Melbourne - Day 1

The city of Melbourne - Day 1...

I slept in and decided to take my time heading out for the day. Checked some emails, picked up some maps and tried to figure out what I wanted to do in the city. One of the first things I did was email a gal I met in Queenstown, New Zealand, Nichola. We met at the hostel in NZ and she is from Melbourne. I emailed her and she was kind enough to pick me up at my hostel and take me to her house in Albert Park for lunch. She gave me a driving tour of the city. We visited the St. Kilda neighborhood-where the bakeries are amazing, the conservatory and the community gardens. It was such a nice surprise to be able to get a tour from a local. Nichola was extremely hospitable.

When I arrived in Melbourne the previous night, I was dropped off at my accommodation and Nichola drove me around so, I had no sense of direction. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a busy city and had a hard time getting my barring, but what I had seen of the city to that point, I liked - cafes, parks, restaurants and lots of shopping...so far so good!

Great Ocean Road Day to the City of Melbourne...

The final day of the tour - Happy Valentine's Day!

We were up early, packed our things and had hot chocolate - a Valentine treat from Steve, our guide. We made our way back to The Twelve Apostles hoping to get a nice sunrise. We didn't really get one, too many clouds. It was a quick trip back to the Twelve Apostles and then we hit the road, the Great Ocean Road.

Along the way, we stopped at Great Otway National Park where I saw my first wild Koala Bear - awwww so cute! But, these Koalas are not very bright. Apparently, these poor Koalas are devolving due to inbreeding - cute, but dumb. The next stop was for a walk through the rain forest, then a few more stops along the Great Ocean Road with, what else, Great Ocean views. Caroline and I highjacked a heart in the sand made for MJ - Michael Jackson maybe? The beginning (or end depending on which way you are driving) of the Great Ocean Road has a historic monument as a tribute to the soldiers that came back from WWII. The soldiers were hired to carve out The Great Ocean Road - this was a great gesture from the Australian government as the depression was upon the world and jobs were hard to come by.

And we were off - away from the Great Ocean Road headed toward The Great city of Melbourne. Upon arriving in the city, the first sign I saw said "Making Love? Do It Longer" - I think I am going to like it here. Hahaha! I was dropped off at my hostel and later that evening a group from the tour met up at a pub for a night out. Fun time!

Great Ocean Road Day Two...

Day Two on the tour of the Great Ocean Road...up early, packed, ate breakfast and spent some time at Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Halls Gap. The visit to the cultural centre is the first I've had a chance to learn a little about the Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal people are said to have inhabited Australia dating back approximately 60,000 years. Their existence is and was truly off the land. They adapted and evolved around what the Australian land provided. Their story is one of injustice and sadness. In early days of colonial occupation, Aboriginal children were taken away from their parents "for their own good" and they had no claim to the land. We were able to watch a video on Aboriginal lore regarding creation and the evolution of man. No pictures were allowed to be taken in or of the Cultural Centre. In these "modern" times, they are second class citizens and it is almost as if the problem has gotten so out of hand that Australians would rather ignore than deal with the poverty, alcohol abuse and overall discrimination. In my humble view, the problem parallels that of South Africa and apartheid.

Another long day of driving. We finally made it to the ocean with several stops along the way. The Ocean Road highlights were:

• London Bridge - Now known as London Arch, however, prior to its collapse in 1990, it was know as the London Bridge due to the similarity to its namesake and it formed a complete double span natural bridge. Two tourist were stranded on the outer part of the Arc when the bridge collapsed and they had to be helicoptered off The Arc. The Arc/Former Bridge is a tourist attraction near Port Campbell National Park.
• Loch Ard Gorge - The gorge is named after the shipwreck of the clipper ship Loch Ard, which ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island on 1 June 1878 approaching the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne. Fifty-two people were killed, but two 18-year-old survivors were washed into the gorge and found shelter.
• The Twelve Apostles - The Twelve Apostles are giant rock stacks that rise from the Southern Ocean and are the central feature of the Port Campbell National Park. The Twelve Apostles have been created by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10–20 million years ago. The Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed rock stacks up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore.

We were at The Twelve Apostles for sunset where the views are supposed to be amazing, unfortunately the clouds were out and we didn't get much of a sunset. It was a long day of travel with some picturesque stops along the way. We made our way to our accommodation for the night in Princetown where it was another communal dinner. Caroline and I were lucky to score our own room. Sharing with one other person that you want to share with is a big score for the night!

A Journey To and Along The Great Ocean Road...

From Adelaide, I decided to take a tour to see the Great Ocean Road. I was up early the next morning, packed my bag and was picked up at my hostel. After picking up 14 passengers, I was off with the Groovy Grape Getaway tour company. Steve, was our “brilliant” tour guide. The tour was to consist of transport from Adelaide to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road with an overnight stop at the Grampians National Park and another overnight stop at the town of Princetown which is at the start of the Great Ocean Road.

