January 17th - The Great Ocean Road

Today we took a tour alongThe Great Ocean Road. This Australia National Heritage road runs 243 km along the south-east coast of Victoria between Torquay and Warrmambool along the Southern Ocean. The road was built by returning soldiers between 1919 and 1923 and is the world's largest war memorial. The road is home of the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations. There are actually only 10 Apostles but for attracting tourists 12 seemed better.
Along this breathtaking journey we went through an area where there are koalas in the wild-- yes I spotted a cute cuddly one in a tree but unfortunately did not get a picture. Wild life sightings to date 1 koala, two kangaroos (alive) no snakes, no sharks!
We also passed through a town called Lorne- had to take a picture.
This was the most breathtaking journey as you can see by the photos. When we reached the Twelve Apostles we took the optional helicopter tour over the area -- what a rush. Not only was this my first helicopter ride but the scenery was incredible - I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I used some of the adventure money from my retirement gift to pay for this adventure. Thanks everyone this was another tick off my bucket list.

January 16th Melbourne

Made our way to Federation Square and considered purchasing tickets for the Australia open. Line up was far too long and since we are only here for a few days we decided to skip tennis this time. Instead we took a cruise up the Yarra River formerly called the Birrarung. The river is 242km long and empties into Hobson Bay. The river is home to the busiest container dock in Australia. Because of larger container ships the docks have been moved out to deeper waters and the old dock areas have been deserted and become run down areas. In recent years, like most large cities, modern condos, shops and restaurants are being built to revitalize these areas.
After the cruise we hopped on one of the free tourist trams to tour the city. As I mentioned before the city is full of public art even some of the bike racks have colorful cloth covers on them. Melbourne is very pedestrian and bike friendly city. Most streets are wide enough to accommodate 2-4 car lanes, bike lanes on either side and pedestrian sidewalks as well as tram cars in the middle. Lorna has to remember to look right not left before stepping off the curb as I have almost been hit by bikes a couple of times as they do not give way to pedestrians.
On the way back to our hotel we stopped by the bathhouse. It was built in the 1890's and still operates today with a pool, squash, fitness classes and fitness studio. They have done a great job of keeping up such an old facility. I looked at the prices and they have one category called concession. Apparently the boomers here don't want to be called seniors either so they use concession rate rather than senior rate. But you do have to be in possession of an Australian concession card to get this rate.
We went for a late nite dinner on the Colonial Tram Car - thanks to the tip from Mayor Jensen. The old fashion tram car picked us up at 8:30 pm. We were seated at a beautifully set window table (everyone gets window tables). We were served the most scrumptious pate and sparkling wine. I choose kangaroo for an entree (Joey was delicious, lean and tender). As we were eating the tram traveled around the city. Did I mention all alcohol was included in the price so I lost count after my 4th glass of sparkling wine. Now some of you may be thinking that I don't like wine and you are right but I love anything that sparkles including wine. I choose the filet for my main dish and sticky date pudding for dessert. Then they presented us with a beautiful cheese tray with after dinner drinks and of course chocolates before we disembarked at 11:30. After a few drinks everyone on our tram was very chatty so we met some great people and had a fabulous dinner all while seeing Melbourne at night! If you are every in Melbourne The Colonial Tram Car is a must.

January 15th

My first solo train adventure across Sydney and I made it safely, including the train change in the city.
The next day we went to Palm Beach (pictures below), very expensive area of Sydney with an incredibly beautiful beach. We took the opportunity to lay on the beach for an hour as you can see there was hardly anyone on the beach probably due to us being out of the lifeguarding area. I did put my toes in the water as Gaille assured me this was a shark free zone and the water is in the mid 20's -- still too cold for me!
Then it was off to Manly for a lovely lunch at an Africian restaurant. I was in Manly twenty years ago and I was surprised how much I recognized. I am so amazed how clear the water is considering the traffic on the water.
On the boardwalk we watched people play in a pool in uniglobes-- take note aquatic girls!
And of course I took the opportunity to investigate a shoe store.
That evening Gaille hosted a BBQ -- what a lovely evening and an opportunity for me to meet her friends-- thank you!
The next day I was suppose to go to the Sydney zoo but it was raining
So on the train back to the other side of the city. When I get back to Sydney I Plan to take advantage of the train system and do some more exploring. The system is easy and cheap- highly recommend using it if you are down under.
This morning I was up at 4:30 am to catch a 7am flight to Melbourne (business class of course). By 9am I had dropped off my ONE bag at the hotel and made my way to the Queen Victoria market -- so much to buy so little room in my luggage -- oh we'll guess I will purchase another bag!
This market was huge everything from meat, fruit and vegetables to toys, tools, pictures, clothes, purses and did mention shoes? Grant I took a picture of some shoes I thought you could wear. I still have not purchased any shoes but i did see some UGG boots with heels! There are very few Starbucks in Australia but they have an abundance of coffee places and they make the best cappuccino I have every tasted --move over Starbucks.
Melbourne is a very cosmopolitan city with a number of different cultures this afternoon I walked about 10km discovering the city. They have free city tram cars for tourist but as you can imagine the cars are pretty full so I opted to walk. The city has an interesting combination of old buildings such as st. Paul's church and across the street in Federation Square very modern architecturally designed buildings are located.
Ed it is the first day of the Australia open but I have not seen Venus yet! Actually I am surprised how little event advertising and merchandising there is. I have only seen a few street banners. No I will not be attending this event as we plan to take a tour up the great ocean road.
On my way back to the hotel I came across the public bath house. This is a recreational facility in the city you can google public bathhouse Melbourne on Swanston street and it will come up. It was closed at 8pm so I will try to go by again another time and maybe go in for a look.
There is a lot of creative public art in the area such as painted lamp posts

