second time around

Well sadly for those I left aboard the Spoilsport on the Great Barrier Reef it turned out that Tuesday was the most rainfall ever recorded in Cairns! I however had spectacular sunny skies and 72 degrees in Melbourne. I forgot to mention one of the more interesting things I found in Cairns. At dusk they have spectacled flying foxes that come back to roost in their trees. These are HUGE fruit bats! About a two foot wing span and shaped just like the classic Halloween cut outs. Sitting outside at dinner I saw maybe 20 or 30 of them flying around, it was a bit odd I thought.

I like Melbourne, the atmosphere is young and active without being too hectic. The architecture is an interesting mix of old stone buildings and very avant-guard almost whimsical ones. Transportation is good, but I mostly walk. The first day I went up to the Melbourne Zoo and enjoyed the local animal exhibits the most. I got some good looks at Kangaroo, Wombats, Platypus and Koalas. Then in the afternoon I went to the space exhibit at the Australian Center for Moving Images. It was all about the history of spaceflight in the movies and TV, back to some very early things in the twenties. Lots of fun. That evening I treated myself to a night at the Theatre. I had a great seat for “Love Never Dies” a sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was a wonderful production and I enjoyed it immensely. Occasionally one needs a bit of culture in a vagabond life.

I spent a morning cruising the Queen Victoria Market which was two blocks from my hotel. They sell everything from Fish to electronics, meats to shoes, produce to clothes to souvenirs. One gigantic flea market. They have a series of fairly bizarre 20 foot high black statues on display around the center of town. They are Demon/Angel Babies and I am a bit put off by them, not sure what the artist is going for. I also enjoyed listening to some of the speeches at the “Occupy Melbourne” camp of hippies and such on the lawn of the town hall.

Checking out of my hotel and walking around the block to the car rental place and for the next 2 hours of driving it did drizzle rain on me. Once out of Melbourne it stopped and was just overcast. I made my way to the GOR (Great Ocean Road) which follows the Southern Ocean coastline for a couple of hundred kilometers. Much like the Pacific Coast Highway in California, but I liked California’s better. There are high cliffs of Limestone and the ocean has been wearing them away for eons. By lunch the sun came out and the rest of the time it has been perfect. I stayed overnight in a small town about 12 kilometers from the famous site and viewpoint known as “The Twelve Apostles”. There were nine “stacks” or high (100 meter) columns of Limestone about 300 meters off the beach. Originally they were called the Sow and Piglets but as it became a big tourist draw the Australians naturally renamed them “The Twelve Apostles”. One of them has since collapsed and so there are only eight left, but it is still the Twelve Apostles. I got some nice views in the fading sunset light.

Driving back I came the inland route and enjoyed the beautiful rolling hills with pastures and forests. Had a nice walk to “Triplet Falls” and spent the night in Geelong. The colors are striking; vibrant greens with deep blue water and sky, and multiple shades of brown in the sandstone hills. This whole area is very heavily into sheep and cattle farming. It’s like they say: “Australia where men are men, and sheep are nervous.”
Today was a pleasant drive and a ferry ride to get over to Phillip Island. Cowes is a small beach town with lots of fish and chips places. While having dinner Al Fresco I was slowly surrounded by 30 or so seagulls. Combined with the small seaside village it was a very Hitchcock moment.

The real claim to fame on Phillip Island belongs to the Little Penguins. (That is what they are called and it fits.) These guys stand about 25 centimeters (10 inches) tall and every night as soon as it gets dark they come out of the ocean and back to their burrows in the hillocks and dunes of the beach. They group up in the water in “rafts” of 20 or so birds and then come ashore and make their way to the burrows. There are 20,000 mating pairs around the island and roughly 3000 pairs at this particular site. Since it is breeding season many are on the eggs or newly hatched chicks and so about 1000 come in each night from the water. Many oohs and aahs as the cute little things waddle their way in. Now it is back to Melbourne and on to the Sydney area before I meet Poe in New Zealand.

I spotted this sign in an antiques window along the way, and it struck me as the expression of why I am on this trip.

Tags: Travel

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