Australia 2023 - Melbourne & Apollo Bay

MARCH 2023 - APRIL 2023

A misty morning taxi ride got us to Heathrow Airport then Qantas Airlines took over our transportation to Australia. Sixteen, mostly sleepless, hours in the air got us to Perth. At least it was direct, and in fact, currently the longest direct flight offered by any operator in the world.
Although it had been raining, it was now dry and a lot warmer than the UK. Our hosts for the night picked us up at the airport and brought us to their very comfortable B&B not far from the airport. A bit of flight recovery was our first job. Once the day began to cool, we took ourselves out for a stroll in Gravey Park, next to the Swan River. It was good to stretch the legs and the park was full of bird life, which added to the enjoyment.

Stick Insect crossing our path

Walking in Gravey Park

The following day consisted of more travelling. This time we were crossing Australia from Perth in the west to Melbourne further east. We arrived in a wet Melbourne and were greeted by our good friend Neil. Once the bags were collected he whisked us off to their place in Port Melbourne and to a lovely meal prepared by his partner Nikki. For the next three and a bit weeks we would be staying with Neil and Nikki, either at the house in Port Melbourne or their one in Apollo Bay, punctuated by a road trip.

On our way to Melbourne

We had arrived in Melbourne at the same time as the Australian Grand Prix. As the circuit was only a short walk from the house, Neil and I thought we would attend the qualifying day, which happened to be on our first day in Melbourne. Anne and Nikki had no interest in joining us and instead did their own thing. We then joined up in the evening for a Greek meal.

Day two in Melbourne started very early for us. The jet lag was taking its toll and as we were awake we decided to go out and see the sun rise from Port Melbournes Princes Pier. Well worth the effort.

Sunrise over the commercial port

Port Melbourne Prince's Pier at Sunset. It's what remain of the 580 metre long historic pier, it was known as the New Railway Pier until renamed Prince's Pier after the Prince of Wales who visited Melbourne in May 1920

As the day was turning out rather nicely we all thought we would take a stroll after breakfast. A walk along Port Melbourne’s sea front was our chosen destination and we joined many others enjoying the autumn sunshine. The day was completed by a delicious late lunch at a local brewery.

Day three, four and five had a similar theme, as we hoped on to the tram to explore Melbourne’s city centre. The short tram ride from Port Melbourne deposited us into the heart of the city and from there we did our own self-guided city tour. During this time we covered most of the main attractions and were particularly impressed by the Sandridge Pedestrian Bridge over the River Yara.
Years ago in a previous incarnation, the Sandridge Bridge transported thousands of new arrivals from Station Pier to Flinders Street Station and new lives beyond. This is now commemorated by some impressive steel sculptures but what makes it special and very informative are its side panels. Each glass panel represents an originating country and lists the number of Melbourne and Australia immigrants together with where their journey started.

Melbourne High Rise

The Sandrine Pedestrian Bridge

Melbourne Federation Square

ACDC Lane in Melbourne

Melbourne Old Tram

Having collected our hire car the previous day we were now ready to change locations. Neil had already left to pick up his brother Steve from the airport by the time me, Anne and Nikki had loaded the hire car ready for the trip. Our destination was Apollo Bay, where Neil & Nikki have a beach front house.
The first section of the journey was pretty un-interesting as it consisted of motorway. But once we left the motorway and joined the Great Ocean Road it became much more interesting. The Great Ocean Road hugs the coast from south of Melbourne all the way down to Apollo Bay and beyond. The road undulates from beach level to high above the cliffs, all the way providing magnificent views, albeit a bit hazy for our journey.
We arrived around lunch time and once fed and watered we were ready to explore the beach in front of Neil and Nikki’s house. Pizza and beer at the local distillery followed by a relaxing evening in this beautiful house completed the day.

Ocean Road scenery

Scenery along the Great Ocean Road

Apollo Bay House

The weather forecast for our stay in Apollo Bay was not good, and as predicted, the next day we awoke to a rain filled sky. Rain showers were ever present for the duration of our stay but this didn’t dull our enjoyment or prevent us from doing things.
Firstly the house was beautiful and a great place to escape the worst of the weather. Then the beach was right on our doorstep so convenient for a walk between the showers. Plus the town of Apollo Bay had its own charms and even some galleries to look around.

