Days four and five, and the journey home
Our first day in Melbourne was one of blue skies and sunshine, so troll chose for us to go see Mt Dandenong.
We had a beautiful day for most of it, although by the time we got to the afternoon the weather was closing in a little as can be seen from the panorama shot from the lookout at the top
Just look at that belt of dark cloud at the top!
And interesting carving from a living tree
Oh, and Ladyhawk, your name is famous the world over!
The second day in town we had lunch with a friend who had moved there a couple of years ago. It was really great to catch up. Then, in the afternoon, we headed down the coast road, thinking about going all the way to Sorrento, but this was the day of extreme weather that had been forecast, and the visiblity was rather poor, not to mention it was bloody cold outside the car!
We stopped at a bayside park at Frankston to have a snack, and I decided to brave the elements for a chance of a photo looking back across Port Phillip bay to the Melbourne CBD. The visiblity was too poor for that, but I did find these little guys tucked here and there around the park.
Seagull sculptures... fighting over a cup of chips!
This one had little furry friends
This one had lollies and was sitting on a box with a tin and some coins in it
I turned back to the car to find troll feeding the real seagulls some of her chocolate
(Yes, I had left my lights on, but have a good battery!)
Finally, tired of sleeping in Motel beds we decided on Wednesday to head for home. The unusual cold snap had continued over night and as we made our way through the city traffic we heard reports on the radio of snow and black ice at Bacchus Marsh and Beaufort, both places we were planning to drive through on our way home. Further reports spoke of cars in ditches by the roadside that had spun out on the ice and there were grave warnings for motorists to take it steady through those areas. The road at Beaufort was even officially closed for a while.
It is easy for many motorists to come to grief in weather like this as most of Australia does not get snow at all in winter, so the majority of drivers are not familiar with driving in those conditions. Fortunately by the time we got to those places the sun had been out and done its stuff and the roads were open and quite safe. Just outside of Werribee we saw a few cars on the roadside, rather dirty and bent, clearly having been recently rescued from ditches and waiting pickup to take to a place or repair.
Troll was all excited about the possiblity of seeing snow as she has only seen it once when she was very little in the first snowfall in my area in 64 years. We could see dustings of it on distant high hills, but nothing much too close. Still, knowing its reputation for a cold place, when we got to Ballarat we turned off the freeway and ambled through the town. Sure enough, much to troll's delight in a little park we found a pocket of snow.
Just a little, but snow nonetheless
The pine bark of the playground must have helped keep it cold
It was enough for a troll to play in
And to learn how cold the stuff can be!
Troll with a snowball.. and yelling at me to hurry up and take the damn picture before her fingers froze!
Once I snapped the shot, she promptly threw the snowball at me!
As you leave Ballarat you pass under this arch
It is the beginning of the Avenue of honour for fallen soldiers. Each of the trees by the roadside had a plague in remembrance of a soldier lost in the wars
We drove for quite some time, and still the trees continued - all with their name plaques
I found myself feeling for all the lost lives, the families who had lost their young men..... so many lost lives.
Eventually we hit the open road again. It was a pleasure to drive the highway home. Unlike the ocean road we had taken over here, this road was straight and wide and I really had the sense of the wind in my hair at last, blowing the cobwebs out! The beautiful Grampians shadowed much of our journey to the border, sitting tall and beautiful to the south of our highway.
Along the way, we found this chap
And met a pair of white kangaroos at Bordertown!
It felt good to be heading home. Other than the snow pics were really weren't inclined to stop for photographs much on the way back. Melbourne this time had felt difficult for me. I have travelled there in the past, both by plane and driving and usually stopped in the cbd and done most of my sightseeing in the city centre or St Kilda. This time we had stayed out at Dandenong as it was central to where I wanted to go. The outer city had a rushed, sterile feel to it. I had a real feel of being in the rat-race. This was probably exacerbated by our leisurely journey through such beautiful scenery to get there, perhaps but I cannot say that this time I did not breathe a sigh of relief to see the back of Melbourne as I headed out on the M8, going home.
Perhaps too many people live there now, with all their conflicting energies and feelings overpowering the natural earth's energies. Whatever it was, this dragon was very glad to be heading home. The rolling hills and valleys through Bacchus Marsh and on to Ballarat were truly beautiful after the grey dreariness of the city. The open plains of the Wimmera seemed to dance along with us as we journeyed home, breathing joy and freedom into our souls and easing us on our journey.
Finally, at 6.30pm, eleven and a half hours after we pulled out of the motel in Dandenong, we were home.
