Great Ocean Road (part 2)

Leaving Apollo Bay, i took the Great Ocean Road again on my way to Melbourne. This part of the road is slightly different, you are driving closer to the sea and the road runs past a number of smaller bays/creeks with a number of beaches that attract surfers. There are a few small towns (such a Lorne) which i imagine attract the Melbourne crowd at the weekend.

Photos here.

I now have a day and a half in Melbourne, before leaving Australia and returning home via Singapore/Malaysia. I can only hope that Heathrow will have warmed up by the time i return in a weeks time.

Great Otway National Park

Ever since arriving in Australia, i have listened to news reports about the terrible weather being experienced. There has been significant flooding, people being forced out of homes and some fatalities. It was therefore certain that at some stage i would run into some poor weather and the last 48 hours have seen heavy intermittent rain.

Staying in Apollo Bay for two nights, i spent some time travelling around the Great Otway National Park. As well as having a number of interesting stops, the drive is scenic and the winding roads force you to slow down and enjoy the views. Main highlights being the Otway Fly which enables you to get great views from tree level and Triplet Falls.

Photos here.

Great Ocean Road

Stunning.

The pictures tell the story.........

Port Fairy

Left Robe fairly early and started the drive to Port Fairy (around 300km). Once again it was a combination of rural farmland, forestry and coastal routes. Mainly along the A1, with occasional detours to see a variety of sights. These included Tantanoola caves and the Blue Lake at Mount Gambier. The lake changes colour in November to a pure blue which it keeps throughout the summer, apparently this is due to Limestone crystals that come to the water surface during the winter months and therefore create a darker colour. The lake is in a volcanic crater. The short 45 min tour was an interesting way to understand the history of the site (which includes a former land world speed holder driving into Lake - managing to jump out along the way, and an intrepid horseman (and poet*) jumping the permiter fence and was lucky that a ledge broke his fall).


Arrived Port Fairy late afternoon. Similar to Robe its a fairly small town but seems to have a bit more too it and appears slightly more prosperous. The best way to spend an hour or so (as recommended by hotel receptionist) is a walk around Griffiths Island which is a few minutes from the town centre. As well as a range of bird life, there are a number of wallabies on the island.


Photos of journey and Port Fairy - here.


*Adam Lindsay Gordon, who not surprisingly lived a short and eventful life, committing suicide at the age of 37. He is the only Australian poet buried in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Robe

Picked up car in Adelaide and commenced drive to Melbourne including Great Ocean Road. First stop Robe which is about a 4 hour drive across scenic South Australia farm land, along and then across (by Ferry at Wellington) the Murray river and then alongside lakes until getting to the coast. Photos of the journey here.

Robe itself is a small but historical seaside location which is apparently a summer retreat for Adelaide town folk. A one road town its not the liveliest of places but has a relaxed feel. Photos here.

Adelaide

With the early finish in test match, i thought i might get an afternoon to look around Adelaide but the poor weather (which has been prevalent in east of Australia for some time) came in and storms appear to have settled in for the rest of the day.

So i have been in Adelaide for 5 days and only really got an overview of the city. That view has been favourable (other than a rather ungenerous Casino!) with the centre quite compact but with a fair amount of open space. People quite friendly (despite result!)

Couple of photos here.

Adelaide Test - Day Five

Well, a third of day five actually!

As soon as Hussey got out (poor shot) then it all seemed very inevitable but the speed of Australia's collapse was a surprise. To be honest they played like an England team of old, little confidence and too many players apparently in poor form. Given rain set in from around 1pm, it would only have required Australia to survive until lunchtime and they would have got away with a draw.

So England deservedly go one up in the series. A real change from day two in Brisbane where Hussey/Haddin seemed to put that match in Australia's hands. Since then......

Cook has looked like he could bat forever............
He has found a good partner in Trott................
Pietersen has come to the fore...............
Swann has bowled like the number two bowler in the world (his current rating) and Australia have been unable to dominate him the way they looked to early in Brisbane..........
Anderson (apart from start of second innings) has looked more likely to take wickets than the Australian quicks............
Finn, despite looking ordinary at times, has taken a number of wickets.

According to Australian radio commentators, North, Bollinger, Doherty are all in danger of being dropped and Katich is out for the rest of the season.

Momentum all with England

Adelaide Test - Day Four

Day four finished and still all to play for.

After some early hitting by England and then a declaration, Australia survived with all of the main batsmen (excluding Ponting who left the field to the slightly unfair chant of "Your getting sacked in the morning*") played sensibly, had a bit of luck and got some support from the weather (although not as much as feared at one stage).

A final over wicket from KP, leaves a new ball and new batsmen in the morning. And more rain expected............


* a slight variation on the My Fair Lady song!

Adelaide Test - Day Three

After a while its gets a bit boring!! Having to endlessly stand up and applaud another Englishman can become a bit tiring.

