Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Margaret River, Augusta & Perth
Sunday, September 28. Back on the road we went to check out the sights of Margaret River. After stopping by the visitor's center, we hit a few vineyards (which were beautiful), sampled many glasses of wine and even purchased a couple of bottles of vino. Next stop was Lake Cave. Along the south western coast of Australia there are many limestone caves, some of which you can walk through. We took a tour through Lake Cave, one of the biggest, and it was spectacular. We had to climb down (and back up) roughly 330 steps to get down into the cave but once we were down there, all of the stalagmites and stalactites were incredible. Next stop was Augusta – a small town approximately 40 km south of Margaret River where we would be spending the night. After checking into our hotel (which was nothing fancy but did come with a kitchen and grill), we headed down to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse at the south westerly most point in Australia. It is here that the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean (sadly it wasn't as exciting as we thought it would be). Next we headed back to town to grab some provisions for dinner. Despite having a very small kitchen and a tiny grill, Keith managed to whip us up a delicious dinner of filet mignon, rice, asparagus, corn on the cob, bread and a nice bottle of red wine.
Monday, September 29. Once again we were up bright and early. We went to the beach first thing in the morning in hopes of seeing some humpback whales, but struck out. After checking out of the hotel, we headed back towards Margaret River. There we stopped at the Margaret River Nut and Cereal Company, the Margaret River Chocolate Company (a favorite stop of mine) and the Margaret River Dairy Company where we purchased some nuts, chocolate and cheese, respectively. We also stopped at a few more vineyards and sampled some more wine. Back on the road again we went to head back to Perth. After checking into our hostel for the night, which was in an old Victorian house, we headed to Fremantle – a town approximately 20 -30 minutes from Perth where the America's Cup race ended in the 1980s. Fremantle was a neat town with both new and old architecture. We had a delicious lunch at a place on the main street (South Terrance Road – AKA “cappuccino strip”) and then wandered down towards the waterfront. There we went to a brewery called Little Creatures where they have turned all of the extra space in the brewery into a bar/restaurant. There Keith enjoyed a pint of their ale and enjoyed a middy (or as they say in Melbourne, a pony). We walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hostel to call it an evening....
Tuesday, September 30. Keith returned our rental car after haven driven yet another 1,000 km. It was raining so Keith and I figured it was a good time to work on planning the next stop on our journey – Alice Springs/Ayres Rock (which are smack in the middle of Australia). I hit the local library to take advantage of their free wi-fi (which was great, except for there were so many people on the network it took FOREVER to do any searches) and Keith hit the streets to talk to some travel agents. Unfortunately the school holidays (which are approximately three weeks long and each state or territory goes at a different time), Keith and I had trouble finding any cheap flights. Lucky Keith found a great travel agent who was able to help us find a flight, a car and a hotel in Ayres Rock. We fly out Friday morning. Tuesday afternoon brought a wonderful surprise for us as Keith finally received a call from his friend Alice to say they were back in Perth! We had a home to go to! Chuck and Alice picked us up from the hostel and back we went to the house they are renting. We had many glasses of wine and many laughs before calling it a night – the only downside moment being when we went to pour a few glasses of wine from a bottle we had purchased in Margaret River, we discovered that someone had replaced the wine with water! A reversed miracle!!
Monday, September 29. Once again we were up bright and early. We went to the beach first thing in the morning in hopes of seeing some humpback whales, but struck out. After checking out of the hotel, we headed back towards Margaret River. There we stopped at the Margaret River Nut and Cereal Company, the Margaret River Chocolate Company (a favorite stop of mine) and the Margaret River Dairy Company where we purchased some nuts, chocolate and cheese, respectively. We also stopped at a few more vineyards and sampled some more wine. Back on the road again we went to head back to Perth. After checking into our hostel for the night, which was in an old Victorian house, we headed to Fremantle – a town approximately 20 -30 minutes from Perth where the America's Cup race ended in the 1980s. Fremantle was a neat town with both new and old architecture. We had a delicious lunch at a place on the main street (South Terrance Road – AKA “cappuccino strip”) and then wandered down towards the waterfront. There we went to a brewery called Little Creatures where they have turned all of the extra space in the brewery into a bar/restaurant. There Keith enjoyed a pint of their ale and enjoyed a middy (or as they say in Melbourne, a pony). We walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hostel to call it an evening....
