A day out west

Luke and I went for a day trip out west yesterday. First we visited the Red Rock lookout near Colac, an area of highly concentrated volcanic activity 6,000 - 12,000 years ago. You can see several craters (or maars) from the lookout. 

You can also see Lake Corangamite, which is Australia's largest permanent salt lake, as well as lots of gorgeous green fields. 

As we approached the turn-off to the lookout I saw a big hill in the distance and said to Luke that it looked like Mount Elephant, but I didn't think it was in the right spot. Turns out that it was Mt Elephant! Go, me. I know my big hills. Western Victoria is home to hundreds of dormant/extinct volcanoes and as I grew up in that part of the state, I have seen quite a few of them. I lived near the foot of one (Mt Rouse) in my teens and my Dad built the fire lookout that sits on its summit. 

Anyway, here are my photos from the day. 

On the road again...the other side Geelong

Lots of canola fields on the way to Geelong

 Some of the craters seen from Red Rock lookout

 Looking towards Red Rock lookout, Lake Corangamite on the horizon

 So green

We had lunch at the bakery in Colac and then headed towards Beech Forest, which is on the edge of the Otway Ranges and close to several waterfalls. We visited Hopetoun Falls because it's only a short walk (downhill) to get the best view of the falls. 

Lots of steps, but it's a beautiful walk

 Look! A waterfall! 

 I enjoyed walking through mud and puddles 

 Taken from a rock that I stepped into the creek to get to. 

Yay, gumboots 

Ready to unfurl

We stopped for a little while in the redwood forest near Hopetoun Falls before heading home via the Great Ocean Road.  

The trees were planted in 1939

A creek runs alongside the forest

On the Great Ocean Road 

I'm baaa-aaaack. Yet again.

OK, it's the first day of May - MAY, I TELL YOU! - and it's high time I got off my butt and wrote a damn blog post. You might wonder why I didn't just throw in the blogging towel since I've been doing such a lousy job of it for quite some time now. I did consider it, but decided instead to do the exact opposite: post every day, like I intended when I started writing Gleeful all those years ago. But I'm not just going to do it for a month this time. I'm gonna do it for-EVAAAH. Yup. 

So here goes. 

I've been having a pretty good year so far. My highlights reel includes a splendid Christmas/New Year road trip with Luke up to Mum's place. We stayed with Mum for about 10 days, eating lots of pavlova and tripping about the nearby rainforests, beaches and national parks, then drove home via the Tamworth, the Blue Mountains, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga.  I'll post some photos some time (or check out em out at Frisky_Librarian on Instagram).

We've ventured out of Melbourne quite a bit - day trips to the little town of Birregurra and the Great Ocean Road, the Yarra Ranges and Dandenongs, as well as an overnight stay at Mt Beauty in the gorgeous Victorian high country last weekend for the Bright Autumn Festival. The high country is now my favourite part of Victoria.  

Another highlight is a significant (and ongoing) improvement in my health. I've been seeing a functional medicine doctor (like a cross between a GP and a naturopath) who put me on a program to heal my gut through diet modification and supplementation. It's costing me a small fortune, but it's the ONLY thing that's made any real difference. (I try not to think of all the money I've spent over the years on allergists, dieticians and gastroenterologists who charged me hundreds of dollars a go for basically nothing). Progress is fairly slow, but I'm finally making actual progress. Hurrah! (I've also lost about 7kg while still eating bacon, cheese and sausages. Suh-weet!)

Another really good bit about this year is that I have dropped back to working four days a week. Woohoo! I've been having Fridays off for about 6 weeks now and I love it. So far I've mainly used the extra day for running errands and attending appointments...and afternoon naps. Three days feels like a decent weekend and I'm more positive about work on the four days I'm there.  Of course I'm earning less, but I've made up for most of my lost income just by bringing my lunch and snacks from home (which I had to do anyway because of my modified diet).

That's not bad for the year to date, is it? I'm pretty happy with my lot. 

A spontaneous Sunday adventure

Great Ocean Road from Teddy's Lookout, Lorne

Luke and I made an impromptu visit to Lorne on the spectacular Great Ocean Road yesterday. We had lunch in a little town west of Geelong called Birregurra just for a day out somewhere different, but rather than head back home on the highway, Luke suggested we head south to Lorne since it wasn't that far away. It's hard to say no to zooming along the GOR. 

With our bellies full of lamb snags (Luke) and beef burger (me) supplied by farms in the Birregurra region, we set off. The trip took us from farmland, through the forested Otways National Park to the coast.

