Australian Adventure – Day 14 – Launceston to Cradle Mountain

2013-12-21 | puppy1952

Apologies for not posting last night but there was no internet connection at Cradle Mountain unless you paid an exorbitant fee and then only got 15 minutes!

20 December 2013
Today we made our way by the scenic route to Cradle Mountain. We were once again stunned by the beauty of Tasmania. We crossed many scenic rivers and had to stop at each one so that Earl could see whether there were any trout or bass leaping up. Sometimes there were and we had to restrain him from throwing a line in as time was of the essence.

Goodbye to The Tamar River – Launceston

One of the many stunning rivers we crossed en route

We visited a little village called Exeter where we filled up with fuel and surprise-surprise – a white man came out to help us fill up. Aunt said that was a first for her in Australia! Perhaps he smelt that we were from South Africa.

Even in Australia help is at hand

I enquired at the bakery as to whether they served breakfast and this was answered in the negative – nowhere in the village would we find a breakfast serving restaurant but she would give us ham and cheese croissants and coffee – so that is what we had!

The Bakery at Exeter

We took a wrong turn and found a beautiful little Methodist Church and cemetery on the Supply River. It had an interesting history having been started after a man dying in the bush requested the services of a minister. A certain Thomas Travers took a hazardous journey to bring Reverend TB Harris back to minister to him. After this it was decided to build a small church and have services there. It dates back to 1857.

The Supply River Methodist Church

The rest of the trip was scenic taking us over rivers and through beautiful forests and into beautiful mountains. We arrived at Cradle Mountain expecting a Villa but found a rustic cottage that highly amused us.

Our Grand Villa

We were in the middle of the bush

Facilities were limited here and we had to shop in a tiny grocery store belonging to a different establishment. They would not sell us beers as it transgressed their licence agreement. We bought frozen lasagne, ice creams and tomatoes as well as breakfast supplies. For supper we used up our salad stuff and had a very pleasant meal – It saved us having to go to the very expensive restaurant!
We did not go into the ‘wild life’ reserve as the cost was ridiculous – $60 per vehicle and a chance of having to wait as it was already oversubscribed with people. This would cover a 10 minute drive to the lake where we thought we might see water birds. We figured that we’d seen all the possible Australian animals that it would have and in here they are hardly ‘wild’. Earlier in the day we stopped at a wild life park that charged $ 22 to walk in to see animals in enclosures. When I refused to pay explaining that I wanted to see animals in their natural habitat the assistant was highly upset. She said – we can’t let our Devils roam wild because they are endangered. I didn’t argue – simply told her that in S.A. we let our endangered animals roam free. I explained that we’d already seen the same animals at Healesville and paying $22 each to see them again was not within our budget! She seemed not to understand the concept of free roaming and letting animals find and hunt their own food.
In the rest camp (for want of a better word) a paddy melon came right to our cottage and posed for us. This was better than seeing one in an enclosure. Our room brochure told us it was fine to feed the visiting animals fruit but not bread. Really – Australians have a lot to learn about setting their wildlife free!

The wildlife came visiting in the form of this paddy melon

We were also pleased to get a photo of a Yellow Rosella

We stayed just one night at Cradle Mountain. It rained in the afternoon and was very cold that night. This morning Earl cooked us one of his inimitable breakfasts before we set off back to Hobart where we are presently. It is late now so I will only post Day 15 tomorrow night. We fly to Melbourne tomorrow, spend a night there and then it’s back to New Castle/Cardiff.

Australian Adventure – Day 13 – Swansea to Launceston

2013-12-19 | puppy1952

Our route today gave us more splendid mountain, lake and sea views. Bicheno promised to provide a blow-hole experience but it was rather disappointing although the rock formations there were interesting.

Fabulous Rocks

The Australians love growing Proteas which do well in Tasmania

Crayfishing at Bicheno

Earl wanted to visit St Helen’s famous for its fishing and boating and we stopped here for a while. It gave him plenty to be enthralled and horrified over. It seems that the Australian boating and fishing skills are not up to the level of the South Africans. That of course is a subjective view and as I know very little about how it should be done I shall just let Earl’s photographs speak to you.