Tuesday, September 30. Keith returned our rental car after haven driven yet another 1,000 km. It was raining so Keith and I figured it was a good time to work on planning the next stop on our journey – Alice Springs/Ayres Rock (which are smack in the middle of Australia). I hit the local library to take advantage of their free wi-fi (which was great, except for there were so many people on the network it took FOREVER to do any searches) and Keith hit the streets to talk to some travel agents. Unfortunately the school holidays (which are approximately three weeks long and each state or territory goes at a different time), Keith and I had trouble finding any cheap flights. Lucky Keith found a great travel agent who was able to help us find a flight, a car and a hotel in Ayres Rock. We fly out Friday morning. Tuesday afternoon brought a wonderful surprise for us as Keith finally received a call from his friend Alice to say they were back in Perth! We had a home to go to! Chuck and Alice picked us up from the hostel and back we went to the house they are renting. We had many glasses of wine and many laughs before calling it a night – the only downside moment being when we went to pour a few glasses of wine from a bottle we had purchased in Margaret River, we discovered that someone had replaced the wine with water! A reversed miracle!!
Last of the picture from KI...
Keith at Admiral's Arch, another fur seal, the narrow passage to get to Stokes Bay (by yellow sign) and the vastness of KI.
More pictures from KI
The snake that almost killed me, me feeding the 'roo at KI Wilderness Retreat and a Wallaby at KI Wilderness Retreat
Pictures from KI
Pictures are as follows:
The one road that goes around KI and pictures from Seal Bay.
The one road that goes around KI and pictures from Seal Bay.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Perth and Margaret River
Friday, September 26. We arrived in Perth bright and early. After renting a car we headed to the place where our friends, Chuck and Alice, were staying in hopes that they were in the area (we hadn't heard from them since we had arrived in AU and we were hoping to stay with them). Sadly they were not home, so we went ahead and secured our evenings accommodations. Since we had slept in the car the night before, we decided to treat ourselves to a “real” hotel and rented a room at the Crown Plaza. After so much running around, it felt like a real luxury. After doing laundry (which has become a treat – especially when it is free) we headed out to explore Perth. It was a beautiful day and we grabbed lunch and a pitcher of beer at a local watering hole. After wandering around Perth for a day, Keith and I decided it was definitely a city where we wanted to try and spend a week or so. Keith opted to spend the evening at the local casino (sadly without much luck) and I spent the evening trying to find weekly apartment rentals in Perth (sadly without much luck as well).
Saturday, September 27. After a HUGE breakfast at the hotel, we were back in the car. Since we had rented a car for a few days, we decided to see the sights within driving distance of Perth. Off we headed to the Margaret River area – the wine region of Western Australia. We stopped at a town called Bunbury along the way in hopes of seeing some bottle nose dolphins, but we struck out there (though we did stop at Target to pick up some supplies). Next we stopped at a town called Busselton which has the longest wooden pier in the southern hemisphere (stretching approx. 2 km into the ocean (about 1 1/4 miles). It was quite impressive to see, though we weren't able to walk on much of it due to a huge renovation project. Next we headed to our primary destination, the town of Margaret River. We hadn't booked the evening accommodations and sadly we were told that since it was a long weekend we were SOL. We stopped at a few other hostels/hotels without much luck. It was looking like the day was a wash (we had driven 350 km and had yet to sample any wine) but we tried one last place, right along the beach where as luck would have it, they had one studio apartment available for the night (complete with kitchen, balcony, washer and dryer, etc.). Yeah!! We had a delicious dinner downtown and a beer at the local watering hole and called it a night.