The dragon has stretched her wings and it felt good.. damn good. But equally, it's damn good to be home.. *Smiles*
We had a beautiful day for most of it, although by the time we got to the afternoon the weather was closing in a little as can be seen from the panorama shot from the lookout at the top
Just look at that belt of dark cloud at the top!
And interesting carving from a living tree
Oh, and Ladyhawk, your name is famous the world over!
The second day in town we had lunch with a friend who had moved there a couple of years ago. It was really great to catch up. Then, in the afternoon, we headed down the coast road, thinking about going all the way to Sorrento, but this was the day of extreme weather that had been forecast, and the visiblity was rather poor, not to mention it was bloody cold outside the car!
We stopped at a bayside park at Frankston to have a snack, and I decided to brave the elements for a chance of a photo looking back across Port Phillip bay to the Melbourne CBD. The visiblity was too poor for that, but I did find these little guys tucked here and there around the park.
Seagull sculptures... fighting over a cup of chips!
This one had little furry friends
This one had lollies and was sitting on a box with a tin and some coins in it
I turned back to the car to find troll feeding the real seagulls some of her chocolate
(Yes, I had left my lights on, but have a good battery!)
Finally, tired of sleeping in Motel beds we decided on Wednesday to head for home. The unusual cold snap had continued over night and as we made our way through the city traffic we heard reports on the radio of snow and black ice at Bacchus Marsh and Beaufort, both places we were planning to drive through on our way home. Further reports spoke of cars in ditches by the roadside that had spun out on the ice and there were grave warnings for motorists to take it steady through those areas. The road at Beaufort was even officially closed for a while.
It is easy for many motorists to come to grief in weather like this as most of Australia does not get snow at all in winter, so the majority of drivers are not familiar with driving in those conditions. Fortunately by the time we got to those places the sun had been out and done its stuff and the roads were open and quite safe. Just outside of Werribee we saw a few cars on the roadside, rather dirty and bent, clearly having been recently rescued from ditches and waiting pickup to take to a place or repair.
Troll was all excited about the possiblity of seeing snow as she has only seen it once when she was very little in the first snowfall in my area in 64 years. We could see dustings of it on distant high hills, but nothing much too close. Still, knowing its reputation for a cold place, when we got to Ballarat we turned off the freeway and ambled through the town. Sure enough, much to troll's delight in a little park we found a pocket of snow.
Just a little, but snow nonetheless
The pine bark of the playground must have helped keep it cold
It was enough for a troll to play in
And to learn how cold the stuff can be!
Troll with a snowball.. and yelling at me to hurry up and take the damn picture before her fingers froze!
Once I snapped the shot, she promptly threw the snowball at me!
As you leave Ballarat you pass under this arch
It is the beginning of the Avenue of honour for fallen soldiers. Each of the trees by the roadside had a plague in remembrance of a soldier lost in the wars
We drove for quite some time, and still the trees continued - all with their name plaques
I found myself feeling for all the lost lives, the families who had lost their young men..... so many lost lives.
Eventually we hit the open road again. It was a pleasure to drive the highway home. Unlike the ocean road we had taken over here, this road was straight and wide and I really had the sense of the wind in my hair at last, blowing the cobwebs out! The beautiful Grampians shadowed much of our journey to the border, sitting tall and beautiful to the south of our highway.
Along the way, we found this chap
And met a pair of white kangaroos at Bordertown!
It felt good to be heading home. Other than the snow pics were really weren't inclined to stop for photographs much on the way back. Melbourne this time had felt difficult for me. I have travelled there in the past, both by plane and driving and usually stopped in the cbd and done most of my sightseeing in the city centre or St Kilda. This time we had stayed out at Dandenong as it was central to where I wanted to go. The outer city had a rushed, sterile feel to it. I had a real feel of being in the rat-race. This was probably exacerbated by our leisurely journey through such beautiful scenery to get there, perhaps but I cannot say that this time I did not breathe a sigh of relief to see the back of Melbourne as I headed out on the M8, going home.
Perhaps too many people live there now, with all their conflicting energies and feelings overpowering the natural earth's energies. Whatever it was, this dragon was very glad to be heading home. The rolling hills and valleys through Bacchus Marsh and on to Ballarat were truly beautiful after the grey dreariness of the city. The open plains of the Wimmera seemed to dance along with us as we journeyed home, breathing joy and freedom into our souls and easing us on our journey.
Finally, at 6.30pm, eleven and a half hours after we pulled out of the motel in Dandenong, we were home.
The dragon has stretched her wings and it felt good.. damn good. But equally, it's damn good to be home.. *Smiles*