What should have been

was another win for the Bombers on Anzac Day. The reality was a horrible game and the nastiest score we have seen for a long time. Still we can't have everything. On Sunday Bill & I, together with Tammy & Paul, met Verity, Susanne, Bryce & Denise for the big game at the MCG. This has become a major event in our calender and together with 90,070 other people we watched the Bombers crash & burn. There really isn't much to say other than it was a very frustrating game to watch and we hope they can do better in the future. The loss took nothing away from the Anzac Day ceremony before the game and as usual it was a spine tingling few moments as the Last Post was played and Advance Australia Fair was sung.

We had watched some of the parade on the way to the game and were pleasantly surprised to see that all the press during the week about who could and couldn't march seemed to have little effect. There were lots of people marching and as always St Kilda Rd was lined with people watching all the way to the Shrine. Yes, I know, we really have to get up and make the Dawn Service one year. We stopped on the way and had lunch at Riverland, a bar in the old vaults under Federation Square. It was very popular spot for many people who had completed the march and we shared a table with 3 blokes who were having a great day.

It was after the game while trying to get around the cheering Collingwood mob (how rude) that we found Bianca, forgave her for her teams ungracious flogging of us and very happily taste tested her Anzac Cookies. A real treat and just enough to tide us over until we found dinner. Next stop was a little bar where we found many other Bomber supporters, many still in shock and we drowned our sorrows. Hunger pangs drove us on from there to Ants Bistro in Chinatown where we had a great dinner and solved the problems of the world. Well of the football game anyway. A great night was had by all and once home it was 4 weary people who hit the sack.

Monday saw a change of pace as Bill drove Tammy, Paul & me up to Sassafras where we had a lovely treat, Heavenly Scones, at Brother John's. It seemed that everyone in Victoria had the same destination in mind and with all the cafes full it was just sheer luck that we found this little place. Paul's soup was almost as yummy as our scones with jam & cream. A walk through town after lunch took us into a gorgeous little shop where we were all tempted with hats. Now I just need a scarf to match.
Down the hill again and we drove into Belgrave to see Puffing Billy. With all tickets sold out we just watched from the platform as it steamed up and got ready to rumble. It was almost as exciting as being on it. Once the little train puffed out of sight we headed home where Paul cooked us a yummy seafood pasta dinner. You can come again!

With Bill & I back to work the next day, Tammy & Paul had lots of time to explore the city and surrounds and did just that over the next two days, coming home each night with lots of bags. Tuesday night saw us having dinner in our favorite place in Lygon St. Sale e Pepe's as usual did not disappoint. I think it was that final Lemoncello that had me feeling just a little peaky the following day. Still I made it through so all's well.

Our final adventure was an unplanned drive across the Westgate Bridge as I picked the wrong lane while driving Tammy & Paul to the airport on Wednesday night. Lucky we had plenty of time. It is a great view at night and something they just had to see. Anyway we finally made it and said farewell once more.

Can't wait till next time........

Getting Active in April

After our energetic Easter adventures we thought we'd stay on track, so to speak, and make the most of the few fine days left in autumn. While coming home from Werribee the other week we stopped for a coffee and picked up some leaflets. We discovered a coastal park almost on our doorstep. We wandered out there for a look last Sunday and what a lovely spot.

Point Cook Coastal park is an area of land, as the name suggests, on the coast of Port Phillip Bay. It covers a vast area and is full of picnic spots both large & small. From the many car parks, tracks meander through the foreshore to the beach. It is here that it differs from the Bayside beaches with just a narrow strip of sand separating the land from the sea. Off the coast there are low reefs with a fascinating range of marine life making it a favorite spot for snorkeling and scuba diving. We had the place to ourselves and really enjoyed just wandering around and checking it out. It also borders Point Cook RAAF base and one of the picnic areas is a favourite spot for plane spotting. We did see a couple of small aircraft buzzing around but were on the wrong side to do much with them. On the other edge of the Park a walk to the Cheetham Wetlands keep the visitors fit. A 1.5km walk takes you to an interesting piece of public art called The Tower, where you can view the wetlands and get a great view of the city. The Tower, a monument to Migration & Aspirations, was created by artist Bill Kelly who used the theme of bird migration as a symbol for human migration. While quite an interesting construction it makes me wonder how many people even know it exists or if they do, understand what it's for. It is worth the walk just for the view though.

It was another book that set us off again the following Saturday. While in Walhalla we had picked up a little book on the Nature Parks throughout Latrobe. With a lovely day forecast we set out early for a day out at Mount Worth State Park. Straight down the freeway to Darnum, where we stopped for coffee & then we followed the signs up to the Park. As the name suggests it is a mountain and at 5017 m above sea level was a pretty drive up. A couple of scary bits but the views were wonderful looking across the farm land to the ranges where we had been at Easter. Mt Baw Baw, Mt Erica & Mt St Gwinear. Again we had the park pretty much to ourselves for the day and had a great time wandering around on a number of walks from the central picnic grounds. I have decided that I really need some new walking shoes if this is how I'm going to spend my weekends. The whole area had been home to a number of timber mills and most of the walks were to these on tracks that followed old tramways. A lot of abandoned machinery can be seen between the trees.

