The Green Coast

Along this section of the road we could not see the Ocean.  There were lush green eucalyptus forests.  The canopy over the 2 lane road was beautiful.  

We stopped in two National Parks along the way.  

 

One kuala in the tree chillin' and one eating.  So cute.  We saw several more but they were so high I could not get good pics.  (Sorry the pictures appeared out of order)

 

We stopped at the Kennett River National Park to search for Kuala in the eucalyptus trees - in the rain.

Kuala sleep 29 hours a day!  They only eat eucalyptus leaves.  Interesting little creatures.  They only come down out of the trees when they change trees for food.  They are only on the ground a short time so you rarely see them running around.  We were told that the eucalyptus leaves do. It give them the nourishment they need so they don't have the att of energy they need.

We were also told that kuala are not bears - they are Kuala.

 

A bit later we stopped at Great Otway National Park to hike the Mait's Rest Trail in a rainforest - while it was raining.  Quite enchanting.  Some of the eucalyptus are among the tallest in the country - one was 900 feet!

That's our tour guide in the picture....

 

 

  

This one felt like a bit like a hobbit house...

 

  

It was a wet walk but fun...

The Great Ocean Road

One of the things that was not included on our tour was a day trip (500 km) on the Great Ocean Road.  So I was able to arrange for a tour online before we arrived.  It was from 8 am til 10 pm and I'm so glad we did it.  Such beautiful coastline, national parks, and adventures along the way.  There were three sections to the trip so I will break it up into 3 blogs.  

Locky was our tour guide with GoWest Tours.  There were 24 of us on the tour in a mini bus.  People were from Singapore, Dubai, Japan, Europe and the US...

Leaving downtown we headed south on the M1.  Lots of farm pastures with sheep, horses abd cattle.  I saw a couple of palm tree farms.  There were also places that mined bluestone.  The M1 is a 4 lane divided highway.  The speed limit was 100 (60 mph). When we got on back roads there were often signs that read 'Drive on the Left Side in Australia!'

We drove by pasture land for sheep, cattle and horses.  I even saw a couple of palm tree farms.  Also de places where they were mining Victoria bluestone.   The terrain was fairly flat.  I noticed that the license plates indicated 'Victoria - The Place to Be'.

It took about 1 hour on the M1 to get to the Great Ocean Road - which was built by soldiers home from the 1st Great War and unemployed.  Interesting history.

 

The first section Locky named the 'surf coast'.  Many world famous beaches and many surf competitions held along this stretch. 

 

This was part of the memorial to the men who build the road.  It took years to build the road.  Cannot remember all the details he gave us!

   

We made a stop at one of the beaches for a break with some coffee, tea and sweet breads.  It wasn't far from Spring Creek which had a very nice boardwalk and hiking path.  The beach was Torquay Surf Beach near the Surfing Capital of the World, Torquay!  There was an entire outlet mall in town with only surfing products!  Brand after brand has its own store in the mall.  I all started in 1969.  There is a surfing museum in town as well.

Along the way we learned that Australians have their school summer break for 6-8 weeks over Christmas.

This is where many young people come for surfing camps to learn the sport.  It's where Locky learned to surf as a boy of 12.

We went by Bells Beach, one of the most famous - from the old movie Point Break.  About two weeks after we leave Australia there will be a major world championship at Bells Beach.  Also saw some black and white colored magpies.

Many of the warning signs along the road included Kangaroos but we didn't see any hopping across the road!  I'm reminded that a baby kangaroo is called a joey.

 

It was rainy and windy but the coastline was dramatic and beautiful!  We watched it for miles and miles!

    

Downtown Melbourne

This is our first time down under - never been in the Southern Hemisphere.  We're off to a great start as Kylie went to Melbourne University (call it UNI here - pronounced unee).

She dropped us off at our hotel about 3:30 and headed home, about a 4 hour drive.  It was such a joy to be with her again!

We are staying at the Docklands Travelodge. It's very nice - fairly new- and right downtown near the Southern Cross Train Station.   We have a tour scheduled for Tuesday so I wanted to take s walk to see where the stop is for us to be picked up at 7:45 in the morning.  Also wanted to buy some fruit for lunch.

So, off I went with the map.  The pick up spot is only 4 blocks away and I just kept walking.  

 

We will be visiting this church on our tour...so I just walked by.

