Melbourne and Pearcedale, Australia
World Trip Two
Friday, April 24, 2009: Christchurch-Melbourne
New Zealand, land of two skies.
It was a very lovely morning in Christchurch, which we spent walking the city and visiting the natural history museum. The flight from Christchurch to Melbourne took the better part of four hours. We flew on Air New Zealand and had a very pleasant experience, as always.
When we arrived at Melbourne Airport, the weather was very different from what we had left in New Zealand. It was raining, and it was getting dark. The drive from the airport to my brother John's home was nerve-racking. Not only did I have to contend with driving on the left-hand side of the road on unfamiliar roads, but I also had the dark and rain to deal with. Fortunately, the Friday night rush hour traffic was not too bad, and we made it to our destination without incident. We were welcomed by my two brothers, John and Lawrence, and Di. We were very glad to see them all again.
Saturday, April 25, 2009: Pearcedale, Australia
The weather got worse today. The rain poured down, and to make matters worse, the wind picked up. We spent most of the day helping Di and John get ready for the party they were hosting for Julia and me. We did get to drive into Frankston (my old hometown), so Julia did get to see a bit of her new surroundings. On our return, it was not long before the guests started arriving, and we had a jolly time meeting new friends and greeting old ones. Thank you, John and Di, for giving us such a great party.
Sunday, April 26, 2009: Pearcedale, Australia
A big gray kangaroo greeted us on our hike.
Unbelievably, the weather got even worse today - more rain and even higher winds. But we just had to go for a walk, so we headed to Cape Schanck and made the walk to Bushrangers Bay. It was blowing a 30 mph gale, and light rain kept falling intermittently. Not too far down the trail, we walked right into the middle of a mob of 20 or more gray kangaroos.
We took them by surprise, so we were able to get very close to them and take some great photos. It was the first time Julia had ever seen kangaroos, either in the wild or in captivity, and she loved the experience. We figured the mob had moved into the trees surrounding the trail to get some protection from the weather - lucky for us. We walked on to the bay and saw a roaring sea of 4-foot waves and winds gusting to 80 mph. It was very invigorating. The rain stayed away until just minutes before we got back to the car. Then, as if to make sure we knew nature was in control, the rain poured down on us, soaking us before we could get in the car. But it was worth getting wet for the hike.
Monday, April 27, 2009: Pearcedale, Australia
It was a day of visiting family, eating lots of food, and drinking lots of alcohol - as one often does when visiting with family. It was still very rainy all day, but the wind died down a bit. We booked our trip to the Snowy Mountains and bought our supplies for the five-day adventure around the Victorian High Country. Normally, there would be no snow this time of year, but because of the freak weather, it will indeed be snowy when we get there tomorrow.
Kangaroo Video
Trip stats
Miles Flown: 8,919
Miles Hiked: 83
Miles Driven: 1,981
Miles Sailed: 89