Yesterday my fellow Canadian, Amy, and I embarked on a day tour of the Yarra Valley, just a short drive outside of Melbourne.
Our first stop was for morning tea in the Sherbrook Forest. There we got to become acquainted with some local wildlife.
Our second stop was at a famous local landmark, Puffing Billy.
Puffing Billy is a century old steam train that runs through the mountain district of the area.
Departing from Belgrave on a 30 minute ride, you can get some fabulous views of the forest as you hang out the windows of the train.
The train is run by a large number of volunteers, and we were fortune enough to get our picture with one of whom was the conductor.
After a fun morning on Puffing Billy, we headed to our first winery of the day Ferguson`s. There we had a fabulous lunch, which we got to enjoy with a glass of there savignon blanc.
Our next stop was the cellar of Dominique Portet. There we got to try a sample of there current harvest which was superb.
The views of the winery weren`t to shabby either.
Our final stop of the day was the biggest winery of the lot, Domaine Chandon.
We got to go on a tour of the winery, and see all the parts of it from the vineyard fields to the cellar.
And to finish it all off, we got to enjoy a glass of bubbly with a knock out view.
After some much needed rest from the kangaroo island tour, there was one last day to explore Adelaide.
Adelaide Casino
Matthew Flinders
Art Gallery of South Australia
Royal Botanic Gardens
Greenhouse
Then it was time to hop on a late night flight back home to Melbourne. It has been a long exhausting 10 day journey, but a great one at that. Now back to 'reality' in Melbourne.
It was another early start, as I got picked up from my
hostel at 6am to start the journey to Kangaroo Island.
It was about an hour and
a half drive outside of Adelaide to reach Cape Jervis where we boarded the
SeaLink ferry to take us to the island.
On the ferry I got to know some of the
others on the tour including individuals from France, Japan, England, Canada,
New Zealand and Germany.
A little bit about the Kangaroo Island:
·The island was used as a refugee by the
government for animal species they thought would go extinct.
·The island is home to only 4400 people
·The island is 155km in length
Once on the island we headed to a place called Prospect Hill
where we climbed and were able to see the entire island from the top.
Our next
stop was uniquely Australian, a Eucalyptus distillery. This distillery is
responsible for 3% of the world eucalyptus supply. We learned about the process
of distilling eucalyptus and the many uses for it. At the distillery there was
one of the cutest sights of the whole trip, a baby Joey. Misty was her name,
and her mom had been killed by a car (a common occurrence) only 21 weeks
previous. The owners of the distillery found her and are now raising her in
captivity. She lives in a little pink pouch, replicating that of her mom.
After
a brief lunch stop we headed to Seal Bay, home to the Australian Sea Lions. We
got to go right down into the colony where the Sea Lions live.
They are very
sedentary animals, but we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a few in
action.
Some cool things I learned about these animals:
They go through an 18 month breeding cycle,
where they are pregnant with there young for 18 months and at the same time
raising a baby to become independent
They go through a cycle of going out to sea to
fish for 3 consecutive days, then coming back to rest on the beach for 3
consecutive days
Mothers can identify there babies by there call,
as each one has a distinct voice
Males can grow up to 400 kilos, which they need
to fight off other males to choose a mate
After our awesome Sea Lion experience, it was time for some
more action on the Sand Dunes of the island. Nicknamed ‘Little Sahara’ the sand
dunes were the perfect place to try sand boarding. It is a lot harder then it
looks trying to get the boards moving due to the coarseness of the sand, but
all around it was a very fun experience, and another type of boarding to tick
off my list.
After this long day of activities we headed to our little cabin in
the woods to prepare dinner and get settled for the evening. No camping
experience is complete without some marshmallows roasted over the fire.
Once this was complete we headed out to do some wildlife
exploration. Down by the pier we managed to spot some very cute fairy penguins.
Right outside our cabin was a whole gaggle of wildlife including kangaroos,
wallabies, possums and koalas. This was by far the most kangaroos I had seen in
my entire time in Australia, and they were right outside where we were
sleeping.