St Helen’s is a fisherman’s paradise

This fishing boat has been converted into a restaurant

Boat boats and more boats

All kinds of boats

Crayfishing season is open

Fish Shop is Open

Pink and Grey Galahs posed beautifully for us

Birds always attract our attention and en route we were pleased to spot a kookaburra and a pallid cuckoo perched on the overhead wires. Both obliged by not flying away as I clicked the camera. I have been very keen see the native-hen which is supposed to be common here in Tasmania – and guess what – about five of them appeared on the side of the road but unfortunately did not stick around for a photograph. Try as we might we could not find where they had managed to hide.

kookaburra

Pallid Cuckoo

We also passed through beautiful farmland and the twisty forested mountain passes were impressive. We stopped at a quaint tin mining village of Derby that seemed to have been frozen in time and reminded me a bit of Elim in the Western Cape. Here, there were a few businesses like gift shops and coffee shops but not many were open. The schoolhouse museum grabbed my interest but unfortunately that too was closed. We were amused by a rock that was painted to look like a fish just outside the village.

Town Hall Derby

Post Office

Fishy Rock

Scenic Drive

– Beautiful tree ferns

Launceston is quite a big town and we are staying at a Quest Hotel – self catering units. We decided to eat out tonight and at The Indian Empire we had stunning curries!

Australian Adventure – Day 12 – Freycinet National Park

2013-12-18 | puppy1952

My senses had an overload of beauty today. Tasmania is way beyond anything that I expected. Even the weather has been kind as this island is quite far south and so inclement weather is to be expected. It was overcast to begin with and showers were expected but they did not arrive. Instead we had temperatures of up to 22 degrees C. In unsheltered spots it was a tad chilly but we were mostly in sheltered sunny areas.
After a delicious breakfast cooked by the almost naked Chef we took an hour’s drive to Freycinet National Park. This park is an idyllic spot for hikers and campers and it totally geared to providing for their needs. Day visitors, however, can take short or long walks according to their preference.
En route we drank in the magnificent mountain and lake views. Everything is green, sheep and cattle look healthy and not a squatter camp in sight. What strikes a hardened South African in this land is that everything is pretty, clean and neat.
The staff at the visitors centre at Freycinet, were very helpful and advised us on which walks to take. Entrance fee was just $24 for the three of us. The charge was per vehicle – not per person. The Lighthouse
We drove to start of each of the walks that we did – namely Cape Tourville Walk and Sleepy Bay Walk.
After getting the most out of our visit we stopped at Freycinet Bistro for a Devonshire Tea which was to die for! Two delicious scones each served with more than enough jam and clotted cream. Instead of tea we ordered coffee. My long black was perfect but Aunt and Earl complained that theirs was a tad cold so the Nigerian waitress brought them two more free of charge without them even asking! I know South Africans are keen to know how much – hold your breath and don’t faint please, it was really worth the $15 each.
It is not easy to describe in words what we experienced today so I am going to let the pictures do the talking.
Once again I am using the internet at Reception – and time is tight as they close at 7:00 – I have to be quick – not time to dilly dally or check spelling nor fuss through photographs.

One of the fabulous views en route

The Lighthouse

Sleepy Bay

From the Lighthouse Walk

Looking from The Cape Tourville Lighthouse

Grey Fantail – seen on Sleepy Bay Walk

From The Bistro

Aunt and Me

Australia Adventure – Day 11 – Hobart to Swansea

2013-12-17 | puppy1952

We woke to the most beautiful clear sunny day – best we’ve had since we started on this two week tour of Victoria and Tasmania. The view from Wrest Point Hotel room window was spectacular.

From our Hotel Window

To top it all we found a perfect sea-front restaurant – The Beach House – to have breakfast. Sitting at a patio table in the gentle sunshine and taking in the vista was pure joy. We wondered what the poor people in the rest of the world were doing.

Our journey to Swansea was equally pleasant. We took a slow drive arriving at Swansea Cottages at 2 o’clock. On the way we passed through beautiful green valleys and were surrounded by mountains, rivers, lagoons and lakes.

Earl identified with this!

Seen on our drive

A place we stopped to stare at

Everyone decorates their homes for Christmas but this was special

After checking into our pleasant rustic cottage that has everything we need we went off to the local grocery store and were amused to find that even the parking area had a view of the sea!

