Posts Tagged With: Australia

Day 11: Tropical Storms

The holiday moved to a slower pace today. I arrived in the Tropics and the seaside resort of Cairns. As I start to write, I am lounging by the pool, drinking a delicious fresh orange juice. Later, I will head out to explore and go for a swim. Or I might continue lounging by the pool.

The trip here was uneventful. Compared to the long haul flight, 3 hours to Cairns felt like a short bus ride. The views on landing were spectacular – luscious green mountains and clear seas. The air as we walked from the plane was hot and humid but you acclimatize quickly. I met a man with a boat while we were waiting for our luggage. He wears T shirts like Stephen’s so I took the name of the shop. If you keep your side of our bargain Steve, I might visit that shop.

I did go out and explore but not for long. I could hear thunder and loud cackling in the trees – giant bats! I headed back to the hotel and the heavens opened. Our afternoon storm had arrived. Dramatic and thankfully short lived. You would love it here, Lucy. I stood under a tree and photographed the bats for you ……. creepy.

Ann x

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Boxing Day Sales

 

Today I was booked on two tours but decided to skip one.  The penguins will have to wait until my next trip.  The question is did I abandon the penguins because (a) I was tired (b) I wanted to do my laundry or (c) I heard about the great Melbourne Boxing Day sales?  The truth is all of the above.

The city tour was good.  We stopped for an hour at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.  I am becoming quite an expert on botanic gardens.  If I ever decide to try out for Mastermind…..  on second thoughts, my levels of general knowledge might be a problem.  The gardens were beautiful.  Reminded me of the lovely line from a poem about being “closer to God in the garden than any place else on earth”.

Australians love abbreviations.  Monica’s friend, Peter offered to meet me in the “arvo” of the 24th December in Melbourne.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t due to arrive until the evening (“eve”?) so that didn’t work out.  We saw the Melbourne Cricket Ground on this morning’s tour where a big match between Australia and India will be played today.  They call that the MCG or just the “G”.  We passed the DFO’s (direct factory outlets) on the bus but I resisted the temptation to check them out. 

Cairns tomorrow.

Ann x

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Happy Christmas

Today’s tour was the Ocean Road.  Torquay for morning tea.  Then on to Bells Beach, a world famous surfing beach and film scene.  Torquay, according to our driver Colin was originally called Swampy Creek but nobody wanted to live there so they changed the name.  Colin had a nice quirky sense of humour.

We drove for hours along Ocean Drive always on the look out for wild koalas in the trees and kangaroos in the fields.  The coastal views were superb.  Miles and miles of cliffs and beaches, like the Cliffs of Moher but many times over.

Christmas in Melbourne feels very low key.  None of the excitement or the madness of home.  I did hear John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over) but only the once.

Lunch was a take away fish and chips on the beach at Apollo Bay.  The tour included a lot of photo stops.  I felt like a Japanese tourist but then most of my fellow travellers were Japanese or Asian so that explains that.

As a Christmas present, I treated myself to a helicopter ride over the off shore rock formations known as the Twelve Apostles.  Wow!

Happy Christmas All.

Ann x

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Time Traveller

Today I flew from Perth to Melbourne and lost 3 hours. In total, I’ve lost 11 hours since leaving Dublin. When I fly from Sydney to Los Angeles on 18th January, I will cross the international date line and regain the hours by travelling backwards in time. That should confuse the body clock.

A minor difficulty in travelling solo is what to do in the evenings. I try to be security conscious and not to walk alone at night (Mum, read this). Last night I visited the pub on the corner next to my hotel, for dinner. The pub is called the Fenian and a traditional group called the Clan were playing. It was funny to watch Australians and other nationalities dancing a weird variation of the Irish jig 🙂

The flight to Melbourne was smooth and arrived early. I am impressed so far by Quantas. I saw my first Tiger Airways plane today. It looked remarkably like a Ryanair plane – not surprising when you know who founded Tiger Airways. My hotel in Melbourne, the Rydges is lovely. I went straight to the rooftop pool on the 22nd floor for a swim and then around the corner for a lovely Italian meal.

Ann x

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Day 7: Perth City and Swan Valley

Day 7 and I haven’t mentioned my hair yet. I love it here but my hair doesn’t. It makes this clear by impersonating a bleached straw nest perched on top of my head. If I lived here, my options would be to shave it off or grow a ponytail. End of hair moan. Thought it best to get that out of the way 🙂

Busy day today. Two tours. 7.20am start for a city bus tour of Perth and Freemantle. Really enjoyed King’s Park where we wandered through the botanic gardens and strolled along the treetop walkway. Highlights for me were the Banksia and Pioneering Women’s gardens.

The afternoon tour to the Swan Valley involved cuddling furry animals (Wombat, Kangaroo and Koala) and tasting local produce: two of my favourite things, wine and chocolate. My new friend for today was a Brazilian girl who lives in Spain and markets cosmetics throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Tomorrow I fly to Melbourne

Ann x

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