Moving on from Melbourne

Cafes along Block Arcade

I am sad to say that today is my last day in Melbourne.  I have had such a great time exploring this beautiful area and making unforgettable memories with the McMeekings, it will be hard to say goodbye in the morning.  Being my last day in Melbourne I thought it would only be fitting for me to actually go into Melbourne (a radical thought, I realize).  I took the train in from Hoppers Crossing and spent the afternoon wandering around downtown enjoying the little alleyways of cafes and arcades of shops. Melbourne is a nice city, but I have to admit that I am a bit over the “big city” thing after living in Singapore for two years.  I found myself disenchanted with the high-paced buzz that would have held more excitement for me in the past.  There was one outstanding feature I truly did enjoy, the Christmas decorations minus the crazy Christmas crowds you find in the States!

Christmas Decorations!!!

I am leaving for Sydney tomorrow – another big city – but I will be staying in a youth hostel and will have a schedule full of quintessential Australia site-seeing to attend to, so I imagine I will have a slightly different “city experience” than I did today.  Then it’s off to New Zealand for two weeks!!!  I must confess I am far more excited for NZ than for Sydney… =)  BUT, I am certain I will have some great stories for my blog at the end of my week at the Sydney YHA.

I don’t know what my internet situation will be like for the next couple weeks so I’ve updated my facebook profile with an Aussie phone number I can be reached at in case of emergency (or in the unlikely event of an insatiable yearning to talk to a ginger).  I should still have access to email, but it may take me a while to get back to you if you write. 

I will update again when I can!  Love and miss you all!

Bringing Thanksgiving Down Under!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

My Pie!!!

Please allow me to start with a bit of a sappy moment.  I just want to say how thankful I am for all of the remarkable people in my life who have supported me through my multitude of life altering transitions this past year.  In particular my amazing sister, mom, and dad, and my incredible best friends, Jen, Ryan, and Andrew, without whom I can’t imagine where I would be today.  Thank you all for everything you do for me.  I spent my entire day with an unfaltering smile thinking of how much this day means to me this year.

Arts and Crafts

I had such a fantastic day today!  I made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the Aussies, starting my cooking escapade around noon with a serving time of 7:30pm.  I made a pumpkin pie – FROM SCRATCH – sweet potato soufflé, green bean casserole, turkey, stuffing, gravy, and tofu for the chef.  I did it all by myself and it was AMAZING!!!  My pride and joy was the pumpkin pie which I successfully made FROM SCRATCH (in case you missed it the first time), and without a soupy middle!  While everything was in the oven I even had time for some arts and crafts to really bring the whole thing together.  =)  (Russell the wombat was a bit overshadowed today, but being an American holiday he understands and will be featured at another time)

Jacki set a beautiful table and I think we all had a great Thanksgiving, as I hope you all did as well!

For those truly brave souls, enjoy Black Friday!

All my love and gratitude!

Tom and Russell at the table

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." ~Eckhart Tolle

Bushwalking Bluey

BBQ in Toora

Guess what I got to do this week?!  I got to go bush walking around the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland!  The three of us drove down to Toora (pop. 647) Tuesday afternoon in conjunction with a vessel Stephen had to attend.  Unfortunately, we forgot to book an extra room for yours truly, but the one room that was booked had a sofa bed so all was not lost.  Tuesday was the first truly warm (those who haven’t lived in Singapore for two years may have considered it hot) day I’ve had since arriving in Victoria which meant it was time for a barbeque dinner!  One of the best things I’ve learned about Australia is that the parks all have free electric grills.  We grilled up some steaks for the McMeekings and some portabella mushrooms for me and then were promptly run off by swarms of little black bugs.  I am fairly certain that I am no longer a vegetarian… the bugs were EVERYWHERE!!!