Car Park with a View

The weather has clouded over a bit this evening but we will be having our first Australian Barbie – on a gas barbecue if you don’t mind! We laughed out loud when we saw a barbeque back of meat in the supermarket – it consisted of a tiny piece of funny looking beef sausage, something indescribable and a much-beaten, very thin piece of ‘minute’ steak. Earl got the krills just looking at it! No – we did not buy it!
I have to connect to the internet at reception today – Robyn our hostess is kindly allowing me free access – so I will only post the results of our Barbie tomorrow.

I am now running out of time and battery! Sorry about the poor quality of todays post – haven’t had time to really sort and post the best pictures,

Australian Adventure – Day 10 – Delayed at Melbourne Airport

2013-12-16 | puppy1952

We woke to a lovely morning and Earl made us a scrumptious breakfast – fruit and yogurt to start followed by fried egg, mushrooms tomato, bacon and banana.

The not so naked chef serving breakfast

We left at 8 to drive to Melbourne where we were to get our flight to Hobart. Just as we were craving a coffee and loo break a sign on the freeway indicated that truckers and others could slip off for a quick espresso. What a surprise – just a van with an electric outlet and fabulous coffee and food on offer – what a good idea. The owner’s dog was an extra attraction – he lay quietly waiting for unsuspecting guests then asked for his ‘ball’ to be thrown to him!

The Van Coffee Shop

Note the picnic table in the background – with Barbie facility

The Dog

Of course I couldn’t miss a bird photo – This is a butcher bird

We were in good time for our flight (1 p.m.) and tried to check in but were told we’d have to wait till 2:30 as our flight was only at 4:30. No problem – we had ham and rolls we made from our left overs and each other for company but – horror – no chairs or benches on which to sit – until you checked through! NOT very friendly we thought. So we sat on our suitcases and ate our lunch. To add injury to insult when we did finally check in we were told our flight had been cancelled! What! – the next one would be at 6:30! -We could have used the time to explore Melbourne had we been informed earlier! And they hadn’t even changed the notification from the board.

Well we finally arrived in beautiful Hobart, waited ages for the luggage to be offloaded, got our hire car – a red Golf – and with a difficulty found our accommodation – very posh with a fabulous view but all in one room! It was late so we ordered room service. Fettuccini with creamy mushroom and bacon sauce. And they only brought after I’d repeated the order four times! Anyway – it was an adventure – and things could have been worse.

The Bridge

The View from our window

Australian Adventure – Day 9 – Sale Nature Reserve

2013-12-15 | puppy1952

It was windy and cool at Lakes Entrance today and we decided against a guided boat trip of The Lakes deciding instead to explore on our own.

Lakes Entrance

We probably chose to drive too far but it ended up being a very worthwhile trip when we discovered Sale Nature Reserve on our way back. Earl, of course, was in search of harbours and boats but the sea was not visible from the roads we drove along as the coastline is lined with trees and bush and very few houses were on the beach front too. We did get out to look at the 90 mile beach and found a lone fisherman trying his luck.

90 Mile Beach

As usual we looked everywhere for bird life and found plenty. Rainbow lorikeets flew overhead but eluded photographs, galahs were noisy and arboreal birds called tantalisingly from the trees granting us only the occasional glimpse for their beautiful colours.

There are many lakes and rivers hosting waterbirds and we stopped to watch them too. The Australian Purple Swamphen which got us all excited in the beginning is so common that we hardly give it a glance now! There are also myriads of coots and white-faced herons. We were pleased to find the Pacific Heron today.

Yellow Wattle Eye

Purple Swamphen

Coots for Australia

Pacific Heron

Covered by Red Gum woodland and grasslands, the Sale Common State Game Refuge off the South Gippsland Highway covers approximately 300 hectares. Over 70 percent of the refuge consists of freshwater marsh where myriads of water birds make their home. There are boardwalks for visitors to walk along as well as one or two bird hides. Vandalism even in this pristine place has reared its ugly head and one of the shelters is in the process of being dismantled because of it. We were delighted to find two Rufous Whistlers in a mating sequence in the trees above our heads. He sang to her tunefully while she bobbed and spread her tail feathers in a mating dance then they swapped places and he spread his feathers and sang some more. He must have hit the wrong note because after a while she got bored and flew off leaving him still singing but with less enthusiasm.