Fabulous old petrol bowser at Deans Marsh 

A ghost sign on the building behind the bowser

While in Lorne we took in the view from Teddy's Lookout and visited the lush spendour of Erskine Falls - my first time there. It's not the mightiest waterfall we've visited, but the setting is beautiful. Cool, green and cavernous. 

 Erskine Falls near Lorne

Kookaburra sits in the old gumtree

We dropped into the secondhand bookshop in Birregurra (naturally) and while we were there, the owner dropped a bookstand on the floor near my feet. I picked it up for her and she said that meant I would get a surprise. Apparently that was a thing when she grew up - if someone drops something and you pick it up for them, a surprise will come your way. Country karma, I suppose. My surprise is due on Wednesday. I assume it's going to be a nice surprise. 

It might have come early actually. I thought the interest I pay annually in November for an investment thingo hadn't been debited from my account, but today I realised it had; it was just much smaller than usual. This means nearly all of my tax return can go towards other, more tangible things, like saving for holidays next year.  Yay. Oh, OK; I did buy some shoes too.    

Road trip: Day 1 - Melbourne to Warrnambool

I've taken my time getting around to writing about our road trip in early January. It's a long weekend for Australia Day, so I thought I should get off my butt (or, rather, on my butt) and blog. 

On our first day Luke and I drove along the Great Ocean Road (GOR) to Warrnambool. 

Iconic Bells Beach near Torquay. Not a great day for the beach 

(for us, I mean, not surfers) - it was very windy and a bit chilly

The Split Point Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet

It's a pretty little lighthouse

Although the sky was mostly grey, there were some sunny

 breaks which turned the shallows a beautiful aqua blue 

The lush rural hinterland near Apollo Bay...a dramatic

contrast to what was to come later in our trip

That's the ocean at Apollo Bay in the distance

Our next stop was at Cape Otway. There's a lighthouse there, but we thought the admission fee was a bit steep, so we walked to the little historic cemetery nearby instead.  In the late 1800s it was the burial place for about a dozen people mostly connected with the lighthouse (including several infants) and victims of drownings at sea. 

One of the graves is for a seaman who died in the Eric The Red shipwreck in 1880. The ship had sailed from New York en route to Melbourne carrying exhibits for the International Exhibition.

Another is for Thomas Monk who died in the Blanket Bay disaster. 

It reads: In memory of Albert Griffiths Chief Officer aged 33 years * Thomas Monks aged 34 years * Alexander Mathieson aged 23 years * Who lost their lives in the Blanket Bay disaster 21st March  1896 * Erected on the grave of Thomas Monk by their shipmates and friends

There were tracts of skeletal trees on the road between the GOR and Cape Otway. They were eerily beautiful and reminded me of the trees we saw on top of Lake Mountain in 2012. I don't think they were dead as some were sprouting leaves. I'm not sure what was going on with them. 

Some - the ones with more leaves - had koalas in them! 

 This was the first of several wildlife encounters on our trip

Mmmmm... gum leaves...munch munch munch

We stopped at the little town of Lavers Hill for sustenance and I was thrilled to find a packet of homestyle gluten-free melting moments biscuits. They were delicious too - far superior to ones I bought recently from the gourmet mecca of the David Jones food hall. 

Next up was Melba Gully, a patch of mossy, ferny, licheny, fungusy rainforest with some superb trees. 

 This one has a face, a spooky face

 Moss-covered tree

 Above tree, with tree fern

Fungus on a fallen log

Next up was the best-known stretch of the GOR - the bit with the Twelve Apostles and the other rock formations beyond.

 The Twelve Apostles

 The Apostles again

 The Loch Ard Gorge. The open wild Southern Ocean lies 
through that gap in the rocks 

The Loch Ard Gorge is my favourite. It's a secluded cove bound by high cliffs, with a little beach and a cave at the back with stalactites and stalacmites (below).  I like it because it doesn't attract anywhere near as many tourists as the Twelve Apostles and because when I was in grade six I won an essay competition in which I had to imagine I was one of the two survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck. My story was published in the local paper. I always think about that when I visit. 

The gorge is named after the ship because the survivors came ashore there. The rugged coast in this part of Victoria is known as the Shipwreck Coast because of the more than 600 sailing ships that came to grief there in the 1800s to early 1900s. 

The cave

 Further alone, the Bay of Martyrs in the golden hour

The sun setting over the Bay of Martyrs 

We continued on to Warrnambool, checked into our motel, managed to get a restaurant meal at 9.30 on a Monday night (Warrnambool is quite large, but still a country town). The restaurant also offered gluten-free options. I was impressed...even though I then chose to eat gluten because bread is delicious.  It's nice to have the option, y'know?

We both slept very well. 

