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Published: January 31st 2007
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Ricketts Statues
Statues done by William Ricketts which are displayed within the Dangalongs in Melbourne Hi everyone, this is a general update on what we have been doing with our time whilst in Melbourne.
The weather cleared up for us on Monday 22nd when Bob and I took the train down to Richmond and went to the Australian Open. The tickets here are very different to those purchased for Wimbledon, each day is split in to two sections, Day or Night. The day tickets (which are those that Bob and I had) are valid from 11am until around 6pm. The evening tickets are from 7pm until close, which is sometimes as late as 1am the next morning.
Our tickets were for the Rod Laver Stadium, which is a fantastic venue and we saw the ladies quarterfinals, Hingus and Cloisters. The final match from our session was a mans match of Black and Gonzales, I enjoyed all three matches though we left before the men’s match had finished, but Bob had had enough by the second set of the first match between Hingus and Li! I didn't manage to get him converted to Tennis.....
When we arrived back at John and Margaret’s, they had got all balloons spelling out congratulations hung up across
Another Statue
These statues really have to be seen to be fully appreciated the window, we also had loads of cards from family and friends and beautiful flowers and wine from Dad and Joyce. Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to think of us on our special day, we certainly had a lovely time and everyone’s thoughts brought us closer to you all on that day.
That evening we went with John, Margaret, Natalie and Mark to a Chinese Restaurant for a meal and at the end they brought out a wonderful cake and celebration Balloon that Margaret had organised which was lovely.
Tuesday Bob and I got up and drove to Ballarat. We managed to get loads of things in whilst there, we went to a Wildlife Park where we saw and feed our first Kangaroos (amongst other animals) then we went to Eureka and learnt all about Sovereign
Hill and the Gold Miners Uprising. Then we visited Sovereign Hill and went round the town and history of the early settlers. Finally we visited the Gold Museum and went on a tour highlighting the history and gold that had been found around this area etc. It was all very interesting, and I certainly like some of the gold
Kolas in the Wild
This photo was taken whilst we were travelling down the Great Ocean Road nuggets!
On Wednesday, Bob and I went with Mark, Natalie and their two young lads Aaron and Jackson up to Healesville Animal Sanctuary where we saw more Kangaroo's, Koala's, snakes, wombats and other native creatures of Australia. We all had a great time, we spotted a snake and lizard wild in the grounds when we were actually walking through the park but one of the best bits was a fly and a spider. We thought that the spider had caught the fly to eat but whilst watching the encounter it became apparent that the fly was actually killing the spider and used the body of the spider to lay it's eggs in! erk! but it was really fascinating.
Thursday we drove from Rowville on to Wangarata and on route we stopped at a couple of wineries and a great Cheese factory.
On Friday was Australia Day and we spent the day meeting all of the family, Angela is the eldest, Lesley is next and then there is Joanne. Unfortunately we were unable to meet Alan and his family but we had a fantastic few days in Eldorado and Wangarata with the girls and their respective families. Everyone
Bob and the Kangaroo
Bob is feeding the kangaroos when we visited the Wildlife Sanctuary in Ballarat made us so welcome we had a brilliant time, it just went so quickly.
We returned to Rowville on Sunday (via another winery!) and just in time to attend the Happy Hour at John and Margaret’s club. Whilst we were their they won the "Lucky Villa" which is where one of the resident villa's in the complex is picked out at random and if the members are in the club they win a monitory prize, it had gone up to $70 so it was a nice surprise for everyone and a lovely end to a great weekend.
Monday morning Bob and I went back up to the Dandenongs and visited William Ricketts Sanctuary. The sculptures that William Ricketts did were superb and when you are in the Dandenongs with the forest around you and the birds singing, it certainly feels like a sanctuary. The statues just seem to blend in with the environment, I certainly recommend anyone up in that region to visit it. We then went round to Natalie and Marks for the afternoon and evening, having a BBQ as the weather was on one of its nicer spells! Bob and I like the area that Natalie lives in, it's called Narre Warren and seemed very quiet, green pleasant area.
The following morning we set off from their home to travel on The Great Ocean Road. I don't know if you are aware or not (I wasn't until I came over here) but the Ocean Road was built as a memorial for those that died in World War 1. The returned soldiers dug it out of the mountainside along the coast; we traveled from Geeling to Apollo Bay. Unfortunately although Melbourne and as far back towards Rowville was brilliant sunshine, the south west side of Victoria where we were traveling was wet, cold and windy!... again rain follows us. We saw most of what we wanted to see but sometimes a bit cold or quicker than we originally planned. A highlight for me was seeing the Koala's wild in the trees near Kennetts River. We saw Lorne, Torquay and also travelled through Otway Rainforest.
We decided to stay out in Queenscliff with the hope that the next morning would be better weather and we would be able to see a bit more of this coastal Great Ocean Road nearer the start and we were lucky that it was sunny but a bit windy. We therefore spent Wednesday morning visiting more of the Bellarine Peninsula where we saw fantastic beaches and beautiful villages. The afternoon we went back to Rowville and rested in the back garden getting some well deserved sunrays then got washed and changed as John and Margaret took us out for a farewell evening meal. We have one more day here with them but most of the day Bob and I will be doing the touristy bit in Melbourne city and where we hope to meet up with a colleague from England who now works in Melbourne. We then need to come back and pack so that we are ready to leave for our flight on to Sydney Friday morning!
Next update will be either from Sydney or Port Douglas...........Helen and Bob
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Jenni
non-member comment
Too Quick
I can't believe you've been away 5 weeks and are almost on your return, it's been facinating to read about all the places you've visited, yet I hope (and expect) that there's a lot to be seen and hear about on your return, for me that will have to wait till I get back in March! PS check email