Rufous Whistler birds courting

Male singing and displaying

We were looking intently into the trees for birds when a young girl came running back along the track she had walked, specially to inform us that there were ring tailed possums in full view. This was the highlight of the day for me. They are supposed to be nocturnal so to be out in the middle of the day was quite unusual. We were able to get right up close to them and took tons of photographs and they were not fazed by us at all.

What beautiful eyes

Note the ring tail hooked onto the branch

Two at play

The wetland

Welcome Swallows

Another Rufous Whistler

Back at Lakes Entrance we found a gull that looked very familiar but it is not a Kelp gull and Aunt says she has not seen these in Australia before. There was only one but the book tells us they are often seen in this area.

Pacific Gull -red tip to both upper and lower bill and black tail

I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of some teenagers at the skate park – looked like lots of fun.

After our lovely day we decided to have an early supper. The local fish shop provided us with ready cooked prawns which we had with salad followed by ice cream and fruit salad, cheese and biscuits and then Earl went down and got us ‘real’ coffee and truffles from the restaurant. A perfect end to a glorious day!

Our Delicious Supper

Cheers till tomorrow

Australian Adventure – Day 8 – Yarra Valley to Lakes Entrance

2013-12-14 | puppy1952

Today we had to leave Yarra Valley and our stunning accommodation. This is a photograph of me in the shower/spa bath which has a clear glass window to the lounge – there is of course a curtain for modesty!

View from the lounge through to the kitchen – bathroom is transparent!

The weather was cool for travelling today. We left at 9:30 and our drive to Lakes Entrance took us just over four hours with a couple of loo stops and one coffee break. The latter was an interesting ‘in the middle of nowhere’ diner with an outside loo just off Princes Highway. There were a few homes hidden among the trees and this place was probably owned by the people in the house next door to it. It was pretty busy too – trucker, tourists and locals obviously find it a convenient place for to break their journey or take a break from normal life. Once again we found the people friendly and efficient. I thought the loo might be dodgy, perhaps even a long drop – but it was perfectly clean and had a well-maintained flush system! The wash basin was outside and the only tiny complaint was that the soap had run out and there was no towel! Luckily I carry my own waterless hand-wash wherever I go! Besides my fetish about clean ablutions I also require my coffee to be ‘just right’ and I get grumpy if I’m served a bad cup of coffee anywhere in the world I find myself. Australia – you have passed the test – I love your “long blacks” and haven’t had an inferior one yet – not even at this odd little place in the middle of the bush!

The Diner

The Diner

Coffee Menu

The Loo

The kitchen is in full view – everything is immaculate

The past two days of luxury are over – but our new accommodation is not half bad. We have a comfortable two-bedroomed apartment with excellent cooking facilities – but it is not serviced – horror! We do have a view and are close to the lake and the beach. There is a washing machine, iron, ironing board and all household gadgets needed. This is the norm in most Australian hotels which is really cool.

We settled in and then went shopping – we intend to self-cater – and we’re finding the quality of the supermarket food quite remarkable. At home I only shop at Woolworths – here all the supermarkets have excellent quality fruit and vegetable and the staff are all very helpful. The interesting thing about Australia is that there seems to be very little class distinction. Any job is a good job and folk are proud of their jobs and do them well and other people respect what they do too – well that’s our experience so far anyway. Also everything is clean and well maintained. We have seen very little litter, lawns are trimmed, fences are fixed and our accommodation has been fantastic be it luxury or budget, everything works and there has been little or no cause for complaint. So often at home we find something doesn’t work – usually the plumbing or electrics. The worst we’ve had here is a problem getting the key card to work – but that was due more to our ignorance rather than technical error!

After a pleasant shopping experience we took a walk along the promenade to check out the beach and boats, watched a couple of lads fish and photographed some carvings that commemorate and honour those who were injured or killed in The Great War.

Lakes Entrance

Earl loves this place

Boats in the harbor

Pied Oyster Catcher on the shore

One of the carvings done to commemorate those who were injured or died in The Great War

Young boys fishing for Bream

Earl is cooking dinner tonight – lamb chops, baked potatoes and vegetables. Could life be more complete than this – a fabulous setting, a divine husband who cooks and an aunt who loves me.! How lucky am I!

