There aren't many airports in the world where you can see mountains just past the tarmac! It felt so good to land in Vancouver. Being back in Canada again was interesting. I could hear our accents, something I had never noticed before. And we are SO nice! :-)
I was so excited to get to Melbourne and see my cousin, Jo, and her boyfriend, Sander. I arrived with a bit of a mix up, having arrived at an airport outside of town. Jo was waiting for me at the other airport, 46 km away. I took the airport shuttle, after using a pay phone and being disconnected 3 times after putting in over $3. Once at Southern Cross Station, I walked over to the tram stop and was told by another passenger that I needed to buy a Myki card from the train station. So I walked back and found the Metro office on the third floor. I had to spend $6 on a card which I loaded with a trip. Finally, I was on the tram and headed to East Brunswick. I was instructed to get off on the last stop but all of a sudden the signs changed, on the tram, showing the other direction, so I jumped off. I stood there, on the side of the road, bewildered as the sign for the tram said I had been going in the right direction. So I waited for 12 minutes until the next tram came along only to find that the next stop was the last stop and only a block away from where I'd been waiting! At last, there was Jo and Sander! And they had made me a beautiful dinner which they put on hold till I arrived, 2.5 hours later! I hadn't seen Jo for so long and the last time I saw her was a quick family Christmas. They set me up in the guest room with a small heater (there is no central heating in their homes).
The next day I set out and explored Melbourne on my own. I started out by taking the #96 tram all the way to St. Kilda's Beach. The area was just like an old town and you could see that it once was. Just off the beach road there was a large fair ground and an old theatre building. After a quick snack I jumped back on the tram and rode back to the downtown. I was just heading to Starbucks for the wifi when who should I see....Rachel! We'd met in India and travelled to Amma's Ashram together. What a small world! We chatted for a bit and she showed me a cool side street full of grafitti. Afterwards I found a library with free wifi and connected with Jo. We met after she got off work and did a little shopping. We planned on watching a soccer game at the pub with some friends. They weren't there and we found out the pub wasn't showing the game. Instead Sander met us and we found a little Italian restaurant, that was showing the game, and ate dinner.
The following day I went on a free walking tour where I learned about famed Bush Ranger (A thief) named Ned Kelly. He was so famous because he never stole from the people, only from banks. After him and his crew took hostages, and a shootout with police, Kelly was captured. Just before he was hung they asked if he had any last words. He said "such is life". The rest of the day I wandered around, going back to areas I thought were interesting. I went to the half tix office and bought a ticket for the Great Ocean Road Tour for the next day. That night we all hung out in the kitchen (me in front of the heater) as they packed up their things.
It was an early morning as I trammed to to the CBD (central business district) to catch my bus for the tour of the Great Ocean Road. It was a double decker style coach and I got the front seat on top! Awesome! It was a beautiful day and the coast was incredible. I glimpsed a koala in a tree and saw the 12 apostles (though there aren't actually 12). The driver was amazing and filled our day with fun facts and tons of history. We stopped for a morning snack and had bush tea and lamingtons (a chocolate covered cake square with coconut topping). The driver made the tea himself, bush style, by putting the ingredients in a pail and spinning it upside down to get everything to settle. We stopped for lunch where I treated myself to fish and chips. After the 12 apostles I walked down to the beach and saw some of the formations up close. It was a busy day, with a LOT of driving but I'm so glad to have seen it!
I was so excited to be going to see my Uncle Dave in Castlemaine. It's a quaint little town about an hour and a half from Melbourne. I haven't seen my uncle in about 20 years and I'd never met his wife. I was so pleased they were able to meet me. The town was filled with cute little shops and buildings and I wished I'd had more time to explore. Dave and Ros were so kind but of course there's never enough time when you have a meeting like this. I hope to see them again and have more time to chat. So many good childhood memories have Dave in them! While we were chatting a woman came up to me that looked familiar but I couldn't place her. She finally reminded me that she was Harry's mother! I had met them in Bali and they lived in this same town! She went to get Harry from school so he could see me. Dave and Ros had to get going so Jacqueline and Harry offered to show me some kangaroos (I had mentioned that I hadn't seen any yet). Sure enough, just out of town, there were herds of them! It was incredible! One of them had 2 legs sticking out of her pouch, and as we watched those legs got pulled in! So cool! They took me up to some rocks to see the views and showed me their beautiful home. They dropped me off at the train station just before the train was to arrive. What a lovely day I had!