Tidal River at Wilsons Prom

Wednesday morning Jacki and I drove down to Wilsons Promontory while Stephen was working.  Wilsons Promontory is a beautiful national park chock full of bush walking/hiking trails.  They have everything ranging from 20 minute walks to overnight hikes.  We drove into Tidal River, set Jacki up under a tree with a stack of books, and I took off for about two hours of roaming.  It was midday, so the sun was a bit hot, but the views were breathtaking and it felt great to stretch my legs for a while after so many days in the car.  I don’t want to bore you all with more descriptions of how beautiful this country is, but it’s definitely worth checking out the pictures in picasa.  I did make one spectacular purchase after my walk that I must mention; his name is Russel, he is a wombat.  And, he will be featured in my next post.

Agnes Falls

This morning we awoke to a misty, rainy day.  Jacki and I had a quiet morning of reading and then drove up to Agnes Falls.  Apparently it’s the highest waterfall in Victoria (59 meters).  The falls were no Niagara, but listening to the water and looking out over the valley was pure serenity.

Weather!

After the falls we went to Yarram for lunch then drove back to Barry Beach to pick up Stephen.  On the way we drove into an incredible storm front.  I had never really thought about the weather in this part of Australia.  They are at an interesting crossroads between the hot, dry desert in the north and Antarctica in the south.  As I’m sure you can imagine, they get some awe inspiring cloud formations.  With my love of storms I was in heaven!  I don’t think Jacki felt quite the same joy from the driver’s seat…

We drove back to Melbourne this afternoon and are all happy to be back home with no big trips ahead.

Tomorrow will be spent in the kitchen as I am bringing Thanksgiving to the Aussies!!!  Neither Jacki nor Stephen have EVER experienced Thanksgiving, so I imagine I will have a fun blog up after tomorrow! 


Pictures from this trip are at http://picasaweb.google.com/smichelle.manning/WilsonsProm?feat=directlink

I miss you all!  Thank you for keeping up with my travels!

All my love!

Great Ocean Road

Hello again everyone,

It’s only been a couple days since my last posting, but I had such an incredible weekend I just couldn’t wait to share.  We got up early Saturday morning, packed an overnight bag, and drove inland a bit to Bacchus Marsh.  They were having their 4^th annual Strawberries and Cherries Weekend!  Our first stop was a little orchard asking a mere $8/kg for self-picked cherries. We were led out to the trees by the owner who demonstrated the proper technique for picking cherries and left us with a step stool and a couple crates for our haul.  Amazingly, we ended up with about 3-1/2 kilos of cherries despite eating every other bunch we pulled off the tree.  We then moved down the road for strawberries, stopped at the Big Apple Tourist Orchard store for some fresh goat’s cheese and tomatoes, and picked up some freshly baked bread at the bakery. After a stroll along Main Street (and some cherry and strawberry ice cream) we packed up our pillage and took off for the Great Ocean Road. 

Bells Beach!

We started our Great Ocean Road expedition at Bells Beach!!!  It was a bit surreal to stand on such a famous beach watching the surfers out in the waves and the paragliders suspended in the updraft over the cliff.  There was a group of older gentlemen there decked out in their wetsuits videotaping each other walking down the beach with their boards.  You could just imagine them all as young boys doing the exact same thing 30 years ago.

Cape Patton

Our journey continued on making various stops for pictures along the way.  I am in awe of the magnificence of the views here.  I went a little camera-crazy and should probably apologize for the quantity of pictures that accompany this in picasa, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave any out.  We stopped in Lorne for a picnic lunch, dining on our take from Bacchus Marsh before driving on towards Apollo Bay for the night.  We checked into a little motel/restaurant along the beach and spent the rest of the night at the pub.

Twelve Apostles

We got up Sunday morning, Stephen and I a bit worse for wear, and promptly took a nap under a tree in the park.  Feeling a bit more human around noon we carried on towards The Twelve Apostles. A brief description I picked up from Wiki: “The apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres high. The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922 (Muttonbird Island, near Loch Ard Gorge, was the Sow, and the smaller rock stacks the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks.”  There was a strong wind coming across the cliffs but the view was well worth the 30 minutes of cold.

