A Trip to Melbourne \ Phillip Island, Wilson's Promontory and Home

Our destination for the day was Yanakie in the Gippsland region just outside Wilson's Promontory National Park so we had plenty of time for a small detour.
Leaving Melbourne on the M1 freeway we headed for Phillip Island. The island is about 100 km² (40 sq mi) in area and is connected to the mainland by a short bridge. It is a very popular holiday destination for Melbourne residents and tourist destination for those wanting to experience the Penguin Parade where the little penguins species come ashore in groups at dusk.
The beaches on the southern ocean side are surfing meccas and were designated Victoria’s first National Surfing Reserve
There is also a motor cycle Grand Prix and car racing circuit.
Cowes is the main town but being Victorian school holidays we avoided this area and, after excellent coffee at Smith's Beach with the surfing crowd, we ended up at the far end of the island at The Nobbies and Seal Rocks. This was surprisingly uncrowded so we enjoyed sitting in the warm sunshine looking out over the ocean. About 1.5 km offshore on a rocky outcrop is the largest colony of fur seals in Australia, up to 16,000.

Back on the mainland, and after lunch at Wonthaggi (ex coal mining town now site of a large wind farm), we stocked up on a couple of days supplies at Leongatha to tide us over for a two night stay at the very comfortable self catering Buln Buln cabins.

Next morning we drove into the Wilsons Promontory National Park which was first reserved in 1898.

It covers 505km² including offshore islands and is renowned for great views, wild beaches, cool fern gullies, spectacular rock formations and abundant wildlife.
It is home to more than 700 native plant species, 30 kinds of mammal (kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, seals & bats) and approximately 180 species of birds.

First stop was Squeaky Beach so named for the quartz sand that squeaks when walked on. All our beaches at home squeak when you walk on them too so that is not such a big deal. But it's the rock formations and the wildness of the place that is so impressive.

Next stop was the Lilly Pilly Gully walk.This 6km round trip on a well formed track provides a glimpse into the Prom’s forested interior, traversing heathland, eucalypt forest ending up at boardwalk loop through warm temperate rain forest.

It was here we came across a small bronze plaque commemorating the life of an obviously young boy.
Later investigation established that Paddy Hildebrand was with his family on this walk back in 1987, ran ahead around a bend and was never seen again. Hundreds of people searched for 5 days and found nothing. One of Australia's missing persons mysteries. The whole story is here.

Then it was onto Tidal River the park's only settlement. This is where the holidays makers are and it was crowded. I used to come here as a child camping with my parents for holidays and then it was a remote destination. Not any more.
And this is about as far south on the Australian mainland you can go by road. It is a 3 day return walk to the tip of the Prom and the lighthouse from here.
 Heading back towards Yanakie we came across a pizza shack in a tiny settlement which was pretty new judging by the furniture and had a nice late lunch with many other hungry travellers.

Then it was chill out time on the veranda of the cabin looking over the rolling hills and gearing ourselves up for the long trip home.
Next day was an 8 hour drive to the fishing port of Eden with stops in Sale (coffee), Bairnsdale (quilt shop) and Orbost (lunch and quilt shop).  Much of the coastal highway, Route 1, is two lane, hilly and winding with just a few overtaking lanes. Big Double B trucks, petrol tankers and timber jinkers can hold you up doing 40km/hr up hills and 120km/hr down with no chance to get past. It makes for a slow trip. Little wonder there are so many accidents due to the frustration factor.
There are a lot of roadworks going on however and things will improve over the next years. This is the second major road between Sydney and Melbourne so it definitely needs upgrading.
An early dinner at the local pub and on the road at 7:30am next morning for the 3 hour trip home with a couple of stops for breakfast and a coffee.
It was a great trip but it was good to be back.

Melbourne Street and Laneway Art

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Melbourne is........

Federation Square

St.Pauls Cathedral

Flinders Street Station

Tree Lined Downtown Streets

Shrine of Remembrance

The Yarra River

Chinatown

Street and Laneway Art

Victorian Era Arcades

Gardens and Fountains

Unique Buildings

and trams

A Trip to Melbourne \ Australasian Quilt Convention \ Some Quilts

click on a picture to enlarge

A Trip to Melbourne \ Activities Day 2

Early morning start to visit a specific fabric shop which happened to be in an area of the city famed for its laneway art.
Some of it is spectacular.

Other stuff is just graffiti.

Then we trammed it down to the National Gallery of Victoria to see its Triennial Exhibition.
The NGV describe this as cutting edge technologies, architecture, animation, performance, film, painting, drawing, fashion design, tapestry and sculpture.
The venue was very crowded and the work was just not our scene. We did a few rooms but gave up.

The co driver headed back to the quilt show and I decided to have a look around Chinatown.
Melbourne's Chinatown dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850s and is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world.

Unfortunately there were lots of roadworks going on and it was dusty, noisy and pretty uninviting so no lunch there.
How to rescue the day's activities?
Back at Federation Square I knew that the Ian Potter Centre of the NGV houses an extensive Australian art collection so headed there.

To my pleasant surprise there was also a Colony: Australia 1770–1861 exhibition which brings together the most important examples of art and design produced during this period and surveys the key settlements and development of life and culture in the colonies. Importantly, the exhibition acknowledges the impact of European settlement on Indigenous communities, so I 'did' both, with a snack in between, during the afternoon.
Day rescued!
Meeting up with the co driver we made it back to our apartment for a well earned rest. She was a bit disappointed that two sewing machine companies (looking at you Bernina and Janome!) seemed little interested in promoting their wares. Pfaff on the other hand was quite helpful.
For dinner we chose Rice, Paper, Scissors an Asian fusion restaurant we had noticed just around the corner and always had queues waiting (they don't take bookings).

