Advertisement
Published: January 31st 2019
Ah, well I’ll explain the title of this blog later. Lisa’s parents , Ilva and Mike, had arrived in Australia at the beginning of December and after a suitable amount of sightseeing and exploring they’d settled down to more mundane pre-wedding tasks , like putting in a whole new bathroom ! and helping with the Air BnB units at the bottom of the garden. Lisa’s ‘little brother’ ( 6 ft 2inches) had arrived just that morning to stay for a week, and was already making arrangements to borrow a bike from friends and start the next morning with quite a few miles of biking. Nick’s daughter Jacintha, had given up her bedroom for me and little Evelyn was celebrating an extended birthday with eight birthday candles stuck in a chocolate bar. A busy household.
Nick and Lisa live in one of the Victorian ‘flatpack ‘ houses that were sent out from Britain in the late 1800’s. A wooden verandah at the front with an overhang of intricate decorative wrought iron leads to the front door of the single storey bungalow. An extra fly screen door and then you are in the long central corridor that leads right to the back of
Geelong .
Evelyn blows out candles on a birthday ‘cake’ ...... again?the house, with wooden floors and rooms leading off the hall on both sides. The hallway ends in a large verandah the width of the back of the house , and a verdant garden leads to a two story garage and loft at the end of the garden.
So ..... we sang ‘happy birthday’ to Evelyn , had some supper and my first celebratory drink pre-wedding and all disappeared to sleep. The next morning was Tuesday ( countdown for the wedding on Saturday). Lisa and Nick’s family were tucked into every nook and cranny of the house, and all gravitated to the kitchen next morning. Nick took his girls to the beach for a surfing lesson. Steve got back from a long bike ride, and then we left for the planned Wine Tasting Day.
First stop was Wallington, where the shop and tasting area looked like a house set on its side, and two black wellie dogs stood guard outside. We tried five wines ( impossible to spit out I’m afraid) The owners knew Nick and declined payment, so Lisa’s brother Steve and I each bought a rather nice bottle of Shiraz each to donate to wine supplies back at
Geelong
Nick and Lisa’s house the house. Ilva, Lisa’s Mum, had thought ahead and made us all sandwiches to munch on as we drove to the next winery, Jack Rabbit. We didn’t actually do wine tasting here but sat outside with a lovely view over the sea and had coffee instead. Refreshed, fed and palates cleansed we visited Turmalaine winery next door for another tasting. Views of the vineyards and blue sea beyond. Really had had enough by now ...... but can’t give up and went to the final stop , a winery at Curlewis where the very chatty lady also declined payment when she heard that there was to be a wedding. Nick, surf school duties completed, managed to catch up with us at Turmalaine so just did the last wine tasting with us. Nick and Lisa posed for photos by a very apt poster which advised Eat, Drink and be Married .
We were all a bit tired by all that wine tasting, so happy to eat in that evening.
Next morning Nick was again on surf school duties and I went exploring to find a post office. Drifted in and out of a few little local shops and bought a few foody
Wine tasting in Wallington.
Oops .... house falls over.....hic supplies to add to the shared food supplies. Ilva was once again on sandwich making duties and then we all set off for Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road. The clouds above were a moody grey but it was warm and windy on the beach and we walked along for nearly an hour before turning back . There was lots of seaweed on the beach and some very pretty coral pink seaweed too. Bunches of seaweed were interlaced with little shells. And the crooked tree trunks alongside the beach reminded me of the forest in The Gruffalo. When we got back to the car park we stopped for some water, and the young woman in the cafe gave us lots of tasty savouries as she said they were just packing up and would have to bin them. What luck!
We drove back to Geelong. Ilva and Mick went out for the evening and the rest of us had a quiet evening in. I booked my train ticket from Melbourne to Sydney for the Monday after the wedding. I’d left it a bit late and all the economy seats had gone so for $50 more I bought a first class ticket.
Looks like it has the advantage of a reclining seat and WiFi ( but more about that later) Lisa has a sore throat and feeling a bit rough ...... so we’re a bit worried. Don’t want her to be poorly for the wedding.
I had expressed a desire to see koalas and kangaroos, so next day I was up early is hand got a lift with Nick and the girls , who were heading for the beach and surf school again. They dropped me off at Jirrahlinga wildlife sanctuary at Barwon Heads. Apparently “jirrahlinga” means “ seek a home for a kangaroo”. It was established 40 years ago and since then thousands of animals have been successfully rehabilitated and released. Jirralinga provides sanctuary for hundreds of native species, some of whom have been orphaned, injured or given up by their owners. There were several cockatoos there and they often outlive their owners. I hadn’t realised just quite how long they live ....... many weee in their 90’s and one had recently died aged 104. They were in relatively small cages and not flying free , but it was explained that they’d been kept in a small cages for decades in
wine tasting in Wallington .
Lisa and Ilva checking the wine captivity and were terrified when the surroundings were too open.
