The Grampians

We drove into the Grampians along a spectacular highway cut into the side of the mountain, and enjoyed good weather! We visited McKenzie Falls - 100m descent and then climb to get out, but worth it as it was very spectacular. Then some great sights - the Balcony rocks and the Boronia viewpoint with a wonderful view over Halls Gap where we stayed. Visitor numbers are down as there were serious fires in the Grampians just two years ago. The regeneration is underway and is a marvellous sight as there is bright green foliage coming from the intense black trunks.
Brambuk Visitors Centre and Cultural Centre is very special, inside and out, as the building is designed to resemble a cockateel.
We set out early the next morning and were rewarded with groups of kangaroos grazing and many blue fairy wrens which are almost too gaudy to be true! We were on our way up the 350 m climb to the top of Mount Boronia. There was some genuine scrambling at the end and we really felt we were on top of a mountain. Fortunately very craggy so plenty of secure places to stand and sit. Nevertheless we were just 2m from a drop of several hundred metres to the valley below. It was the most satisfying walk I have ever done. a great exhilirating feeling to be on the top. It was a cloudy day and the temperature was only 13. We might have struggled if it had been full sun.
We drove south out of the Grampians and but for the cloud hanging on the mountains could have had some great views, but this is a part of Australia that could be visited many times.

Adelaide

I spent 6 nights in Adelaide with C joining me for 3 of those. The apartment we rented was in North Adelaide, just off Melbourne Street, well known for its restaurants.
Adelaide looks the kind of City that I could live in - not as hectic as Sydney, and with a great climate, wineries by the hundred close by and just lots of places to visit.
I was shown around the Fleurieu peninsula by J who C and I had met in Tasmania last year. Really good to meet up with her and have a relaxed day. It was cloudy then, and the next day when I explored the centre it rained on me - well on the whole of the area which desperately needs rain - I apologised to any Australian when I complained about the rain! Another half day was speny looking at Dolphins. I stayed on the catamaran and got some good views of Dolphins that came to see us. Cheryl went in the water, towed along behind the boat and saw nothing. Visibility in the water was not good because of the recent rains. Fortunately C decided to be on deck for part of the time and that was when we had the best viewings of the dolphins.
Another day was spent watching the day-night ODI between England and NZ. It was one of the worst England displays and we were outclassed in every aspect of the game by NZ. Adelaide Oval is just wonderful, it must be the best in the world of test venues, Sydney is a concrete jungle in comparison. There are 2 grass areas for 'hill' viewing, one being divided into a dry area for families and a not-so-dry for the Barmy Army! Another great attraction in Adelaide for us is their Botanic gardens.
Two nights and three days were spent on Kangaroo Island. We stayed in the town of American River in good accomodation with a view and a short distance to the foreshore and many birds, including lots of pelicans which came to be fed. They very politely withdrew when the food was consumed - no nasty clamouring for more! We enjoyed the magnificent Pennington Bay but the cool cloudy weather was not good enough for us to stay. Then to Flinders National Park and a chance to walk on some of the nature trails. We chose a Platypus walk, not expecting to see anything in the middle of the day, but at the first observation point - low and behold, a platypus first wriggling about in the mud and then posing for us about 3m out. A real highlight of the trip. On to Admiral Arch where we first of all marvelled at the sea crashing on the rocks and then realised the rocks were covered with seals! Captivating stuff, improved as we got a little sun for the first time in the day.
Our final day was thankfully sunny and we enjoyed Snellins Beach on the north of the Island. Our journey from there took us on a dirt road and sitting in the middle of the track was a koala! It walked stiff legged away as we slowly approached and settled itself in a tree and tried to stare us out.
Finally, where else but Kangaroo Island would you have a delicious meal of...kangaroo.

