Great Ocean Road – Part 2 (Apollo Bay to Port Campbell)

Posted on January 22, 2018 by kenwehner

18 January 2018

Pic 2018-0118 12 Twelve Apostles (57) Edit

The stretch from Apollo Bay to Princetown is largely inland through rolling pastures. Just beyond the town of Princetown, our patience was rewarded when we finally arrived at one of Australia’s most iconic views. The Twelve Apostles is the best known and most photographed attraction along the Great Ocean Road. They are limestone rock formations that rise out of the ocean along the shoreline. Despite the name, there were only nine limestone stacks at the time they were named in the early 1900’s. Today there are eight. One fell in 2005.

We found the first two after climbing down the Gibson Steps to the beach. It was an unusually hot day and there was layer of fog hugging the shoreline. All of the formations can be viewed from above near the Twelve Apostles Visitors Center.

Our last stop was the Lord Ard Gorge viewing platforms before we headed to Port Campbell to get dinner and spend the night. Port Campbell, a great little coastal town, is an ideal location to visit the sites along the Great Ocean Road. From the Twelve Apostles to the Bay of Islands, Port Campbell is in the center of Great Ocean Road’s greatest hits.

Twelve Apostles

Pic 2018-0118 13 Loch Ard Gorge (3) Edit

Lord Ard Gorge

Port Campbell

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Great Ocean Road – Part 1 (Torquay to Apollo Bay)

Posted on January 21, 2018 by kenwehner

18 January 2018

Pic 2018-0118 09 Great Ocean Road (1) Edit

The Great Ocean Road has the reputation to be one of the great scenic drives in Australia. It starts in Torquay, about 100 km west of Melbourne, and stretches about 150 miles along the southern coast to Allansford however many consider Port Fairy, 38 km further west, the end of the tourist route. The road is filled with beautiful ocean views, rock formations, and relaxed beach towns.

On the first day of our road trip, we left Melbourne and drove directly to Torquay. Torquay and nearby Bells Beach is best known for being a world famous surfing beach and home of the annual Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach competition. We stopped at the Australian National Surfing Museum. It is a small but fun museum about surfing and surf culture.

The route from Torquay to Apollo Bay follows the coastline and provides stunning views at each turn. We made stops in Eastern View, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, and Apollo Bay.  Lorne was a good place for lunch.

Torquay and Bells Beach

Aireys Inlet

Great Ocean Road Shoreline

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Melbourne: Churches

Posted on January 18, 2018 by kenwehner

6 – 14 January 2018

Melbourne has a number of prominent church buildings. Here are a few we enjoyed.

 

St. Paul’s Cathedral – built 1891

 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral – built 1848

Pic 2018-0111 06 St Peters (3) Edit

St. Peter’s Eastern Hill Church – built 1847

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Melbourne: Sporting Arenas

Posted on January 17, 2018 by kenwehner

6 – 14 January 2018

Melbouren Park Satellite Image

Melbourne is a sports town. Melbourne Park was built in 1988 as the new home for the Australian Open but its various facilities accommodate several sports along with concerts and special events. Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, Hisense Arena, and the Show Courts are all utilized for the Australian Open.

Adjacent to Melbourne Park are several other facilities. AAMI Park is home to the Melbourne Storm, 2017 NRL Premiers, and A-League soccer teams Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC. Punt Road Oval serves as the practice field for the Richmond Tigers, 2017 AFL Premiers. Holden Centre and Olympic Park Oval serve as the training facility and practice field for the AFL’s Collingwood Magpies.

Pic 2018-0116 06 Eureka Skydeck (11) Edit

 

AAMI Park

Pic 2018-0110 02 Stadium Area (14) Edit

Holden Center (Collingwood Football Club)

Pic 2018-0110 02 Stadium Area (41) Edit

Punt Road Oval (Richmond Football Club)

The most famous stadium in all of Australia is the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, otherwise known as the MCG. The MCG is next to the stadiums of Melbourne Park but technically it is in adjacent Yarra Park. Established in 1853, the stadium hosted Australia’s first Olympics in 1956 Summer Olympics. The current stadium boasts being 10th* largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. While the MCG is mainly used for cricket and Australian Football League (AFL), it has also hosted a variety of events such as rugby union, rugby league, and soccer matches. This hallowed ground is a source of pride for many Melburnians and Australians country-wide.

