was very cross with me. I apologised and told him I was on holiday from England. That didn’t help at all; it just seemed to make him even worse. The only detail that I couldn’t find was the postcode of our address in Berwick but Claire found it on a piece of paper in the glove box. He filled out a ticket for me and told me that I was to pay a fine of $584. That’s mad, about £300. That’s why everyone over here seems to stick religiously to the speed limit I guess; just as I will be doing from that moment on. He then told me that I would also be banned from driving in the state of Victoria for 12 months. The only saving grace is that it doesn’t come into effect for another 29 days, just before we leave for Berwick.

Tomorrow we are getting the train to Melbourne. Happy Birthday Mum!

Half way back, The Grampians

We both enjoyed our stay in Adelaide but we packed our bags and headed off back to Melbourne but this time we only intend to stop one night on the way back and I programmed a Motel into the satnav. We drove out of the Motel onto the main road and it chirped up, “Bear right in 80yards”. We followed its instruction and it chirped up again, “Stay on road for 190 miles”. That’s what this place is like; vast with long straight roads. Even after 190 miles it was only to go straight over the roundabout, then stay on road for another 59 miles. Again it took us straight to our Motel, the Central Park Motel in Stawell in The Grampians. It’s not the best of Motels but it is the cheapest we have found and it does have a TV, fridge, en-suite and aircon; not that Claire lets me put it on. She seems constantly cold; especially today as its been drizzling most of the way back. I think its better when you have a long driving day if it is a bit overcast else it gets really uncomfortable in the car all day.

We stopped for breakfast after about 90 minutes when we also needed more gas at the Coolabah tree café; not the best, but that’s what you get in a transport place everywhere. Stopping there, again reminded me of Waltzing Matilda and I sang again to Claire when we left wishing we could “camp by a billabong”. Very long straight roads for hours on end; they put signs to remind you that you are driving so you don’t go to sleep. We have seen, “Yawning, micro sleep kills in seconds”, or “Droopy eyes, take a power nap”. Great, a power nap, and they even have little stopping places called, “Power nap stops” where people could stop for a quick nap. It does help actually, when I was leaving for Somerset at 4am for a 3 hour solid drive to start work at 7am on a Monday morning earlier this year, sometimes I was slipping away. Once I stopped, switched the engine off and closed my eyes; only for about 3 minutes but it did stop my eyes closing when I got going again. I think it’s just the constant drone of the road for mile after mile, especially in the dark.

We didn’t stop for lunch but did stop in Keith at our favourite “Thirsty Camel” wine drive in wine store to stock up again. Stawell was one of Australia’s gold rush towns and saw 20,000 people here at the time mining the Pleasant Creek gold mine. 58,000 tons of gold was mined over 60 years of its main production, but today it’s the longest gold producing mine still in operation. We arrived at our Motel at about 4pm, unpacked and headed off for Halls Gap which I was told was 17 minutes away by the owner, dressed in his hand knitted woollen jumper, as he handed me a map of the Grampians. It was a very touristy little village with steep prices but no views that we could see so we headed off in search of some. We found a side road which went to Silverband falls so I followed that. There were plenty of signs saying “beware of kangaroos” and we even saw one “beware of Koala bears” but we didn’t see any again. You had to park your car and walk 1km to the falls along a little dirt path through the woods and Claire was frightened of the wild life so stayed in the car. I noticed that all the others had boots and long trousers on and I felt a little vulnerable in my shorts and open toed sandals. The falls were quite small because its summer but the water just disappeared into the ground; there must be an underground stream starting at the bottom of the waterfall. I took some photos and headed back to Claire. There is evidence of fire damage everywhere we have been through Victoria and South Australia; especially around the Grampians. It seems as if every tree has been affected but there is sign of re-growth coming back at last. Not sure if it was 2006 or February 2009 that this area was affected but it certainly made a mess.