We moved on to Loch Ard Gorge after leaving the Twelve Apostles and finally made our way to Port Campbell and essentially the end of the Great Ocean Road!  After another beachfront picnic we hopped on the highway and came back to Melbourne.

You can check out the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/smichelle.manning/GreatOceanRoad?feat=directlink.

Much Love!

Glorious Gippsland

Hi everyone!

Lakes Entrance

I can’t believe it has only been two weeks since I left Singapore!  This has truly been an unforgettable trip, and I’m only a third of the way through.  I left Perth at 0-dark-30 on Monday for a three hour flight east to Melbourne where I was greeted by the beautifully 8-1/2 months pregnant Jacki and husband Stephen (Melbourne based friends I met in Singapore).  Monday and Tuesday were spent touring the surrounding area and enjoying some well deserved R&R.  We haven’t made it into the city center of Melbourne yet, but it’s on the list for next week! 

Stephen had to travel to Sale for work on Wednesday so Jacki and I decided to tag along and make a road trip out of it.  We arrived in Sale mid-afternoon and decided that an evening at the pub was in order.  We drove 30km down the road to a tiny little town called Tinamba (reminiscent of Two Dot, Montana).  The local pub/restaurant/hotel turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.  We ended up staying for about four hours and had a delicious three course dinner complete with local wine and homemade Baileys.

Thursday morning Stephen flew out to the rig and Jacki and I took off for 90 Mile Beach.  Ninety Mile Beach is exactly what it sounds like… ninety miles of pristine white-sand beach running from Port Albert to Lakes Entrance along the south-eastern coastline of Victoria. We made a couple stops along the drive to take in the view until stopping at Golden Beach for Macadamia nut ice cream.  After taking some pictures at the beach (it was far too cold to go swimming) we drove back inland.  There was much deliberation with the local information gurus, but eventually we decided to carry on to Lakes Entrance. Lakes Entrance is a little holiday town located at the man-made channel that links Bass Strait and the Tasman Sea with the Gippsland Lakes, a 400 sq km network of inland waterways.  We were looking for something a bit different from the standard Comfort Inn and ended up staying in a great little cabin at the Lazy Acre.  The manager recommended we take a walk through town but we opted for a drive instead as there was a significant arctic breeze whipping across the water.  Within two minutes of leaving our room a life-long dream of mine came true… I saw black swans in nature!!!!  For those who don’t understand my excitement, I had a book about black swans when I was young and always dreamed of coming to Australia to see them.  Check!  =)  We drove around a bit longer, facing a difficult decision between the airfield and the rubbish tip, before coming back to the cabin for a quiet night in.

BLACK SWAN!!!

We got up early this morning to start our trip back towards Sale to collect Stephen.  Blessed with a gorgeous day, we took a slightly different route back following some smaller country roads and dipping south to Metung.  Metung appeared to be a smaller and far wealthier version of Lakes Entrance.  There was a small yacht club in the center of town and a boardwalk all the way around the water’s edge.  And… more black swans!!!  

Spike the Spider

We made it back to Sale in time to pick Stephen up from the heliport then took off towards Melbourne.  We stopped for lunch in Traralgon after a moderately frustrating scavenger hunt for “the other Peterkin Street.”   This is a picture of our lunch buddy on the umbrella over our table.  We pulled into Melbourne (Hoppers Crossing) around 4pm and have an evening of laundry and homemade pizza ahead of us.

Tomorrow we are going for another overnight along the Great Ocean Road so be sure to check back soon for another update! Much love!


New pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/smichelle.manning/GloriousGippsland?feat=directlink

Southwestern Australia Road Trip - Chose Your Own Adventure!

In the spirit of spontaneity that guided us on our trip I have created a ‘choose your own adventure’ so you, too, can join in the fun!  Additional pictures have been posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/smichelle.manning/AussieRoadTrip?feat=directlink, as well as a map of our actual route at http://mapq.st/h/3-9aMQcUHs.

