When I go to Melbourne for work I like to explore the city a bit while I'm there. Walking tours are a great way to get a different perspective and some history. This time I went on a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Tour. The tour was run by Kathy of MEL Tours. For those of you who haven't yet met Miss Phryne Fisher - you really ought to. She is a fabulously sassy lady detective based in Melbourne in the 1920s, a woman of a certain class who does all the things that ladies weren't expected to … [Read more...]
The Great Ocean Road and Kangaroo Island Adventure
May 2017 Take a memorable road trip through Victoria and South Australia, starting from Melbourne and taking in each twist and turn of the Great Ocean Road. Channel your inner surfer at some famed boarding locations, drink in the sweeping vistas of the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, and get an insight into local Aboriginal history in the lush surrounds of the Grampians National Park. Continue through the Adelaide Hills and cross to Kangaroo Island. Much of this stunning landscape is … [Read more...]
Day 1: The Great Ocean Road
14 May 2017 Today we leave Melbourne and journey along one of Australia's most beautiful and famous drives: the Great Ocean Road; including koala spotting, Apollo Bay, The Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. It is an early start as we need to be at the meeting point at 7.00am. It is the pick up point for multiple tours so is a bit chaotic but eventually we find our bus and guide Kelly. As it is coming into winter, we have multiple tours combined into one: some people are doing 3 days and … [Read more...]
Day 2: Southern Ocean to the Grampian Mountains
15 May 2017 We start the day on the coast and then head to the Grampians National Park, stopping to see more wildlife and experience some aboriginal culture along the way. Then we climb to The Pinnacle for spectacular views. Kelly picks me up again at 6.30 am to join the others for breakfast at the backpackers before setting out on the next leg of our adventure - heading towards the Grampian mountains. Our first stop, just as the sun is rising, is a Little Penguin colony on the coast. They … [Read more...]
Day 3: Grampians National Park to Adelaide
16 May 2017 Today we explore more of the Grampians National Park, including the spectacular MacKenzie Falls. Then we have a long drive through to Adelaide. We are up for breakfast at 6.30am and ready to hit the road again to explore more of the mountains. It is very cold again and with a mist down in the valleys. We head straight to the tops again to make the most of the views before the wind comes up and lifts the mists. We have a brisk trek out to a viewpoint at 'the Jaws of Death' - … [Read more...]
Day 4: Adelaide to Kangaroo Island
17 May 2017 On Kangaroo Island we experience sheep shearing, Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, a sea lion breeding colony, sand boarding at Little Sahara and a night at Vivonne Bay Lodge. I very nearly don't make the next leg of my journey: I booked my trip as a 5 day tour but it is actually made up of 2 separate parts. My trip notes simply say that we depart from the bus station at 6.45am. With nothing to indicate anything to the contrary, I assume it is the same as the pickup in Melbourne … [Read more...]
Day 5: Kangaroo Island and back to Adelaide
18 May 2017 On Kangaroo Island today we experience a wildlife sanctuary, Flinders Chase National Park, the Remarkable Rocks, and the fur seals at Admirals Arch. We have a 7.00 am breakfast and ready to depart again by 8.00 am. First we go down to Vivonne Bay which has been voted best beach in the world (criteria included longest stretch of sand). Next stop is the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where we have an hour to explore, looking out for koala, kangaroo, wallaby and echidna. Maggie … [Read more...]
Adelaide Day Trip: Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley is a wine and food region about 60 km north-east of Adelaide and definitely worth a day trip. It is a beautiful drive winding through the hills and valleys up into the broad valley that is the Barossa. This is one of Australia's oldest wine growing regions and the area was settled in the 1840s by Lutheran religious refugees escaping from Germany (and area that is now in Poland): they arrived at the port and then made their way up into the hills and started … [Read more...]
A Weekend in the Adelaide Hills
19-21 May 2017 I am spending the weekend with friends Andrew and Midori up in the Adelaide Hills but I have most of Friday in Adelaide city. After my Great Ocean Road and Kangaroo Island Adventure, I make the most of having a leisurely morning (the first in what seems like a very long time) before having to pack up my bags and store them in the luggage room after checking out. I have arranged to meet a friend Bronwyn for a coffee but she is delayed by an hour and half, so I decide to have … [Read more...]
Hobart: Tasman Peninsular
Tasmania is one of the places where you can get great views of the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights. I had been inspired by Joanna Lumley and her travels to the arctic north to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, and decided that viewing an aurora had to be on my bucket list. So when I discovered that I could potentially see an aurora without having to travel for days through snow in freezing temperatures, I jumped at the chance. I took the opportunity after a work trip to spend a … [Read more...]