Thursday, November 19th
We slept well last night after a rather late day yesterday. Breakfast was at a small café serving breakfast that was recommended by the hotel owner and located down at the Cowes waterfront, “Madcowes” (http://www.madcowescafe.com.au/), which specializes in organic, local produce. Mel had the “Eggs Emperor” (“two poached eggs, beetroot, feta, asparagus & smoked salmon on sourdough toast”, $18.50) and I had the “Madcowes Hash” (“kasundi mushrooms, house made potato croquette topped with a fried egg”, $16.95). Both were very good indeed. No I don't know what “kasundi mushrooms” are but they tasted quite nice.
We sat eating outside of the café at a table on the pavement so we could enjoy the morning sunshine. Our quite contemplation was only spoilt by a mother at an adjacent table talking on her telephone while her child crawled all over her screaming. Things are the same no matter where you go.
On the way out of down Mel had me stop at a local supermarket so she could take a picture of their sign. In Canada our experience of an IGA is just a simple supermarket (no alcohol) but here there seems to be a different attitude…
There was a bit of disappointment yesterday when we got back from the penguins as we noticed that we had accidentally spilled coffee on our programme so we decided to drop back into “Penguin Parade” to pick up another copy and, as it turns out, it was on the way to another place we wanted to visit on the island anyway, “The Nobbies”. Mel was able to quickly run in and pick up another copy of the programme and we continued down the road.
“The Nobbies” are at the extreme western tip of Phillip Island just a short distance from the penguins. A large stretch of rock a few hundred meters from the shore is home to a small colony of seals and the mainland is home to a large colony of sea birds. There is also a small newly refurbished visitor centre here where I was hoping we would be able to watch the seals on a live video feed from the colony but I was told that the camera is no longer working.
Looking through the binoculars near the visitor centre we could barely make out the seals in the distance so we had to be satisfied with a short walk along the wooden walkways that wind down and around the rocky cliffs.
Part of the walkway at the base of the cliffs was closed because it is nesting season for the birds that live here though we were able to walk among many of them nesting higher up anyway…
The greenery here is very short and scrubby but on closer inspection it is a form of succulent - A low-water plant like a cactus that has plump water-filled leaves. A lot of it was in bloom which was quite pretty spread out over the hilly terrain.
The real thing to see for us though was the enormous number of nesting sea birds squawking all around the area - Not only were we within meters of these birds but also their grey, fluffy young that appear to have only recently hatched. They were not all that keen for us to be there and kept reminding us that we were not welcome with their noisy shouting and the occasional low dive at us as we walked past.
Leaving the nests behind we followed the walkway along in front of the visitors centre then along the edge of the cliff for a short distance where a large “blowhole” was visible just below us at the water’s edge - A large natural cave that the sea water crashes in and out of.
A wonderful walk. Quiet away from the birds too.
Back in the visitor centre a large group of kids were obviously visiting as part of a school trip as we found a corner well away from them to have some drinks near the enormous windows overlooking the rocks. A short look through the shop then we returned to the car.
Some birds we had seen on the road earlier on our way to the Nobbies were still there but now they were in the middle of the road (by a 60 km/hr sign) so I had to slow down and give them a wide berth. They did not make any move to getting off the road. Mel happily snapped pictures as we went around them.
One of the other highlights of Phillip Island is the “Koala Conservation Centre” located in the middle of the island. The sanctuary is just off the main road just opposite a rather large “adventure park” and is quite small but home to a number of koalas. A large and extremely old tree welcomed us to the modern visitor centre where there is a small cafe, souvenir shop and exhibit on koalas.
After paying the entrance fee of $12.25 we spent a bit of time at the exhibit learning a bit more about these wonderful, and very cute it has to be said, animals. A series of small displays explained what the koalas eat and how the centre cares for them. I think here the idea is “hands off” as much as possible preferring instead to leave the animals to themselves with as little human intervention as possible.
The sanctuary is in the middle of the bush with a number of eucalyptus trees all around - Ideal for koalas as these are their main source of food (I understand it is a very specific species of eucalyptus as well). There are a series of gravel paths leading around the site so we followed the one to the “Tree Top Koala Board-Walk” where, we were confident, koalas would be present. It is quite quiet and peaceful here so we enjoyed the walk until we spotted something very high in a tree beside the path - Our first koala perched it must have been about 40m above the path sleeping, of course, in the midday heat.
There are several areas of the sanctuary sectioned off with large green plastic “koala fences” that are about 2 meters high but cannot be climbed by the small animals.
