Australia January 2018

21 January 2018. London Heathrow to Tullamarine Melbourne via Bangkok on Thai Airways business class. Uneventful to Bangkok, watched ‘Dunkirk’ and Battle of the Sexes.  The former very tense, most impressive. The latter a well-constructed story, very positive about Billie-Jean King and her good-humoured but persistent determination to see women tennis players treated respectfully and be properly paid. I couldn’t but help like Bobby Riggs, as portrayed in the film. I hope that that doesn’t mean I am a MCP like he professed to be. He was a great showman and self-publicist though.

On our first full day in Melbourne we went to the Australian Open tennis. We had seats in the Rod Laver Arena and watched a mixed doubles semi final and then both women’s singles semi finals. In the 1^st, World #1 Simona Halep wore down the relatively inexperienced Elise Mertens from Belgium. In the 2^nd, Caroline Wozniacki beat Angelique Kerber. I have watched women’s tennis on tv and it has looked tame at times – baseline slogging and grunting. Seeing these players live made me appreciate how powerful and at the same time subtle and skilful the top players are. We also watched a wheelchair men’s singles match where the level of skill impressed us enormously. 

Later, on the big screen, we watched Kyle Edmund up against Marin Cilic in their men’s singles semi. The AO is a grand slam event but it did not have the hype of self-congratulatory Wimbledon which seems to me to be heavily populated by people who only ever watch tennis once a year or for whom it’s a ritual and who go just to be able to say that they have been. That’s not to say, of course, that there aren’t many genuine tennis fans at Wimbledon each year.

26 January 2018 is Australia Day. Some now call it invasion day, others want it renamed and still more want the date changed. As such there are many conflicting views. Certain for me is firstly that many Australian people still hold negative and disparaging views about the Australian aboriginal people and secondly that the latter and their culture must be treated with far greater respect.

Suffice to say that we drove out of Melbourne on Australia Day and down to the Wilson’s Promontory peninsula, the southernmost part of Australia. We did not sleep in the National Park, where overnighters are typically hikers who camp, but spent four nights in a lovely wooden house in Sandy Point. The weather was very warm and on our 1^st little hike around to Shallow Inlet, an echidna passed in front of us. Two days later a very large one was enjoying a cooling off under the shower that people use to clean off the sand after a day at the beach. Saw a wandering albatross then hiked over the dunes and along the seemingly endless beach back to Sandy Point.

Sunday 28 January. We drove into the National Park and had a good hike along the Lilly Pilly Gully trail, followed by a much-needed swim at Tidal River. Monday was much cooler and we spent the afternoon at Walkerville (formerly Waratah) where, amongst other things, we learned about the limestone kilns and the hard lives of the settlers who worked them in the late 19th and early 20^th centuries. A few of the settlers are buried in a cemetery above the cliffs in a beautiful setting.

On returning to Melbourne we enjoyed a visit to the Amy Winehouse exhibition at the Jewish Museum. Afterwards as we toured the museum, two volunteer ladies talked to us about Jewish customs and history and the story of some of the Jews who came to live in Australia.

5 February saw us back at Tullamarine for the near four-hour flight to Perth WA. My cousin Ian and his wife Cathy greeted us at Perth Airport as we began a brilliant holiday within a holiday – brilliant because they had put together a superb itinerary for us. 

First off were drinks and a meal at the Breakwater. Whilst we were there, I was spotted by a former pupil of mine, Danny H from Larkswood Primary School in Chingford. I was delighted to meet him again and to reminisce with his mum and dad who were also holidaying in Perth. 

Day 2 in Perth began with a trip to City Beach for a swim. I was appreciating the warm clear water enormously when told to get out of the by a lifeguard driving a 4by4 with its siren blaring. Wondering why, I was directed to look out into the water, where, not too far from the shore was a 3.5m long great white shark. Lucky me on two counts I suppose. After a shower we drove into the Swan Valley for beers at the Feral Brewery. The Hop Hog was a very tasty pale ale. From the brewery it was off to the Sandalford Winery for an excellent lunch then a stop off at Ian’s favourite chocolate factory where we tucked into the free samples.

Here's our shark being spotted and then shooed away by the lifesaver helicopter.

At the Feral Brewery

The chocolate factory. Tuck in! We did buy some, as well as enjoying the freebies.

Club Razzle was the evening’s entertainment at the Perth fringe, with the nowadays almost compulsory gay compere – he was a great singer but the risqué jokes have all been told before. The acrobats were top drawer though.

Next day we took a 50-minute ferry crossing to the beautiful and tranquil Rottnest Island 19k out from Perth where there were plenty of curious and friendly quokkas to be seen. There are no cars on the island and many of the visitors hire bicycles. We spent most of our stay at ‘Rotto’ on the beach, swimming and snorkelling. The water was not particularly clear but there were a few fish to be seen. No great whites thankfully.  Back at base, Ian & Cathy, with the help of son Ryan and daughter Emma, laid on a delicious BBQ for us.

No zoom, the quokka just shoved its nose into my lens.

Our last day in Perth began with a swim on Cottesloe Beach, followed by a walk in the majestic King’s Gardens, then a beach side lunch at Hampton’s.

The new 50m pool at Scarborough Beach.

Back ‘home’ in Melbourne, Pete and I went to the Australia-England Twenty/Twenty evening game at the MCG. England were beaten easily thanks to some expert Aussie bowling. Despite the English defeat, I thoroughly enjoyed being a member’s guest at the ‘G’. Thanks Pete!

Sunday morning found us at the Werribee Safari Park – not one of the best I have to say but good close-ups of giraffe and rhino. After seeing the animals, we enjoyed a very pleasant and warm Sunday afternoon picnic lunch at Shadowfax Wines within Werribee Park. Pete & Trish did some wine tasting – I had a coke – got to stay awake!

13 February. More sightseeing in Melbourne – the latest exhibition at the NGV, the brilliant ‘Triennial’. Some fascinating and captivating exhibits, but the most outstanding was Ron Mueck’s enormous installation ‘Skull and Bones’. 

Recognise those legs in the middle? I got told off for it!

Afterwards we spent time in the beautiful and peaceful Fitzroy Gardens and had an evening meal at Ludlow on the South Bank – excellent pork belly!

14 February. Louise kindly lent us her car and we drove to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road - a two-hour trip for a four-night stay. The weather on Day 1 was not great unfortunately so the bathers remained unused. Our house, Seamist, was on Toorak Terrace with magnificent views of Lorne and Louttit Bay. In the evening we dined at Saporitalia. Risotto for Trish, prawn linguini for me, accompanied by an excellent pinot noir from the Adelaide Hills.

15 February. Weather still dull so we went for a trek, just over 5 miles starting at the Sheoak picnic area and walking up to the Upper Kalima Falls and back through a magnificent, lush and fragrant forest of enormous ancient gum trees. Dinner at the Maple Tree, this time accompanied by an SA Riesling.

The weather improved considerably Friday and Saturday and we spent time on the beach. The water was much colder than in Perth. Refreshing is the word for it! 

Lunch at the Royal Mail Hotel in the out of the way and very picturesque country town of Birregurra was excellent.

We had bird trouble - none of them were invited, they can obviously spot and smell human food and activity from some distance away. First magpies, then cockatoos interrupting our game of Scrabble and finally the kookaburra who swooped on our breakfast and made us jump.

Played golf at Anglesea Golf Club on Sunday. The galleries around the greens comprised very large numbers of kangaroos of all ages. There was a flock of ducks on one green. Unfortunately, my ball hit two of them, not too hard I am glad to say, and thus I got a double birdie.