Melbourne #3 - Mornington peninsula and Phillip island

And now the final post from Melbourne.
So we've explored the city, we've been west, and now it's time to go east.
Melbourne itself lies at the northern end of Port Phillip, a bay on the southwestern corner of Australia.  The southeastern border of the bay is the Mornington peninsula.
Away from the busy city, it's home to many small farms, dairies, beaches, and it's the country getaway for many Melbourners.  So let's go!

We decided on a one day tour, and our small group was led by Jason of Melbourne Coastal Tours.
He arrived to pick us up early, and we headed out of town.
As we traveled on, the skyscrapers and graffiti changed to suburbs and shopping centers, and eventually rolling countryside.  Onto the peninsula, the road frequently made jogs out to vantage points where we could look out to the beach along the bay.  Beautiful!

Our first stop was along the beach at the colorful bathing boxes.  Traditionally owned by the wealthy, they are the storage areas for those who come out for the warmer summer days.  And, we were told, sell for about $250,000 each!  Wow!

Onward, we stopped at a small dairy that produces artisanal cheeses made from their own goats.  The kids loved petting the goats, and we were treated to a tasting board of a variety of cheeses.  Mmmm!

Much of the peninsula is farmland, smaller craft farms with vineyards and wineries, dairies, fruit farms, even some wool products from local sheep.  We had a stop at a vineyard for a few photos and the view was spectacular!  Truly a beautiful landscape!

One of the farms was a strawberry farm called Sunny Ridge Farm.  We happened to be there near the end of the picking season, but perfect timing and weather for us to pick our own strawberries.  We all had the greatest time finding the most red, ripe, succulent berries and packing our little boxes.  And there's nothing like the taste of fresh strawberries directly off the plant!

Next stop was a wildlife rescue park to visit some of the locals.  No matter where we go in Australia, we just can't get enough of feeding and petting the kangaroos and wallabies.  And Maggie always brightens up when she sees a wombat.



Wallaby on the left, kangaroo on the right

Wombat

Our last stop of the day was a trip to Phillip Island and the Phillip Island Nature Park on it's southwestern tip.  Again, the southern coastline of Australia is very dramatic!  We stopped for a short walk along an area called The Nobbies, in a tempest of wind and rain and huge waves crashing onto rocks.  Very impressive!

The "blowhole"

And, finally, on to the parade.
The Phillip Island Penguin Parade just might be my favorite piece of our entire trip.  Along the southern coast of Phillip Island lies a stretch of rocky beach overlooked by windblown grassy hills.  This is the home to the Little Penguin (sometimes called Fairy Penguin).  For days these penguins swim at sea fishing, but every few days a group comes onto land to "be social", talking to other penguins and congregating.   Dotted along the countryside are small groups of wallabies and cape barron geese, as well as small burrows which are home to the penguins.  As we moved down to the coastline, we passed through the visitor center where we were sternly warned that there would be no photography.  Darn!
We made our way down to the beach and sat at the front of a fairly large grandstand full of people.  And waited until dusk.
Just as it was becoming quite dark, we caught the first glimpse.  First one, then a few more small bodies popped up among the rocks.  They waited a few minutes to be sure it was safe, and then began the hurried walk across the beach, up the hill, and into their burrows.  Every few minutes, another group would appear as if magic, wait for the courage, and then strike out.  What an amazing site!
And after a few groups had come in from the sea, we stood and followed the walkway back towards the visitor center.  All along the walkway, coming along it, or walking beneath, the parade of little penguins traveled up the hill.  We watched as one or another branched off to head toward their own burrow, as if they knew their address in the neighborhood.  Sometimes one or two stood outside a burrow, squawking at the passersby.  Truly amazing to watch!
We left them to the night, knowing that many would venture back out to sea before the sunrise, and that we had seen a miraculous slice of nature.
Sadly we have no photos of the penguins, so I've borrowed a few from the internet:

Little penguins are the only blue penguins



The penguin grandstand



Grace and her little penguin

Our full photo gallery from the entire trip can be seen here:  http://peterr.smugmug.com/Australia/Melbourne-2015/

Thus ended our Mornington Peninsula/Phillip Island tour, and thus I end my tales of Melbourne.  I hope that you've enjoyed hearing about our adventures.  They will remain fond memories for our family.  We are truly grateful for this time in Australia and for the family bonds we strengthen as we make memories together.