We got back to the motel again and were both starving so we walked around the corner to find the drive in Chinese restaurant advertised outside our motel. Unfortunately it is closed on Tuesdays so we walked back again and drove into town where we ordered take away noodles and some fruit for our on the road breakfast. We found another wine shop because we didn’t think our wine would have cooled yet. We found the same make that we like in a 5 litre box for $14.99, a real bargain and its cold; that should last us for a week or so. Another driving day tomorrow so probably not much to report again I’m afraid. Next time we go away on one of these drives we will be more prepared taking knives and forks, bowls breakfast stuff and a cool box full of wine and food. All these places have basic cooking facilities and fridges. I guess that our next trip will be to Sydney but not sure if we will have time before our friends Jane and Ian come to Melbourne, they are already in Hong Kong as we speak. I believe that they are staying in the Grand Harbour hotel which has views over Hong Kong harbour on Hong Kong Island. Have a good time guys; we will see you next week!

A day laid up in Adelaide

Adelaide was named after Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV and was founded in 1836. They do a nice white wine called Queen Adelaide which we have already tried when we had our BBQ. The indigenous Australians in this area were from the Kaurna tribe. Adelaide is a bit like Milton Keynes as it’s a designed city built on a grid system (except long and thin blocks rather than square) with wide Boulevards, large public squares and is entirely surrounded by parkland. It’s also a little like Bournemouth as most of the population are pensioners. Adelaide also has a large China town where you can get something to eat. And that’s where we headed for as soon as we had parked our car and checked in at Adelaide City Park Motel citypark@bigpond.net.au . Claire chose it as it is near the centre and has parking and it turned out to be perfect for us; they even gave us an upgrade so we have a balcony.

It has been a long drive from Melbourne, this really is a massive country; we haven’t been hammering it but we have had two stop overs to get here. It might have been coincidence but I noticed the difference the second we went through the South Australian border; the sun came out and the countryside seemed browner and drier. I can’t say how much easier it was having a satnav that worked and a destination in mind and we drove straight to our motel just like we knew where to go. This satnav stays very quiet most of the time unlike my Tom Tom at home. It will say, “Stay on this road for 53 miles” and that’s it for an hour except for the odd, “You are going over the speed limit” in an almost annoyed voice.

Our Motel is on the same block as King William Street which is the main drag all the way through the centre of Adelaide. Half way down is the Central market where we walked around but not all the stalls were open today. Likewise the trams were not on today as they have been undergoing an upgrade but they will be back on again tomorrow. They are free, and take you the length of King William Road. China town surrounds Central Market and we found a Chinese café with a long queue and you know how we Brits like a queue; we can’t resist them. I noticed that there were a good percentage of business suits either eating or in line and they must know the area being on their lunch hour. Another large percentage of Orientals which is also a good sign; we are really trying to get a good meal and getting more cautious by the day. At last we chose wisely and had a great meal and all for $22; a real bargain. Claire had her usual chicken green curry while I tried the chilli chicken; they were both served with rice and vegetables and we had green tea and vegetable rolls extra.

From there we walked the rest of the way up King William road and then turned right down Rundle Mall which is the main shopping street with no traffic. They are very well prepared for Christmas and Claire even managed to buy a couple of cheap tee shirts for herself. We had a quick beer at the end on Rundal before turning left towards the botanical gardens. Our plan was to walk through the gardens to Adelaide zoo to see our first kangaroo, but there was major roadwork’s and we had to turn back and enter the zoo from the main road. It was $26 entry fee but I managed to get mine for $18 as a student; good job I brought my OU card. We walked all around the zoo seeing all sorts of animals from around the world but guess what? No Kangaroos; I suppose it’s like us putting sheep, cows, hedgehogs and goats in our zoos but we did see a wallaby and a tree kangaroo. We have also seen two road kill kangaroo’s on our travels but no living ones yet. I live in hope and when we drive back it will be via a more inland route so maybe we have a better chance of seeing them.

From the zoo we walked across the road and across the river to the Adelaide Oval, but I was trying not to mention the cricket because I know how sensitive the locals are. We followed the river for half a block before crossing the bridge back, cutting through Adelaide University and back up Pulteney Street where our motel is at the other end. Claire had a near miss in the zoo when a large bird flew over her head making her duck and yelp, narrowly missing her in its “poop dive”. I said it’s supposed to be lucky to be hit by bird poop, but Claire didn’t see it that way and walked with her hood up for several miles after that. I couldn’t help noticing how many Orientals there are around this town; especially the university, and very few Indians, African decent or Aboriginals. I’m sure we have more Aborigines in England than are still over here in Oz.