 

The beautiful and historic Flinders Steeet Railway Station.  The building is so pretty and bustling with people.  Melbourne has a fantastic train and tram system.  There are 3 1/2 million in the metro area.  

Biking had gotten very popular in recent years.

Flinders was the first man to circumnavigate Australia!

The street are wide and well used.  I saw a few boulevards lined with trees.  Seems clean and friendly. They get a lot of tourists from all over the world.

 

 

The weather is very nice - it's early fall here.  Lots of people eating outside at cafes, lots of tourist shops and hotels.  I got in the rest of my 5 miles for the day and got back to the hotel at 7:00.  We just had fruit for supper as we had eaten lunch at 3:00!

Slept really well that night - after being up for 2 full days.

St Kilda Beach

I continue to have trouble posting so I am going to do smaller posts!!!  The pictures are not coming up the way I want them either...

After the hike on the trail we drove down to St KildaBeach!

 

Kylie said there are marinas all up and down the coast.  Must be beautiful when they are all out sailing.

 

There is a penguin sanctuary along the sea wall.  They come in late afternoon and evening so we didn't see any...maybe we will come back...

 

This cute cafe was at the end of St. Kilda pier.  We had lunch on the porch overlooking the marina.  Sweet!

 

The beach is jammed in the summer.  You can see the storm moving out over the water.

 

Not sure I've ever seen a black swan before...

 

Kylie knew we love the water and sailing!

  

Kylie introduced us to Lemon Lime with Bitters.  It was tasty and refreshing.  Great to sit in the sun overlooking the water.

The Beauty Begins with a Friend

It was so great to be greeted by a dear friend in Australia...and to spend the day with her.  It rained a bit in the morning but cleared up into a beautiful day. What a blessing!

 

We went on a short hike on the Merri Creek Trail near where Kylie lived when she attended Melbourne University.  This sign warned us to watch for snakes...Australia has a variety of poisonous snakes.  Yikes!

The Merri Creek meets up with the Yarra River and flows out into the Southern Ocean - also known as the Antarctic Ocean.

 

A beautiful Russian Orthodox Church along the Trail.

 

Lots of Eucalyptus trees in Australia....also known as gum trees.

 

Was fun to see a pomegranate tree!

 

Having some trouble...

I have had some trouble with posting on my blog.  When all else fails, delete the app and start anew.  
BINGO!

We really enjoyed the The Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.  It's colorful, bright, glitzy, and full of moving pictures in art.  Lots to look at and enjoy as I got in a couple of miles.  I did 5 miles in the three airports on Saturday.

  

There were two of these pillar collections with art from around the world that kept spinning and changing.

  

This was a modern bookstore with a cute collection of derbies hanging from the ceiling.

 

 

I think this was a picture of downtown LA...

Anyone want some champagne or caviar??

  

Another different very large pillar with changing art work.

 

The Adventure Down Under Begins

I have wanted to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef for as long as I can remember.  So, to celebrate our 70th birthdays this year Andy is taking me down under to do that!  What a guy!!!  

We left our home on Saturday, March 18th, for a grand adventure in Australia and New Zealand.  It was a long trip from Milwaukee to Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles to Melbourne.  31 hours from our house to touchdown in Australia.  Fortunately we had exit row seats in the first 2 legs and front row seats in a small economy section on the 2nd floor of an A380 from Tom Bradley International Terminal to Melbourne.  Nice!

All three flights were pretty much on time with no major weather issues.  We were actually an hour early into Melbourne.  Going through customs was a breeze - all electronic and every efficient.

The weird thing about the trip was we completely lost Sunday, our day of rest.  We left Saturday morning and arrived Monday morning at 7:00.  

The wonderful bonus was ~~ drum roll~~ our dear friend, Kylie picked us up at the airport and spent the day with us.  We served with Kylie in Dubai 2 of the 3 times we have gone.  It was so fun catching up and remembering our stories together.  

 

Kylie took us to the wonderful beach at St Kildare.  We walked out on the pier and had a great lunch at the cafe at the end of the pier.  She introduced me to a refreshing drink that's popular in Australia - LemonLime with Bitters.  I ended up having it several times on the trip.  So grateful for this time together -  picturesque and fun.

 

We hiked along the Merri Creek Trail and enjoyed seeing the Russian Orthodox Church along the trail.

 

It  rained a bit in the morning but was sunny and blue skies all afternoon.