Stuif's Adventures

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Melbourne, October 2009
Although it was the beginning of spring in Australia, it was still rather cold when we arrived for a visit to our friends Pat and Roger. When we arrived in the middle of the night, the first thing Roger gave us was a warm water bottle for the night, a new experience for Aric..:-)

The next days it was sunny and pleasant weather, so we could enjoy the countryside around. We visited a park near where they are living and were surprised that the birds were not shy at all.

We visited Melbourne. I had been there before, so I could be a tour guide for Aric. We arrived at Flinders station and started at Federation Square. The Yarra River, the Arcades, the State Library, Victoria Market, Parliament House, the Fitzroy Gardens, St Patrick's Cathedral, we did a lot of walking.

The next day we went to the nearby National Rhododendron Gardens. The rhododendrons were in full bloom and there was also a large collection of protea's. An orgy of colours.
That evening we celebrated the 60th birthday of Pat with a dinner.

After a quiet day with a trip in the surrounding countryside and a visit to the Apple shop in Melbourne to buy my Iphone(!), we started a 3D2N excursion along the Great Ocean Road, one of the top attractions of Victoria.

From Geelong we passed Torquay with its surfing beaches, Aireys Inlet with the Split Point Lighthouse and Lorne, where of course I had to visit the Erskine Falls. Next we started looking for Koala's which are quite common in this region, and... we found them. What a cute animals!

We stayed overnight in a nice apartment in Apollo Bay. The next day, after a visit of the Otway National Park with its lighthouse, we spent almost the whole day admiring the Twelve Apostles and the other fascinating rock formations along the coast. It was stormy weather, quite spectacular.
No wonder that sometimes these rocks crash. The London Arch is what rests of the former London Bridge!

The second night we stayed in Warnambool in a nice and cheap apartment, with a bottle of wine included..:-)
On our way back we took the inland route and spent quite some time in the nice historic town of Camperdown. After lunch in Colac, we took the ferry back from Queenscliff to Portsea. A nice trip.

Of course we had to make a ride in the Puffing Billy, one of the top attractions of the Dandenong hills where Pat and Roger are living.

What was still missing were kangaroos. The weather had turned cold and rainy (we even had hail!), so we were not very hopeful when we went to the Cardinia reservoir, where they are quite common. But we were lucky and could even take nice pictures of these gracious animals.

Thanks, Pat and Roger for your hospitality!

Welcome with a hot water bottle
 

The Meade residence
 

Real English Breakfast
 

Spring!
 

Exploring the countryside
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Feeding the birds
 

In many varieties
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The famous Kallista Tea Rooms
 

Aric is a bit scared...:-)
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King Parrot
 

Cockatoo and Kookaburra
 

A delicious dinner
 

Melbourne, Flinders station
 

Federation Square
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Skyline with Yarra river
 

One of the many Arcades
 

Detail
 

Shot tower in Melbourne Central
 

State Library of Victoria
 

Statues
 

Modern Skyscraper
 

Parliament House of Victoria
 

Victorian style house
 

St Patrick's Cathedral
 

Fitzroy Gardens
 

Idyllic...:-)
 

Modern Art
 

Forum Theatre (1929)
 

Federation Square
 

National Rhododendron Gardens
 

Beautiful location
 

One for the album
 

An orgy of colours
 

A large collection of Protea's
 

Sarah, David, Roger and Pat
 

Pat with birthday cake
 

A happy celebration
 

Unpacking the presents
 

Double rainbow
 

Beautiful landscape
 

Men and nature
 

Happy friendship
 

Nice dinner at the RSL
 

My Iphone!
 

Torquay surfers
 

Split Point Lighthouse (1891)
 

Erskine Falls, Lorne
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Lunch al fresco
 

The beauty of nature
 

Koala mother & kid
 

Our Apollo Bay apartment
 

Victoria coastline
 

Cape Otway Lighthouse (1848)
 

The Twelve Apostles
 

Island Archway, as it is now
 

Before June 2009 (from the Internet)
 

Like a razor
 

London Arch
 

Our apartment in Warnambool
 

Street in Camperdown
 

Camperdown facades
 

Leura Hotel (1859)
 

Clocktower (1897)
 

Crossing Port Phillip Bay
 

In the company of terns
 

Puffing Billy
 

Perfect match..:-)
 

In the train
 

Romantic trip
 

Hail stones!
 

Kangaroos
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Mother with kid (called a Joey)
 

Goodby dinner!
 

lightlingmk2 wrote on Jan 7, 2010:
I had done this too but not scare. This in dandilong(sp) forest ?

lightlingmk2 wrote on Jan 7, 2010:
Someone in the bus asked me if this is a stupid design. My replied was it's an individual taste.

lightlingmk2 wrote on Jan 7, 2010:
ha, I had no luck seeing this.

wrote on Jan 17, 2010:
Hi Jan. From your album you and Aric had a very nice trip.
Y S and I did the same circuit to the 12 apostles in the 1990s, We weren't so lucky then. Had planned to stay the night in Port Campbell but there was no motel room vacancy. So we left Port campbell after sunset and took the Princess highway to reach melbourne at about mid-night.
Another thing I remembered. I kept on wondering when we would strike the Great Ocean Road, expecting it to be at least a four lane highway.

wrote on Jan 17, 2010:
The 4th one looks familiar

wrote on Jan 17, 2010:
What a view

wrote on Jan 17, 2010:
This should make your trip complete

Kwai Loh wrote on Mar 2, 2010:
You know me well..:-)

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