What a great place!
We got there early and were immediately seated.
Five shared dishes (seafood, meat, vegetarian) and a bottle of Pinot Gris was a great way to end our visit.
Their menu is here.
Back to the room to pack and watch some Commonwealth Games on TV and get ready for the trip home.

A Trip to Melbourne / Activities Day 1

The trip into Melbourne city from the freeway was uneventful and we were soon checked into our usual accommodation in the inner city suburb of Fitzroy.
Fitzroy used to be a bit dodgy but now it's regarded as lively suburb with a bit of a bohemian reputation. Its many eclectic bars and restaurants are popular with students, weekenders and young professionals. Brunswick Street, a short walk from our apartment, is a trendy retail and nightlife strip. There were at least 30 restaurants and bars within walking distance.
We went out on a limb and chose an Ethiopian restaurant for our evening meal. The food was interesting. No utensils so the food was 'scooped up' from a communal bowl using pieces of  traditional Injera flat bread. I liked the food eg. slow cooked goat in berbere (spicy!) but the bread was too sour for my taste.
I don't think we will be trying that cuisine again.

 Next day we geared up for the major reason for the Melbourne visit ie. the Australasian Quilt Convention.
After breakfast at a great Vietnamese bakery (we ate there the three mornings!) it was a reasonably short stroll to the Royal Exhibition Building venue for the AQC.
Standing in Carlton Gardens, this building is as beautiful inside as out.
It is the oldest surviving building from the Great Exhibition era that is still operating as an exhibition hall and continues after 135 years to bring dozens of trade fairs and public expos to the city annually. It's also home to gala dinners, fashion shows and community events.

It was the first World Heritage listed building in Australia.

I spent the morning there (quilt pics in separate post) but left the co driver 'to it' while I headed into town to explore some old haunts of my hometown.

From Federation Square I walked past Flinders Street Station and St Pauls Cathedral, around the main city blocks, down tree lined Collins Street which is known for its grand Victorian architecture, prestigious boutiques and high-end retailers. The street has served as Melbourne's traditional main street since 1837.

The eastern end is known colloquially as the 'Paris End' due to its numerous heritage buildings, shopping boutiques and alfresco dining while western end of the street is increasingly referred to as the 'New York End' due its modern glass skyscrapers and history as the financial heart of Melbourne, home to various banks and insurance companies.
I really see no comparison to either of these great cities but that's Melbourne for you!
Then I took in some of the old arcades and rode a tram along Swanson Street before eating an Asian inspired lunch of gyoza and nori fries.

Then it was time to meet up with the co driver, discuss her purchases and plan our next day's activities over a much earned coffee.
She wanted to road test a few sewing machines as her current ones are showing their age and might be heading for 'toes up' territory.
All the major brands are at the show.

That night it was drinks at a trendy bar and simple burgers and fries with a beer at Mr. Burger.
Delicious!

A Trip to Melbourne / Getting There

It was an early morning departure as we headed up over the Great Dividing Range, skirting the nation's capital Canberra, towards Yass to meet up with the Hume Highway (M31) which is the main inland route from Sydney to Melbourne. But we were taking things easy this trip so our destination was Albury, just over half way.
After a fuel stop (for us and the car) at Yass, we detoured off the freeway to Jugiong for lunch where we had heard there was a nice restaurant called The Long Track Pantry. And indeed it was very good.

Jugiong sits on the banks of what was once the mighty Murrumbidgee River (the second longest in Australia) but damming at its source as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme (a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974) and other flood mitigating dams ie. the Burrinjuck, has reduced it to 10% of its original flow.
But it has so many tributaries that occasionally it gets its revenge and floods well downstream.
Next stop was Holbrook, as we were following the two hour rest, revive, survive road safety program.
Here we found a submarine in a park. Why? It's an interesting story.

Albury sits on the banks of the Murray River which forms the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria. After a quilt shop visit in its sister town, Wodonga, across the border we checked into our motel then 'hopped' a few bars before a nice Thai meal.

Next morning we realized we had half a day to spare as we couldn't check into our Melbourne accommodation (3 hours away) until mid afternoon.
What to do?
About 30 minutes drive from Albury is the Rutherglen wine region.
Vines came to Rutherglen along with the Gold Rush of the 1850s and today is the unchallenged capital of fortified wines in Australia.
Just as an aside, Australia was forced to change its generic terms for many of its fortified wines under pressure from the EU who are very protective of their regional names....with good reason.
Sherry is now Apera
Tokay is Topaque
Port is Fortified with categories Vintage, Tawny and Ruby.
Today crisp whites and rich reds in addition to the world-famous fortified wines are produced with a unique regional character by fourth, fifth and sixth generation wine makers.
I did a little research the night before and picked out three wineries that looked interesting from a table wine point of view (we are not into fortifieds) and which also produce wines made from Tempranillo and Gamay grapes.
They were Pfeiffers, Stanton and Killeen and Cofields.

None of the wineries were busy and we had the tasting rooms and the servers to ourselves.
We got to taste some interesting versions of Tempranillo and the latest release of Pfeiffer's Gamay was stunning. We also ended up being convinced to buy some Pinto Gris, Riesling and Sangiovese.

Fully expecting to get a call from my bank asking whether I still had possession of my credit card, we high tailed it to Melbourne before any more financial damage could be done.