A Husband in the Kitchen

Australian Lamb Chops

Eating In

Refrozen Ice Cream for dessert- still delicious

Australian Adventure – Day 7 – Healesville Sanctuary

2013-12-13 | puppy1952

Today we spent the day at Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. In South African if you want to see African wildlife you take yourself off to a Game Reserve. This was more of a cross between a zoo and a game reserve. The animals are in enclosures but are relatively free but do not have to rely entirely on themselves to hunt for food. The director of this sanctuary is a South African and according to the volunteer staff that we met he made excellent changes to the place. He is extremely highly thought of.

On my wishlist was Tasmanian Devil and Duck-billed platypus – not easily found in the wild so good to be able to find them here! We are of course also interested in birds. We saw quite a few free and wild and also some in walk through aviaries. The staff – some permanent and some voluntary were very friendly ad helpful and clearly great animal lovers. We spent the best part of 5 hours at the sanctuary and thoroughly enjoyed everything we saw. It could be compared to The World of Birds in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Some parts of the park also reminded me of an Aquarium experience although the creatures we saw were mammals.

Australian Kesterl seen on our way to Healesville

Australian Kestrel seen on our way to Healesville

Bower Bird Nest – note all the blue objects he collects

The Bowerbird - collector of the blue items

The Satin Bowerbird – collector of the blue items

Pied Currawong

Gouldian Finch

Scaly-breasted lorikeet

Moorhen on nest – in the river that runs through the park

Buff-banded Rail – in the river that runs through the park

In South Africa we love going to ‘Eagle Encounters’ at Spier in Stellenbosch. Here we enjoyed what they call the ‘Spirits of the Sky and features Raptors and Parrots. The birds come out on cue fly around the arena and two men give an informative talk about these lovely creatures. The audience is warned not to stand up nor to try to touch the birds. We were entertained by a barking owl, black kite, several parrots and an wedge-tailed eagle also known as an eaglehawk.

Wedge-tailed eagle

We had a lovely time looking at the platypus and other night creatures but their enclosures were darkened at they are nocturnal and photography was impossilbe. So I decided to have my protrait taken on a carving instead!

Doing the compulsory touristy thing

At the Tasmanian Devil we met a South African who had recently imigrated to Ausralia. His sister was visiting him from Port Elizabeth. It was good to hear a South African accent – first since we arrived here and I thought Australia was full of South Africans!

Tasmanian Devil

I have to post at least one Kangaroo!

Spiny Anteater – almost missed him when looking at the Koalas!

Koalas are sleepy creatures and you usually find them sleeping in their gum trees. But today we got lucky and found some wakeful ones. We even watched them climb and jump from one tree to another. I have a video but don’t know how to post it.

Koala with baby

Koala chomping leaves

Lyre Bird

These are just some of the creatures we enjoyed today – there were many more. We had lunch at one of the cafeterias and found the food and service very good. Before returning to Mecure Yarra Valley, we stopped at one of the bigger supermarket chains, Coles. Earl was hugely inpressed with the fridges and the way everything was laid out. A young mom noticed that we were a bit confused as to how things worked and she got her little boy to handed us a number at the cold meats counter and explained that it would be called when it was our turn. So of course we chatted for a while. She had two little boys with her and they were pushing miniature trolleys.

Kids get to push their own trolleys – This little chap is 6.

We stopped off at the Chocolatery on our way back and bought delicious ice cream for dessert. We only had five minutes to browse as it was closing time. Yum – it all looked so delicious.

Dinner was in again tonight – cold meats and salad followed by ice cream.

Australian Adventure – Day 6 – Ballarat to Yarra Valley

2013-12-12 | puppy1952

Oh my but it was freezing again this morning. We headed to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and had breakfast at a restaurant opposite which has a magnificent view of The Lake. Because of the cold we sat indoors next to a window and the view was to die for. After putting in our order I went outside to take photographs. The Purple Swamphen in Australia is not a shy bird as it tends to be here. In fact there were hoards of them prancing about on the front lawn – Really these exotic birds are quite boring here in Oz!

Piper’s Restaurant

My Breakfast Club would love this place It has ambience, style and the menu would definitely caters for our gourmet tastes. How about it girls – A breakfast in Ballarat?