It is midnight here so best I get some rest.

January 11th and 12th - Adventures around Peak Hill

The picture of the moon is from last night -- the sky was so clear this picture really does not do it justice.
Well this morning we wanted to find a coffee in Peak Hill and to my surprise not only did we find a coffee shop but they served scones and devonshire cream. I was in heaven -- and felt justified as I did a 5km walk in the morning on the back roads (Mandi I am keeping up my walks, how are you doing) -- the pictures below show some of the scenery as well as the sheep farming in the area.
After coffee we visited the local cemetery and found aboriginal graves as old as 1895. Then it was off to the Open Cut Mine in Peak Hill. This is where they mined for gold in the 1800's and for ore in the 1900's up until 1969 -- warnings to watch for snakes were posted so we did not venture into the trails around the open pit mine.
We then drove to Trundle as this is where Brian's grandfather drove ox teams. We ventured into the Trundle Hotel for a drink and lunch -- you guessed it they don't serve food on Wednesday's but we could go to the cafe across the street to get a hamburger and bring it back to the hotel bar and have a drink (now I know I am in the outback). The burger was with the works bun, patty, egg, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mushrooms and beet root (it was delicious but I skipped the egg and pineapple - so much for all the weight I have lost but it is pretty hard to find salads around here). Did I mention that Trundle has either the second or third widest street in the world (75 meters JD, Hazel and Nils -- they would not have a problem installig bike lanes here). All the locals were so friendly and even let me take pictures of the bar -- I was very excited to see a Canadian flag above the bar. I talked to a man who worked for a tv station here in Australia and he had been to Vancouver Island to do a story on the logging industry (he was shocked at our clear cutting practices as he thought were better environmentalists).
I took a picture of the only shoe and handbag store in Trundle -- does Victoria have a shoe and handbag store???
Off to Parkes where we found they were hosting an Elvis festival. I found Elvis shoes, purses and even Elvis himself wandering the streets. This little town wanted to boost its economy so they decided to host this Elvis festival which has been going for 20 years and attracts people from all over the state. All the residents in the area get behind this 5 day event and it has helped boost the economy. After going to the local legion for dinner and Elvis entertainment we went to the Trotters in Parkes where we watched horse races and Elvis entertain between races quite a combination but a lot of fun. Wish I had packed my poodle skirt!
Something that is very noticeable is no matter how small the town -- they are all very quaint and clean - the residents have real pride in their communities. The towns have a number of parks, public areas and squares all of which are usually supported by the local Rotary Club!
After a full day it was lovely to look at the stars and then off to bed.
Today we packed up for the long drive back to Sydney but before leaving Parkes we visited the DISH located at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Observatory. This 64 metre dish operates twenty-four hours a day and is one of the most well known radio telescopes in the world. This facility made the first transmission to ApolloII when they landed on the moon in 1969. It is also the subject of the movie The Dish -- guess I will have to watch that now. Thank you Brian for over 1200km of driving in 3 days to show me the Australian countryside -- a memory I will treasure! Also thanks Brian for the portable washroom facilities for the outback -- I think I will stick to a chemical toilet!

Back to Sydney for a quick shower and change then took the train through Sydney, over the harbour bridge to the north side to spend a couple of days with Gaille (Marianne's sister). Tomorrow Manly!!!