We were up so early and that made for a very sleepy morning drive and it was a long one! We drove and drove into the early afternoon. Finally, we arrived at The Grampian National Park. The Grampians are a series of five spectacular sandstone ridges running north to south with steep slopes on the eastern side and gentler slopes to the west. They are the result of earth movements lifting and tilting the hard sandstones. There are lookouts with stunning panoramic views and a number of picturesque waterfalls. The Park is approximately 413,000 acres and it's beautiful. The rock cliffs make it an ideal place for rock climbers to practice and develop their skills. In January, the area was hit with severe flooding which made some of the normal tourist visiting areas off limits. We were able to take a hike along and up Hallow Mountain. It was only about 1.2 km but it was up a rather steep incline and overlooking a cliff. It wasn't too strenuous and after sitting in the bus for so long, the walk was a welcome activity and the views at the top were great.

After the hike we headed to Halls Gap, the main town in the Park and settled in at our accommodation. Caroline, my new friend, from London via Ireland and of Lord of the Dance/River Dance fame, and I took a walk and spotted hundreds of Kangaroos! Eastern Grey is the species and they are odd creatures. I can't figure out if I like them. They have this long tail that almost serves as a leg, short front arms with claw "hands" and when they are upright they are kind of creepy. But, they do have a cute face. I am undecided on how I feel about these creatures. We also spotted a very large stag deer that was not afraid of us at all. We were able to get really close to him.

The tour included meals and the meals were done communal style. Everyone chips in and either helps prepare or cleans up after the meal. We had a good BBQ dinner - no Roos were not on the menu! Caroline had chatted up the owners of our accomocation and was asking about the event in the main town. There was a jazz festival going on and 4-5 tent venues with different bands. After dinner, he ended up taking us to listen to the music. We were on average about 25 years younger than everyone there! It was a fun time.

Time to Reflect...

Where Am I, Who Am I and Why Am I here?

I have had a few bewildered moments while on this transient adventure. There is one moment in particular when I was in a tent camping in the red center of Australia, which basically the middle of absolutely nowhere. I woke up in the middle of the night and I had to remind myself where I was. Once I remembered where I was, I thought…”Oh yeah, and why am I here?”

I have had quite a few introspective moments over the previous few years and especially over the previous few months. One recent exchange stands out in my mind and caused quite a bit of pondering…A friend, with great intentions, sent an email to a friend of theirs who lives just north of Sydney. I was copied in on the email as this was to serve as an email introduction and it went something like this…“My friend from the states is traveling in Australia after a divorce…” etc., etc. Hmmm…I wondered why the divorce part was a necessary addition to the introduction. Is this how I am now defined, viewed or lableled by others, a divorcee before all else? Well, I wasn’t very happy about this label and have concluded that I am many things to many people.

I am called:

• Mija
• Patricia
• Joanne
• Joannie (that’s my mom’s favorite)
• Auntie
• Nina
• Jo
• Tia Jojo
• Jojo

I am:

• A Daughter
• A Sister
• An Aunt
• A Godmother
• A Sister-in-law
• A Cousin
• A Friend
• A Niece
• A Comadre

And I value them all!

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. How you handle it is the million-dollar question. It’s been almost 6 years since the event that is called a divorce happened in my life and it seems like a lifetime ago. So many events have happened subsequent and it seems so irrelevant now. It was a small chapter in this life I am leading, an event, and I choose not to be defined by it - "no body puts baby in a corner"! With age, 32 (insert big wink here), I have come to realize that I like where I am and how I choose to approach the curve ball events. I have developed a comfort in my own skin, a confidence in doing most anything on my own and I love life. Does this mean that I wouldn’t want to share life’s experiences with someone? – Absolutely not, but until that day comes (and for that matter - thereafter), I am going to enjoy and love this life I am living as I know it is too short!

Why am I here? It's simple, I want to be here. Yes, maybe the beginning of this journey a few years ago was a little eat, pray, loveish, but the truth of the matter is, I want to be here, exploring new lands and learning about different cultures. I love it, period. I recognize how very blessed I am to be able to be here doing what I love and I truly believe that I am where I should be. I am happy!

Vino and Sports in Adelaide...

I was up early the next morning for a wine tour of the famous Barossa Valley. Dallas, our tour guide, made the rounds picking 6 of us up at our accommodations and we were on our way. The Barossa Valley is located a mere 65 kms to the southwest of Adelaide. It is a compact valley and it produces approximately 20% of Australian wine. With hot, dry summers and cool, moderate winters – big red wines are the favorite. The Barossa Valley is 16 years OLDER than the Napa Valley – interesting!

We made our way through the Adelaide Hills where I saw my first wild Kangaroo! The Adelaide Hills area is on the outskirts of the Barossa Valley and is an up and coming region for vineyards and quality grapes. On the way, we stopped off at the Whispering Wall, which is a damn wall where the acoustics allowed one person to walk all the way to the other side and the sound traveled across the wall as if they were right next to you. It was quite impressive.

