Granite Island

Monday 26th January

Jean writes:

The trip from Adelaide to Victor Harbour is just over fifty miles so a fairly short journey.  The big attraction, as far as we were concerned, when we booked up months ago was the penguins (named Fairy, Little or Blue) on Granite Island.  On further investigation we had found out that the colony was in drastic decline, possibly terminal.  I emailed way back in August to find out the situation, but had no reply, so we turned up in Adelaide with no idea as to whether we would see any penguins.

I rang this morning to find that the feeding (which normally doesn't happen publicly on a Monday) WOULD be going ahead as it's Australia Day, and a public holiday.  On the other hand, the evening trips to see the penguins come ashore to feed their young, which normally occur on a Monday WEREN'T happening as it was Australia Day! 

C'est la vie.

Granite Island is connected to the mainland with a causeway, less than a kilometre long.  We walked across and made our way to the Penguin Centre in time for the feeding at 14:30.  

We laughed at the penguin road sign! 

The penguins on the island are the smallest kind (on average 33 cm in height) and the only native ones in Australia, a fraction of the size of Emperor Penguins, who can reach 122cm in height.

The couple at the centre look after injured penguins, many of whom have been attacked by dogs, some having only one one eye now.  If their injuries can heal, they are let back into the wild, but one-eyed penguins are at a serious disadvantage so are kept at the centre.  

I spent the rest of my time on the island walking round it, sometimes along the shore, sometimes much higher up with a great view over the rocks and the sea pounding them.  It was breath-taking stuff.  

The prize near the end was a pelican, grooming himself on a prominent rock.  

Dave writes:

Transport of delight - or not? 

Managed to pick up hire car in Adelaide three hours early as staff taking afternoon off on Australia Day. 

Trusty manual as opposed to much more common (these days) automatic and seems just the job. 

Sat-Nav helped us out of the city then one hour down to Victor Harbor via the A21 and A13, which somehow ring familiar. 

Big tourist attraction here is the horse-drawn tram which trundles  a few hundred metres up and down  the causeway to Granite Island.  

But we declined. 

The horses in use looked disenchanted to say the least and although they seemed to manage with ease a full load of 40, to me they looked too small for the job. 

Tourist info assured me they were Clydesdales and in fact a bit lazy but we walked nonetheless. 

Mind you, I am a big fan of jump racing in the UK where three or four horses die each week in the name of sport. 

Adelaide

Sunday 25th January 

Jean writes: 

The motel has a pool, but it doesn't open until ten o'clock and that's too late for us active people!

We had breakfast at our room as we were able to buy provisions yesterday and, cheapskates that we are, we're trying to save on expenses!

We took advantage of the proximity of the bus stop to use public transport in to the city.  The original idea had been to see some of the local attractions - museum, art gallery, cathedral, botanic gardens.  Surprise, surprise though - sport won us over and we decided to watch the culmination of the cycling competition, the Tour Down Under!

The pre-race attractions involved larger-than-life models on cycles atop a series of cars - including Batman and a kangaroo!

I had thought we'd struggle finding a decent viewpoint, but we wandered up and down the length of the circuit and found good positions throughout the race, despite a very large crowd out to enjoy the cycling and the sun.

...... even at the end.

We'll have to visit Adelaide again though, as there are some lovely buildings to see and investigate, and water features too.

Thought we'd take our evening meal alfresco, but (not wishing to make others envious!) there's a slight breeze, so it'll be indoors, watching the tennis!

Dave writes:

No menace to Dennis

By pure chance our one full day in Adelaide coincides with the exciting final day of the Tour Down Under, international cycling's biggest event in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Big crowds line the streets for the 20 laps round the city centre with overall victory in the week-long event going to young Australian Rohan Dennis. 

He's seen as a likely successor to compatriot Cadel Evans, a former Tour de France winner but shortly to retire.

