Bonus blog

Hi Folks

Excuse the flurry of Blogs but we are just about to leave mainland Oz and fly to Tasmania and we wanted to include one briefly about Melbourne coupled with the fact that the Victoria National Gallery of Art (International) was closed gives us a little 'spare' time. However the Victoria National gallery of Art ( Australia) was open and we saw the most wonderful exhibition of Aboriginal painting and artefacts. We were given an unexpected free guided tour by one of the gallery staff. Very good show which gave us an insight into what the paintings were about and how they
done.

The top photo shows our hotel. Very plush and comfy with a good view over Melbourne and the river Yarra. It is an open city and seemingly very relaxed and at one with itself. Very eclectic and a facinating range of architectural styles that have been built around the early Victorian buildings as evidenced by the photos.

The photo below is part of a bigger complex which houses a television company and also the Australian Art gallery. Super building and amazing inside although there was a tendency to
feel a little unsteady.

The last photograph is of the inside of the tram we travelled in. Probably built in the 1930s it is part of the main form of public transport and highly efficient.
So, briefly from Oz best wishes from Fogg.

Actually, the tram we were on was free and we could travel round the city centre getting off at the main tourist sites - excellent idea and one we saw in Perth too. The funky building is part of Federation Square and is amazing. A number of buildings all considered,wierd and wonderful shapes based on the triangle and inside you are not sure what is level!

We liked Melbourne very much and would recommend it as a destination. There was a lot more we could have seen and done. We now have a better understanding of indigenous art and culture and some of the issues surrounding the settlers and the Aborigine.

Will close now, best wishes from me, Phileas

The Great Ocean Road part 2

We spent two nights in a good motel in Apollo Bay which seemed to be the half way point geologically speaking of the GOR. The first photo was taken from the top of the lighthouse at Cape Otway and Phileas bravely climbed out onto the balcony despite feeling very wobbly! The cliffs here are less marked and once past Apollo Bay the trees come right down to the sea. We took a wonderful walk at Mait's Rest where Fogg snapped these wonderful tree ferns. The rainforest here is full of them and massive myrtle beech trees. The whole place seemed primordial and we expected a dinosaur to appear from around every corner!! The road leading to the
lighthouse was lined with these wonderful eucalyptus trees (gums). The penultimate photo shows the difference in the coastline as we headed towards Torquay, there were sandy beaches and plenty of places where it was possible to walk down onto the sand. The final photo shows a memorial recently erected to the 3,000 'diggers' (ex-servicemen) who were employed on their return from WW1 to build the GOR. They only had hand tools and it took about 12 years to completion. This really was an example of Occupational Therapy as this was not slave labour and the men had good living conditions and the continued camaradarie of their
fellow soldiers. I found the monument very poignant and the understanding that the road itself was the memorial.
Enough from me, over to Fogg. Best wishes, Phileas.
Hi from Fogg.As a footnote to this I found it very interesting to discover that in percentage terms the Australians lost 64% of their men in the First World War which was more than any other nation involved.
We also dicovered on this beach some of the wreck of the Barque W.B. Godfrey travelling from San Francisco to Melbourne in 1891. Another moving moment which bought to mind the

hardship people endured at that time. Happily in this case there was no loss of life. The GOR is a wonderful journey and probably more fun than the journey of the Mars probe that we have just been reading about in Melbourne where we currently are in a fab hotel in the centre of the city.

So our journey continues very well. We will be travelling to Tasmania in a couple of days when we send another blog which will be the last from the Southern hemisphere!

This is Fogg wishing you all well

The Great Ocean Road part 1

OK, here we go again! This is Fogg in his new wet suit and look at the size of the waves!!!! Actually these guys were pretty awesome and the waves were massive. This shot was taken off the coast at Port Fairy and the sea is the Southern Ocean. Port Fairy is a charming town full of wonderful early wooden buildings and situated both on the River Moyne and the Southern Ocean. We enjoyed our two night stay in a delightful cottage before heading off to this icon of Victoria, The Great Ocean Road. It does not start particularly auspiciously but once it meets the coast the views are amazing. These photos show the first half, so to speak, between Peterborough and Apollo Bay
where we are presently based. They are called The Grotto, London Bridge and the last two are the Twelve Apostles and the coast close by. A geologists delight and visually very exciting. The sea was relaltively calm but even so we could see clearly how it undercut the cliffs and how soon many of them would slide into the sea.

