Wednesday 27 February 2013

CITY AND BEYOND

Soon after hitting the outskirts of the city  we found the Melbourne city tunnel -  pretty impressive and a lot longer than I expected.

Being in and around Melbourne was so we could catch up with family and friends and spend a few days without so much travelling. We went for a drive to Mornington where my parents used to live and were reminded of the pretty little harbour there.

And if you've been with this BLOG since the start you will remember my fascination with beach huts - so I had to include some of the Australian variety....
There were also some new additions to the family that we met............Meet Princess,  out having some sun with James......

We watched her have a meal, of a dead rat - truly fascinating!!!!
There was another unusual animal on one of our visits.....Zeus......what a character!!
After we had caught up with everyone we decided to head along the coast.  The day we left was blowing a gale and raining heavily.We were not looking forward to putting the camper up in it.  But salvation came in the form of a kind brother with a little house on Phillip Island and we were able to take shelter there for a little while.
I had actually been there before but had no memory of it. I do have photos of my very first steps on the sand at Cowes many many many years ago!
We spent a bit of time exploring the island and came across heaps of little burrows with the baby penguines patiently awaiting the nightly arrival of Mum and Dad to bring them a feed.  Tried to get some pics but the best we could get  was a little rear end poking out of the opening.......
Birdlife is quite prevalent on the island and it also has a large colony of breeding seagulls.  We came across this little family of Cape Barren Geese as we drove around.
I was actually surprised that the island is still reasonably unaffected by progress, and there are lots of beautiful views.
There were quite a few animals on the island as well -  lots of rabbits,  and also lots of Kangaroos - this little black wallaby tried to hide from us but I  was too quick for him....
We put our time on the Island  to good use - Checking out the Op Shops, Markets,and the fishing spots, as well as a little bit of relaxation back at the house in the form of ...........

Yeah - Jig Saw puzzles!!  It was one of the most relaxing times we have had since we flew out to the UK so many months ago, and it really gave us the opportunity to recharge ourselves...thanks Bro!
Then it was back to the city......

and over the Yarra river........the colour never appears to improve!!! Although it reminded me of the Danube which was pretty much the same muddy brown in a lot of places.

And we do have some pretty impressive looking bridges here....


We eventually made it up to Shepparton where we were catching up with an old mate and the town was gearing up for Christmas....


While we were here, Dave got the opportunity to go fishing for Murray Cod..............

Not a bad effort - but would you believe it was undersize!!!  Back in the water to grow for another day........

After Shepparton we headed North and came to Lake Boga.   What a surprise to find a museum there dedicated to the Flying Boat!!!

It was a secret RAAF repair depot during WW2.  Truly fascinating and a credit to the people who keep it running as not sure how many tourists would make their way there.   




So if you are ever in the Lake Boga region,  do yourself a favour - it's totally worth the effort and it will help keep a bit of our history alive for others to see.