It’s a cool Tuesday morning in East Fremantle.  After a cappuccino at the café down the street you and Mar decide to pack up a couple backpacks and hit the road.  You have one plan – head south.  Keeping the coast on your right you drive until discovering a giant wooden sailboat by the side of the road that says, “Welcome to Rockingham.”  Inspired, you drive into town and down to the beach. It is breathtaking.  You walk out to the end of the jetty and find… a bus stop?  Yes, there is a bus stop at the end of the jetty.  Overcoming the urge to wait and see if a bus arrives, you get lunch at a little bistro on the water where Mar meets a Chilean waiter named Claudio and proceeds to carry on an entire conversation, in Spanish, about the government in Chile.  Eventually, you pry Mar away from this exhilarating chat and get back in the car.  Where to next?  If you decide to go to Bunbury (highlights according to the tourist map: Dolphin Discovery Center, Mangrove Boardwalk, Big Swamp Wildlife Park) continue to part 2.  If you decide to go to Busselton (highlights according to the tourist map: Busselton Jetty, Underwater Observatory, Old Butter Factory Museum) skip ahead to part 3.

PART 2

Oh no! It’s raining in Bunbury!  Fortunately you packed an umbrella and will not be deterred by a little bit of rain.  After finding a room for the night at the Lighthouse Beach Resort you go for a walk along Lighthouse Beach.  The coastline here is rugged, reminiscent of the rocky coasts of Maine.  The waves crash against the rocks forming little pools in the patches of sand.  Further down the beach there is a small crowd of surfers and kayakers in the breaks. Later in the evening you go into town for a quiet dinner returning to the hotel fairly early as you are both quite tired from the drive.  The next morning you get up, have breakfast in town and hit the road again.  If you decide to go to Busselton continue to part 3.  If you decide to go explore some caves and drive through the Boranup Karri Forest skip ahead to part 4.

PART 3

Welcome to Busselton and the famous Busselton Jetty.  The Busselton Jetty is the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. It is nearly 2 km long and was built for loading timber onto ships that couldn’t come into the shallow port. (If you’d like to read more about it, there’s an interesting article on Wikipedia)  After a coffee overlooking the Jetty you jump back in the car and head towards Cape Naturaliste, the northernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge.  It is a beautiful drive along a small winding road that leads to yet another stunning beach.  The forest meets the ocean as you walk through thick trees to reach the shore.  Looking out at this pristine view you reach for your camera and it is missing!  You left it in Busselton!  You have to turn around and go back.  

After a successful camera recovery you decide to head directly south along the Bussel Highway towards Cape Leeuwin, the southernmost point of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge as well as the most south-westerly point of the Australian continent.  Cape Leeuwin marks the division of the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean.  (There is a 360° video of the cape and lighthouse in picasa that is a must see) You spend the night in a little cabin up the road in Augusta, population 1,068. 

The next morning you wake up early, have breakfast in town, and drive down to the jetty.  After spending some time on the water it’s time to decide where to go next!  If you decide to go to Bunbury, return to part 2.  If you decide to explore some caves and drive through the Boranup Karri Forest continue on to part 4. If you have already done both of these….I’m not very good at writing choose your own adventures….read on to part 5 to make your way home!

PART 4

Your first stop driving north along Caves Road is Hamelin Bay!  Hamelin Bay fits in perfectly with the theme of this trip – breathtaking abandoned beaches. Every view could be a post card.  Despite being sunny, it’s pretty chilly on the beach so you keep driving north until you reach Mammoth Cave.  Mammoth Cave is one of the most famous caves in the area as it was found to contain rare fossils dating back over 35,000 years. The self-guided audio tour takes about 90 minutes, after which you decide to continue driving north towards the mouth of the Margaret River.  When you reach Gnarabup Beach, you walk up to an overlook to watch the windsurfers and take in the stunning scenery.  