150 partnership.......
Cook's innings (has he really been dismissed after all that time?!?).......
Pietersen's hundred............
100 partnership...........
200 ahead...........
Pietersen's 150...............
Another majestic four from Bell................
Pietersen's 200
300 ahead..............


Not necessarily in that order and some other's missing.

And then the rain came. Can that save Australia?

Adelaide Test - Day Two

Day one was a good day for England, day two would confirm how good a day.

With Strauss going after three balls, the normal English conservatism (ok well pessimism) kicked in again amongst English supporters, would we repeat Australia's performance? Then Cook and Trott just continued where they left off at Brisbane and just batted, batted some more and continued batting. Trott gave a couple of chances but overall it was very easy with both batsmen dealing with a fairly ordinary attack. The biggest surprise was Trott getting himself out and apart from a not unusual chaotic start from Pietersen it was all England.

Already ahead, its now a question of how many England score and ..................the weather. Showers are forecast from Sunday/Monday, with potential for heavier rain on Tuesday.

Adelaide Test - Day one

Good seat, right by the boundary in East Stand. Thankfully in shade until early afternoon and then the sun screen comes into full use as temperature gets to about 32 degrees.

Weird start to the day. Australia started in self destruct mode which Anderson took full advantage off (well not quite i guess as he dropped a hard return catch from Hussey which would have made it 12-4) but 2-3 (or 3 for 2 as the Australians say) was their worse start ever in test cricket.

On what everyone was saying was a perfect wicket (we will see tomorrow) Australia then got some momentum at various stages but continued to lose wickets - England bowled well but to be honest the batting was quite ordinary from Australia.

Advantage very much with England day one.

Indian Pacific

Back from Broome for a night in Perth and then the train journey to Adelaide. Over 2500km, this departs Perth Wednesday lunchtime and arrives (having made a couple of stops), first thing Friday in Adelaide. For those intrepid enough, you can continue on to Sydney arriving Saturday AM (making the whole journey 4,352km and 65 hours!).

The route has looked to move upmarket following competition from low price airlines that now provide an easy and cheap alternative for getting to/from Western Australia. As such it plays on the train experience rather than pure travel, with different classes (Red, Gold, Platinum) catering for different pockets. Food is surprisingly good and whilst its not the Orient Express (not that I have actually travelled on that) its a relaxed and comfortable journey.

Stops include:
Kalgoorlie which was the centre on the gold rush in the 1890's and is now the largest single open cut mining operation, including the Superpit Gold Mine which is more than 400m deep and over 3.3km long. Took a quick coach tour of this small but prosperous community, which still retains its mining charm (bar room brawls, brothels etc...).

Cook, once a thriving railway settlement, it now only has a handful of residents and is one of the most isolated outposts. Situated in the middle of the vast Nullarbor Plain, which is much of the backdrop for the journey during Thursday (including over 470kms of straight track).

Overall a very leisurely and enjoyable way to spend a couple of days. Photos here.

Broome

A couple of hours flight north from Perth, takes you to Broome. You notice the change in temperature and humidity getting up to mid/high 30s. To the west of Darwin, it has a similar feel although appears a lot smaller. It almost has a “wild west” feel to it and apparently the evening pub entertainment has got a lot more civilised over years, now advancing to a Wet T Shirt competition and vicars/tarts disco.

End November is around the beginning of the wet season and the town has a bit of a deserted feel to it. I knew before I came that I might be lucky to get on some of the day trips as the roads could be effected by bad weather and many of the tour companies close down around now. I managed to get on one trip to Cape Leveque – which was a full day (around three hours drive both ways - 50:50 on sealed rounds/tracks) and time to discover a few aboriginal setllements, Pearl Farm and Hatchery. The tour operator had given up banking around 6 years ago and gone for a complete change of pace/lifestyle – albeit was returning to his country roots.
(note to self : investigate North Kent tourist opportunities when I get back). Photos here.

Broome sees a mixed community of Aboriginal people and white european population. Most of the land around Broome is subject to various Native Rights claims which sees land being transferred back to Aboriginal ownership (although structure seems quite complicated). Relationship between the two ethnic groups seems fairly relaxed (albeit the fairly racist taxi driver that took me back to the airport had different views) which given the history of abuse of aboriginal people is quite an accomplishment. There are however still a number of issues. Around 80-90% of aboriginal working age population lives off welfare payments from the state and there appears limited employment opportunities (tourism but mainly in Summer, some mining activity but this involves significant travel) or much incentive to work. There also seems to be a signficant amount of general support services that look to combat some of the integration issues (alchohol having been a major problem for aboriginal communities). Overall the area appears to be making quite a bit of progress but until some more balance can be achieved in working population then the imbalance will continue.

Other photos of Broome here.

Ps managed to catch some of the first test which saw England recover from a first innings deficit and end the test with the greater momentum. On to Adelaide and its clear that the series is going to be a challenging and interesting one.