Saturday, September 27. After a HUGE breakfast at the hotel, we were back in the car. Since we had rented a car for a few days, we decided to see the sights within driving distance of Perth. Off we headed to the Margaret River area – the wine region of Western Australia. We stopped at a town called Bunbury along the way in hopes of seeing some bottle nose dolphins, but we struck out there (though we did stop at Target to pick up some supplies). Next we stopped at a town called Busselton which has the longest wooden pier in the southern hemisphere (stretching approx. 2 km into the ocean (about 1 1/4 miles). It was quite impressive to see, though we weren't able to walk on much of it due to a huge renovation project. Next we headed to our primary destination, the town of Margaret River. We hadn't booked the evening accommodations and sadly we were told that since it was a long weekend we were SOL. We stopped at a few other hostels/hotels without much luck. It was looking like the day was a wash (we had driven 350 km and had yet to sample any wine) but we tried one last place, right along the beach where as luck would have it, they had one studio apartment available for the night (complete with kitchen, balcony, washer and dryer, etc.). Yeah!! We had a delicious dinner downtown and a beer at the local watering hole and called it a night.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Adelaide and Kangaroo Island
Tuesday, September 22. Adelaide was not quite the urban mecca that Melbourne was, but was still an interesting mixture of old and new. When we finally got to Adelaide it was cold and drizzling. We checked into our second hostel which, other than for the two large and very loud high school groups from the UK, seemed nice. Keith and I spent the remainder of the day exploring Adelaide. Rundle Street was a neat area with lots of shopping and restaurants. Keith finally was able to purchase a cooler from Woolworths to carry beverages around – something he had been searching for since shortly after we landed here. After dinner on Rundle Street, we headed back to the hostel to call it an early night. Though Keith and I were quite apprehensive about how we were going to sleep with the amount of noise being generated from the two school groups, with some ambient and earplugs, we were quickly on our way to dreamland.
Wednesday, September 23. Wednesday proved to be a great day in many respects and a not so great day in others. On the downside, Keith arose early with a bad case of the flu which plagued him throughout the day. We had decided to head out to Kangaroo Island (known as KI). My Let's Go book describes KI as “[o]ne of the most spectacular destinations in Australia, Kangaroo Islands has everything a nature lover could want...” Back in the car we went to drive yet another 110 km to Cape Jarvis where we took the ferry over to KI (about a 45 min. ride). KI was spectacular. There is only one paved road that circles the island (KI is about 180 km long and 80 km wide) and the remainder of the roads are all dirt. There are only 4,500 people living on the island and pretty much the entire island is a nature preserve (there are 21 conservation parks there). Our first stop was Kingscote, the main town, where we picked up some cold medicine for Keith. Next stop was Seal Bay where we were able to walk down to the beach and get within 20 feet of a large colony of Australian sea lions (Rachel you would have loved it!). It was truly awesome. At the visitor's center, they had a display that questioned whether all animals were from a common ancestor and showed pictures of a sea lion skeleton next to a dog skeleton. After watching the sea lions, Keith and I could definitely see the resemblance between them and our dog Apple! From there we meandered over to a place called Little Sahara where you could surf/board/sled down the huge sand dunes. Next was Vivonne Bay - said to be one of the best beaches in Australia. We continued our drive along the south coast of KI, heading toward our night's accommodations at the KI Wilderness Retreat (so far my favorite place we've stayed). Along the way we saw our first kangaroos! They were quite large and grazing in a field along side the road. We arrived at the KI Wilderness Retreat a little on the early side and after spending much time in the car, we decided to go for a short hike along one of their walking trails in hopes of seeing some more kangaroos. On the trail map it listed the animals we might see which included the black tiger snake. I asked BJ, one of the friendly staff at the Retreat, whether we were likely to see any snakes (as I absolutely hate them). He said probably not as it was too early in the season. Off we went hiking. Approximately 10 minutes into our walk (I was leading the way), I screamed as I almost stepped right on a black tiger snake that was laying right in the middle of the trail. Fortunately we were able to very cautiously walk our way around the snake (though it had opened up its hood) and continued on our hike. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get back to the Retreat. We (or at least I) didn't realized how truly lucky I was until I got back to the Retreat and told BJ what we had encountered. He said that had I gotten bitten and not gotten help within1/2 hour (where we were on KI was an hour away from help), I would have died. Apparently black tiger snakes are five times more poisonous than rattle snakes. Having been so close to stepping on the snake, both Keith and I couldn't help but run through all of the “what ifs.” I guess someone must have been looking out for us. On a happier note, when we got back from the hike, since the Retreat is in the middle of nowhere, many creatures wander around and just sort of hang out, waiting for people to feed them. We were able to pet and feed a small kangaroo and a couple of marsupials. We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant at the Retreat and called it a night. Keith was still feeling crummy from having the flu and I was just happy to be alive.....