Road tripping fun

Luke and I got home from our road trip yesterday. We had a fantastic time taking in the sights of Victoria and South Australia and communing with nature. We covered a lot of ground in our little hire car and had a lot of fun. I feel very relaxed and happy. 

I was a little sad when we pulled up in front of our flat Sunday afternoon, but oddly I didn't feel downhearted when I returned to work today. That's a good thing. 

I have many things to tell you and many photos to share, but I'm too weary to start writing now. Until I return, here's a photo of a snoozing koala at Cape Otway along the Great Ocean Road.  

Road trip eve

Luke and I are heading off on our road trip along the coast in the morning. We're driving along the spectacular Great Ocean Road on day one, with stops along the way to walk through the rainforest, visit waterfalls and lighthouses, and the region's most famous attractions,  the Twelve Apostles and other nearby rock formations. 

We'll spend our first night in Warrnambool, then pass through Port Fairy and Portland on our way into South Australia. We're spending our second night in Robe on the SA coast. 

Day three will take us further into South Australia to the Coorong National Park, a wetland of international significance, and Lake Alexandrina, where the Murray River eventually flows into the ocean. 

Beyond that, we'll be making it up as we go along and haven't booked any accommodation. We have a tent... 

See you in a week or so! 

Day 21: An extra long holiday?

I'm quite possibly going to get more time off over Christmas than I originally expected - close to three weeks. THREE WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS! 

As you can probably tell, I'm rather pleased about that, but I shouldn't book any holidays just yet in case it doesn't actually happen. My office was originally planning to close from 25 December to 5 January, giving me about 10 days off, but now the plan is to shut up shop from 20 December to 12 January. I'm hoping I'll be able to work up to 24 December because I don't have enough annual leave accrued to take paid leave for the entire period. I'll now have to sit tight for a bit while the partners review everyone's annual leave preferences to see if I get my three weeks. 

I'm going to be in Melbourne for Christmas Day this year, for the first time in more than 10 years. It will be my first Christmas Day with Luke and his family. 

Luke and I have vague plans for a road trip along the Great Ocean Road, and continuing along the coast to Adelaide, although given our plan is still only vague and other people have already booked their holiday accommodation, we might have to road trip to a less popular destination, or acquire a tent. 

I'm also excited about having plenty of free time in Melbourne. I love a staycation. I'm going to start writing a list of all the things I want to see and do.  

J and Jayne's long weekend

Me and J at Coles late Saturday night. Do I know how to

 show a foreigner a good time, or what?

My US friend J has been and gone and it was fun. I enjoyed showing off my town to him and since the long weekend was all about packing in fun stuff (and none of the usual boring stuff that has to be done on weekends), it was like a little holiday for me too.  I felt like I'd been away from work longer than three days.

On Saturday we watched half of the AFL Grand Final (Mark I) with the masses at Fed Square and the end of the game at the the Eureka Tower Sky Deck, which was almost deserted. A good time to go! We could see the crowd at the MCG and hear the roar of the crowd at Fed Square from 88 floors up.

Although the drawn game was anti-climactic, at least J can say he was in Melbourne for the historic 2010 drawn Grand Final.

After the game we strolled along Southbank as the sun set. It rained a little, but then there was a rainbow over the city.

Saturday night we ate a quick dinner in North Melbourne before seeing Dave Callan's Fringe Festival show, Woman. Back in the city,  J loaded up on Tim Tams at Coles. He couldn't get enough of the chocolatey Tim Tam goodness.

On Sunday we went to St Kilda and ate breakfast outside at The Espy in perfect spring sunshine. The weather could not have been better. We meandered the length of the Esplanade market where J bought presents for himself and friends, and then along Acland Street, which was thronged with people enjoying the warm weather.

 

From St Kilda Pier

That evening we went to a threatresports show at Theatreworks on Acland Street, which was the first time I'd seen theatresports live. On Monday we hired a car and travelled the Great Ocean Road to Port Campbell. The weather wasn't as good as the day before, but it was still mostly sunny and we didn't get rained on.

 

At Sheoak Falls

It was beautiful as always, especially the lush green pastures glowing in the late afternoon sun. I think I almost like the rural parts of the GOR more than the seaside bits.

Another rainbow, near Port Campbell

Us and some of the remaining 12 Apostles

We ate dinner at a pub in Colac and then hit the highway for home.

On Tuesday it was back to work for me, but I met J after work for Philip Escoffey's Six More Impossible Things Before Dinner, which was very entertaining (regardless of whether you think he's a con man or a mind reader).

And then J was gone! Four days really isn't long enough to see Melbourne...

Wagons West Birthday Extravaganza - Part 2

The screechy correllas out the back of our cabin

Day two of my Wagons West Birthday Extravaganza Road Trip Down Memory Lane ensues...