All the best!
-Peter

Melbourne #2 - The Great Ocean Road

Southwest of Melbourne, past the city of Geelong, lies a stretch of road named the Great Ocean Road.  It was built following World War I by returned soldiers, and stands as a monument to those soldiers who fought in the war.  As such, it is the largest war memorial in the world.  It is also a spectacular drive along the coast, with some amazing scenery and features.  It's a must-do if you're traveling to Melbourne!

Again, after doing our research, we decided on a two-day tour with Ride Tours.  Great decision!
As we boarded our bus, and made a quick trip around the city to collect the rest of our group, we realized we were in for a great time.  Our driver and guide Jude introduced everybody on board by name.  And nationality.  We were joined by a Canadian couple, several German students, an Italian woman on holiday, a French woman and her German friend, and two Chinese couples.  And one Aussie!
A great eclectic group, and they were all very friendly and easy-going.
We set off west, and started the trip with a long drive through rolling pastures of grazing cattle and sheep.  Our first stop was for morning tea, and then we continued on.

We made a brief stop for lunch, then on to Logan's Beach.  It's a beautiful beach where we stopped for a few photos before our next stop, Tower Hill.  This is a sunken volcano that has become a home to local wildlife, and we got our first glimpse of wild koalas and emus.  Will even spotted a wallaby.  On we went.


Logans Beach



Sunken volcano

Can you spot the koala?



Bay of Islands

The highlight of the road are magnificent views of the limestone stacks of the coast.  As the sea erodes into the coastline, stacks of limestone rocks are cut off from the mainland.  These form the most dramatic features of the area.  We spent the remainder of the first day stopping at each feature to view the Bay of Islands, the Bay of Martyrs, the Grotto, and London Arch.  We learned about the local wildlife, and about the history of tragic shipwrecks in the area.  Aboriginal culture and history was highlighted along the road as well.  It really amazed me that this is such a changing landscape, as the sea continues to erode the land.  Occasionally the stacks are overwhelmed and crash into the sea, all while new stacks are forming.  All from this never-ending barrage of waves that come all the way from Antarctica.  Amazing!




The Grotto



London Arch



London Arch

The peak of the trip came as we viewed the sunset behind the Twelve Apostles.  This famous group of stacks has made many postcards and galleries, and it did not disappoint.

For the night, we came back down the road to Port Campbell and stayed in a hostel there. 
Now, if you, like us, have never stayed in a hostel, you need to.  At least once.  It was a lot of fun!
Because there were five of us, we had a family room, so beds for all of us, and a private bathroom. 
This isn't really the typical hostel way to stay, but it worked for us and the kids.  Most of the group stayed in large rooms of bunk beds and shared communal bathrooms.
There was a large living space and kitchen, and our tour group pitched in cooking and cleaning.  We ate together a traditional Aussie barbecue meal of steak, sausage, chicken, veggie burger for grace, salad, bread, pasta.  I was definitely stuffed.  Again, all pitched in to clean up, and then off to bed.  I'm sure the younger ones in our group stayed up later, but not us oldies!

Hanging at the hostel



Our ride

The next morning was a quick "backpacker's" breakfast, and then back on the road.
For day 2 we saw more of the stacks, stopping at Loch Ard Gorge (famous for the shipwreck of the Loch Ard), and back to the Twelve Apostles in the daylight.  We went to Gibson's Steps, where we walked down to the beach at the base of some of the apostles.   The pictures say it all.



Hi Grace!  Base of the Loch Ard Gorge.



Gibson's steps - and yes, we climbed those.

Despite the amazing scenery, Will and Tricia's favorite spot was when we stopped at a caravan park on the way back.  We fed parrots and corellas, and walked around spotting koalas in the trees.  Priceless!

Always naptime!

Also a stop on the road was a rainforest area.  A walk through the rainforest was refreshing and inspiring.

We rounded out our trip with a stop at a lighthouse.  Apparently featured on some TV show we Americans don't know about, it was quite special for some of our group.  For us, just some good views.

Back home that night in the big city, we were exhausted!  We hit the bed hard that night, with visions of nature's grandeur flowing in our minds.  What a great two days!

Up next, the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island.
-Peter