Over the weekend I helped Jo and Sander move and clean their house. We went to a house party thrown by one of Jo's friends who's moving back to Germany. It was a VERY late night. Sander and I went to watch Jo play soccer the next afternoon and got groceries. My last night in Melbourne was nice and relaxed. We had a Dutch meal, cooked by Sander, of meatballs, potatoes au gratin, and veggies. And we chilled and talked. I so enjoyed getting to know Jo, the adult, as when I pictured her before it was the young tomboy with short hair and a spunky personality. She was so much fun and I look forward to seeing more of her. We have a lot in common but I also envy her view on the world. I strive to achieve that level of knowing what you want and being relaxed about it. Jo and Sander were amazing hosts and so generous. I owe them big time!
My last adventure begins! A 33 hour trip home! Here we go!
I wasn't sure if I'd like Sydney before I arrived. I pictured it as being shiny and smooth and modern. In fact, it was really old and full of the stories of convicts and death. I was enamored by the beautiful coastal views and by the new mixed with the old. The Rocks, an area first settled by convicts, which boasts original buildings from the settlers, held the most interest. It was there that I heard the stories of folks both good and bad. Seeing the Sydney Opera House for the first time, I was struck at how plain and yet beautiful it was. Did you know the roof is made of tiles, plain old white tiles......and yet it's stunning. While I was there I took a free walking tour as well as a free night tour of the Rocks. The tour guide was local but her mother was from Calgary. She had started the free walking tour company on her own; pretty cool to have the owner as a guide. While I was exploring the area I passed a candy store making candy from scratch. The "candy makers" were so friendly that I stopped to talk to them for awhile and ended up staying to watch them make a new kind of candy. It was so cool, but they made a mistake and so I was lucky enough to get free candy! Bags of it...for Amber of course! :-) I was also presented with a candy rose! Yum!
My hostel was an old building but was nice and new inside. Many of the other "travellers" actually lived there so the vibe was a bit different. I didn't mind though. I stayed in an 8 bed dorm with some extremely messy girls. In fact, one day I got back from exploring to find a note on my door saying anything left on the floor would be thrown out. Haha.......it still didn't look clean but it was much improved after that.
After exploring much of the city I took the train to the Blue Mountains. A two hour train ride and you find yourself in a small town. A short tram ride through the town and you are at the lookout for Three Sisters. The forest in the valley went on as far as the eye could see. It was stunning and felt a little like home. The trees looked like evergreens and were all different shades of green. I walked down to one of the sisters and started down a staircase. A child running by said there were 3000 stairs and we were at 112. This is when I decided to take a different route. I turned around and headed back up where I took Prince Henry's Cliff walk, which seemed like a much better option. It was a 3 km walk without any stairs. Though you stay on the top of the valley, the views are amazing. I was surrounded by beautiful trees, birds singing, and sunshine. It was a great day. When I reached the end there were 2 options. One was to turn around and go back the way you came or you could walk along the road. I chose the latter and walked through the little town.
My friend, Sinead, had recommended a coastal walk so I went to the East end of Sydney and walked from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. It was an amazing walk along the coast. High up above the crashing waves you could see the beautiful beaches both ahead and behind you. The walk took about 2 hours and was breath taking. It's winter in Australia, which is about 9-12 degrees in Sydney, so it was warm enough to take off my jacket. It was sunny and windy but so peaceful, despite the paths being filled with people. I had packed a lunch and enjoyed the salty sea air as I ate my sandwich. Afterwards I took the ferry to Manly and the famous beach there. I ran into a couple I'd met on the train ride to the mountains and we chatted for a bit. As the sun began to set, bright colorful birds began to land in the trees, making a racket! But they were beautiful! The ferry ride home was a whole new experience. Because it was dark you couldn't see anything outside. The waves were huge that day and the ferry was flung from side to side. My stomach dropped many times and I wasn't sure if I was going to live. It was that scary!
On my last day in the big city I took the free shuttle to the pier and walked through the Devonian Gardens. It was a lovely day and I took my time wandering the park. After my walk back to the bus, along the water, I prepared for the airport. I was so delighted with my time in Sydney and would love to visit again.