Dunkeld to Warrnambool

After a bad night's sleep (for me, anyway), Anthony and I hit the road towards the coast at 9.00 on Sunday morning. Nothing was open for breakfast, so we pressed on with empty bellies.

We saw another purdy full rainbow as we approached Penshurst, even though it wasn't raining, despite there being some fantastic fat clouds about.

We stopped off at the tiny town of Hawkesdale, where I completed my final three years of high school (that school looked pretty much as I remembered) and then continued on to the charming town of Koroit where we hoped we might find a cafe serving breakfast, but we were out of luck. Maybe we were too early, or perhaps breakfasting outside the home hasn't really caught on in small towns yet.

I had also hoped that the signage on the outskirts of town would still read: "Koroit - a green and pleasant land" as it did when I was a kid and which I always read with an Irish accent (the area has a strong Irish heritage), but alas, it was gone. I was quite taken with the old red phone box in front of the bluestone post office though (below). Koroit's main street has a nice old world feel to it, with old buildings and footpaths shaded by old shop verandahs.

As we headed towards Warrnambool, the ocean came into view. I said, "I see the sea!", which is what my brother and I always used to say as kids when we spotted the ocean. I couldn't help it.

We also passed the little house where my nanna used to live, just near what used to be the Nestle factory. I still remember the stench of coffee from when I stayed there as a kid.

Warrnambool is a large regional centre and popular tourist destination with a population of about 30,000. It's best known for the southern right whales who visit every year to give birth and its maritime history.

Anthony and I were both feeling pretty hungry by the time we arrived so we were pleased to find a few places serving breakfast in Warrnambool. I had a big cooked breakfast. Yum.

From there we headed to Logan's Beach, which is the "whale nursery". As we got out of the car, a man told us there were no whales there, but there was one near the mouth of the Hopkins River. Thanks for ruining the anticipation, Mister... although, to be honest, I wasn't really expecting to see any. And we didn't - at Logan's Beach or the river mouth, but we didn't really have time to linger, waiting, because we had a long road ahead of us.

Whale spotting...

Warrnambool onwards

From there we hit the Great Ocean Road. Wheeee! It's been about five years since I've travelled the GOR and I was really looking forward to it, not least because I'd get to cross it off my 101/40 list once the trip was complete.

There's a reason why the GOR is one of Australia's top tourist destinations, with 7 million visitors a year. There's rugged coastline with spectacular rock formations, lush temperate rainforest, lovely little seaside villages and towns, rivers and creeks flowing to the sea, and farms with rolling green hills studded with livestock.

London Arch was known as London Bridge until 1990 when the rock arch joining those two bits together collapsed into the sea, stranding a few people in the process.

Loch Ard Gorge is a nice little cove with a narrow mouth (at the right of the picture above). It was named after the Loch Ard which was shipwrecked nearby in 1878 on a voyage from England. There were two survivors, who came ashore at the gorge. When I was in Grade 6 I won a story writing competition in which we had to imagine we were one of the survivors. My story was published in the local paper, The Standard, and I got a book voucher for my efforts.

The most recognisable of the formations is the Twelve Apostles (although there's only 8 left now). The view was complimented by more fabulous clouds. There was ace cloudage all day, in fact. I was pleased. It was the cherry on top.

From the 12 Apostles we headed inland through forest and farmland, with the Hawthorn v North Melbourne (AFL) game on the radio. Anthony's an enthusiastic Hawks fan while I'm a half-hearted North supporter. North was leading as we approoched Apollo Bay and I felt conflicted. I wanted them to win, but I didn't back them in the tipping competition at work (I'm in third place).

Outside Apollo Bay, yet another rainbow appeared, and this one hung around for ages. It was there when we stopped in the town for coffee and cake and it was still there when we emerged from the cafe. North Melbourne was no longer in front in the footy though. The Hawks had come from behind to score a win. Anthony was very happy.

Apollo Bay foreshore

We hit the road again and didn't stop until Anthony dropped me off at my place, tired but happy.

Split Point Lighthouse near Lorne (taken from the moving car)

So...that's it! The weekend lived up to - no, exceeded - my expectations. The gig was great and it was wonderful - in a bittersweet way - to revisit places from my childhood. It still feels a little bit like home. I feel a new sense of fondness for it.

South-west Victoria is lovely in the cooler months when everything is lush and green. It always makes me think of the closing lines of the poem Binsey Poplars by Gerard Manly Hopkins:

Rural scene, a rural scene,

Sweet especial rural scene.

A ginormous thank you to Anthony for helping me to make my whim a reality. I couldn't be more grateful if I tried.