We entered the “Tree Top Koala Board-walk” to have a look at these pretty creatures. The wooden board-walk is only a few meters from the ground with the koalas sleeping in the trees very close to where you stand and, in one case, actually on a section of the board-walk that has been sectioned off from visitors.
In the first section we visited many of the koalas were only visible further away from the walkway but in the second they were much closer - Often only a meter or so away from us. Mel spent some time photographing one koala in a tree at eye level in a tree beside the walkway.
This one was actually awake and was looking around showing signs of life. We spent a lot of time leaning on the railings and simply watching these gentle, pretty small creatures with their tuffs of hair on their ears and triangular heads with black noses.
Their claws are amazing - Long and curved which must be perfect for holding them in the trees even when sleeping. I can’t say I would want to hold one thinking I was a tree…ouch.
There were only 10 or so koalas here but we spent a lot of time watching them as they mostly just slept before leaving the enclosure and going on a “forest walk”. This was a long circular route through the grounds where we did not really see much of anything except for trees. At one point a small boy walking in a group in front of us pointed at something high in a tree - Another koala that we would easily have missed.
What we did not miss were some beautiful small blue birds flying about. The birds here are amazing - so exotic to us and so beautiful - We spotted yet more large white cockatoos flying around here, they seem to be everywhere though.
As we got closer to the exit at the visitor centre we spotted a wallaby in the woods but then on closer inspection we noticed that it had a baby then we saw further in several more mothers eating under the trees. They were only 4 or 5 meters away from the path and seemed largely unconcerned with Mel and I snapping away on our cameras. Their coats are so well camouflaged for this type of terrain.
The wallaby is much smaller and, to our senses, much gentler creature than the kangaroo. Their fur is much softer and the markings around their paws and face is quite black. The rest of the coat is a warm brown. Kangaroos, on the other hand, are much slender, taller and aggressive looking with, generally, a uniform light brown fur. We have seen a number of wallabies on this trip (mostly alive, thank goodness - though we have always looked to see what the body beside the road is…) and not so many kangaroos.
One of the Wallaby babies, more than half the height of his mother, got in and out of his mother’s pouch which was quite amazing as it was so large with its legs sticking out!
Eventually they got a bit nervous and retreated, hopping away into the bushes. Wow.
The woods looks very dry here with a lot of brown everywhere you look. The eucalyptus trees add an odd feeling to the place with their dropping strips of bark and long, slender trunks. The ground is covered mostly with leaves and very few smaller plants. It is very dusty. We liked the peaceful walk through the park but reluctantly returned to the visitor centre.
Inside the building and it's air conditioning we sat for a few minutes to have drinks in the café. While we were waiting Mel chatted with some visitors in the middle of purchasing tickets for tonight's “Penguin Parade” - She chimed in to tell them how great it was as they seemed a bit reluctant. She highly recommended our “Penguin Plus” experience.
Phillip Island is home to a “GP Circuit” (https://www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au/) but this is not the “Formula 1” track, that is a few hours to the north in Melbourne and where we were now headed. We did not have time to visit the “GP Circuit” so we continued on our way. We also skipped a visit to “Churchill Island” where they have an assortment of historical buildings that we had been assured was worth visiting.
Always leave something for our next visit.
This was basically it for our trip from Sydney to Melbourne. Now we simply had to get to our hotel in Melbourne. The trip was quite boring if sometimes a bit confusing as we followed many smaller roads attempting to avoid toll-ways. The scenery was flat and not terribly interesting with only a few houses here and there. Mostly it was all about roads and cars. As we got closer to Melbourne the roads turned into large motorways with large volumes of traffic.
We are staying near Albert Park to the south of the city a short distance from the ocean. We followed a tram for a lot of the way into the city. The road itself was four lanes with the tram line in the middle and the two on either side generally given over to parking but this did not stop a number of people trying to pass around the tram on the outside. We just took our time and followed the tram while keeping a close eye on Google Maps on my phone. The areas we passed through were largely residential with small shops on either side of the road but there were a lot of cars about particularly as we have not really seen many for the past week while on the road!
Our hotel is the “Pullman and Mercure Melbourne Albert Park” (http://www.pullmanalbertpark.com.au/) which is on the other side of the street from Albert Park which is well known to Formula One (car racing) fans as the home of the “Melbourne Grand Prix”, the first race of the Formula 1 year.
Other than the busy road out front the hotel seems to be a quite a nice place to stay as it is not in the city centre and has the park opposite. Pulling up outside I was thinking of using the valet but he suggested we take the car around the corner where we could park in an underground car park for $25/day instead of with him where it was $35/day. Leaving the car at the front for the time being we headed into the hotel to check-in.
