Melbourne 2

A pleasant walk along the seaside towards Brighton, still discombobulated, kicked off the day before we headed fro Melbourne again for a tram tour with dinner late afternoon. The rain was falling again, but the dinner was wonderful in an old tram, which seemed at times to go back and forwards, or was that the champagne for starters at work? It was a unique and enjoyeable finale.

Melbourne 1

Jean & Bruce, friends from C&W days and beyond, live in Sandringham, south of Brighton, south of Melbourne, all rather discombobulating to one from UK, and we enjoyed catching up over dinner on our first night. A wine tour to the Yarra Valley started with a train trip into Melbourne, a comparison & contrast of old and new architecture and continued with visits to 4 wineries plus a lunch, ending up at Chandon enjoying a glass of bubbly before the coach headed back to Melbourne. Their the tour programme became more than just organisationally fluid! Thunder and lightning had hit Melbourne, roads had flooded, hail the size of golf and cricket balls had caused extensive damage and the coach had to take wide detours and long delay to get us close to the centre of the city. Trees had been stripped of leaves, low lying areas had to be waded through and some of the hail remained at roadsides. The train home also stopped for a while where the track was flooded, but we did got home in the end, and none of our purchases were broken, so could be enjoyed later! Tom Jones was due to play at the winery where we had lunch, to an audience of 7,000 the following night and we wondered if this went ahead as the weather continued............................

Adelaide-Melbourne 2

After and early breakfast in Port Fairy, we made the soggy start to see the Great Ocean Road, a coastline of many interesting and dramatic rock formations formed from erosion over thousands of years. Starting at the Bay of Islands, to the Bay of Martyrs, London Bridge, Loch Ard and, finally the 12 Apostles, although I could only find 8, the most recent giving up to the sea erosion a couple of years ago. The rain kept coming and we dodged showers to make the most of the sometimes sinister colours of the rock formations, amid slow crawling traffic. At Torquay, we made the decision to forget the ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsular to bypass Melbourne, and crawl through rushour traffic in Melbourne to save a couple of hours and arrive in daylight at Jean & Bruce's place in Sandringham. The experience was not spoiled by the rain, but it was somewhat compromised!

Adelaide-Melbourne 1

We made an early start for the nearly 400 mile drive to Port Fairy, just over halfway to Melbourne, stopping briefly for drinks and snacks along the way, passing the town of Keith advertising itself as the gateway to the southeast! The Blue Lake at Mt Gambier was more substantial. No live kangaroos were spotted on the way, but a couple who had tangled unsuccessfully with traffic were seen. We arrived to grey skies in the late afternoon to take a stroll on the beach before a tipple and some dinner, and the rain came in the night, to feature for a while to come!

Adelaide

Ralph & Toria live at Moana Heights, some 40 mins south of Adelaide and by the sea, so a walk along the hill tops in the fresh morning air was a welcome activity after our arrival there. But, we were soon off to the McLaren Valley for a winery tour and lunch, stopping first at d'Arenburg to sample their selections before having a fine lunch at Hoffmans, then a further stop at Woodstock, purchases being made along the way of course! A koala was sleeping peacfully in a tree at our last stop. An afternoon walk along the beach topped off the day nicely. The cooler weather was welcome in the low 20s.

We took a trip to Victor Harbor (yes, they omit the 'u' here) and Granite Island, where French and English explorers met in the bay at the end of the 18th century to exchange findings, but the Englishman wisely put up a flag! The temperatures were again enjoyed on the walk around Granite Island before a coffee and pastry shop at a Bavarian cafe in the town. The day was topped off with a game of boules, which the boys won narrowly, and exellent swordfish steaks from Ralph's barbie.

Perth-Adelaide on the Indian Pacific

Boarding the Indian Pacific train at midday Friday from Perth, we set off to cross the Nullarbor (no trees) Plain, some 2,700km away. Trees, bursh and the undulating hills of the Darling Range quite quickly gave way to flatter more barren landscapes. We stopped frequently to let freight trains pass (higher priority) and pick up or drop off mail to remote locations. We arrived at the gold town of Kalgoorlie last at night and went on a guided tour in the dark to see the Super Pit gold mine, a montrous 600m deep open mine running 24x7, where 400 ton trucks with tyres the size of people looked like toys at the bottom, as did the 60 ton bucket of the diggers, which we were able to see in the flesh! It was 1:30am before we got back, after a 1 hr time zone loss, before I had to get up for breakfast at 6am. Jean passed on that!

The brush gave way to little to no vegetation in the early hours as we embarked on the longest straight piece of railway track (478km) in the world across the Nullarbor. We made full, use of our double-size cabin with its own sitting area and 2 windows when not watching the scenery roll by. The food was good, although it did seem to come at us quite quickly with the more time losses as we ate further into the 2.5 hour difference from WA to SA.

We stopped at the ghost town of Cook - population 5 people, 1 cat, 2 dogs, 14 chickens, 1 rooster, 4 dingoes and 3 million flies, for a 3rd driver change. Two 'historic gaol cells' were on display, which I wouldn't have fancied occupying in that heat! The Plain had continued and continued until shortly after Cook when the long straight was finished and the landscape started to undulate a little.

Early morning on the 3rd day, Tuesday, brought us into Adelaide to be met by Ralph & 'Toria at the station, whom I had last seen in 2004. In all, it was a really great experience where time seemed to pass easily, there was nothing, but lots, to see at times, and we were both very glad we had done it. Very recommended, especially with the big cabin!

Perth 1

Another smooth journey brought us to Perth in time to take a short walk down to the Swan River, spotting a bar with an interesting name by the quay, and then into the town for a walkabout. The weather seems to be promising to be hot! Met up with Eddie & Morag, long time friends from Nigeria ages ago whom I hadn't seen since 2000, to enjoy a cooling time in their pool before a lovely sunset walk and meal on the opposite side of the river.A long day took us south to Margaret River, famous for its wines and therefore had to include a tasting and lunch at Xanadu Winery, before heading further south to Cape Leeuwin, the further southwest point of Australia, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Sea.

It was north next to visit a wildlife park, stroke some Koalas, feed some kanagaroos and have a photo with a (fat?) wombat! Afterwards, we visited the Pinnacls Desert & rock formations where we melted in 45degC temperatures before taking a bus over a sandune, and Jean enjoyed sand boarding for the first time! I passed (too much friction with my weight, sadly!) but Jean was very adept.

Our final day included a cruise down the Swan River to Fremantle, still at 40degC, followed by a picnic by the river with Eddie, Morag and friends, and an arts festival film.