Thursday, September 24. We tried to sleep in a bit so Keith could work on trying to fight the flu and me to prevent catching it but we were up and checked out of the Retreat by 8:30 am. Our first stop was a spot where you could wander around and see koala bears. We only saw two up in the trees, but it was exciting nonetheless. We also saw more kangaroos. Next stop was Flinders Chase National Park – the largest park on KI. There we saw the Remarkable Rocks – huge rock formations on the side of a cliff and Admirals Arch – a cave carved into the side of the island. At Admirals Arch we saw probably 100 or so New Zealand fur seals laying on the rocks and playing in the water – again another awesome sight. From there we meandered along the north side of the island, stopping at Stokes Bay – another beautiful beach that you could access only by walking through a narrow path through the rocks. We stopped in Kingscote again so Keith could buy some different cold medicine and then we headed back to Penneshaw to catch the 7:30 pm ferry home. By the time we got off the ferry and drove back to Adelaide, it was around 11:00 pm. We had a 6:25 am flight out to Perth and needed to be at the airport by 5:00 am. The VW Jetta we had rented provided our evenings accommodations.
Friday, September 25. After catching just a few winks in the Jetta, we checked in and were headed to Perth (about a 3 hour plane ride from Adelaide). More on Perth later....
So a few observations/thoughts about Australia so far. As expected the people are incredibly friendly and they don't have much of a filter in terms of what they say (as a result they can be quite entertaining). It is incredibly clean especially given the fact that trash cans are hard to come by (for example many of the parks and tourist spots we stopped at had no trash cans). I, of course, have had to use many many public bathrooms and all of them have been very clean. Speaking of bathrooms they have a two flush system designed to conserve water. On each toilet there are two buttons, one with a line halfway through it and one without. You use the “half flush” for #1 and the “full flush” for #2. They also try to conserve electricity. You have turn on a switch to turn the power on to each outlet you use. Another thing about Australia that is hard to imagine until you are actually here, is its vastness (and we've haven't even ventured into the interior of the country yet). Neither Keith nor I could have imagined how far things were from one another despite having read about the distances. In the three days that we rented a car, we traveled more than 1700 km (well over 1,000 miles). You can literally go miles and miles with seeing another car or even a building (though you are likely to see lots of sheep and cows).
