The Great Ocean Road

The heat in Victoria dipped a bit, and the bushfire danger backed off slightly, so we rented a car (a sweet Kia Cerato) and drove the Great Ocean Road.  This is the famous seaside drive that was built with post-war labour, often by hand.

We drove through Torquay (home of both Rip Curl and Quiksilver surf companies) to Bell's Beach - above - the famous surf destination where the Rip Curl surf competition is held each year.  It's also the beach where the final showdown between Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze supposedly took place in the movie Point Break.

We made the mistake of starting the drive at noon on the last major holiday weekend of the Christmas season.  So our usual view wasn't of beaches and surf, but was more like the above - stop and go traffic that barely moved.  It took about 7 hours to get to our destination of Warrnambool.  (It also became apparent that many Australians, much like Albertans, become terrified on even moderately curved roads and slow to a crawl.)

Nice view, but not the most efficient building method.

One of the best views we got on the road.  More great water and surf and beaches - though that's a pretty regular sight in eastern and southern Australia.

Later in the drive we hit some grander-than-average sights - the famous 12 apostles, sandstone pillars rising out of the ocean.  There aren't actually 12, and many have crumbled away in the past several years.  But it's still a massive tourist/tour bus destination.

We also encountered some nice local signage on the road:

Apparently tourists rent cars on these roads - enough that they need reminding to stay to the left!

A more effective way than to keep tourists off the natural areas than a fence - poisonous snakes could be lurking in the brush!

One of my favourites.  "Die" is satisfyingly clear.  Also true - that sandstone is incredibly unstable.

The Great Ocean Road was a nice drive, despite the traffic.  And there were a couple of impressive sections like the 12 Apostles and some high curvy bits.  But Sarah and I also drove the Oregon Coast this year, and the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper National Parks, among others.  So I probably would have named it the "nice and very picturesque road" instead.

We stayed the night about a somewhat noisy but comfy pub in Warrnambool, then had a peek at the oceanfront park and seawall in the morning.

Yep, that's kelp that has been thrown over 20 feet of seawall by the surf.  Not many natural harbours on this part of the coast - important to have a bit of seawall to protect your boat from the waves.

Nice kid-friendly swimming beach behind some little islands that you can walk to at low tide.

We went to Tower Hill Reserve next, an nature reserve on a small island in a lake filling a volcanic caldera about 6 km circumference, all within sight of the ocean.  Very picturesque.

Kangaroos were a possibility - but we didn't see any.  And we didn't see any koalas either, despite looking carefully for them.   Drat!

Drove around the rim of the caldera first.

Then drove onto the island and walked to the top of the highest hill.

The reserve did have 2 animals in abundance: 1) Flies (no wonder the Aussies used to dangle corks off their hat brims, these flies swarm your face like nothing I've experienced), and 2) Emus!  Sweet.

We ventured inland and took a volcanic-themed drive in the Colac area.  The area is apparently a huge, ancient lava field, though it's covered with grasslands now so you can't really tell.  It also contains some small volcanic hills and salt lakes.

Posing by some red lava rock on top of a hill before running back to the car to escape the flies.  (Nearby cattle farms don't help the fly situation.)

Out trusty steed.

This area has been cattle/sheep country for well over a century.  According to a local information centre volunteer, shepards used to watch over the livestock - but when the local gold rush occurred, the shepards all left for the gold fields.  So they had to start fencing in the livestock instead.  They imported experts from Europe to help construct stone fences, which were hammered together with no mortar, and many of which still stand today.  Lots of Irish names and culture in the area as a result.

We saw a nearby winery and stopped for a sample.  Decent pinot noir.

Then we drove past a real salt lake, almost entirely without water.  Nothing but fine white crystals under the blazing sun.

However, underneath the thin layer of crystals was moist, sticky lava clay.  It was clear that any vehicle venturing out on the salt would be instantly mired.

We spent the night in Geelong, then headed back to Melbourne for a night.  Sarah took some classy black-and-white photos there.

Federation Square and its angular, jumbled buildings.

The main station opposite Federation Square.

Wicker art.

Tallest building in Melbourne - new condos.

One of Melbourne's famous downtown laneways, where all the cool restaurants and clubs are.

Beer Deluxe, a great beer bar at Federation Square where we sampled several great Australian beers and I had a long-overdue and extensive craft beer nerd discussion with a friendly and helpful Scottish bartender.

Holy Heatwave, Batman

As much as we were thankful for the lower humidity of Melbourne, mother nature decided to throw a heat wave at the area today.  We had a comfy air conditioned room, so decided to catch up on blogging rather than braving too much heat and/or extreme wildfire danger.

Today's heat was accompanied with strong winds, resulting in the worst fire danger since Black Saturday four years ago.  There weren't any fires nearby, and since we thought a tasty craft beer would take the edge off the heat, we splurged on a taxi to a nearby craft brewery at about 4:30 pm.  The taxi's exterior thermometer read 43 C.

I received an email from my friend Joe this morning - he is in Ottawa, and it was -20 C this morning.  So it is  literally 60 degrees warmer here!  According to Sarah, with the wind it's a bit like being in a blast furnace.  Even the Australians are complaining: "It feels like I'm in the Outback!"