Speaking of sleeping…. There were a couple of sleeping
arrangements in the cabin we were staying at. One could either sleep outside in
a swag (see previous post), sleep inside on the bunk beds or in the little
loft. So I decided to sleep alone up in the little loft, thinking it would be a
nice oasis. At 5 am I was awoken by something falling on me. A small scream and
‘OMG’ later I was up balancing on the railing of the loft, not knowing what I
had some across. The pitter-patter of little feet confirmed that something was
definitely in my presence. A short while later (I don`t know how long I was
standing on the railing) one of the others was awoken by something crawling on
them. That is when we mutually shined a flashlight on the creature to come
across a possum that had snuck into the cabin. With the light the possum
scurried away, but it was difficult to sleep soundly after that.
The next, or should I say same, day began with a hike in
Flinders Chase National Park. The rocky views along the way were very nice and
we ended up at a place called Snake Lagoon. Fortunately we didn’t encounter any
snakes along the way.
The theme of these travels seems to be rocks because our
next stop was the famous kangaroo island ‘Remarkable Rocks’.
They made for some very cool trick photos.
Next it was on to see some more wildlife, the New Zealand
fur seals.
We were lucky enough to get close to a little baby who was
resting on the rocks.
After another short stop to do some koala spotting it was
time to head back to the ferry and make our way back to Adelaide.
Overall it was another great adventure getting acquainted
with all the true Australian wildlife!
Thursday afternoon I arrived in Adelaide greeted by grey
skies and drizzles; welcome back to the south coast! Coincidently Andrew was in
Adelaide at the same time I was, so it was fun to get to explore together. After
the skies cleared Thursday night we headed out along Jetty Road in the suburb
of Glenelg for a walk along the pier. Glenelg is the most popular seaside
suburbs in Adelaide, and by far my favorite part of the city!
Friday, we were lucky enough for the sun to show its presence, so we took the tram into the CBD and did some walking around. Our main destination was the popular Rundle Mall, home to the famous pig statutes.
After some more city exploration, we headed back to Glenelg to a pub to watch the Bronze Medal Game in the Rugby World Cup, where Australia took on Wales. It was all smiles when Australia won! After that, we embraced the nice weather going on another walk along the Glenelg Pier having some fun along the way.
Shooting some hoops
The next day I departed for a tour to Kangaroo
Island, so for now it was goodbye Adelaide, hello Kangaroos!
Yesterday I had my final full day here in Alice Springs. So
I decided to take a trip to the Desert Park, which is right on the edge of
town. The desert park teaches you about the different parts of the desert and
the plants and animals that work together to live there. The desert is not just
some dry barren wasteland as many think.
My favorite part of the park was the birds of prey show,
where they brought out several different birds that live in the desert and had
them swopping over your head in the audience. Highly exciting!!
The other part that was really cool was the nocturnal house, where you got to see all the desert animals that come out at night. The sad thing is that many are becoming extinct, so it was really nice to be able to see. After spending
the morning there I took a quick stroll through town to pick up some last
minute souvenirs. Then it was time to spend a relaxing afternoon doing nothing
but sitting by the pool!
This morning I fly out of Alice Springs, for my next stop
Adelaide! Here`s to my next adventure!
Saturday, after a very quick 2.5 hour flight me and the rest
of my flight filled with 50+ year olds arrived in Alice Springs.
After getting
settled into the hostel I ventured the 15 minute walk into the town. Needless
to say my first observation was that it was hot, but what do you expect being
in a desert! My second observation was the large number of aboriginal people
huddled under numerous trees in the area. I later learned that these
aboriginals are ones who have been kicked out of the traditional colonies, due
to inappropriate behaviors such as drugs or alcohol. So they are not regarded
very highly in the community. My final observation was how small Alice Springs
is. Despite having a Target, Kmart and 2 major grocery stores, it takes maybe
10 minutes to walk from 1 end of town to the other. Regardless, I took some
time to have a peek around and see what the small town had to offer. I stopped
in at the local reptile centre, which houses various snakes, lizards, skinks,
geckos and a salt-water crocodile.
It was neat to see these animals up close
and personal and to learn some of the myths and facts about finding them out in
the wild.