What a menu – What a view

So the visit to the Gardens afterwards was okay – but it’s not Kirstenbosch. I loved the arum lilies in different shades thought. And the Prime Ministers Avenue was quite a nice touch. The staff were friendly and it was interesting to note that all the labour was white. I love the Australian attitude that any job is a good job. There is so little class distinction and people are respected for whatever they do.

The Hot House

Yellow Arum Lily

Prime Minister Avenu

The thing that has impressed me is that so many places of interest have free entrance. I am not opposed to paying to see something interesting but when we went to Sovereign Hill which shows off an old Gold Mine Town we were hugely disappointed. To get in it would cost $47 each! That is just ridiculous. We decided to give it a miss. It included a visit to the Museum and a Light show. Maybe it was worth it but we didn’t want to take the chance. Remember that converts to R470 each- more than I would pay to see live theatre!

Australian School Children on an outing to Sovereign Hill - No Hat No Play

Australian School Children on an outing to Sovereign Hill – They’re in Civvies but are still required to wear hats – NO HAT NO PLAY is the slogan at every school.

So instead we headed for Yarra Valley. As I said it was cold this morning but by the time we arrived at our accommodation – Mecure Yarra Valley the temperature had risen and it was beautifully warm.

Lovely to see mountains in Victoria

Mecure Yarra Valley

We were at an hour early for check in so went to the restaurant for a cold drink – a bowl of delicious warm olives, a beer and two sparkling waters set us back $20.00

Aunt and Me in the larney Restaurant

We decided that dinner at this establishment would be out of our budget! The place was divine. It is set in a wine growing valley surrounded by beautiful mountains – which made us feel very much at home and how lovely to finally see some mountains in flat Australia. The resort has a Spa so we immediately booked a massage each. There is also a gym albeit it small. We have been over indulging in rich food so I thought I needed to work some of it and before the massage at 5 I took myself off to do a workout – (Hope you’re proud of me Steve!) I did the Big 5 that Steve tells me are essential for good back maintenance as well as Suit-case Squats and Turkish Get-ups. Then I got onto the treadmill and did a good 25 minute run. I felt great afterwards and felt that I earned my massage!

Our accommodation is beyond luxurious. We have a jacuzzi/shower, self catering facilities and a view. We decided that after all the rich food we have been eating we should shop and self-cater for the next few days. We loved Iga Super Market – excellent quality fruit and vegetables. We got a ready cooked chicken, salad stuff, fruit and vegetables, cheese and biscuits and local wine and beer. Our meal was stunning and dinner, breakfast, lunch and possibly another meal cost us way less than yet another rich meal out!

Australian Adventure – Day 5- Warrnambool to Ballarat

2013-12-11 | puppy1952

It was pouring when we woke this morning and it continued for most of our drive to Ballarat. We took the scenic route, travelling through picturesque villages and towns steeped in the history of Australia. I love the way the Australians decorate the outside of their homes for Christmas – we certainly saw some interesting decor in the countryside. We stopped to explore the tiniest town I have ever seen. At the 2006 census Linton had a population of 355. It is amazing that people still live there. There were some interesting old buildings but everything was closed – even the Pub which advertised coffee served all day! It was dead! Not surprisingly, the only place open was the Undertaker’s.

Linton was first settled, in about 1840 and was named after a pioneer family in the area. Gold was found there in 1848. Chinese people, among others, mined the local shafts until the gold ran out. There is a monument to one of the Chinese men who was arrested for mining without a license.

The Public Library – I wonder how many books it has?

Once a jolly Swagman

The Miner’s Memorial – his European wife with a small child at the back.

Christmas Spirit

Kanagaroos pull the sleigh in Australia

Along the way we stopped when I spotted a bird that didn’t look quite like the ibises we’d seen before. It turned out to be a straw-necked ibis and stopping proved fruitful as some other birds were enjoying the puddle too.

Straw-necked Ibis

Pacific Black Duck

Hoary-headed Grebe

Purple Swamphen (a little different to the one in South Africa)

The weather cleared up in the afternoon but was still a little cold when we arrived at our B&B in Ballarat. We found a note from our hostess on the door explaining where we were to find our room and key. What a charming place. It is a hundred years old and set in a lovely shady garden. It’s a pity we only have one night here. I googled Ballarat and found the following information.