Both men avoided a big pile-up on the penultimate lap to finish safely in the leading bunch with splendidly named Dutchman Wouter Wippert nicking the stage finale by half a bike's length. 

Great spectacle and a joy also to be able to wander freely in the city's central area which was closed to normal traffic for the day. 

And later at the tennis in Melbourne there was more joy for Australia when Nick Kyrgios came from two sets down to beat Italy's Andreas Seppi, the man who in the last round knocked out Roger Federer. 

Melbourne to Adelaide

Saturday 24th January

We really did rise early this morning - at 05:00 - in order to check in at Southern Cross station for our train to Adelaide before seven o'clock.  Peta kindly drove us and we arrived in time for a light breakfast before we said our fond farewells.  

There were only two scheduled stops along the route - we just passed through the other settlements.

The train was quite noisy and jangly, but our "premium" seats were very comfortable with loads of leg room.

Leaving Melbourne and the built up area, we passed through some market gardening and saw some livestock, chiefly cattle.

The train stopped at Geelong North, the second city of Victoria.  For the last fifty plus years, I've thought it was pronounced GEElong, as that's what we were told when studying geography at secondary school, but a couple of months ago I was advised it is GeeLONG (with the stress on the second syllable). 

Geelong started as a sheep grazing area in 1836 and as a port for shipping out wool and wheat, before developing further during the gold rush.  

The landscape quickly became scrubby, the almost treeless plains stretching for miles, with poor pasture mainly for small flocks of sheep.  

We passed Ararat, a small farming centre which Lonely Planet describes as having 'A brief flirtation with gold' in 1857. 

About three hours out of Melbourne, lines of trees appeared, presumably as windbreaks, and soon the density of trees increased a little.  Stawell was also a small mining town, but now its biggest claim to fame is apparently the Stawell Gift, Australia's richest foot race, which attracts 20,000 visitors every Easter.  

Around here there were more cattle, and also some arable farming.  

Horsham seemed to be a little bigger, with an art gallery and botanic gardens.

We wondered why we stopped at Dimboola for about ten minutes, as the town has less than 2,000. It transpired that a new train driver takes over here.  

Most of the journey, certainly the first half, was made through plains, although there were some mountains in the distance as we left Melbourne and then the Grampians, now a National Park, at the south west end of the Great Dividing Range near Ararat and Stawell.  After Dimboola the land became slightly more undulating.  

Nhill is the centre of a wheat and oat growing area.  It apparently has the largest grain silo in the Southern Hemisphere.  Nhill is a small town, unfortunately so small that I missed it while walking up to the end of the carriage to take photos!

Bordertown is  just over the border into South Australia from Victoria.  Its claims to fame are a colony of White Kangaroos and being the birth place of former prime minister, Bob Hawke. 

Murray Bridge has a population of over 16,000 and takes its name from the first road bridge over the mighty Murray River, built in 1879.  At 2,508 kilometres, this the longest river in Australia.  

Monarto is an "open range zoo" North of Murray Bridge where antelope, zebra and giraffe roam.  We saw the last of these while passing on the train.

The vegetation became much greener around the Murray River and the terrain more variable, rising steeply at Mount Lofty.  

We took a taxi to our motel - and what a good choice (booked three months ago).  The room is large, with en suite, air con, tv, fridge, microwave, and lots of storage space, plus free wifi!  It's also cheap, has all the shopping opportunities we need nearby and a bus stop for transport to the city centre close by. 

Dave writes:

Train arrives 30 minutes early shock

Up at 5.0 am to make it in time to check in luggage by 0705 for the 0805 Overland from Melbourne to Adelaide. 

500 miles in 10 hours across a variety of engrossing landscapes. 

Memorable trip in "business" class for only an extra £10 each with kangaroos and giraffes viewed along the way. 

And to cap it all we do it in "only" 9 1/2 hours in ideal conditions. 

Peta

Friday 23rd January

Jean writes:
Felt much better this morning after a nasty bout of food poisoning following our final meal at St Kilda last night, that was supposed to be something of a 'celebration' at one of our favourite places!