So we waited out the last of the peak heat at Mountain Goat Beer - not air conditioned, but outfitted with fans, chilled beer and shade - and then walked 6 km back downtown when the sun was low in the sky.

Cheers!

Melbourne!

[Brought to you by Sarah...] A three hour flight from Cairns to Melbourne, and the humidity drops by 55%.  Ahh... On the flight down we were treated to views of the famous Australian outback, with some nice red earth among the brown.

We arrived in Melbourne to weather about 21 degrees and a lovely cool breeze.  Heavenly!  It was New Years Eve, and we planned to head for the public event sites and check out what was happening.  But first a wander through the city for some of the sights.  It was a beautiful, sunny evening and the light was lovely.

One of several, pretty Euro-style churches found around the city.  Unlike sandstone Sydney, there are many "bluestone" buildings in Melbourne.

A wander through Chinatown.

Prost!

And of course nothing says Chinatown like... the Hofbrauhaus!  For just $24 AUD ($25.40 CDN) you can have one litre of supposedly German beer.  We just couldn't do it, especially after being in Munich earlier this year and paying only 6 or 7 Euros for beer at the original venue.

The biggest, downtown street - Swanston - was closed off for pedestrians to wander freely down to Federation Square where many of the NYE events were being held.

Melbourne had three live event sites for the midnight countdown (plus a fourth that celebrated with fireworks at 9:30 so that people could take their kiddies out early).  Federation Square was jam packed with revellers even at sunset.

We then headed for the event site at Fitzroy Gardens; not as busy as Federation Square but still a nice crowd with an enthusiastic if mediocre DJ.

Before the rest of the crowd arrive.  Yes, I am wearing a jacket - yahoo!

At midnight we enjoyed the multi-million dollar fireworks display, set off from the rooftops of multiple highrises across the city, with 499,998 of our closest friends.  It was no Sydney, but still pretty impressive for us!

After a slow start the next day, we headed out for a big walk around the city.

Our hotel, above a pub that was sadly closed until February, as it had a good craft beer selection and classic boy scout memorabilia.  Not as good was the obnoxious cleaner, Marty, who had a fondness for repeating himself endlessly and recklessly disregarding do not disturb signs.

Our first leg was through the hip Fitzroy and Carlton neighbourhoods.  Kind of like Main Street or the cooler regions of Gastown in Vancouver.  We stopped for 'phat brats', and they even had a veggie option available for me!

Sweet potato, quinoa, tamarind, alfalfa... need I continue?  It was as delicious as it sounds!

Another stop was the old Melbourne Gaol, an old and creepy but impressive historic building.  We didn't pay the $50 to take a tour, but I did manage to get trapped behind bars.

In the last decade or so, Melbourne has developed the South Bank of the Yarra River - a former industrial area that had fallen into disuse and disrepair.  There is now a long walkway along the river, multiple pedestrian bridges, many condo highrises, a massive casino complex, and more.

Great looking city skyline from over here.

Check out this mid-river bar!

This is where the Australian Open is played; it starts mid-January so we'll just miss it.

The next day, Sandii (cousin of Chad's groomsman Peter), who lives in Melbourne, was gracious enough to take us on a city tour.  This was awesome, as we were able to see many sights we otherwise wouldn't have made it to!

Our first stop was for coffee at the Studley Park Boathouse.

Next up we headed to Brighton Beach, for a look at the famous, colourful bathhouses.

St Kilda is a neighbourhood by the beach frequented by many backpackers.  It also has the Local Taphouse, possibly the best beer bar in Melbourne.  We wiled away a late lunch tasting beers and eating yummy food on their excellent patio.  The beer selection was as good as promised.

Driving through St Kilda, we spotted many kitesurfers enjoying the windy day.  See Dad, you would like it here!

Continuing our goal of making my Dad want to join us, we next went for a drive around Albert Park, where the Australian F1 Grand Prix is held every year.

These barriers are put up all along the track to prevent wannabe F1 drivers from racing around the family-friendly park at excessive speeds.

Melbourne has many trams, which require downtown drivers to make "hook turns", where you pull into the left lane in order to be able to turn right (remember, you're driving on the left).  Or something like that.  I plan never to encounter one so I haven't really figured it out!

After a couple days at the Baden Powell being harassed by Marty the Cleaner, we splurged for a place with working wifi and good air conditioning.  Melbourne was forecast for strong winds and temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s, and the TV was full of fire warnings, so air conditioned activities away from the grasslands were the order of the day.  A bit tired from all the travelling, we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to hole up a bit in our awesome downtown apartment to stay cool, catch up on the blog, do some laundry, and get geared up for the next leg of our trip.  We were upgraded to a place on the 18th floor, where we have great views, including of the surprisingly great Queen Victoria Market.

We went over to the market to grab some food for dinner, and found heaven.  The market is huge, and has loads of fresh produce for cheap, tasty meat (for Chad, obviously), and even wine!  There's also all manner of clothes, tools, tourist goods, etc, but we ignored those and headed straight for the food.

The roofs are tin, and in the hot day the radiant heat was intense underneath.

Wine on tap w/refillable bottles!  We got a lovely shiraz.

Our time in Melbourne has been pretty low key thus far, but it's a great city with loads of sights and lots of cool shops and restaurants.  I would love to come back here when I have some more cash to splurge a bit on the latter!