Ballarat is Victoria’s largest inland city. It started back in 1838 when a squatter called William Yuille camped on the shores of the Black Swamp, now known as Lake Wendouree. “Balla” “Arat” was derived from the meaning resting or camping place.

Gold was discovered at Poverty Point in 1851 by John Dunlop and James Regan who found a few ounces while panning in the Canadian Creek. By the following year there were around 20,000 diggers searching in the shafts of the Ballarat Goldfields. Due to this population explosion, Ballarat was proclaimed a town in 1852. By 1855, Ballarat was a municipality, a borough by 1863 and a city in 1870.

We had a rest and then went out to ‘The Boatshed’ which overlooks the lake for dinner. We drove around the town too and have made plans of where to go tomorrow before we leave for Yarris Valley.

The lake foreshore is a hive of activity – there is a path that goes around the lake and people walk their dogs, jog entertain the kids on the lawns and swings or simply sit on a bench and enjoy the scenery and birdlife.

Black Swans with chicks

A flotilla of swans

Catching the rays

Australian Wood Ducks

A table with a view

We enjoyed the delicious Lamb Shanks

We took coffee and dessert on the deck

Picturesque Scene

We certainly dined in a beautiful setting

So today was a bit of a rest day but still very interesting. What an amazing place Australia is – the wide open spaces, the sea, the lakes, .the friendly people and wonderful lifestyle. No wonder so many South Africans migrate here!

Australian Adventure – Day 4 – Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve and Port Fairy

2013-12-10 | puppy1952

The solution of where to have breakfast was easily solved and I found myself at an establishment I wouldn’t think of going to at home – MacDonald’s! I was pleasantly surprised -they have a varied menu and service is quick and efficient – you place your order at the counter, wait five minutes, take your tray to a table and then throw away the containers afterwards! Not my normal style no – but the scrambled egg and bacon wrap was great and before long we were on our way to Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve.

This view greeted us

The Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve encompasses the Tower Hill volcano and wetland and is 6.14 km² in area. Entrance to the park is free, there is a short drive and several walking trails. We chatted to a young German couple and asked – What have you seen? Oh – nothing we’ve just arrived. We’d just arrived too and in the two hours it took us to reach the visitor’s centre we’d seen kangaroos, emus, rabbits, a koala bear and a variety of birds! Their mouths dropped open when we told them this. The aim of most visitors seems to be to get to the visitor’s centre as fast as possible, walk the trail in record time, have a cup of coffee and leave. Then they return from holiday and say – We went to this nature reserve and didn’t see a thing. We had the best time looking for birdlife and of course every bird we saw was new to us. Because we look carefully for birds we tend to see all kinds of other creatures too.

The rock formations in the reserve are fascinating and beautiful. A wall of rock that is filled with tiny caves and crevices makes a wonderful apartment building for various creatures. Some noisy galahs were obviously waking up and were about to leave for whatever their mission was for today.

These galahs have taken up residence in rock crevices - most luxurious apartments they are too

These galahs have taken up residence in the volcanic rock crevices

It wasn’t long before I spotted movement in the bush and to our delight we found the iconic Kangaroo with her young joey. It had been raining but the sun was out and they were catching the rays!

Kanga and Joey

Long ago rabbits were introduced into Australia and they are still somewhat of a nuisance and can be seen in most neighbourhoods. They are in the parks too!

How adorable is that!

Leonie spotted the koala. If there are droppings at the bottom of the tree you are almost guaranteed that one will be sleeping on a branch above.

Koalas spend most of their lives asleep!

One of the birds we were delighted to see was the blue-breasted fairy-wren. She makes the tiniest nest – just a teaspoon in size. The eggs must be minute. The male is the pretty one and he has more than one wife!

Male Blue breasted Fairy-wren

Female Blue-breasted Fairy-wren – quite drab in appearance don’t you think

Australia’s biggest bird in the Emu – and it doesn’t fly. It reminds one of the ostrich but it is not even closely related. I love our ostrich and this emu is also a fascinating creature. The female chooses more than one mate and then leaves the ones in favour to care for the eggs and the chicks without any help from her. He raises those chicks very well too!

These birds are not even related to the ostrich!

These birds are not even remotely related to the ostrich!

We got very excited when we saw a very familiar little bird – just like the one we see at home only to discover that it was a tiny bit different and also had an odd name!