Checked out of the hotel this morning as we're staying at Peta's tonight.  She's a great lady who works at the MCG and is keen on everything sporty.  For once, there was no swimming on the agenda as I didn't want to be carrying a wet costume.

Peta (or Pip, as she is known at work) was a super tourist guide and showed us some places off the normal tourist trail:
- Rupertswood
- Emu Bottom 
- Mount Macedon

Emu Bottom Homestead, near Sunbury, was built by George Evans in 1836 and is the oldest existing farmhouse built by settlers in Victoria.  When George was fifty eight he married the eighteen year old Anne Holden and they had six children!  It is now mainly used for for weddings and functions and people apparently come from all over Australia and even from overseas to get married there. 

Mount Macedon (named after Philip of Macedon, as Port Philip could be seen from the summit) stands at 1,001 metres above sea level and is one of the highest points in the area.  At the summit is a memorial cross dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War I.  

The cross dominates the high point and the walkway to it is edged by a beautiful array of hydrangeas.  Peta and Dave were very much looking forward to refreshments.  Unfortunately the tea rooms there had just closed but we were treated to some crimson rosellas and a peacock.

The route for us led back down the hill to the township for a late lunch at the 'Trading Post' which turned out to be a good move as the stock was wide and varied.

Back at Peta's we ate in front of the TV and watched more cricket and tennis! 

Cricket past and present
Dave writes: 

Cricket supremo Peta's home is a cornucopia of sporting memorabilia.  

Pride of place, for my money at least, goes to the jacket worn by Alec Bedser on England's 1947 tour of Australia. 

Close second -- a splendid action shot of Keith Miller, another boyhood hero of  mine. 

Smack up to date, a disappointing night for the locals here in Adelaide where a record crowd of over 52,000 saw the Strikers slump to an 87-run defeat by the Sydney Sixers  in the semifinal of the 20/20 Big Bash. 

Final on Wednesday. 

Docklands

We visited Waterfront City and Newquay this morning - both docklands areas that are going through a regeneration process.  

Another sign of the area's re-emergence in terms of economic importance is the new Etihad Stadium as a multi-purpose sports and entertainment location.

There's a series of statues in a plaza there, including Dame Edna! 

Melbourne men and temperatures 

No, those topics are not related!

Melbourne men, of course, come in all shapes, sizes, ages and styles.  

It struck me that I've not seen any men begging, or apparently homeless, in contrast to what you might see on London streets.  What's been more obvious, though, is that men in general seem to be kind and thoughtful.  When the first one stood up on a tram and asked me if I'd like his seat, I was rather taken aback, and felt that I must really look old, but actually, you see it happening all the time.  Such politeness.  

That was what I decided to write about this morning.  Then blow me, coming home on the tram tonight, one guy was effing, blinding and threatening to kill a young guy (possibly immigrant?) in an extremely loud, abusive and aggressive way.  He seems to be the exception though, and many other tram travellers, as well as me, were impressed by the way the young guy handled it and moved away.  Dave eventually ushered him off the tram at a stop he probably didn't want! 

Re temperatures, they have been rising throughout the time we've been here and are in the thirties now.  My fingers swelled up so much yesterday that I had to take my rings off, for fear of hindering blood flow.  

Braille

My former work colleagues may be interested that street names are in Braille as well as print - and in a convenient position.  Look carefully and you'll see it!

Cottage sigh

Readers of our blog down here several years ago may recall Captain Cook and I share a similar nautical background. 

He was born and lived some of his early years near Middlesbrough not far from the sea. Me too. 

He went on three famed voyages of discovery, rather overshadowing me, but we seafarers stick together.

So a visit to the cottage where he lived for a while with his parents was a must. 

Oddly, the building can be found Fitzroy Park near Melbourne city centre after being removed stone by stone in 1934 from Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. 

It transpires the owner sold it for £800 with an agreement it could be re-assembled in Australia because of the celebrated links. 