We are having a night in tonight with our 42” tv, balcony and box of wine we bought on the way so not much to report for the next couple of days. I guess it will take us two long driving days to get back with one stop over in the middle of nowhere. On the whole we both really liked Adelaide, it’s small, not too busy and easy to navigate and see in one day; a gentle place. Not sure if we will have internet tomorrow but if we see our first Kangaroo I will find a way to tell you.

G'day!

I am slightly concerned that Phil and I have been a little negative about Australia since we’ve arrived. We certainly didn’t mean to come across this way and it certainly isn’t how we feel in our heart of hearts. The bottom line is Oz just isn’t what we anticipated and why should it be? Given that we haven’t done any serious intelligent research before we came out other than watching ‘Crocodile Dundee’ ten million times, our expectation versus the reality is only to be expected. Plus you have to remember that Oz doesn’t get a whole lot of media coverage in the UK and I’m ashamed to say that I don’t even know who the current president is at the moment. How ignorant am I? Maybe just plain stupid is what you’re thinking. And yeah, you would be right.

One thing positive I can tell you, is that the Oz folk that we’ve met so far have been great. We met Elaine and Mick and Lynn in Goa, all from Oz a few years back and we shared some great times. The people in Melbourne are just as friendly, open and always willing to help you. You can even have a proper conversation with staff in the shops in Berwick and they appear to be genuinely interested in you. I have to say, it makes a welcome and somewhat refreshing change from home. Poor Geoff & Denise are in for a nasty shock when they encounter the reluctant, reserved and grumpy Brits (or should I say poms?) in the UK. Friends and family excluded of course!

I am also liking, the architecture here; houses are all different in design and you don’t seem to get any same two houses next to each other. Brilliant and I love the individuality aspect. Also they are so big inside. I have only seen the inside of Arlene’s house but that seems so big that it makes our house in the cul-de-sac look like a rabbit hutch. The Australians also seem to cater much better for the tourist than we do at home. Better information points, good toilets, excellent motels for a good price. The average Oz motel would be the equivalent of our ‘Premier Inns’. The motel we stayed in on Saturday night in Port Campbell , the Sea Foam Villa-com-motel www.seafoamvillas.com was fabulous; it even had a washing machine. The motel that we stayed in last night, the Keith Motor Inn in a little town called Keith wasn’t as modern but still adequately equipped and comfortable. It has cost us 94 Oz dollars per night without breakfast. www.keithmotorinn.websyte.com.au.

The Great Ocean Road was incredible. It was built after the first world war by a load of veterans on a make-work scheme. According to the guide book it took 14 years to construct. You can see why at once because for most of its 187 miles it swoops along an impossibly challenging coastline in a hair- raising manner, barrelling around rocky headlands and clinging to the edges of sheer and crumbling cliffs. So demanding of attention are the endless hairpin bends that you scarcely have a moment to notice the views but we did stop off here and there to view the occasional pinnacles of rock in the water created by the tireless erosive might of the sea. Okay, it might have been more spectacular without the clouds and the rain but even so, if you ever come Melbourne way, you have to drive the Great Ocean Road or do a tour. We wanted to test it out before Ian & Jane arrive on the 17th December but having done it now, in reality, it’s too far to go as they will only be in Melbourne for 3 days.

Yesterday was a long day of driving through fairly empty roads on a featureless expanse once we got on the highway. To alleviate the boredom and to pass the time, Phil sang me his very own of version ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and ‘Skippy the bush Kangaroo’. He got excited every time we spotted a ‘Beware of Kangaroo’ sign but we didn’t see even one single roo on the road. We left Port Campbell just before 10am only stopping briefly for some LPG and fried chicken. We stumbled upon the Keith Motor Inn around 4pm. http://www.keithmotorinn.com.au/.