Wednesday, September 23. Wednesday proved to be a great day in many respects and a not so great day in others. On the downside, Keith arose early with a bad case of the flu which plagued him throughout the day. We had decided to head out to Kangaroo Island (known as KI). My Let's Go book describes KI as “[o]ne of the most spectacular destinations in Australia, Kangaroo Islands has everything a nature lover could want...” Back in the car we went to drive yet another 110 km to Cape Jarvis where we took the ferry over to KI (about a 45 min. ride). KI was spectacular. There is only one paved road that circles the island (KI is about 180 km long and 80 km wide) and the remainder of the roads are all dirt. There are only 4,500 people living on the island and pretty much the entire island is a nature preserve (there are 21 conservation parks there). Our first stop was Kingscote, the main town, where we picked up some cold medicine for Keith. Next stop was Seal Bay where we were able to walk down to the beach and get within 20 feet of a large colony of Australian sea lions (Rachel you would have loved it!). It was truly awesome. At the visitor's center, they had a display that questioned whether all animals were from a common ancestor and showed pictures of a sea lion skeleton next to a dog skeleton. After watching the sea lions, Keith and I could definitely see the resemblance between them and our dog Apple! From there we meandered over to a place called Little Sahara where you could surf/board/sled down the huge sand dunes. Next was Vivonne Bay - said to be one of the best beaches in Australia. We continued our drive along the south coast of KI, heading toward our night's accommodations at the KI Wilderness Retreat (so far my favorite place we've stayed). Along the way we saw our first kangaroos! They were quite large and grazing in a field along side the road. We arrived at the KI Wilderness Retreat a little on the early side and after spending much time in the car, we decided to go for a short hike along one of their walking trails in hopes of seeing some more kangaroos. On the trail map it listed the animals we might see which included the black tiger snake. I asked BJ, one of the friendly staff at the Retreat, whether we were likely to see any snakes (as I absolutely hate them). He said probably not as it was too early in the season. Off we went hiking. Approximately 10 minutes into our walk (I was leading the way), I screamed as I almost stepped right on a black tiger snake that was laying right in the middle of the trail. Fortunately we were able to very cautiously walk our way around the snake (though it had opened up its hood) and continued on our hike. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get back to the Retreat. We (or at least I) didn't realized how truly lucky I was until I got back to the Retreat and told BJ what we had encountered. He said that had I gotten bitten and not gotten help within1/2 hour (where we were on KI was an hour away from help), I would have died. Apparently black tiger snakes are five times more poisonous than rattle snakes. Having been so close to stepping on the snake, both Keith and I couldn't help but run through all of the “what ifs.” I guess someone must have been looking out for us. On a happier note, when we got back from the hike, since the Retreat is in the middle of nowhere, many creatures wander around and just sort of hang out, waiting for people to feed them. We were able to pet and feed a small kangaroo and a couple of marsupials. We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant at the Retreat and called it a night. Keith was still feeling crummy from having the flu and I was just happy to be alive.....
Thursday, September 24. We tried to sleep in a bit so Keith could work on trying to fight the flu and me to prevent catching it but we were up and checked out of the Retreat by 8:30 am. Our first stop was a spot where you could wander around and see koala bears. We only saw two up in the trees, but it was exciting nonetheless. We also saw more kangaroos. Next stop was Flinders Chase National Park – the largest park on KI. There we saw the Remarkable Rocks – huge rock formations on the side of a cliff and Admirals Arch – a cave carved into the side of the island. At Admirals Arch we saw probably 100 or so New Zealand fur seals laying on the rocks and playing in the water – again another awesome sight. From there we meandered along the north side of the island, stopping at Stokes Bay – another beautiful beach that you could access only by walking through a narrow path through the rocks. We stopped in Kingscote again so Keith could buy some different cold medicine and then we headed back to Penneshaw to catch the 7:30 pm ferry home. By the time we got off the ferry and drove back to Adelaide, it was around 11:00 pm. We had a 6:25 am flight out to Perth and needed to be at the airport by 5:00 am. The VW Jetta we had rented provided our evenings accommodations.
Friday, September 25. After catching just a few winks in the Jetta, we checked in and were headed to Perth (about a 3 hour plane ride from Adelaide). More on Perth later....