Nope – it’s not a Witogie – The Aussies call it a Silvereye

There were lots of birds on the bodies of water in the park. Familiar again were the coots – but these did not have red knobs.

Eurasian Coots among others

White-faced Heron

Chestnut Teal

The Australian Black-winged stilt is not the same as the South African species. The black nape is missing on ours.

Black-winged stilt on nest

This bird of prey was a great spot – not sure yet what it is but we’re guessing it is a Little Eagle.

On a walk we were lucky to spot this wallaby. At first she just looked like a rock but then I saw her move. She was very silent but not at all scared.

Wallaby

We heard and saw a lot of tiny, pretty and interesting birds – photography of said birds was next to impossible as they flit so quickly and hide in the foliage of the trees. But it was fun and we were delighted with our day.

We ended our trip with a visit to Port Fairy. It is a little fishing town and holiday resort with a beautiful river and coastline. Earl loved it and enjoyed looking at the fishing boats. The main catch is shark!

Next to the river we found a little fish shop that served seafood. It was not the Ritz but the view was to die for and the food served in a box at grubby outside tables was delicious – far too much though – we would have been better off sharing! Aunt assured us that $20 each for a meal was cheap by Australian standards!

Port Fairy

House on River Bank

The River/harbour

Fishing Boat

Better than the Ritz – Fried hake, calamari, scallop and prawn washed down with a good Aussie Beer

Australian Advenure Day 3 -Melbourne to Warrnambool,The Bay of Islands and The Twelve Apostles

2013-12-09 | puppy1952

It was a very early wake up time this morning. Earl was not feeling well last night and getting up at 3:00 a.m. did not help either. By four o’clock we were on the road with Aunt in the driver’s seat. She did not need the Garmen to find the way. It was a perfect morning and after dropping off the hire car and checking in – quite a mission because of the distance one has to walk – we checked in. Do you know you have to pay for a trolley at Australian Airports? I thought $3.00 was a bit steep! I was a little nervous when I saw the terminal was like it was used to be in the olden days when you walked onto the tarmac to board the plane. The first one I saw had propellers and Earl almost had me convinced that this was ours! The name Jetstar put me at ease!

A day to depart from Newcastle to Melbourne-

Dawn departure from Newcastle to Melbourne on a Jetstar Flight

It was a bit of a shock to land in a wet and windy Melbourne. I was so sure that Australia was a hot country that I didn’t pack any long sleeved shirts or warm jerseys – my jeans, fleece and school jacket would have to do!

It was a long drive to Warrnambool (Maria I promise this is really how you spell it!) Fortunately Earl was feeling better and took the wheel. We stopped for coffee at a quaint little coffee shop in one of the small town en route – excellent and Aunt assured us that $3.00 for a long black was cheap by Aussie standards.

It poured most of the way so stopping to sight see was not on the agenda. It cleared up when we arrived and so we explored the town and surrounds for an hour.

Water everywhere

Birds abound. This is a Blue-billed duck

Our accommodation is a two bedroomed, two bathroom, open plan livingroom/kitchen apartment and very comfortable. It has all the mod-cons of home including a washing machine!

After a rest we set off along the Great Ocean Road and took in the compulsory tourist must dos. And boy were they worth it. The weather was awful but the beauty was still sensational and it was well worth travelling all these miles to see these incredible natural phenomena. Also there were no crowds and no entrance fees to spoil the experience. We could just take it all in and enjoy. Of course we looked out for birds en route too!

We stopped at an old fashioned diner for delicious take away ham, cheese and tomato rolls.

Still need to find out what this bird is

Me at The Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands

Amazing rock formations

The gale nearly blew us away at the view point of The Twelve Apostles

The photographs do not do justice to the magnificence of these rock formations. I would also love to come back on a sunny day although I think that the wild weather added to the beauty of the experience in many ways. The sea was turbulent, the wind blew through our hair and we felt both awed and invigorated. It was good to feel the rugged beauty both in the rocks, the sea and the weather.

Australian Wood Duck

Spur Lapwing

Wood duck again

Australian Black Bird (type of thrush)

Black Swans

We got home quite late and went straight to Beu Jangles for pizza. I loved the Christmas hat sported by one of the chefs. Typical Aussie – the prettiest bush hat I’ve ever seen!