The sun had come to play so we dumped our back-pack in the room and walked into town for a cold beer. It was Sunday so everything was pretty much closed but we found a lovely pub with a beer a garden and stayed for a cold one. Last night we chilled, had some wine, blogged, recovered from the drive and watched TV until we went to sleep.

Today we have got 150 miles to drive until we reach Adelaide. Since we left Berwick on Saturday we guess we have driven approximately 500 miles. I’m a bit anxious about driving into the city of Adelaide with no hotel booked. But that’s how we usually do things. Sling the back-pack in the boot; head into town and hope for the best. It doesn’t usually go the want we want it too but usually it all pans out in the end. I don’t suppose I’d want it any other way??? Jeezz, did I really just type that? I must be crazier than I thought.


G’day folks – it’s time to hit the road!

The Grey Ocean Road

We didn’t pick the best day to drive the great ocean road as it seemed to be drizzling most of the day. All these hundreds of miles that I have driven and still waiting to see my first kangaroo. I thought they were everywhere and that Australia was infested with them. However, when we got to Torquay to start the GOR I spotted these two parrots walking on the beach. Torquay beach would have been lovely if the sun had been shining. I did manage to get the satnav to work but I didn’t switch it off when we stopped for lunch otherwise we wouldn’t have got it going again; that’s how much confidence I have in it.

On the highways over here there may be 3 or 4 lanes and all the cars seem to drive very slowly and at the same speed so it’s really hard to get past them dodging inside and out when there is a gap. The satnav makes a noise whenever it detects a camera and is constantly telling me that I am breaking the speed limit. Also the pedestrian crossings are similar to the ones in Hong Kong as they make a constant tick-----------tick-------------tick sound until you can walk and then the noise changes to tick—tick—tick—tick much quicker so you know you are safe to cross even if you are blind. We did stop a couple of times to take photos but when I looked back at them they don’t really reflect how it really looks; I guess the grey skies didn’t help. It really is a lovely coastal run and would be great for a gang of bikers to do in a pack. There are plenty of back packer’s hostels around but Claire didn’t fancy them.

We stopped off at Lorne for lunch and when we walked past the fish and chip shop it made my mouth water, really smelling fresh. I looked in and they cook everything to order, even the chips so they are always as fresh as could be. We did walk along the coast but both finally agreed that that looked the best option. It wasn’t; we were very disappointed, how could they get it so wrong when cooking fresh? The batter was awful and we both had to leave it all, while the fish seemed old and not fresh. The chips weren’t too bad but there were about twice as many as a pig could eat. Even I couldn’t eat them all. And it was $30 which seems about half as much again as it would cost in the UK. They are usually about £5 each at home and always tastes better. The weather over here seems to change like the wind; most of the time it has been drizzling but every now and then the sun comes out with blue skies. I hate the flies over here, they seem very persistent and aggressive compared to English flies which seem more relaxed and reserved. One will land on your nose and you instantly swish it off but before your hand has stopped moving it’s already landed on your ear. They don’t seem to fly away from you; it’s more of a hover over you and land again, they just don’t seem to want to go away. When I swat them off Claire they come and attack me so I leave them there now.

We carried on driving after lunch and finally settled for Port Campbell which is a lovely pretty little village just after the twelve apostles. We didn’t bother stopping to take a picture as it was raining when we went passed. Let’s hope its fine in the morning and I can backtrack a bit for a couple of shots. We chose “Sea foam villas” to stay the night as they are right by the sea and we looked at a couple of rooms before we decided. We have a nice bedroom with plenty of storage, spa bathroom and a kitchen/dinner/lounge with balcony. Very nice too and it’s fully equipped with dishwasher, washing machine, fridge freezer, cooker, microwave, iron etc. Modern, clean and comfortable, just like we do our flats. They do have wi-fi but charge $5 for 30 minutes so I won’t be phoning home from here, we will leave it until we get back to Melbourne. Claire likes it so much she wants to come here and spend Christmas by the sea on our own. We could bring all the food and drink we want with us, we have a garage for the car and we can even see the sea on tiptoe. I always wanted to swim in the sea on Christmas day. Let’s hope there are no stingers.