They even had a pretty cool pet:
After a quick stop at the grocery store it was back to lounge around
the pool at the hostel (which I have to admit, was the #1 thing I was looking
forward to on this trip).
One of the most interesting things about travelling and
staying in hostels is meeting so many different people and hearing their
stories about why they are here and where they have been. I had dinner with 2
of the girls who were staying in my room, one from Norway and the other from
Singapore. So it was really neat to here there stories and get some travel
tips!
Sunday, it was an early rise and shine to get ready for the
3 day, 2 night tour I was about to embark on. Boarding the bus timidly, I was
sitting with 12 complete strangers. It was a long 6.5 hour drive to our first
destination, but the tour guide (Karmen) had everyone up and speaking about
themselves in no time. There were people from all over the world on the tour:
Japan, Brazil, Germany, Belgium, America, Spain. Several roadside, outback pee
stops later we reached our first stop: Watarrka National Park.
At this stop we embarked on what we were told would be the
toughest hike of the tour. Literally rock climbing up and down what I like to
think of were rocky mountains in the mid day heat was treacherous! Half way
through this 3.5 hour hike I nearly wanted to quit. But I pushed on and lucky I
did because there were some breathtaking views and stories along the way.
After the hike there was some more driving to do to get to
our bushman campsite. After a few stops to collect firewood and go to the
toilet, we arrived just after sunset to a barren piece of land in the middle of
the desert. Now as we all know I am not really an outdoorsy type of girl but I
really pushed myself to enjoy and take in this experience. Dinner was made over
the fire and was actually really good.
Our beds for the night were in what the
aussies call swags. Now I know I won`t do the swag any justice, so here is a
link to describe exactly what it is. Aussie Swag
The sleep outside was actually surprisingly comfortable and
swags really do work to keep you warm and comfortable.
The days in Central Australia maybe hot, but the mornings
are cold. So we were all wrapped in jumpers as we headed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park, the home of The Olgas and Ayers Rock. Our first stop was Kata
Tjuta (The Olgas) for a 7.4km Valley of the Winds walk.
This was one of my
favorites on the tour, as the whole walk you had a magnificent view of the some
30 natural wonders.
The view from the top as absolutely stunning as well!
After completing this walk, we headed to the National Park
Cultural Centre. The centre teaches you about the values of the Anangu people
and allows you to gain a deeper respect for the land your on and the natural
phenomenons your seeing here, and the cultural significant behind them to the
aboriginal people.
After taking this in, it was off to the base of Uluru to
take on the short, but significant Mala Walk. It teaches you more about the
cultural significance of the features of Uluru. After completing this we headed
to a sight to watch the sunset over Uluru. It was a magical feeling watching
the sunset while enjoying some beers and dinner with newfound friends.
We were
lucky enough to have some traditional Anangu people show up at the sight and
sell us their wonderful artwork.
The painting I bought. The meaning of it (working from the bottom of the picture to the top) is women (1st circle), collecting/gathering (2nd circle), sugar ants and berries, etc (3rd circle).
That was an experience I will never forget! By
this time we were all ready to hit the swags again. So we headed to what the
guide called our “princess campsite”, just for the sake that it had
electricity, showers and flush toilets.
It was another early morning so we could make it Uluru in
time for sunrise. Another magical site watching the sun come up over the
amazing natural wonder.
Then we took on the Uluru base walk. It was so much fun
walking around what looks to be a completely solid rock from afar, but up-close
there are so many crevices and caves with so much meaning!
After completing
that it was time to hit the road to head back to Alice Springs. Along the way
we got to stop at a camel farm and go on a camel ride! Although short, it was a
ton of fun and just added to the experience of the trip.
After arriving back in Alice Springs, the group got freshened
up and headed out for our final dinner. I figured this trip had already pushed
me out of my comfort zone, that what was one more adventure: eating kangaroo.
It was surprisingly good and didn’t taste all that different from beef! I felt
bad eating one of those cute little things, but they are hugely overpopulated
here in Australia, so all is ok!
It`s really hard to sum up in words how fabulous this road
trip was. It pushed me in ways I
didn`t think I could be pushed, and it taught me so much and gave me some
unforgettable memories. What a trip is really all I can say.