One of the walks was called the Giant Circuit which features 'The Standing Giant', a very large Mountain Ash tree that escaped the mills. There are a number of these and they are big. As you can imagine not too many did escape so the majority of the forest is much younger. The giant tree ferns were amazing too and many of the walks were through these. Being in a high rainfall area makes it very damp underfoot and we saw the most unusual types of fungi growing on the ground and on the trees. They were amazing. Again lots of birdlife could be heard but a bit of challenge to find them. At least the fungi was still.

Coming back down the mountain we found the cutest little Echidna looking for dinner. Of course we had to stop and watch a while. He was not too happy about this and curled up into a ball until Bill got back in the car. He then set about finishing his dinner. The beautiful sunset saw us stop again to watch it go down and then we were on our way home for the night.

So with one park of the 35 mentioned in the book, crossed off the list, we look forward to finding many other wonderful places to explore. Must go shoe shopping soon!

Back to the grind again for the week, until next time..................

Wild about Walhalla

Hello again, hope you all had a Happy Easter and made the most of the few days relaxing with family & friends. Hope you also enjoyed the Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs.

We decided that the 4 day break just begged to be turned into another adventure and what a great opportunity to go and explore new horizons. A quick search on the net and we had found just the place.

The historic town of Walhalla is about 2 hours east of Melbourne, right in the middle of Baw Baw country. It is a tiny town now, though during the 1860's was the thriving hub of the Gold Rush in this area with smaller settlements like Happy Go Lucky, Maiden Town & Mormon Town springing up around it. In 50 years from 1863, Cohen's Reef produced about 1,500,000 ounces of gold, (over 13 tonnes) making it one of the richest in Victoria. The mine is now open for tours and it really does give you an insight into how the miners lived and worked all those years ago. Not a lifestyle I would like to live. If you are lucky you can still 'strike it rich' with gold panning in Stringer's Creek a popular pastime for visitors. When the gold ran out in 1914 Walhalla quickly became deserted as most of the houses & buildings were pulled down and relocated to other towns on the newly open railway. Other's were simply abandoned. Most of what was left was destroyed by fire over the following years or slowly reclaimed by the bush turning it into a real ghost town. Here's an interesting fact. Most of the gold mining equipment was sent to Kalgoorlie to be used for their newly developing mining industry.

Walhalla came back from the dead during the 90's following a renewed interest in Australia's heritage. Most of the shops & houses have been rebuilt more than once as fire has passed through the area over the years. With great attention to detail the town looks just like it would have done in the 1800's with the main street home to the general store, museum, post office, fire station, band rotunda and of course the mainstay of every country town, the Pub. The 'Wally Pub' was the hub of activity each night and is the only thing in town open after 5pm. And the meals - worth the visit - you must try the 'Wally' burger.

With the town nestled in a narrow mountain gorge this meant that the early settlers had to think vertically and this makes it an interesting place to visit. Walhalla's cemetery clings to the side of the hill at a 45 degree angle and sure begs the question how did they manage to dig the graves out of the sheer rock face. As we took a closer look on Monday morning I did see the advantage that mountain goats have over us. The slopes are dotted with little cottges, built on narrow ledges cut into the steep hillside. The roads leading up to some of these are an engineering feat in themselves, bearing in mind that back in those days there was no mechanical help. One of the highest dwellings is that of the old hospital. We can only imagine the time it took to get anybody who was sick up to the hospital.

Another highlight was the Walhalla Goldfields Railway. This is a narrow gauge train that winds it way down Stringer's Creek Gorge from Walhalla to the Thomsons River. Both stations have been restored and it is a great trip along the mountain railway. Once again just the fact they were able to build the railway here is amazing. We did the trip on Saturday morning and were certainly in awe of the early engineers. With almost no spare seats left over 4 carriages, you get some idea of how popular this little train is.

Sunday saw us wander further afield with a trip to Mt Erica, where we parked the car and walked in to see Mushroom Rocks. About 2 kms from the summit we found the huge granite tors. These sit on top of each other looking just like the fungi they are named after. A beautiful walk in through the forest with Mountain Ash, Silver Wattle and lots of ferns. Lots of birds could be heard but proved a real challenge for Bill to catch them on camera. From there we went on to Mt St Gwinear where we stretched the legs again but no highlights there. Next time we will head to the lookout. A look at Thomson Dam, where Melbourne's water is sourced was a bit concerning. It is very low, thought better than this time last year. Coffee at Rawson and a look at the little town of Erica was enough wandering for the day and we went back to Manns Cottage for a quick rest before heading back to 'The Wally' for dinner.

The cricket ground is a 'must see'. With flat ground being hard to find the only solution was to go up. This was achieved by slicing the top of a nearby mountain, put in a 1 km zig zag track and there you have it. A sports field where you could hit the roofs of the buildings below if you hit too hard. After walking up on Monday morning, I'm not sure how anyone had the energy to even think about playing sport once they got there. We sure got our exercise that day.

With only 12 fulltime residents Walhalla does seem like time has stood still. While it was the first town in Victoria to have street lighting, because of the gold, it was the last town to get electricity - and the Yallourn power station is not too far away. There is no mobile phone coverage and no TV reception either so it really is a break from the ratrace. In a nutshell we had a wonderful few days stepping back in time and with all the fresh air and exercise we didn't even manage to watch the DVD's we had taken with us.

Another short week, got to love that - until next time...........