Day 111 7/01/2015

We headed out and enjoyed a healthy breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and tea at a nearby cafe all for $10 each.  We'd got a few bits of shopping to do and wanted to go the the tourist information centre to get some info on Victoria so headed down towards Federation Square.  Melbourne is known as Australia's cultural capital with gold rush era architecture and is very multi cultural.  It's also home to a number of key sporting venues including the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rod Laver Tennis Stadium and the Etihad Stadium.  The city centre is a mix of wide main streets and laneways.  Federation Square at the south end of the centre is a rather strange mix of buildings in a undulating and patterned forecourt.  It corners Flinders Street Station, built in 1854 and Melbourne's first railway station and a beautiful neoclassical building topped with a striking octagonal dome.  Opposite is St Paul's Cathedral, built between 1880 and 1891 which features ornate stained glass windows and provided a respite from the c40 degree heat outside.  We'd stopped for lunch on Swanston Street when the first rain started to fall and decided to jump on the City Tourist Bus to get to see some more of the sights and stay out of the rain.  The tour took 90 minutes and as we got near to the end the rain turned into a torrential downpour with strong winds.  We read later that a group of sky divers got caught out by the storm and blown off course with some landing just off the coast in shallow waters.  Luckily there were no serious injuries.  We'd arranged to meet Raewyn and Bill, who we met in Laos, late afternoon outside Flinders Street Station and wandered over to Federation Square for a bite to eat.  Bill is recuperating after having a new knee fitted just before Christmas.  It was lovely to see them again and hopefully we'll be able to catch up again before we head off to New Zealand.  From here we headed back to our hotel and enjoyed a beer on the balcony admiring the Melbourne skyline and the lightening (no thunder though).

Eureka Tower from Federation Square

Flinders Street Station

The view from our balcony

Melbourne Day 110 6/01/2015

We'd bought food for breakfast and had it in our room (the cost in the restaurant was $37 each!) before packing up and getting the coach to the airport for our flight to Melbourne.  Despite strong winds it was much smoother than the flight out from Sydney.  It was late afternoon with the time difference by the time we landed and we headed into town on the airport shuttle bus.  We didn't realise that the same company offers free transfers from the bus station to city centre hotels so we got the tram to the nearest stop and walked from there.  The trams are all free in the city centre which, as well as saving money, means you don't have to work out how to pay!  We were staying at the Space Hotel, a relatively new hotel/hostel on Russell Street just on the north edge of the city.  First priority was washing and we took advantage on the laundrette and then popped down to the bar for our free welcome drink.  We significantly increased the average age and quickly downed our drinks to get away from the thumping music.  In addition to the laundrette there's a large kitchen area with c16 stoves which makes it a great place to stay for young backpackers looking for cheap digs.  In the evening we walked down towards Federation Square and went for dinner at a well known Tapas bar, MoVida, which is in one of the cobbled laneways emblazoned with local street art (looked very similar to graffiti to Diane!).  The restaurant was very busy and we had to wait around 20 mins to get a table but it was well worth it and had a great mix of tapas and bottle of Spanish red, the first time in weeks that we weren't drinking Australian wine.  Our waiter was from Glasgow!

Day 109 5/01/2015

The alarm went off at 0430 and slightly jaded we got up, ate a little breakfast and headed to the reception area to be picked up at 5am by our shuttle bus.  It was full again (and one of many buses out that morning) showing how popular seeing sunrise over the Rock is.  It's a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks.  We drove to the viewing point, 180 degrees from where we were at sunset yesterday, and with the crowds awaited sunrise. Again as it was a little cloudy, the rock wasn't in its full red glow but it was still very special and spiritual.  However we later found out that it being cloudy and slightly cooler meant that the rangers opened up the only route you can take to the top.  We um'd and argh'd about going up as it is a very spiritual place for the Anangu, the traditional owners of Uluru, but our desire to climb up this amazing piece of geology won over.  It was a very steep, slippy climb to the top, by passing a lot of people trying to get up with poor choices of footwear.  We were glad the sun was still low for the majority of the climb as we came out into it on the summit plateau.  We then had a 500m undulating walk across the very windy plateau to reach the summit cairn at 863m (most of the bulk of the rock is actually underground).  We had climbed just under 350m but it felt twice that in the heat (it was already over 28 degrees at 7am) and steepness of the climb.  We looked out across the amazing 360 degree panorama and took at lot of photos (again a lot of them sadly lost now) and then headed down.  We got back to the bottom at just after 8am to see that the ranger had closed the climb up as it was already too hot.  We filled up our water bottles (the recommended min amount is to drink at least 1 litre an hour) and headed off on the marked trail for the 9.4 km/3 hour walk around the base of Uluru.  It was a hot, tiring walk but amazing to see the Rock at all angles, seeing the ancient formations and reading about the legends along the way.  We made it all the way round and headed to the visitor centre for a well earned cup of tea!  Our shuttle bus picked us up at 12pm and we spent the afternoon back in our room having a couple of hours kip, chilling out and starting to plan what we wanted to do when we were in Victoria and Tasmania over the next 4 weeks.  That evening we headed to the local cafe and Diane had an uninspiring beefburger, whilst Simon was adventurous and had a kangaroo burger.  He said it was quite gamey and strong but he couldn't persuade Di to try a little piece.  We had an early night ready for a mid morning departure back to the airport for our flight to Melbourne.

