We opted for the early N. Y. Eve celebrations, intended for families with children who couldn't stay out till midnight, which we found applied to us, time change to blame we say.
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| Canadian Denis Shapovalov, playing at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament Jan. 2. |
Hervey Bay, Queensland, Jan. 3-8: We stayed with our friend Anna, in her beautiful new home in Hervey Bay. We met Anna and her husband, John, when we were members of the Westwood Tennis Club in Nanaimo more than 25 years ago. It was great to catch up, reminisce and be shown around the area again. Anna's garden attracts a lot of colourful birds. Her home was an oasis from the heat.
Adelaide (city, beaches, Fleurieu Peninsula, Barossa Valley): Jan. 8 - 13
Again, a chance to catch up with old friends, Jen and Louise, from Vancouver, who now make their home in Adelaide. Jen is a native of S. Australia but we met 50 years ago at B. C. Tel. They met us at the airport and spent several days driving us around some of the most beautiful beaches and harbors we'd ever seen around the city and down the Fleurieu Peninsula and the wine areas of McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. We just missed a heat wave in Adelaide!
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| Happy Hour at the Lakes Resort Hotel |
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| Adelaide Botanic Garden |
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| Agapanthus, seen everywhere in S. Australia |
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Brighton Beach
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| view from The Bluff, Victor Harbor |
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| Normanville, Fleurieu Peninsula |
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| Normanville, Fleurieu Peninsula |
Horse-drawn tram to Granite Island
McLaren Vale, wine region
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Borossa Valley:
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| Seppeltsfield Winery |
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| lunch at the cellar door of Lambert Estate Wines |
Wildlife Tours Australia, Jan. 13-14, Adelaide to Melbourne
Our tour guide picked us up in the bus at 7:00 a.m. in Adelaide CBD, along with five other passengers, from Germany, Switzerland, France and Taiwan. We picked seats behind the driver, Dave. Sandra, from Germany, sat beside him and proceeded to talk non-stop. She was actually a very friendly, fun person but at that time of the morning we were all semi-asleep and wanted to remain that way for the boring part of the drive Dave warned us about.
Once we arrived at MacKenzie Falls in the Grampians, it was pouring rain so, undaunted, we donned the rain capes Dave provided and hiked down to view the falls. The next stop was in the sun at "The Balconies", weird rocky outcrops also known as the "Jaws of Death", where we looked down at Hall's Gap where we were to spend the night. After our advertised "delicious dinner" (take-away pizzas in boxes at the hostel), we headed to a field to view kangaroos in the wild.
The Grampians (Day 1):
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| MacKenzie Falls |
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| Hall's Gap from The Balconies |
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| sheep crossing |
The Great Ocean Road (Day 2)
Up and away bright and early after a help-yourself-breakfast-by-Dave at Brambuk Backpackers' Hostel (we had a private room with ensuite.) The explanation for the early start was that we'd beat the other tour buses to the attractions, but methinks it was more about getting into Melbourne early and Dave getting off early. How cynical I've become! At any rate, this was the part of the trip I was really looking forward to. It did not disappoint.
There is a love story associated with Loch Ard. After a ship-wreck in 1878, Tom Pearce, the ship's apprentice, swam back out to the wreck to rescue passenger Eva Carmichael who was crying for help. The two teens were the only survivors among 54 on board. The story did not end happily for Tom, however, who proposed to Eva. She declined, returning to Ireland without her family who all went down with the ship. The question remains, did Eva, the well-bred daughter of a doctor migrating to Australia, refuse him because of "class" or did she feel honor-bound to escape because they had spent a night together in a cave?
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| Bay of Martyrs |
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| The group: Sandra, flanked by "team Switzerland", Jim and I, Ray and Tom at London Bridge |
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| Loch Ard Gorge |
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| Loch Ard |
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| The 12 Apostles (well only two here) |
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| more of The Twelve Apostles |
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The eastern gate to The Great Ocean Road, at Lorne
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Melbourne, Jan. 14 - 19 (Australia Open, dining and hanging with Jacinta and George):
After our wildlife adventure, sadly shy of many koalas, no kookaburras and barely any birds, we hit the streets of the Big City, Melbourne, where we looked waaaaay up to the tops of the sky-scrapers. The city has grown (up at least) in the 22 years since we were last here.
We followed a lineup into a great Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Street, at the corner of Collins and Elizabeth. On our way back to our hotel, we passed a group of homeless sitting on the sidewalk. A man was approaching them from across the street, shouting and waving an orange. He was obviously carrying a knife too as we saw later on the news that several of the people were stabbed, moments after we passed by. We don't know what the significance of the orange was.
The next day we met up with George and Jacinta in our suite at the Mantra on Little Bourke. Melbourne has a number of streets, paralleled with their "Little" versions. We're close to the city's vibrant laneways, often missed by tourists, which are character-filled back streets full of bars, cafes, restaurants and art. We chose to eat one night at Max's on Hardware Lane, where Jacinta negotiated a free bottle of wine for us.
For three days we trammed our way to the Aussie Open tennis at Melbourne Park, braving ever-increasing temperatures. Thankfully we had reservations in the three arenas with some cover, though we did venture out to watch some Canadians (lose mostly) on the outer exposed courts. A lot of big names and great matches.
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| at the Kyrgios match on Hisense Arena |
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| Melbourne Park, A O |
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| A O |
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| Rankin's Lane |
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| Hardware Lane |
Sydney and Smith's Lake: Jan. 19 - 31: This was the relative-bonding part of the trip. While staying with George and Jacinta in Lindfield, we met their two dogs, Titan and Bentley, and got reacquainted with our youngest nephews, Michael and Mitchell and Jacinta's mom, Marlene. We were treated to a circus cabaret, Limbo Unhinged, at the Opera House on Circular Quay, followed the next day by a boat trip out of Ku-ring-Gai National Park, past Cottage Point, to America's Bay, where we were able to drop anchor and swim. On several days we played doubles at Jacinta's club at Rosewood.
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| Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay |
Smith's Lake: The Howdens have a holiday home at Smith's Lake, about 275 kms north of Sydney. It has many bedrooms and a large common area, kitchen, outdoor area and pool. This is where George's older sons and their families and dogs met us for a gathering the week of Australia Day (Jan. 26.) Everyone takes a turn at preparing a dinner, so it's not too much work for anyone. Surfing, boating, swimming and, yes, the "cocktail cruise" to the sandbar were highlights, as well as some touring of the area with it's fabulous beaches and vistas.
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| Cellito Beach, Australia Day |
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| Sandbar with the lake in the distance on right |
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| looking back to Cellito Beach |
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| "The Palms", the family holiday home |
Floraville: Jacinta lent us her car so we could visit Julie and Bill on the way home. They are friends we made on our first trip to Europe in 1991 and have kept in touch with ever since, visiting occasionally. They welcomed us with a Canadian flag flying from their deck! Yay, Julie and Bill!
All too soon our break from winter was over and we were back home where there was snow on the ground. Here we were a couple of weeks later at Jericho Beach. Brrrrr!
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