Blogs from Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oceania - page 4

The end of October and first week in November brings the spring racing carnival: racing events that are so big they put the Kentucky Derby to shame. The spring racing carnival brings weeks of horse racing, fashion, and betting to Melbourne. And lets not forget that large hats are a must. I read a statistic that something like 90% of Melbournian's first betting experience will have to do with the spring racing carnival. The carnival all culminates to the first Tuesday of November which is Melbourne Cup Day, or so named 'The Race that Stops a Nation.' In Victoria, it is even a public holiday, making for a nice 4 day weekend if people are so inclined to take the Monday before off. I did indeed take this opportunity, and instead of participating in the racing ... read more

thought we'd travel by bus - sit back, soak in the countryside and let someone else do the hard work for us. well it sucks and we'll be hiring and driving ourselves in nz. we've only travelled 6 legs by bus but broken down once for 4 hours and been delayed a further 3 times. but by far the worst thing is the movies that they play (far too loudly) top five worst movies on a greyhound bus between port douglas and brisbane 1. John Tucker Must Die - terrible, terrible teen romcom staring plenty of precocious US wannabies including the gardener from desperate housewives. it nearly pushed me over the edge 2. Because I Told You So - would be no.1 but i had some warning by this point to expect something dire. Another romcom ... read more

Call it the worst idea ever, or a really good one. Whatever it is, I am learning how to drive. While that sounds fairly harmless, sitting on the opposite side of the car, driving on the opposite side of the road, learning how to drive a manual, while I have not had to drive a car in 4 months is turning into a disaster. While my driving record back home is not exactly pristine, I am still claiming the majority of my ‘accidents’ (say the last 3 I was not even in my car and was hit, parked, on the side of the road) are not my fault! I think I am a good safe driver. But whoa, who decided to make cars manual? Growing up driving an automatic did not prepare me for everything you ... read more

Earthdream Australia ‘The Mighty Burning Demon’, an expedition to Mutonia. Robin, from Mutoid Waste Co.’s Vision for the coming 2012 antics, when the dawn of a new era, will be held here in Alberie Creek as we move towards another dimension in this millennia, see www.earthdream.com. On the 21st June, the demon was finished in the making and burned that evening. We left Melbourne three days previous however for a 3200km round trip. We left the infamous hostel, run by James and Tamzin, near Argyle Street, it doesn’t have a ‘hostel’ sign outside, (which is probably why I can’t remember if it needs a name) its more somewhere you stay through word of mouth, but its infamous for its life changing, soul nourishing - bonding, where people stay for a while and never forget their memories ... read more

Well for all of those who think Australia is all sunny and warm, I have the pictures to disprove it! This weekend I ventured about 120k from the city center of Melbourne (about a 2 hour drive) to Lake Mountain. Lake Mountain proudly boats that it is the closest mountain to Melbourne that has snow on it. It is not really that high of a mountain, and the skiing did not look that spectacular, but it was nice to be able to drive there and back in a day. As I feel ill equipped to go skiing without my wardrobe of winter gear, we simply opted to go sledding (or tobogganing as they call it here). There were heaps of different ski shops where you can rent a sled or whatever for the day for about ... read more