From the Mountains to the Oceans

Judy. If you know us at all, you know we love mountains, so of course we headed to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, for a couple of days.  Our Servas hosts, Howard and Irene, were listed as enjoying “bushwalking”, which is Australian for hiking, something we really love.

Interestingly, the road or train to the Blue Mountains goes uphill, but when you arrive, you are on a plateau of sorts, and much of the hiking involves walking down into canyon-type formations. The most famous landmark here is the “Three Sisters”, a triplet of rock formations that is really beautiful, and the color truly comes across as somewhat blue.  Most people walk down into this valley, then take an incredibly steep cog railway back up.  We saw many videos of this on You Tube.

Howard and Irene, however, are our kind of bushwalkers.  We braved the tour busses and crowds to see the sisters, then headed away from Katoomba (the main town) to Pulpit Rock, to a view of Pulpit Rock from another side, and other breathtaking views. We spotted a kestrel and were thrilled, and when we mentioned we’d not yet seen kangaroos, were driven down into a valley, where we saw several “mobs” of kangaroos and a black wallaby. It’s a joy seeing them in the wild. And I don’t think we saw a dozen people as we reveled in the beauty.

The following day Irene made a beautiful picnic, and we headed out to the Jenolan Caves, a series of arches and caves carved out by erosion over millennia. The climb to the arches was lovely, but at the bottom of the Grand Arch was Blue Lake, with crystal-clear water, and, to our great joy, a platypus! These little guys are so rare and so shy, but our fella swam up close several times and seemed to pose before diving.  The water was so clear that we could watch him even then!  We were mesmerized, and spent about a half hour watching him and the water dragons who lived nearby.

From the caves, Howard drove us to Kenangala Walls National Park, still in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, where we hiked past caves and onto a plateau with cliffs plunging hundreds of feet down. Howard took Ted’s photo on a rock jutting out over the valley, but I carefully moved myself several yards away.  I have a terror of heights like that. Still, from where I stood, I could see unbearably magnificent views. To top it off, as we headed back to the car we spotted a wedged-tail eagle, the largest eagle in Australia.  He soared over our heads (presumably looking for lunch) for several minutes as we watched in awe.

We stopped at a picnic table to have a super lunch, then headed back to Blackheath, where our hosts have a snug and charming home, and crashed.

During the night, I woke and looked out my window to see stars so close I felt I could touch them. It was a great mountain visit.

The next morning, Saturday, we headed for the train to Sydney, only to find that the tracks were being repaired, and we’d be riding a “replacement bus” into the city in order to catch the train to the airport. As has happened before, two passengers, a mother and a daughter, took us under their wing, and made sure we got from the bus onto the right train for the airport, even walking us to the platform to be sure. So many kind folks here.

We flew into Melbourne for a brief visit—two nights.  We’d heard about the “laneways” and the little hidden cafes we’d find in these alleys, but we didn’t have much luck.  We found two: Chuckle Park, which was cute and had good wine and snacks, and another Italian place. We were pretty disappointed not to find more.

Sunday morning we met up with Muna, the sister of a friend back in Georgia, who lives in Melbourne. She offered to be our tour guide in the city, and took us to Docklands, a former warehouse district that’s been reclaimed with shops, cafes, and cool sculptures. The day was warm, but we hopped on a free tram (renovated old trams that ride around the city) and got off at Federation Square. There was a Japanese festival going on, but it was PACKED, so we decided to walk to the Botanical Gardens instead. It was a long walk, but the gardens were shady and magnificent. Families were picnicking on the grounds, and a wedding was taking place by a small lake. After lunch, we headed back. Muna had planned to take us to Victoria Market, but the heat wore all of us out, so we said our goodbyes.

After a nap, Ted and I went to a small Italian restaurant nearby, called “Beer, Wine Calzone” (wonder what the serve?). Our waitress there, Erin, was from Omaha, Nebraska. When we told her we were from Atlanta, she said she was going to Emory University for a Master’s in Public Health in the fall, but since she’d been in Botswana in the Peace Corps for two years, she didn’t know anything about the city or Emory. We assured her she’d be fine, and promised that if she got in touch with us, we’d give her some names and contact info.  Let me know if you want to welcome Erin to Emory!

It’s very common here and in New Zealand to meet young people who are working on a one- or two-year visa. We’ve met young people from Denmark, Chile, the US, and, of course our good friend Mikaela from Sweden has been doing it. If you’re under 30, check into it.

Monday morning we boarded a train toward Geelong, where our Servas host Graeme picked us up and took us on a scenic trip around the Port Phillip Bay (home to Melbourne Harbor, among others) and to his home in Ocean Grove, where his wife Margie waited for us (after having taught two aerobics classes). Dinner on the patio, then Graeme insisted I go to the balcony to look at the stars—just stunning.  I saw the Milky Way. First time in years.

On Tuesday, Margie, Graeme, Ted, and I took the ferry from Queenscliff (a quaint beach city with beautiful architecture) across the bay to Sorrento, where we walked across the island to the surf side and clambered on the rocks for awhile. We had lunch, then headed back to Ocean Grove, and I went with Margie to my first yoga class since before I broke my arm! It was gentle yoga, but even though I’ve been out of the cast for two weeks, it’s stiff and sore. I’m trying to do physical therapy on my own, but it’s slow going.  At any rate, the class was a welcome respite.

Wednesday Graeme took us to Torquay Beach to catch the bus along the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay. The game plan was to do three days of hiking, but the shuttle buses are sadly lacking. We miss Te Anau’s shuttles! Instead, we took a bus to Kennett River Campground, where we saw koalas! As they do, they ate, then went to sleep.  The two we saw each opened eyes and stretched, then went back to sleep, but we saw them, along with some beautiful parrots, one of which landed on my shoulder in search of food.  I was a major disappointment to him.

Today, we hiked the first section of the Great Ocean Walk, from Apollo Bay to Shelley Beach and back.  The scenery is really stunning, and it’s fun to dodge the waves slamming against the rocks.  On our way back we finally saw a snake stretched across the path, but he decided we weren’t interesting, and pulled back into the bush.

We had hoped to shuttle to the Twelve Apostles tomorrow, but with the shuttles incommunicado, we’ve decided to head out to the Melbourne airport, where tomorrow night we’ll bid adieu to Australia and head on to Kuala Lumpur, where new adventures await. 

It’s been a beautiful month in New Zealand and Australia. I hope we’ll be back.