Koalas sleep during the daytime so they’d been disturbed from a heir slumbers and put among the eucalyptus cuttings. Imagine being pulled out of a deep sleep in a comfortable bed and propped us at a table loaded with your favourite food! So they were eating the eucalyptus but a bit bleary eyed. It’s summer school holidays so there were several small children who were invited into the enclosure a few at a time. I waited until last and was rewarded by having the koalas and the keeper all to myself. One of the keepers, Judy, was cradling a 6 month old baby wombat in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. He’d been orphaned and she was feeding him and carrying him around with her all day, his surrogate mum.He was sleepy and contented. So very sweet. The keeper invited me to stroke the koalas, so I asked if they liked it and if it was good for them..... and she said, no not really. So I said, that’s ok then, I don’t need to touch and just want to look at them up close. In the star of Victoria,
she told me, they don’t allow holding koalas and only allow a maximum of 10 minutes a day for striking. So I just looked and took photos. I loved their dense grey fur and the way they sleepily crammed the eucalyptus leaves into their mouths and chewed slowly. I wandered around the enclosures , seeing kangaroos and wallabies lying down....... impossibly long legs stretched out like long legged greyhounds, but with impossibly short front legs. Deer like and hare like at the same time. A dingo yawned and stretched, lizards stared with with a steady gaze, eyelids occasionally blinking. Pythons slithered across the floor and tightened menacingly on the arm of a keeper. I had a coffee and a cookie and exchanged a last “hello” with the cockatoos. Nick and the girls collected me and we went back to Geelong.
Everyone getting a bit concerned about Lisa who was feeling rough and had gone to the doctor, who sent her back home on bed rest.
We left her sleeping and all went out to Torquay, where there was a monthly music, food and craft festival. Lots of people gathered there of all different ages. But as the light left the
Wine tasting at Bellarine
Lisa and Nick take local advice sky and we’d tried the craft beers and the local wines, and sampled the street food and wandered around the craft tents, it was time to go home.
Friday morning and the day before Lisa and Nick’s wedding. I woke up to hearing Lisa’s infectious laughter in the kitchen. She’d bounced back, and that quiet time and rest yesterday was just what she’d needed. Her ‘big’ brother Martin and his wife had arrived from the USA via Sydney and were coping admirably with jet lag . It’s lovely for Ilva because she very rarely has all her family together as they are distributed between the US , UK and Australia and she lives in France.
I decided that I needed to do some research for blue-ginger , and everyone was happy to help me with this sort of research . So we all walked around the corner to Feast, the cafe owned by Eileen, a friend of Lisa and Nick’s . Eileen’s cakes are legendary -so we ordered coffee and a huge tasting plate of vegan and gluten free gorgeousness. It was tough but we managed to clean up ..... and oops , we hadn’t saved any for Nick who
Last stop on the wine tasting
Curlewis ............ where am imminent marriage gets us another free wine tasting was on Surf school duty for the last time this holiday.
Everyone then split up with different agendas, and I set off on foot to the Waterfront, which is very near to the house.Along the waterfront and the coastal path there are bollards depicting entertaining characters from history, from quarrymen to stylish bathing belles and ships captains. There are 40 or so..... and as you’ll see I managed to capture quite a few on my camera. Along at Eastern Beach there was a spring by the pathway, trickling water down and into the sea. It was found accidentally by some schoolboys messing about on the beach in 1882. The springs became a feature and lots of people came to try the waters until they started to get contaminated by sea water at high tide a borehole was drilled down 35 metres to reach the underground spring slightly further up the cliff. I tried the water and was surprised..... it was slightly fizzy and had a distinctive pleasant herby flavour. The skies were grey, but I walked back through the Botanical Garden ( watched over by a statue of Queen Vic) I had an iced coffee and a salad and was
.Anglesea
Twisted tree trunks near the coast amazed to see a train of camels , bedecked with throws, plodding along the sandy beach giving rides to people.
Delighted to find that when I got back to the house , Lisa was feeling much better. A bit of pre wedding and houseful-of-people exhaustion maybe. Lisa’s friend Amanda had arrived from Adelaide and we all walked back down to the waterfront where Martin and Linda were staying in an Air bnb apartment overlooking the waterfront. Another glass of bubbles and we walked along to an Indian restaurant ( A love of Indian food also having brought the wedding couple together) Bill and Helen joined us in the restaurant. Bill was the principal of the school Lisa worked in for two years in a settlement in the Northern Territories, and Helen worked there too. Conditions had been challenging and it was a dry community so there were many memories of end of term breaks and the camaraderie of working together in such challenging circumstances. The food was delicious. We all parted and walked home through the warm evening.
When we got back to the house Lisa revealed her Fluvog and boot collection. Amazing .... I had no idea it had
Anglesea
Beach treasure all got so out of hand ! ( or out of foot!) very distinctive shoes and boots with sturdy heels, bright colours and rather a hint of eccentricity, whackiness....... in fact they give Lisa the ‘Funkyboots’ nickname. There’s the first part of the wedding party title. Nick’s had been nicknamed ‘Metal’ when he was in his teens. His step-dad Doug told me how he and Nick’s Mum had come across a road closure due to a traffic accident, and when they questioned the police at the block about the vehicles involved they found that the can matched the description of their son Nick. They were allowed through and sat in the back of the car talking to him while he was visit out of the front. Luckily the car had been a Volvo. The 4x4 had hit him head on as it travelled towards him on the wrong side of the road. He’d been in recovery for some time and had his legs rebuilt .... and hence the nickname Metal.