We got an extra treat when we visited the stadium. AFL stars Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield were shooting a television commercial. Prior to arriving in Australia we would have had no idea who they were, but we have tried to fully emerse ourselves including sport. We recently watched Dustin Martin’s Richmond Tigers win the AFL Premiership along with the game’s MVP honors (Norm Smith Medal) and the season’s player of the year honors (Brownlow Medal). Patrick Dangerfield plays for the Geelong Cats and was last year’s Brownlow Medal recipient. We were excited to see them but I’m sure a lifelong AFL supporter would have been truly thrilled.

Pic 2018-0110 03 MCG (16) Martin Dangerfield Edit

Etihad Stadium (aka Docklands Stadium) is the only major sporting arena not located near Melbourne Park. It is located in the Docklands area, west of the CBD. The stadium is mainly used for AFL however we will be seeing the Foo Fighters here at the end of our visit.

Pic 2018-0116 01 Docklands (49) Edit

 

*The top 10 largest capacity sporting arenas in the world are:

10. MCG

9. Texas Memorial Stadium (University of Texas)

8. Bryant-Denny Stadium (University of Alabama)

7. Tiger Stadium (Louisiana State University)

6. Neyland Stadium (University of Tennessee)

5. Kyle Field (Texas A&M University)

4. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State University)

3. Beaver Stadium (Penn State University) – my Alma mater

2. Michigan Stadium (University of Michigan)

1. Rungrado 1st of May Stadium (Pyongyang, North Korea)

 

 

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Melbourne: King’s Domain

Posted on January 16, 2018 by kenwehner

11 January 2018

Pic 2018-0111 14 Shrine Rememberance (33) Edit

King’s Domain is a parkland across the Yarra River from Melbourne Park. Its home to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Queen Victoria Gardens, Government House (1876), Shrine of Remembrance (1934), Melbourne Observatory, and Sidney Meyer Music Bowl.

Disappointed, we could not get too close to the Government House. The home of Victoria’s Governor is gated and well secured.

The Shrine of Remembrance, honoring their ANZAC servicemen, is similar to some of the monuments found in Washington D.C.

Shrine of Remembrance

Government House

Observatory, Music Bowl, and Royal Botanic Gardens

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Melbourne: Williamstown

Posted on January 15, 2018 by kenwehner

9 January 2018

Pic 2018-0109 01 Williamstown (18) Edit

During our time in Melbourne, we are actually staying in the suburb of Williamstown, 9 km southwest of the CBD. Western Melbourne is more industrial and less populated than the more popular eastern suburbs. Williamstown has a popular beach and rail line that provide quick access to the city center.

We spent a day getting to know the area, walking around town and along Bay Trail from the marina to Timeball Tower. Williamstown sits on the bay with panoramic views of Melbourne’s skyline. The coastline has a mixture of parklands, marinas, and industrial marine facilities. The neighborhoods appear to be a mix of traditional homes being replaced by new.

 

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Geelong

Posted on January 13, 2018 by kenwehner

7 January 2018

Pic 2018-0107 01 Geelong (7) Edit

On our first full day in Melbourne, we did not rush into the CBD. Instead we took time to visit the local train station and get myki transportation cards so we’d be ready for the next morning. We took the afternoon to visit Geelong, a little over an hour’s drive from Melbourne. I was particularly interested. When we were making plans to move to Australia and thought we might live in the Melbourne area, Geelong was one of the areas we considered.

Geelong is located on Corio Bay about 47 miles (75 km) southwest of Melbourne’s CBD and at less than 200,000 residents is the second most populated city in Victoria. The city center and shoreline are busy and a nice place to visit. We enjoyed lunch at one of the street cafes with a view of the bay. There must have been a classic car show nearby. It was an added treat to see dozens of classics cruising up and down the Esplanade.

