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Published: February 23rd 2012
Well, what a shock – back to chilly weather, not unlike an English summer. Only 17-22 degrees here although the day we arrived it had apparently started as 35
o and suddenly plummeted as a massive storm swept in. Actually, our flight only just made it in to Melbourne as we saw many storms encroaching which resulted in the diversion of all flights following us that day. The flight from Alice Springs was remarkable in that the scenery over which you fly is dessert all the way. Of special interest is Lake Eyre which is Australia’s largest salt lake and the lowest point at 50 ft below sea level, in the midst of Central Australia’s desert. It really stresses how the habitable land is only a relatively small coastal strip of Australia.
We arrived at my Uncle Jeffs & Auntie Kathy’s house to be greeted by a house full of his children and grandchildren which was absolutely fabulous, if a little daunting! Meeting my three cousins was so nice and I was really thrilled they made the effort to all turn out – unfortunately I was so overwhelmed that I did not get a group photo which was sad for me.
Kathy had put on a wonderful spread of grub and Jeff had fired up the ‘barby’ and a merry time was had by all.
Next day, we headed off to Ramsey Street – well, it had to be done! I used to be a fan in my student days and the rest of family are now so it was nice to trek down the hallowed tarmac of the Neighbours cul-de-sac, a.k.a. Pinoak Drive. It just happens to be near to Kath & Jeff’s , who live in Boronia in the western suburbs, so was not far to go. It is odd how tiny the street is, it looks so much wider and longer on TV. There’s Toady’s house, and Karl & Susan’s’, and Pauls!! We did not opt for a tour though, that did seem a bit far-stretched. One resident, in Paul’s house, was more interested in us actually as he had lived in London for sometime and seemed eager to impress us with this fact!
But back to Kathy & Jeffrey – they have been in Oz 40 odd years, he is my Dad’s only brother and my Godfather. Despite the long separation he is uncannily like
my Dad in mannerisms as well as looks. They are big on caravanning around Australia and so were most helpful in helping us prepare for our imminent motor-home journey from Melbourne to Sydney. We also went to the Dandenongs with them, virtually on their doorstep – so lucky, what a lovely place to live; it is a National Park with some very beautiful temperate rainforests. Whilst there we had an up close encounter with cockatoos which was a little too close for my liking and I have the scars to prove it! This area gets snow in winter and has many little picturesque Swiss-style villages, seemingly mostly full of gift shops. Uncle Jeff also kindly accompanied us to Philip Island which is 1-5 hours south of Melbourne (or 2.5 hours when we followed the, err, scenic route on our return as relayed by Unc’s sat-nav...). We saw many Little Penguins throw themselves on the beach at dusk, just as they do every day, to nest in the dunes. We also visited an area of coast called the Nobbies which is a dramatic headland with a colony of seals on the Tasman Sea. They were hoards of small kangaroo there too.
The penguin event is somewhat commercialised now though, it apparently did not use to be, but it has provided funds for surrounding land to be purchased in the hopes of protecting the world’s smallest penguin. Adam was especially thrilled with this wildlife encounter as he has been very fond of penguins since he was born (it was the first soft toy he received on his day of birth!).
We spent a lovely day and evening with Ben, Andrew’s nephew, and his family in the city centre, North Fitzroy. This area was built with the gold-mining boom of the 1880’s-90’s and has some rather lovely terraced rows of one storey houses with the typical decorative wrought iron work, verandas and stone embellishments. They took us to see some sights in the city and we had the essential tram ride in to the centre. Trams were actually stuffy and a bit nerve-wracking as they play havoc with cars and pedestrians! I felt the city had a more European feel to it, and it certainly seemed to have more historical buildings, art & cultural events going on. Quite a happening place, in contrast the laid back sporty city of Perth. The library
in particular was an impressive building with a spectacular central dome reading room. There was also an exhibition with detail of some Melbourne history, including the actual armour of Ned Kelly, the Irish-Australian bushranger (a folk hero to some, no good cop killer to others). We enjoyed lunch by the Murray River before speeding off with Ben to spot some infamous Melbourne graffiti, in the quest for Ellen’s art homework information gathering exercise she has been assigned to do whilst away. Melbourne has gained international notoriety for its street art and many prominent graffiti artists such as Banksy have made the trip here to contribute their work to the walls of Melbourne’s streets.
So, once more we have had such a lovely time with more rellys, Uncle Jeff & family, Cousin Ben & family in being so welcoming, it’s been just great. We really appreciate their kindness and the efforts they made on our behalf. I was sad to say farewell as we then collected our motor home which would then be our abode for the next 10 days as we drive up the coast to Sydney.
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Rose
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Good neighbours
You just sound like you guys are really having such a wonderful time. This blog almost go away from me, thought I hadn't heard from you for a while so I looked you up. Glad I did, another lovely read. Take care a nd big hugs xxx