Next morning was wedding morning . Lisa and Amanda went off for a grooming session and everyone had jobs to do. Ilva , Amanda and I pumped up loads of
Anglesra
Pink seaweed fish related balloons ( Lisa and Nick met on the dating website ‘Plenty of Fish’. That caused plenty of amusement and a lot of arm power on the bicycle pumps! Jacintha and Evelyn went off to their cousins’ house to put the finishing touches to the wedding cake that the children have made. Ilva and I hid all the drying laundry, and swept and tidied the veranda ready for pre wedding drinks with both families and Mick, Martin and Linda strung up the fairy lights. And I cut out sparkly lettering to announce MR & MRS METAL -FUNKYBOOTS. Just enough time to shower, change and set out nibbles and dips before Nick’s family arrived and photos were taken amongst much laughter. We set off for the venue ..... a restaurant and bar in an old building that had started life as a flour mill. We were all gathered outside under the trees when the bride and groom arrived and did several circuits of the grassy island in their wedding car ...... a vintage ’Combi’ ( like a VWCamper) Lisa looked stunning in her slim figure hugging red dress and Nick was resplendent in a red chilli shirt, made for him
Beach walks .
Nothing better than a long empty beach by his new mother-in-law. He sported a sparkly golden jesters hat and his grin was as broad as broadly possible! The celebrant was a smart young bearded man from Melbourne , in a smart blue suit ( must have been a bit hot) and very articulate and funny. He’d put together a potted history of Lisa and Nick’s relationship from an interview he’d done with them. It was hilarious! He congratulated them on their public display of optimism!!Jacintha and Evelyn presented the red plastic ‘sunnies’ Which the bride and groom exchanged instead of rings ( they sorted out silver fork rings afterwards during their ‘funkymoon’ in Tasmania) The celebrant announced them man and wife and the wedding guests clapped and laughed and whooped.
We all went inside for drinks and a special limerick from Poet Graham ( Magg’s husband) and a beautiful song from Eileen ( from Feast cafe and showing yet another skill). Then we enjoyed some lovely Indian food and huge cones of homemade ice cream. (another wedding gift) I talked to Debs and Maggs (I’d met them before in Spain) and talked to some other lovely people who worked with Lisa. Lisa and Nick had made a
Anglesea
Me and Lisa timeline of photos and stories that expressed their parallel lives before they met and that was another good opportunity for friends and family to talk and laugh together. The musician was great, and then there was a bit of dancing ( I have to say that I danced at Lisa’s wedding. We left all the cars at the venue and got U er cars back to the house. Out on the back verandah, under fairy lights in the warm and a last glass of bubbly. Bed.
Sunday-and eventually everybody was up and we went to a huge craft beer place in a former wool whatehouse ( I wonder where they store the wool now?) I couldn’t quite manage the brunch time beer and felt a bit of a wimp with my coffee. Shared hummus and chips with Mandy who is a social worker up in the Northern Territory. And she told the funny story of when she had a tyre blow out in the bush and was rescued. Chatted some more to Bill and Helen who talked about the funny and often heart-breaking things that happened when the we’re teaching in the aboriginal communities.
I walked down to the waterfront
with Lisa and her family. We did a bit of posing by the bollards ( the ‘boys’ were a bit reluctant) and went to explore the Botanical Gardens some more and find the flying foxes who hang upside down at the very top of the trees all day long. The light was beginning to fade a little and we could see them stretching their’wings’ in preparation of a night time of flying. They looked huge... even from down here on the ground.
We are asked back to the house, confident that we could order some take-always for dinner. Shocked to find that most of them were closed. Nick raced out to the rescue and bought the last pile of chips from a chippy minutes before they closed. So we feasted on chip butties and champagne for dinner!
I had a shower, did all my packing ( bag seems to be getting heavier.... I really need to find time to read some of the books I’ve brought along with me ) said all my farewells as Nick is taking me to Geelong station at 6am for the train to Melbourne ( takes one hour) and then I’ll get the train from
Melbourne to Sydney. First class. Recliner seats. WiFi. Ha!
.... but plans went a little differently. The night train was one and a half hours late coming into Melbourne from Sydney. And despite the information on the website ( or did I imagine it?) the seats were fixed ( no recline) the train was full and there was no WiFi. I asked the ticket inspector who said they the carriages were 36 years old and built for another age. Anyway the landscape slipped by arid and dry, little station stops in the middle of nowhere got me imagining the lives of those alighting on the platforms and the food in the restaurant car wasn’t too bad, if overpriced. The trouble being that I couldn’t warm Eunice in Sydney that I’d be late arriving. And even the people around me with Australian phones couldn’t get a signal. Twelve hours on the train when we pulled into Sydney late that night...... and there was Eunice waiting for me on the station. In the big city now!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0273s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