View from the house in Apollo Bay

Low tide at Apollo Bay beach

Rock pool treasure at low tide

Having said all of the above we did get some good weather and were able to have some great trips out during our stay.
One prolonged period of sunshine drew us to a location high on a hillside above the town. This was called Mariners Lookout and afforded a magnificent view of the bay stretched out below us.

View over Apollo Bay from Mariners Lookout

A short drive west of Apollo Bay is the Great Otway National Park. Through it runs the Great Ocean Walk (110km walk starting in Apollo Bay) and because of that has a number of well maintained trails. On our first visit to the park we entered on the eastern edge and followed the Elliot River Loop. A beautiful trail through giant eucalyptus trees eventually emerging on the coast where the Elliot River empties into the Ocean. However, a nice walk wasn’t the only reason for our visit, this is a perfect environment for Koala’s and we were incredibly lucky with our sighting. We spotted several sleeping in the trees but the most special sighting was meeting one on the ground, moving from one side of the forest two the other.

The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial

Koala on the move

Rare sighting of a Koala on the ground

Koala up a tree, where they are generally found, which means walking looking up if you want to spot one

Elliot River emptying in the Great Southern Ocean

We returned to the Otway National Park the following day and entered a bit further west at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk. This area has never been logged so the trees are much older, ferns much larger and with a Jurassic Park feel to it. Elevated walkways protect much of the fragile undergrowth and dedicated paths keep tourist off the rest. The area is also renowned for the very rare Carnivorous Black Nail, which we were able to locate two of them.
Another visit to the Koala area of the park on the way back was rewarded with further very good sighting of Koala. A pleasant coastal walk finished the day.

Otway Black Snails are carnivorous, eating insect larvae, earthworms, slugs and other snails

The Otway Black Snail with a shell measuring only 28mm (the pinky finger nail if you have a small one)

Tree Ferns are older than Dinosaurs

Maist Rest Rainforest Tree Fern

Sleeping Koala, they can sleep up to 20 hours a day

Beach next to the Great Ocean Walk

Elated after an amazing road trip we arrived back at Neil and Nikki’s in Port Melbourne. The focus was now on party preparation. Neil likes to celebrate his birthday in style with each year having a different theme, this year it was the Blues Brothers.
However, the preparation didn’t get off to a good start. Anne, Neil and Steve hadn’t been feeling on their best form for a few days towards the end of the road trip. By the time we got back to Port Melbourne Neil and Steve seemed to be on the mend but Anne’s cough and sore throat had got worse. We decided a visit to the doctor would be the best way to speed up the recovery but this wasn’t possible until she had taken a Covid test. To our surprise she tested positive, to our greater surprise so did I, even though I felt very well and had no signs of the virus. All this prompted Neil and Steve to test as well, who also returned a positive result. Nikki had been shielded from us over the past few days and thankfully tested negative.
A plan was hatched that Nikki would vacate to an AirBnB nearby, to avoid catching anything, whilst the infected one’s would make party preparation in semi-isolation. The Covid rules in Australia required infected people to isolate for between 5 to 7 days after the first signs of illness, beyond this period they were unlikely to be infectious. Based on the first signs of illness, Steve, Neil and I would be safe to attend the party whilst Anne would have to stay in her bedroom.
Four days later the party went ahead as planned. All the furniture was removed from the downstair of Neil & Nikki’s Port Melbourne house and replaced by Blue Brothers paraphernalia. Large quantities of alcohol was purchased, food for around 50 guests was prepared and Anne baked an enormous Victoria Sponge Cake. Around 18:30 a five piece band arrived followed by a constant flow of guests. An evening of music, dancing, socialising, drinking and eating then followed.

Before the Guests arrive

The Cake!

The Blues Brothers Party aka Neil's Birthday Party

Brushtail Possum (not to confuse with the Opossum they are found in the Americas)

The days before and after the party were spent either assisting in the party preparation, taking time to recover from the effects of Covid or enjoying shoreline walks.
One location we couldn’t resist visiting is an area with the same name as our home town, called Brighton Beach. Its just a few kilometres east of Port Melbourne, so a comparison was a must. The first thing we noticed was the row of beach huts, it definitely had that in common. The beach however was quite different, no undulating mounds of pebbles but smooth white sand instead. The water was also much more blue and I am sure a lot warmer, although we didn’t test it to see.

Brighton Beach Australia

The Canberra class is a ship two landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), 230.82 meters

It was now time for Anne and I to move on. We thanked Neil & Nikki for their wonderful hospitality and took an Uber to Melbourne Airport. Next stop Western Australia.