Canberra-Eden-Melbourne (Australia)
13 December - 20 December 2015
13 December - 20 December 2015
There's only two words I really want to say about Canberra...and the second word if Canberra.
I don't care about lake Burley Griffin, Parliament House, the High Court or the tree lined streets that lead to countless roundabouts. When that ever present haze of boredom descends on you once passing the Welcome to the A.C.T. signs then your only thought should be escaping out the other side.
Twenty years ago Canberra was my city of transience, a waypoint or a temporary blip on my way to the Snowy Mountains. It could never maintain my interest for more than 20 mins, other than the period of time where I had a fascination with the High Court. With that said, can this administrative and bureaucratic wonderland, that apparently has a population with the highest IQ, on average, of any Australian capital, not do any more to endear itself to the population which it leads?
The best thing about Canberra - Australia
Kangaroo sightings
Kangaroos in the Australian Capital Territory
What else have you got? Nothing
The best thing about our stop in Canberra was that Inga finally got to see a few kangaroos! Finally, proof that they exist...and even they looked bored out of their minds, like there was some pervasive force field of boredom that managed to penetrate all sentient beings.
Realising now that I've give Canberra far too many of my precious words, I'll move on.
Eden - New South Wales - Australia
The coastal route that we decided to adopt after Canberra took us down around Berry and then stopping in at the gorgeous Sapphire Coast town of Eden. For some reason I've always been drawn to this little town, there's something about its location and demeanour and its rich deep blue waters that somehow draw me in each time. On this occasion though Inga and I were treated to somewhat of a cosmic anomaly. Taking a walk along one of the many deserted beaches in the area we noticed a few 'shooting stars' cut across the night sky, separated by only a few mins. This event continued however, very unexpectedly and we were witness to, perhaps over the period of an hour, shooting stars appearing at a rate of one every couple of minutes. Personally I've never seen an event quite like that and wasn't aware of any known meteor shower that was scheduled for that evening. Not that it mattered to us. Each and every one of those falling stars had one of our wishes attached to it - it was almost as good as finding a genie in a bottle.
And that led us back to Melbourne.
My second attempt at showcasing a prospective 'settlement city' was far more successful o this occasion than the month prior. Melbourne as we know is temperamental, at times verging on bipolar, and this can lead to disillusionment and disengagement. How can you fall for a city when it takes so much work? Like most relationships however it's only really the initial spark that's missing, the rest develops within its own framework, with both parties taking a little and giving. This time Melbourne gave us a reason as to why we may want to stay here. The weather was fantastic which facilitated happy movement around the city, which is all you really need here.
St.Kilda, Brunswick St, Carlton, Chapel St, bars, restaurants and style. What it doesn't have from Sydney it really doesn't need. It's charms are sometimes understated and sometimes hidden but its vibe is always hip and cool, it will beat any other Australian city in that department hands down.
For the few days that we stayed it was in a lovely apartment overlooking the Yarra, just across from Crown Casino. I recall Inga saying one night, 'You know, I wouldn't mind living here' - fast forward 4 years and hey presto, we now own an apartment across the street from where we were staying with virtually the same view, only on a much higher floor. In fact I've added the two views below just for a comparison.
Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
And that led us back to Melbourne.
My second attempt at showcasing a prospective 'settlement city' was far more successful o this occasion than the month prior. Melbourne as we know is temperamental, at times verging on bipolar, and this can lead to disillusionment and disengagement. How can you fall for a city when it takes so much work? Like most relationships however it's only really the initial spark that's missing, the rest develops within its own framework, with both parties taking a little and giving. This time Melbourne gave us a reason as to why we may want to stay here. The weather was fantastic which facilitated happy movement around the city, which is all you really need here.
St.Kilda, Brunswick St, Carlton, Chapel St, bars, restaurants and style. What it doesn't have from Sydney it really doesn't need. It's charms are sometimes understated and sometimes hidden but its vibe is always hip and cool, it will beat any other Australian city in that department hands down.
Brunswick Street - Melbourne
San Telmo - Myers Place - Melbourne
San Telmo - Myers Place - Melbourne
For the few days that we stayed it was in a lovely apartment overlooking the Yarra, just across from Crown Casino. I recall Inga saying one night, 'You know, I wouldn't mind living here' - fast forward 4 years and hey presto, we now own an apartment across the street from where we were staying with virtually the same view, only on a much higher floor. In fact I've added the two views below just for a comparison.
One of the benefits of Melbourne's location is its proximity to 'cool stuff', as in, the Yarra Valley, the Grampians, Mornington Peninsula, and of course the Surf Coast & Shipwreck Coast, which is serviced by one of the most scenic drives on the planet, the Great Ocean Road. Running 243kms from Torquay to just outside of Warrnambool, this road passes alongside beaches, through forests and hugs the cliff lined coastline for great portions of the journey. An iconic drive of Australia, personally I've completed the ride more 10 times and consider it one of the great highlights from this part of Australia. As a passenger in a vehicle you are provided with smogasbord of majestic views as you weave in and out of the small bays and inlets that are scattered along the route.
The day we chose to do the drive was marvellous. Scenic views for the whole journey, until we got about 20kms out from the 12 Apostles, which effectively is the pinnacle of all highlights along the road. Somehow a wicked wind picked up on the Southern Ocean bringing in a seaspray so large and dense that it blanketed the coastline like a deep fog. It was incredible. For anyone that had the 12 Apostles listed as their 'must see' Mother Nature just wiped it off the board with a brutally cruel sleight of hand. There's not much you can do in a scenario like that, except wait it out, if you have the time (which we did). So we bunkered down in the car park adjacent to the Apostles and bet on some better visibility in the morning.
...and our plan worked
In a 20 minute early morning window of opportunism we took the rays of sunshine as meaning that visibility was improving. As fortune would have it we were right on the mark. We time our arrival to perfection. We didn't have more than 10 mins total of viewing time before the weather closed us out once again, masking the rock stacks which had stood so obviously and proudly just a moment before.
Sometimes instinct is all the luck you need.
The Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The day we chose to do the drive was marvellous. Scenic views for the whole journey, until we got about 20kms out from the 12 Apostles, which effectively is the pinnacle of all highlights along the road. Somehow a wicked wind picked up on the Southern Ocean bringing in a seaspray so large and dense that it blanketed the coastline like a deep fog. It was incredible. For anyone that had the 12 Apostles listed as their 'must see' Mother Nature just wiped it off the board with a brutally cruel sleight of hand. There's not much you can do in a scenario like that, except wait it out, if you have the time (which we did). So we bunkered down in the car park adjacent to the Apostles and bet on some better visibility in the morning.
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road - Victoria - Australia
...and our plan worked
In a 20 minute early morning window of opportunism we took the rays of sunshine as meaning that visibility was improving. As fortune would have it we were right on the mark. We time our arrival to perfection. We didn't have more than 10 mins total of viewing time before the weather closed us out once again, masking the rock stacks which had stood so obviously and proudly just a moment before.
Sometimes instinct is all the luck you need.