The Red Centre

Nobody told me it was the rainy season! It was cloudy all the time,which meant those fabulous photos of sunset and sunrise for Uluru are not in my camera, and it actually rained in Kings Canyon.
Nevertheless Uluru is quite amazing and seeing it from so many angles, walking around and being told about its significance to the aboriginal people was very special. My tour started in Alice Springs as I flew there from Sydney. I will be going back and hope to be able to report that it is more than just a shopping centre!
This area has 3 main attractions and I got very confused as to what to see, when and how. I don't think any of the brochures make it clear and everybody I have talked to have had trouble so it's not just me.
Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and Kata-Tjuta (The Olgas) are close together, about 5 hours drive from Alice Springs and Kings Canyon is in between. Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort) is the place to stay for the first two but beware as the prices of everything is high - well it is remote! The Outback Pioneer had a range of accomodation and meal time is fun as you buy the raw meat and cook it yourself on large communal barbecues. Kata-Tjuta is probably more spectacular than Uluru as it consists of 4 major lumps sticking out of the ground and a canyon walk in between 2 of them. I could not understand that it was a conglomerate and Uluru a uniform granite monolith with sandstone covering. Kings Canyon is more to my liking than the other two tourist attractions. We walked the rim in the gentle rain (always warm of course) and got many spectacular views of the eroded rock. Kings Canton Resort is the only place to stay, but it was good!
Back to Alice Springs for two more tours. One of the Flying Doctor, School of the Air and the old Telegraph Station which is the reason for Alice's existence. From here you see the spring (actually a river) from which it gets its name. Then a visit to Simpsons Gap where you stand under enormous overhangs of rock. There hasn't been any rock falls for centuries as the wet season is different from the cold season. Finally and best of all for me was Standley Chasm. A short but lovely and peaceful walk into this chasm which ends with vertical walls only about 3m apart. Lots of ferns and eucalyptus trees making it my favourite place.
You have to visit the Red Centre to appreciate how barren it is, how huge the distances are, and to eat camel.

The Blue Mountains

About 2 hours from Sydney, this is marvellous area for walking. We had 3 hard days of walking, including 800+ steps down the side of the 3 sisters (the most famous rock formation in this National Park). Of course we had to regain that height but fortunately via a different route. We traversed across a landslide, which happened about 70 years ago, when they took the pit props away after deciding it was not worthwhile to continue mining for coal!! There are some outstanding views although inevitably it is hazy (blue) because of the oil from the eucalyptus trees. It was wonderful to have some relaxing walking in forests, on a soft bed of leaves, marvelling at the change in flora from wet rain forest to gum trees. We were delighted to see many birds, notably fan tails and lyre birds.
All organised through Auswalks who use some excellent B&B accomodation.

The New Year Test Match

One of the great traditions of Australian cricket is the New Year Test at Sydney, starting on January 2nd. The great rivals are, of course, England and when there was a 5 - 0 clean sweep possible AND three legends of the game retiring, you will appreciate the occasion. We had tickets for this day and day 4. Well, we all know what happened and we only saw a couple of hours play on day 4 as England capitulated without much of a fight. Despite failure on the pitch I would say the Barmy Army won the supporters battle 5 - 0. Fitting that just before Haydn hit 6 towards us, the last post sounded from the Barmy Army trumpeter.
46,000 people present and simply a marvellous day as the Australian players and fans rejoiced in the way we were humbled.

A Night at the Opera

Can anyone dispute that the Sydney Opera House is one of the great buildings in the world. Last year I took maybe a 100 photos from all angles - still took a few this year! Also I did the tour of the inside - highly recommended - that involved seeing the magnificent, all wood, concert hall.
This year, thanks to contacts that I and C have, we got tickets to see The Marriage of Figaro, so I got to see the inside of this hall which was closed to us last year. Seats on the side so slightly restricted view but we were really up for the show, especially after a glass of bubbly enjoying the fantastic view. A glass of champagne for $10 (4 UK pounds) - hey! No one is trying to rip us off!
This was my first opera and it was wonderful. The plot was complicated and it took the first act to be certain who was who! The singing glorious and they could act as well. It was just a great feeling to be present in such a place - indeed a privilege.

New Year in Sydney

They certainly know how to party here! I am here with C and husband I and we are starting the holiday with New Year in this great city.
We headed for the bridge in what we thought was good time to see the 9pm firework show, but so did countless thousands of others as well. It was great to be in with the crowds, certainly peaceful at this time - everybody intent on having a good time. We had various changes of mind as to where to get to, but did eventually see the majority of the show. Lots of people then dispersed but lots stayed in their chosen position for the midnight show. Apparentlly midday is the time to get the best viewing spots.
Rather than just stay in one place we headed back towards our hotel but taking in the best streets for bars and music. We didn't get into a bar but enjoyed the music and the throngs of people outside - the Tooheys bar was bouncing. We moved into the Darling Harbour area where we could walk with the water on out right and the bars and restaurants on out left. Lots of live music, dancing and singing along, well by the Aussies!
Up on the roof of our apartment block we had a great view of the Harbour fireworks (you guys back in England saw more of the actual Bridge fireworks than we did!). There was a central display with two synchronised displays each side. One of those reflected in the harbour waters looked like an impressionist painting.
Two bottles of wine later our evening was over.