Perth

Arrived in Perth, via Singapore, around 1am. Thankfully, a quick trip through immigration, bag quickly provided and a short taxi ride to the hotel, meant that i was there around 45mins later.

Perth is famous for being the most remote city in the world and has a fairly relaxed but impressive feel to it. The centre appears quite busy but most of the activity seems to take place on/around the waterfront (apparently one in three families own a boat here).

Based on advice before i came out, i left Perth and took an hour boat ride down to Freemantle. Freemantle is smaller than Perth and a good place to slowly spend a day/half day. Took some time to go around the Western Australia Maritime Museum which was fairly low key but included a fair amount on Australia 2, the boat that won the Americas Cup in the 1980's.

Photos here

East v West ........different cultures

One of the things that surprised me when i was travelling around Europe, was the obdience that pedestrians showed to traffic lights. There seemed to be an amercian approach to "jaywalking", ie you only cross the road when the green man says you can. I was often amazed when all age groups would stand at the lights waiting to cross, when you had a clear view for miles of the lack of oncoming traffic. Maybe there is a new EU directive which has yet to reach the UK, but i adopted my usual approach - ie dont walk on red when there are old people or kids about, but at other times just be sensible.

Now i recognise that i actually have more in common with far eastern culture. To be fair its the motorbikes which take the view that green/red lights are purely advisory (and therefore discretionary), and if there is a gap, or a half gap, or a quarter gap, or there might be a gap...... they just move forward. As a pedestrian i have decided that waiting for the green man in the far east is probably a fairly sensible approach, but when he turns up you just walk........dont look,,,,,,,,try to ignore the hooting...........remember you have right of way............... and just walk (ideally at an even pace) and remarkably they will MISS YOU.

Of course when i get to Australia then i will probably need to be a bit more careful. Now i am not saying that Australian drivers are dangerous (although some states do have strange rules about being able to turn right even if its a red light) but they can spot a Pom a mile off and if they are not going to win the cricket then they might get their retaliation in early.

The Ashes are coming - can you make out what they are singing (part 2)

Expect the Barmy Army to start off fairly early with this one:

Convict Colony

(To the tune of Yellow Submarine)

In the town where I was born, there lived a man who was a thief
And he told me of his life, stealing bread and shagging sheep.
So they put him in the nick, and then a magistrate he went to see
He said "put him on a ship, to the convict colony"
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony

The Ashes are coming - can you make out what they are singing (part 1)

Ok, so to start off with an easy one:

Singer : Everywhere we go
Crowd : Everywhere we go
The people want to know
The people want to know
Who we are
Who we are
Where we come from
Where we come from
Shall we tell them
Shall we tell them
Who we are
Who we are
Where we come from
Where we come from
We are the England
We are the England
The Mighty Mighty England
The Mighty Mighty England
We are the Army
We are the Army
The Barmy Barmy Army
The Barmy Barmy Army
Andrew Strauss's Barmy Army
Etc Etc

Paris

Paris is the one city that i was visiting that i know fairly well. Given its so easy to get to and the regular rugby opportunities (RWC 2007 - how did we get to the final with such a poor team?!?* and Six Nation thrashings) i have been there quite a bit. As such these couple of days have been more about:

- seeing some familiar sites (Lourve, Jardin du Luxembourg - my favourite park in Paris);
- just walking around taking in the Parisien way of life;
- and seeing some new sites - i had not been for example to the Jardin des Plantes which is part of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle.

Pictures here.

*That tournament cost me a packet. I had been lucky enough to get to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Given England's form going into that event, i was confident enough just to book the quarter finals onwards - with some confidence that i would see England in more than one match (ok half time against the Welsh in the quarter final was a bit touch and go but we got through didn't we!) Going into the 2007 event, i had managed to book a "Follow England" package which got me tickets basicaly for as long as England played in the event. But to be honest i thought they would struggle and only booked travel and hotel options for the pool games. As things progressed i ended up trying to book trains/hotel at the last minute (the day after each time England won to get through to the next stage ) which was a bit expensive. It ended up costing me more than my three week trip to Australia in 2003. And we ended up losing the final in 2007!

Not long until the Ashes

Just wondering whether Marston's are going to launch a new set of adverts for the Ashes or whether Fosters are going to try and hit back. When Australia toured in 2009 they were greeted with the images above.

Flashback - are the aussies coming?

Brisbane

Lions tour 2001.

First Test

Walking to stadium.

Hundreds of lions supporters, all in colours (the red used by the combined nations - well the welsh would complain if it was any colour other than red). A sea of red, presumably the aussies must get to the ground early to sample the atmosphere??

But no. Not only was the ground full of lions supporters but the aussies were camouflaged (in later matches they would be given gold flags and tops to try and match the invaders - but never got close).

With Jason Robinson scoring a try in the corner in front of us, and the Lions winning with some ease, you could see why they stayed away. Later we were told that Brisbane was a rugby league area, not union. Probably true but a good excuse after the result.