Winery Stop #1: Our first stop was Chateau Yaldara and the McGuigan Winery – quite a picturesque building. My favorites were a 2009 Moscato and a 20 year aged Tawny – nutty flavor and so good!

Winery Stop #2: Second up was Peter Lehman Winery where Shiraz is king. The Peter Lehman story is one of bravery and loyalty. As a grape grower, there was an excess amount of grapes in the late 1970s and the wine makers were not going to hold to their agreement of purchasing the grapes from the growers. Peter took it upon himself to buy the excess grapes and became a wine maker. Since then, he has been awarded and recognized as the International Winemaker of the year and Best Australian Producer. The Peter Lehman winery is now 85% owned by the Hess Corporation in the Napa Valley. I enjoyed all the wines and found the Sparkling Shiraz the most unique and interesting. Our group enjoyed a lovely lunch of local meats, cheeses, olives and bread.

Winery Stop #3: After lunch we were off to the family owned Langmeil which is home to the oldest known Shiraz vineyard in the world – this is possible because the old vines were transported here from Europe and the European vineyards have been wiped out by phloxera. They also produce a Sparkling Shiraz. My favorite was an old vine Shiraz.

Winery Stop #4: Murray Street Vineyards is one of the smaller wineries on our tour. The owner and chief winemaker, Andrew Steppelt is a 6th generation Barossa wine maker. At this point in the tour, I had stopped taking notes on the wine – they were all pretty good! The icing on the cake was the chocolate served with the final Shiraz – Wow, delish!

What do I think of the Barossa Valley? It was marvelous! Great wine, great tour and informative guide, great food – what more can you ask for? Better than Napa/Sonoma – no probably not, but I am bias.

After the tour, I wasn’t ready to call it a night. I had wanted to see an Aussie Rules Football game, but it wasn’t the season. So, I decided on football (aka soccer). I went to see the Adelaide United play the Melbourne Victory in a football match at the Adelaide Oval. I walked over to the stadium and along the way, similar to my football experience in Argentina, ended up behind the police escort of the visiting fans. These football fans are a rowdy bunch and they have foul-mouthed chants, no doubt about that! I bought a general seating ticket that had me sitting on an outer grass section. I thought to myself, “I can do better”. I made my way to the “nice seats” where you had to show your ticket to get in. I waited and at the opportune moment, I snuck past the ticket checker. HA – I was sitting at half field (is that a term – like half court?). Nice work! There is an advantage to being alone at these types of events. It was a fun game. Adelaide won, 2-1 and my favorite player is now Carlos Hernandez.

It was a long day of really nice vino, good food and fun sports!

Next Up, South Australia and the Lovely Adelaide...

I had contemplated over and over again – what are the main places I want to see in Australia? In total, I had just over 3 weeks in this big country and there is SO much to see and do. I can’t possibly expect to see everything – that would be like trying to see the entire U.S. in 3 weeks, it’s not gonna happen. So, I made the conscious decision to chill out, enjoy the time I do have and no stressing out about what I did NOT fit in – right-O!

I had pretty much ruled out Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast and Cairns. Very sad, but with the floods in Brisbane, cyclone in Cairns, and bush fires in Perth, I just didn’t think this was time to go to these places. It’s been a rough natural disaster year for Australia.

That said, I wanted to see and compare the wine region of Australia to my favorite wine region of them all, Napa/Sonoma. I booked a flight to Adelaide. I said good-bye to Tasha and Matt for now and I was off. I arrived in Adelaide at noon with a ½ hour time change – never have I been somewhere that has only a ½ hour time difference. I took the city bus from the airport to the main city center and made my way to my hostel. I felt misled by my handy dandy lonely planet travel guide. I picked their recommended place to stay and didn’t like it one bit. If you are ever going to go to Adelaide, don’t stay at “My Place”. I wasn’t planning on staying more that two nights so, I forced myself to tolerate this cramped, dingy place. I dropped off my bags and first thing on the list - I wanted to see the very popular food market. I started walking and it was hot outside – did I say hot, I mean really hot, upwards of 35 degrees (=95+ degrees fahrenheit) with some humidity thrown in for good measure. I finally got to the market and was overwhelmed by everything they had. I was so hungry, but kept wandering because I just couldn’t make a decision on what to eat. Meats, cheeses, nuts, sauces, breads, fruits, veggies – pretty much anything and everything you’d want was there. I bought some pot stickers, veggies, pasta and some pesto for dinner and headed back to put my goods in the refrigerator. I ate an early dinner and decided to walk the town. I walked, walked and did some more walking and saw: The Adelaide University, The Art Gallery, The Rundle Mall and the grounds where the Adelaide Fringe was to take place - The Garden of Unearthly Delights. The Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival and consists of cabaret, theatre, music, comedy, dance and visual arts. The festival lasts for 3 weeks and is world renown. I was there for the opening , but just didn't have the energy to go the first night. I headed back to the yucky hostel and went to bed. Next up...some vino!