 

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Princes Highway – Part 2

Posted on January 13, 2018 by kenwehner

5 & 6 January 2018

Pic 2018-0105 01 Narooma NSW (81) Edit

After a slow-paced first day on the Princes Highway, it was time to make some distance. We drove from Nowra to Bairnsdale. Despite spending most of the day in the car, we found a few nice stops along the way. In search of Australia Rock our first stop was in Narooma, about 2 ½ hours south of Nowra. Australia Rock is a rock formation that has a hole in it that looks like mainland Australia. We expected to make a quick stop, snap a few pictures, and be on our way. Pleasantly surprised by what we found, we stayed longer than planned and wished we had more time.

Australia Rock by itself is cool. Bar Rock Lookout and the short walking trail was nice. Bar Beach looked like a great family friendly swim spot. However, the seals at Wagonga Head was the favorite part of our day. They were sunning themselves on the rocks and swimming in the nearby channel.

Narooma

Thirty minutes down the road near Wallaga Lake we found Camel Rock on the aptly named Camel Rock Beach. Further north is Horse Head Rock. The beach itself was nice and lifeguarded. The rock formations were fun to explore and an added bonus if you are looking to spend a day on the sand.

Camel Rock Beach

A short time down the road is the town of Eden, another picturesque town on the ocean’s coast. The parklands near Lookout Point provided nice views of the surrounding bays. Eden is known as a great place to go whale watching and is the home of the Killer Whale Museum.

Pic 2018-0105 05 Eden NSW (23) Edit

Eden

Another 30 minutes and we made our way through Ben Boyd National Park where we took a short hike to see The Pinnacles. Unfortunately you can only see the erosion feature from scenic lookouts on the trail.

Pic 2018-0105 04 Ben Boyd NP Pinnacles (14) Edit

The Pinnacles

With another 3 hours to go and most of the afternoon spent, we had to skip a few stops we had planned and concentrate on getting to Bairnsdale. We did stop for pictures at the New South Wales / Victoria state line signs – this was our first time in Victoria. We would have liked to visit Salmon Rocks at Cape Conran and the Lakes Entrance.

The next day was an unexciting trek into Melbourne. We checked into our accommodations were we will spend the next 4 weeks.

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Princes Highway – Part 1

Posted on January 12, 2018 by kenwehner

4 January 2018

Pic 2018-0104 05 Werri Beach (4) Edit2

With a successful 3 week visit of Sydney in our rearview mirror, it was time to embark on our trip to Melbourne. The shortest route from Sydney to Melbourne is the Hume Highway, but where’s the fun in that? We took the less direct and more scenic route, the Princes Highway. We started on the south side of Sydney. It wasn’t long till we took our first tangent through Royal National Park. Working our way down the coast we stumbled upon Bald Hill near Otford. Bald Hill is a popular stop. From the lookout you get your first view of Sea Cliff Bridge. What we were not expecting was the numerous hand gliders and paragliders. The view of the coastline with the bridge and gliders was a pleasant surprise.

We stopped again at the bottom of the hill to walk along the Sea Cliff Bridge. The bridge cantilevers over and flows around the rocky coastline. It reminded me a bit of the Bixby Creek Bridge on California’s Pacific Coast Highway.

Further down the road we took a quick tour of Wollongong and had lunch.

The highlight of the day was our stop in Kiama. It’s a beautiful little town with three beaches is on the coast about 35 km south of Wollongong. We took time to visit Blow Hole Point and the lighthouse. The stop was well worth it. Kiama would be a nice place to spend a weekend.

We ended our day in Nowra on the mouth of the Shoalhaven River.

Sea Cliff Bridge

Kiama, NSW

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Sydney: Opera House – Part 2

Posted on January 8, 2018 by kenwehner

25 December 2017 – 3 January 2018

Pic 2017-1228 10 Watson Bay Ferry (49) Edit

The Opera House is an intriguing form. Here are a few more from the second half of our Sydney visit including a tour of the inside.

 

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