I will pass over to my surfing chum, Fogg, so farewell from me, Phileas.

As you can see, London Bridge is now without the bridge. In 1990 two people were out on the far sea edge and the whole of the centre span,
without any warning crashed into the sea leaving the two stranded. One can only imagine how scared they were. Eventually they were lifted off by helicopter. The photograph does not truly convey the size of the rocks or the tempestuous nature of the sea which was considerable even on the relativly quiet day we were here. Having seen this we proceeded with great care!
The next photo is of the 'Twelve Apostles' Actually according to some there are only seven, but I counted thirteen! Whatever the number they are truly impressive. However they are reducing in height by about two centimetres a year.
The cliff edges seem cut rather than eroded and the last photo conveys that quality. On our way to Apollo Bay where we are based for a couple of days we drove through some magnificent gum/beech forests. They are tall trees and create a wonderul cooling atmosphere.

We are exploring the second half of the Ocean Road tomorrow on our way to Melbourne and our next blog will reflect that.

So this is Fogg saying goodbye for now. Very best wishes to you all.

Kangaroo Island

Well here we are again and this time we would like to tell you about our trip to Kangaroo Island. As its name suggests there are a lot of kangaroos on the island and we were able to spot lots along with wallabies. The house (pictured) where we stayed was very isolated and the garden would swarm with roos and wallabies in the evening but also during the day. They did not seem phased by our presence and would just hop off into the scrub until we had gone away. We watched many of them feeding by the side of the road which can of course be a problem for both the animals and the drivers. Enough said.

We were delighted to be able to spot a number of koalas as well and this was a real treat as these animals can be very elusive and difficult to spot. They sit up in the gums sometimes on the thinnest of branches and seem to be asleep. They sometimes deign to look at you with their charming little faces and then turn back to sleep. They can be quite nimble clawing their way up and down the trunks and we saw a number of signs warning that they might be crossing the road. They were introduced to KI and now number some 27,000.
Apart from the wildlife I have been delighted by the trees and have taken a particular liking to
these Yacca or grass trees. They are either male or female depending on their 'skirts' and you should be able to see a flower rising up to attract pollinators. There were dreadful bush fires on the island last year which devastated 21% of the island's National Park. It was amazing to see how quickly regeneration was taking place and as it was raining a lot while we were there the process should continue. But my favourites remain the gums whose trunks are beautifully coloured and whose branches create the most amazing shapes. Many of them line the roads forming wonderful arches spanning the space. We were very lucky to be staying in a truly delightful house set up in the
hills with outlooks over the sea.

Over to Fogg now. Best wishes from Phileas

We went to Kangaroo Island with our Oz friends Doug and Mary. On our second night there Doug spotted about 50 Roos partying outside the front of the house and even the next morning there were plenty still jumping around. Probably celebrating the incredible downpour we had the night before. We collected wood from the land and in the evening sat round a blazing fire sipping local wine.
We of course explored a great deal too and two
places are of particular note. The 'Remarkable Rocks' and 'Admirals Arch'. The latter is illustrated here. It was pouring with rain when we visited. I imagined constructing a stage across this opening and using the natural proscenium arch it would make a wonderful setting for 'The Tempest' or some such. It began to blow very hard as we were leaving and the sea became very dramatic. Nearby here was a massive colony of New Zealand Seals. The best yet and very smelly!!
So a wonderful time was had on this beautiful Island. We crossed back to the mainland on a night time ferry. Very best wishes to you all. Fogg