A loss to the home country though and I gather there was controversy at the time. 

I'm sure today the National Trust or the like would have muscled in but I was surprised to learn that prior to 1934 half of the cottage had been demolished to make way for a new road ! 

Sad. 

Allotments and sports

Jean writes:

Whilst devoting most of the morning to domestic chores, we took some time off to visit the "community gardens" or allotments in St Kilda.  Apart from the fruit, vegetables and flowers being grown, there are also some samples of crafts on show.  

Later on we took advantage of Peta's (see yesterday's post) offer to meet us at the National Sports Museum, which has an excellent collection of memorabilia - paintings, photos, clothing, equipment, silverware, statistics and anything else relevant you can think of, including a hologram of Shane Warne talking about his cricketing life and successes.

Aside from the cricket section, there were exhibits for all other Aussie sports and a big part devoted to the Olympics.  Just wish we had got there earlier and had been able to see more.  

One of the interesting features of the history of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) was the 'reversible stand' of 1876, of 'ingenious design'.  In those times, people watched cricket inside the ground in summer, but watched football outside in the part in winter.  

The Argus noted that, "The floor of the stand is suspended on hinges along the middle line, so that once certain moveable supports have been withdrawn from beneath the top of the incline, the floor can be sloped in the opposite direction, toe enable the public to look down upon football play instead of upon an empty cricket ground."

Dave writes:

Back to basics 

Saigon, Hanoi, Melbourne, cricket, tennis and now - the laundrette at St Kilda. 

Two weeks of washing have built up and there's nothing for it but to tram it down and wash the dirty linen in public.

Three machine-fulls but time to pop over the road for late breakfast of berries pancakes (qv).

Back to the hotel only to find we've left one carrier-full behind!  Grr!

An hour to rectify error but lovely day for it.  Sunny, hot and clear as a bell by the bay. A favourite place.

 Hoping our hire car next week will be one up on this ! 

Fanatics

Jean writes:

Well, I was beaten to it today - met someone coming away from the pool as I approaching it.  

Tennis was great today.  Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic were the big names, and both duly won in three sets.  

The day started with an Aussie favourite, Sam Stosur, who won in straight sets, and finished (for me) with an Aussie legend - Lleyton Hewitt.  The 'Fanatics' were out in force and made themselves and their voices felt!  Poor Zhang must have felt very intimidated.  The raucous Baghdatis fans of yesterday have nothing on the Fanatics.  

In the break between the day and night matches, we met an old friend, Peta, who used to work at the Oval in London with my sister, Tina.  It was great to exchange news and we arranged to meet again tomorrow, as well as staying with her on Friday, as had been planned.

I made a new friend at the tennis, too, Francoise.  Many of our views on players and tennis in general coincided with each other and there were other similarities too, in that both: 

- love tennis

- live in Home Counties

- have husbands called David

- like getting away from the English winter 

Eggs Benedict deposed

After some years at the top of my favourite breakfast treat, Eggs Benedict has been dethroned. 

Take a bow Berries Pancake as served in St Kilda. 

Three pancakes are surrounded by three generous pieces of cream each. topped with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. 

A sprinkling of walnuts is spread across the pancakes and there's a small jug of maple syrup to help it all along. 

Sad to see Eggs Benedict go but there was a recent warning sign when the eggs were almost cold. 

Must be careful however that all the cream in the new number one does not push me over 10 stone!

On me bike

Hired bike for the day and rode along the bay from St Kilda to Port Melbourne then in towards city centre, back out again to St Kilda and late snack. 

Brilliant dedicated cycle lanes all the way and flat as a (Berries) pancake.  

Port Melbourne was once a thriving concern and during both world wars was the embarkation point for soldiers off to fight thousands of miles away. 

Today it appears to host only the odd cruise ship and the doughty liner the Spirit of Tasmania which pops across to Hobart for those who don't want to fly - or swim.