Australia 3

And so back on the mainland I spent a couple of days in Melbourne. A visit to cousins (second and second once removed!) for lunch and some wandering around the big city. Certainly a lot to see and do, plenty going on - especially on a Saturday night!

Street Sculptures

Old and new in Melbourne

Silhouette in the excellent Melbourne Museum First Peoples section.  Kwatkwat man Tommy Mcrae painted the original in the C19. He recorded early encounters with the Europeans. Here the ceremonial dancers turn to towards each other in anticipation as a ship approaches.

More old and new

Next I took the train from Southern Cross station up to Wangaratta. Time passed quickly chatting on a variety of topics to an English girl on her gap year and an older Australian gentleman. After the 2.5 hour journey I was met by my old friend Jackie. Probably hadn't seen each other for ten years. We worked together in France in 1987. Several days of good food and wine ensued.

Like a good tour guide Jackie took me out for the day. We did a couple of walks around Mount Buffalo. Below the view back towards Porepunkah where she lives. 

Bush fires have cleared the view around the Horn. Here looking towards the Cathedral and the Hump.  (No doubt they have far older names too).

Alpine everlasting

Bright is the local town and a popular tourist destination. Thriving place with lots of shops, cafes and a bookshop. I took a short walk along the Ovens River and learned a bit about the gold mining history of the area. After the initial hand workings and sluicings big machines were built to strip the land and sift out the remaining gold. As a result the soil is pretty thin.

Then it was back on the train for the 7 hour trip to Mossvale, just south of Sydney. Here I stayed with my mum's cousin Heather who was a wonderful hostess and tour guide. Managed quite a lot of wildlife spotting: echidna (spiny anteater), wombat, kangaroos, water dragon, huntsman spider, leeches and various birds including lyrebirds and black cockatoos.

View to the coast from the Drawing Table Rocks

Tiger leech that had latched on through my sock

Landscaping along the road and some drystone walling by Richard

Heather took me to Boderee National Park on the coast where we met this very unfazed kangaroo.

Murray's Beach where the water was actually warm

Huntsman Spider in the house, the size of my hand - we managed to catch it in a box and set it free.

And so my month in Australia was at an end. Heather and I finished with an evening of watching Billy and Molly: An Otter Love Story. Hopefully she will see some otters next time she is in Shetland! The it was back to Auckland and down to Invercargill for more kiwi adventures but fewer exotic animals.