The Pullman and Mercure is a very modern hotel with a high atrium in the middle where you can look up and through the glass roof. There are a lot of sofas and comfortable seats throughout the foyer as we made our way to reception.
Our room is in the north tower, “tower 2”, room number 5104 (the fifth floor, not the 51st!). It is a nice room with a small sofa, large bed and shower in the bathroom. Our window looks away from the park at another office building but, hey, we won’t be in the room much anyway.
I returned to the front of the hotel to take the car to the car park then stopped at the front desk to talk to them about travel. They recommended we get a transit card, “myki”, that can be topped up but includes some credit already so we did this.
Leaving the cool interior of the hotel we walked around the corner to the next street over away from the park where the tram line runs. We had to cross to the middle of the road where the tram platform was. Thankfully, the hotel is right at a station so we did not have to walk any great distance and only a few minutes later the tram arrived.
The trams are very modern and quite spacious. We figured out that, like in London, you have to touch the myki cards against the readers when you enter the tram and when you exit…with one rather confusing exception. In the middle of Melbourne the trams are all free so you don’t need to touch on/out when you are in this area.
The tram took us north along “St Kilda Road” where we eventually passed by the National Gallery of Victoria then over the Yarra River before arriving at the hectic and wonderfully Victorian “Flinders Street Station”. The trip took about 30 minutes.
This end of the city centre is largely unfamiliar to me, the west side. When I stayed here with my mother in 1999 we were on the east side so this was all new. We walked away from the busy train station and randomly down alleys and streets just seeing what there was to see with no particular agenda. To be honest, I thought that today we would only have time to get to the hotel and not be able to look around so this visit is a bit of a bonus for us.
The city sort of reminds me a bit of Chicago with some skyscrapers but seeming a bit like we have stepped back in time with the tram cables everywhere and a lot of old stone buildings.
We ended up crossing back over to the south side of the river and walking along the walkway there back towards Flinders Street. This area I am more familiar with as I remember walking along the river with the massive casino and hotel complexes with their fancy restaurants.
It has changed since I was last here with many public works of art scattered all around and seeming to me more a part of the city rather than just a glass and concrete expanse.
It was very busy as we got closer to the station and it was getting close to dinner time.
I had noticed several signs and some promotional material for a “Night Noodle Market” (http://melbourne.goodfoodmonth.com/noodlemarkets) which just so happened to be just down the river opposite the train station. Evidently these markets are quite a common occurrence but it was still just luck that it was on exactly while we were here.
The market had just opened so it was an ideal time to visit and have something to eat! We followed the trail along the river. This stretch had fewer buildings on either side but a number of rowing clubs on the south side with teams practising in their boats up and down the river. There were several interesting looking buildings here as well with more public art very much in evidence.
The market turned out to be huge. Four separate areas with a large number of stalls selling anything you might imagine - Not just noodles but food of every description.
There were people sitting on the grass everywhere as the few chairs available were long since occupied enjoying the sun as it was beginning to set in the early evening cool air.
The queues were big everywhere but we did find some interesting things to try. The first stall I had a “Ramen burger with pork” (very odd, two fairly solid, but moist, rectangular masses of ramen like you would get in a packet with delicious BBQ pork in between eaten like you would a hamburger…a messy hamburger) and Mel had some fried chicken pieces with a wonderful sauce. Both were delicious.
Heading up a set of stairs we passed into another section of the market where we had some “salt and pepper squid” (a huge amount for not a lot of money) and Mel had a “pad thai” (a dish from Thailand that is spicy noodles with chicken).
We found a small piece of unoccupied grass where we sat down to eat, enjoying the people watching as much as the food. There must be more than 100 stalls here and everyone is just out and enjoying it - The food, drink and the humming atmosphere.
I had noticed throughout the site there were these big electronic boards which were keeping a running tally of which stalls were proving to be the most popular but by the time we crossed over a small bridge and up a hill where the most popular was located we were stuffed and couldn't eat any more. We were also a bit tired from our rather full day. A bit of a disappointment but we sat on the side of the hill looking out over the section of the market we had first visited then reluctantly headed back along the river and the train station for our return trip to the hotel.
It has been a nice day with a lot of surprises from the wallaby’s at the Koala park to the night market here in Melbourne. Unfortunately tomorrow is our last full day in Oz but, at least, no more long distance travel by car!
Today was only a short drive anyway at 150 kilometers. Our route today…