Shadows in the Flinders

Hi Folks
Having spent a few great days in Perth we flew to Adelaide to stay with our friends Doug and Mary Fletcher in Basket Range in the hills of Adelaide. They allowed us to use them as a base and we travelled to the Flinders Ranges about 300 miles north. This area is serious outback. Very harsh.Very dry and the people who live out here just about eek out a living from grazing sheep but mostly these days tourists are the main source of income. On our way we stopped at Terowie. See photo on left. This is the main street. This town is pretty well as it was when it was built in the late 19th century. It was used as a staging post for the
army years ago but now is struggling but the locals are very hardy and are trying to make a go of it. A brief visit and onwards to the Flinders. We stayed in a small town (pop 220) called Hawker. It is right in the middle of very basic scrub land and is surrounded by desert and the most awe inspiring range of hills and mountains that make up the Flinders Ranges. As you can see from the photo on the left we are shadows of our former selves shown by the strong and hot sunlight. It is a stunning area. The most beautiful of colours. Magical shapes and textures. Altogether awesome. Sorry to use that word again, but it was.

We hired a local guide for a day by the name of Derek and he took us to the ranges and gave us a lesson on the geology and the flora and fauna of the area. We saw many kangaroos including a red which was huge and majestic and a very rare yellow footed rock wallaby with a joey in her pouch. Anyway we are under pressure here and Phileas wants a word so over to her. So very best wishes to you all. Fogg.

The Flinders is well worth pulling up on google earth as the shapes and colours make it one of the most beautiful and interesting places that we have visited. In the Brachina Gorge we were able to walk through a geological timeline as the mountain was lying on its side so to speak. The photo
here shows how dry it is and as the air was still the dust trails hang in the air for a long time. We enjoyed very much watching the sun rise at 6.30am and set at 5.30pm bringing up the most extraordinary palette of colours. The rocks are full of iron and the iron oxide on the surface glows in the dying and rising rays of the sun.
Our trip back to Adelaide took us through more dry country until we reached the wine region of Clare. Even here the land was parched. In the Adelaide Hills the difference was amazing. The area is very lush almost like a rain forest and it is hard to believe that SA is the driest state in the driest continent in the world.
Basket Range sits up high above Adelaide and a drive down to the city in the evening affords the most wonderful sparkly view of the City. The trees in the area are mainly eucalyptus (gum) and are absolutely beautiful and majestic. The trees are full of birds and we were in capable hands with Doug who can tell most from their song and can see a tiny bird hidden to most.
Their local koalas who live in their churchyard were very 'cute' and we had some good roo spots too.

I will leave talk of roos and koalas until our next blog from Kangaroo Island.
Until then, best wishes from us both
Phileas

More from Western Australia

Hi from Perth
We arrived in Perth from Dunsborough where we enjoyed a few days of 'rest'. We visited hairdresser and barber and generally collected ourselves and our thoughts together before setting off to Perth, or more strictly speaking to Cottesloe which is between Fremantle and Perth. We were staying with the parents of Phileases cousins wife (if that makes sense!). They had never met us, knew nothing about us but opened their doors to us for three days and showed us the sights. They were so kind and generous, which we have found to be typical of the people we have met in Australia.

Of course we visited Perth. (See above.) It is a beautiful city. Very open and exciting with beautiful vistas across the Swan river which has its famed Black swans. (See left). Cottesloe is on the Indian Ocean and Fogg went swimming with some locals early one morning. It was exhilerating, particularly so when he was told that sharks were in the area sometimes and yes a man had bee attacked but hey he survived to tell the tale! It was a wonderful swim and exciting to be in the Indian Ocean too.
So this is Fogg signing out and wishing you all well. Over to Phileas.


Of all the amazing things that we have done since we have been away, sitting by the ocean has to be a highlight. This is a picture of Cottesloe Beach taken on our final evening. Obviously taken by Fogg, it is chiascura (light on one side, dark on the other!!!). Whatever, it was another beautiful beach as were those we found at Dunsborough on Geographe Bay. That's all from WA. Keep reading for our next blog from South Australia and our trip to the Flinders.

Best wishes for now

Phileas