So a few observations/thoughts about Australia so far. As expected the people are incredibly friendly and they don't have much of a filter in terms of what they say (as a result they can be quite entertaining). It is incredibly clean especially given the fact that trash cans are hard to come by (for example many of the parks and tourist spots we stopped at had no trash cans). I, of course, have had to use many many public bathrooms and all of them have been very clean. Speaking of bathrooms they have a two flush system designed to conserve water. On each toilet there are two buttons, one with a line halfway through it and one without. You use the “half flush” for #1 and the “full flush” for #2. They also try to conserve electricity. You have turn on a switch to turn the power on to each outlet you use. Another thing about Australia that is hard to imagine until you are actually here, is its vastness (and we've haven't even ventured into the interior of the country yet). Neither Keith nor I could have imagined how far things were from one another despite having read about the distances. In the three days that we rented a car, we traveled more than 1700 km (well over 1,000 miles). You can literally go miles and miles with seeing another car or even a building (though you are likely to see lots of sheep and cows).
More pictures....
Some local wildlife
The vastness of Australia.
Southern Right Whales at Logan Beach
Seal playing in the water at Logan Beach
The vastness of Australia.
Southern Right Whales at Logan Beach
Seal playing in the water at Logan Beach
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Finally some pictures...
Sorry it's taken me so long to upload some pictures - it seems to take FOREVER. The Melbourne skyline at night and Keith shopping at Queen Victoria's Market.
Time in Australia
Wow – it has only been three days since our last posting and so much has been seen/done.
Saturday. Saturday was a packed day seeing the sights of Melbourne. After posting our last blog from McDonald's which, all but for the free wi-fi we would otherwise avoid, we headed over to Queen Victoria's Market – a dream for Keith. Queen Victoria's Market is a HUGE market – a cook's dream – selling fresh meats, cheeses, wines, fruits and vegetables. There also is a huge flea market. It's sort of like Quincy Market in Boston on steroids. Best of all, the prices were a bargain compared to the prices in the markets in downtown Melbourne. In general, things in Australia seem pretty expensive (much to my horror, a diet coke goes for around AU$3.70 which ends up being about US$3.00). After Queen Victoria's Market, Keith and I took a river cruise up the Yarra River which run right through the middle of Melbourne. The river cruise dropped us off in a small historic town called Williamstown where Keith and I had lunch. After returning from the river cruise, I gave Keith the option of going to the Crown Casino (by far the largest one in Melbourne) or walking through the Botanical Gardens. Needless to say, Keith and I decided to spend a little time “doing our own thing.” Saturday night we headed back to the Crown Casino and tried our luck again. All and all we ended up leaving with a profit (though small).
Sunday. Though we had hoped to head to Tasmania after Melbourne, due to (we think) a huge soccer tournament, financially it just wasn't in the cards (though we are hoping to head there at some point in time before returning home). So we decided to focus on planning the next leg of our journey – driving from Melbourne to Adelaide. Renting a car proved to be quite the task. First we went to Hertz which told us it would be $500 for three days. At Europcar we had a little more luck as the young lady at the counter took a bit of a shining to Keith and told us that it would cost us around $210 to rent the car but that there would be an additional charge of $300 for renting the car one-way. Fortunately she also told us that if we got a youth hostel card, the $300 charge would be waived. So we needed to try and get the youth hostel card, though the place was closed until Monday. Neither of us (of course) wanted to have to pay the extra $300 – Keith was convinced that we weren't going to be able to get one. I was just kicking myself for not signing up for one before we left. Until Monday, there was nothing we could do. So we headed over to the National Gallery of Victoria where they were having an exhibit by Salvadore Dali. The exhibit was interesting though a bit overcrowded. After the Gallery we hopped on the tram and headed out to a picturesque little beach town called St. Kilda where we walked out the long pier, which provided a beautiful view of the Melbourne skyline, and along the boardwalk. For our last night in Melbourne we met up with some friends of friends. One of our friends Scott from back home had put us in contact with his friend who lived in Melbourne named Mike. Once again Keith and I hopped on the tram and headed out to meet Mike and his girlfriend Kate in an area of Melbourne called Fitzroy. Fitzroy is about 15 minutes by tram outside of downtown Melbourne which has a very “lower east side” of Manhattan feel. We had a fabulous evening with Mike and Kate, hitting a number of pubs, having a number of pints and having a yummy dinner. We hope to meet up with them again if we head back to Melbourne.