Sunrise over Uluru

 

The route up to the plateau

On top of the summit with Kata Tjuta in the distance 

Desert Gardens Hotel

Ayers Rock Day 108 4/01/2015

Sue dropped us off at the airport for our flight to Ayers Rock and she then headed over to the International arrivals to pick up Camilla & Mike who were flying back in from the UK after spending Christmas and New Year in Ireland.  The flight was just over 3 hours and was pretty bumpy due to storms over central Australia.  The heat hit you as so soon as you stepped off the plane.  The only accommodation in the area is managed by one company and it's all very well organised with collection from the airport to the various hotels, bunkhouses and campsite (was just like being on a package holiday!).  After checking in at the Desert Gardens Hotel we had lunch and went to the tourist information to plan what to do.  We decided to go to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) late afternoon and then see the sunset and sunrise over Uluru (Ayers Rock) using the shuttle bus to get around (the guided trips were crazily expensive but I guess it is a 'once in a lifetime' place to visit).  We set off from the hotel at 3.30pm and headed into the National Park.  It's all very well managed with a big focus on safety due to the terrain and heat.  After passing through the Park entrance we drove for c45 minutes to Kata Tjuta where we walked into the Walpa Gorge which provides great views of the surrounding countryside.  Kata Tjuta is actually made up of 36 large dome rock formations composed of conglomerate, a mixture of cobbles and boulders held together by sandstone.  The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1066m and the range covers over 8 sq miles in total.  The weather was extremely hot although the skies were a bit cloudy and whilst the domes were red they didn't look quite as vivid as some of the photos we've seen.  Flies are a continuous bind and we were glad we'd packed our midgy nets although didn't use them.  From here we drove around the base of Uluru and stopped at the sunset viewing area where we watched the sun go down.  The rock does change colour but again the variation in colour was not as extreme as some of the photos we've seen.  The sunset was wonderful though and we both thoroughly enjoyed the trip.  Back at the resort we had a quick dinner before heading off to bed.  Ayers Rock is 90 minutes behind Sydney and we were both feeling extremely tired after an early start and the heat.

Walpa Gorge Kata Tjuta

Local flora

Kata Tjuta 

Sunset over Uluru 

Day 107 3/01/2015

Sue & Paul took us to Balmoral Beach (where we'd been on Christmas Day) to enjoy a morning swim.  The beach there is lovely and there is a shark netted swimming area at the southern end surrounded by a wooden walkway which you can swim to and jump/dive in from.  The sea is warm and clear and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, so much so that after coffee we went back in for another swim before heading back to Sue & Paul's for lunch.  In the afternoon we went into Balmain to do some shopping and were treated to afternoon tea by Sue, who made some delicious homemade scones. We took Belle and Rosie to the bay again and ventured into a couple of local bars before heading back.  Simon was cook for the evening and treated us to spaghetti bolognese, washed down with a few more purchases from the Hunter Valley.  We've thoroughly enjoyed our time in Sydney.  Wendy, Sue & Paul have been fantastic hosts and it's been great to meet Will and Nancy and some of their friends.  We've off on our travels again tomorrow.  All feels a bit daunting after the comfort of their homes and great company!

Afternoon tea with scones, jam & cream - what a treat!

Sydney Day 106 2/01/2015

We went to the local garden centre for a delicious breakfast before heading to sample a few of the Hunter Valley's 140 plus wineries.  Sue & Paul had picked some of their favourite smaller vineyards, away from the crowds and tour groups.  The landscape is lovely with green rolling hills and vineyards.  We sampled a number of the local offerings and made a few purchases before driving south back to Sydney.  Will brought Belle and Rosie back and we went to the bay with Paul to take them for a walk and a swim in the river for Belle (a great way to help her cool down).  In the evening we had a lovely dinner out in the garden enjoying a few of our purchases and putting the world to rights!

With purchases at Tinkler's Vineyard

Belle cooling down in the river

New Year's Eve Day 104 31/12/2014

We had a leisurely day sorting out admin and planning for our trip to Melbourne and Victoria, packing up our things, tidying up our mess and helping Wendy with a few bits and bobs. In the late afternoon we all went over to Sue's where we were spending New Year's Eve and the next few days before our flight out to Ayers Rock.  The traffic was a bit busy going into Balmain due to restricted access and the police checking parking permits but we were soon through the queue.  We had drinks and nibbles out in the garden and were joined by some of Sue & Paul's neighbours.  It was interesting that of the ten of us there no one was Australian by birth but from the UK, New Zealand and the States.  We headed down to the bay just before 9am to see the first fireworks display.  This one is put on primarily for children and whilst good it was nothing compared to what was in store for us later on.  Back at Sue's we had a wonderful curry dinner and then headed back to the bay to get a good spot on the grass to watch the New Year come in and the magnificent firework display.  The fireworks go off from a number of places along the river all with the same display which gives almost a 360 degree view.  The finale was fantastic including a waterfall cascade from Harbour Bridge.  The atmosphere was really jovial and well mannered with everybody just enjoying the occasion.  The display latest about 20 minutes after which we walked back and said our farewells to Wendy who was off to Los Angeles and then New York, working, for the next few days.  A great evening and very happy start to the New Year.  Unfortunately we've lost most of our pictures when we tried to load then to the Cloud so unless the wiz kids at Apple can retrieve them (and it's not looking likely) the few below are the best we've got but we've got our memories!

Enjoying drinks and nibbles in Sue & Paul's garden

Waiting for the fireworks to begin 

The firework display from Harbour Bridge