Having spent so much of the road trip along the coast you decide it’s time to head inland.  You drive toward Margaret River, then continue along a tiny country road through the Boranup Karri Forest and on toward Capel.  A detour around Capel inspires a change of plans and you turn back south toward Nannup.  Following the directions on GPS you find yourselves on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  Fortunately, you have a vast library of Girl Scout songs in your head to keep Mar entertained. Finally, you emerge on the other side of the ‘outback’ and find the esteemed Nannup Hotel/Bar/Restaurant. Deciding to branch out from the hotel restaurant, you go for a walk through this thriving metropolis, but alas everything else is closed. And so, the rest of the night is spent socializing with the local lumber workers over a game of pool and some frosty beverages.

You wake up to a beautiful sunny morning and hit the road!  If you haven’t seen Bunbury yet, go back to part 2.  If you missed Busselton, go back to part 3.  If you’ve made it all the way through, carry on to part 5; you get to go home!

PART 5

You continue your drive northwest, lured by a sign for the Old Cheese Factory in Balingup.  Finally reaching your destination you discover that you have been fooled!  The Old Cheese Factory is not, in fact, an old cheese factory!  It is the largest craft center in Western Australia!  All is not lost though as a new friend joins the gang for the rest of the journey (see pictures for further explanation). Carrying on north from Balingup your next stop is in Donnybrook, the home of the Granny Smith and the center of apple production in Western Australia.  As you are both getting a bit anxious to head towards home you point the car north until the need for gas can no longer be ignored. You pull off the highway to follow signs for a gas station and end up in Preston Beach.  After filling up the car you decide to take a look at the beach and discover…wait for it… yet another breathtaking and abandoned beach.  You get back on the road, making one final stop at Silver Sands Beach in Mandurah to stretch your legs, and arrive home Friday afternoon to crash on the couch!

THE END =)

Toes in the Sand - Fremantle

I have finally pried myself away from the beach long enough to post my first blog.  Australia is amazing! The end.

Alright, I suppose I can give you a few more details.  =)  My last week in Singapore consisted of returning the company car, shipping a few boxes back to the States, and moving out of my apartment.  Remarkably, I only amassed six boxes of belongings (plus a backpack) in my two years in Singapore.  Even more remarkable, I found a company to ship said belongings OUT of Singapore.  Evidently, Singapore is a bit like the Hotel California. A million companies ship into Singapore, but you have to be rather tricky to find one willing to move you out.

I turned over my apartment on Tuesday then moved from friend to friend until my flight on Friday. After a pleasantly uneventful six hour flight (aside from the volcano we had to divert around) I arrived safely in Perth. Despite the distance travelled it didn’t start to sink in that I was really on vacation until I woke up the next morning to the most amazing blue sky I’ve seen in years.  Mar and I started our Saturday at the Fremantle Market, a local crafts and farmers’ market in the middle of town.  We picked up some fruits and veggies then proceeded to walk around Fremantle for the rest of the afternoon stopping briefly to bury our toes in the sand at Bathers Beach. *Note – if you are going to spend the afternoon walking around in the sun (even if it feels a bit chilly in comparison to Singapore) don’t forget to reapply sunscreen. Especially if you’re a ginger kid.



Bathers Beach



Saturday night, we took my newly developed sunburn for a night out on the town. We started at the Little Creatures Brewery then moved on to Sail and Anchor followed by Rosie O’Grady’s Irish pub.  Being the raging partiers that we are, we called it a night around 11pm.

Sunday was officially deemed beach day at Coogee beach.  It was incredible. We were practically alone on this stunning white sand beach for the entire morning. The water was cold (and shark infested) but I was more than happy to just lie on the beach and do absolutely nothing.  Monday was much of the same, only we moved to O’Connor beach.  It was equally stunning and equally abandoned.  I can’t believe Mar gets to live here.  It’s a good thing I already bought return tickets because it is not going to be easy to leave this paradise.

Coogee Beach with all my friends

We are planning a road trip south along the coastline for a couple days, so be sure to check back for another update at the end of the week! 

All my love!