Monday. After a delicious breakfast in one of the little lane ways in Melbourne, we headed over to the youth hostel office. Much to Keith's surprise and my relief we were able to get a youth hostel card. Back to Europcar we went and after Keith managed to talk a different young lady into a free upgrade, we were on our way. In Australia they drive on the left side of the road but the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Keith seemed to get the hang of driving here very quickly though we still constantly go to the “wrong” side of the car to get in. We were off to drive the Great Ocean Road. We spent much of the day driving along the Great Ocean Road which puts the Pacific Coast Highway to shame. With the ocean on one side and a rain forest on the other, it truly provided some of the most breathtaking sights either of us have ever seen. The only downside was the windy narrow road that would go up and down the sides of mountains which after a few hours of driving left my stomach a bit queasy. We stopped and saw the Twelve Apostles, the highlight of the Great Ocean Road, which are a series of 12 lime stone rock formations which originally were attached to the mainland but were separated by high winds and pounding seas. After many hours of driving, we hit a town called Warrnambool where we spent the night in our first hostel (which proved to be not quite as bad as Keith had anticipated).
Tuesday. We were up bright and early and headed over to one of the beaches in Warrnambool called Logan Beach where the southern right whales come to give birth to their calves every May to September before heading down to Antarctica. Since we were there so early, we had the beach to ourselves and we were able to watch the whales breach the top of the ocean (about 50 ft from shore) and the see the seals play in the waves. Then we were on the road again for the rest of the long (and not so exciting drive to Adelaide). The drive from Warrnambool to Adelaide was approximately 600 km (1 km = 0.62 miles). Though there really wasn't much to stop and do, it was still picturesque as we past by 600 km of nothing but farmland with many many many grazing sheep and cows and a few wine vineyards. More on our time in Adelaide tomorrow...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Melbourne, Australia
Well it's a beautiful morning in Melbourne, Australia! After enduring a 15 hour plus flight and what seemed like several days of no sleep, we arrived in Melbourne yesterday morning. Though exhausted, we spent most of the day familiarizing ourselves with the city - but were in bed by 5:30pm. Melbourne seems like an energetic thriving metropolis. There is great shopping (not that I have any any money to purchase anything), beautiful parks, cool back alley bars and cafes and even a few casinos (happily to Keith's surprise). Now that we've caught up on our sleep, we've got a day planned with all kinds of sights and activites. I promise to post pictures soon!
KB2
KB2
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Last night Keith and I spent a wonderful evening with our friends Mary and Adam in L.A. They have a fabulous place and two adorable dogs which of course made Keith and I miss our two dogs - Apple and Martini. Thank you Mary and Adam for everything! Today was all about seeing the highlights of L.A. We took a drive down Sunset Boulevard through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Bel Air - though we did make a detour to see Rodeo Drive (at my request of course). We then picked up the Pacific Coast Highway and drove up to Venture and the Channel Islands. Afterward, we walked the beaches of Malibu hoping to catch a glimpse of some movie stars, but no luck there. We had a yummy lunch at a place called Dukes which overlooked one of beaches in Malibu. From there we checked out the Santa Monica pier and then Venice Beach (which contained the largest gathering of freaks that Keith or I had ever seen (and I'd thought I'd seen it all in NYC)). Now we're just killing time before hoping on a plane to Melbourne. I'll try to post some pictures soon!
KB2
KB2
Monday, September 14, 2009
Well here is our first posting. We're finally all packed and ready to go. Keith is a little sore from all his shots, but other than that we can't wait for the adventures that lay ahead! We're off tomorrow morning to LA for one night (and can't wait to see our friends Mary and Adam) and then off to Melbourne, Australia!! Much more to come....
KB2
KB2
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