Saturday, January 28th, 2017 - Far South!

After a long journey - two flights of 6+ hours from (London to Dubai, then Dubai to Brunei), and another 7+ hour flight, I was very happy to be greeted in Melbourne by my cousin Angus and his wife Judy on Friday 27th, January. My first day involved allowing my brain to catch up with my body and to get unpacked and settled into my space at their home in Blackburn. 

But, by Saturday 21st I was ready to rock & roll, so Judy and Angus devised a delightful excursion to the Mornington Peninsula, south-east of Melbourne, along the shore of Port Phillip Bay. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Here I was advised that I must wear hat, sunscreen and sunglasses, as the ozone layer is thinner than in other parts of the world and can do more damage.  

Our first stop was Frankston, the end of the train line from Melbourne. Our destination was a sand sculpture exhibit. It was carved by a group of gypsy's who go around the world creating such displays. We were a little disappointed that it was in a wire enclosure off the beach. We had imagined we would be on the beach, but in spite of that we thoroughly enjoyed the fantasy theme.

As I had referenced the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland just a few days ago in this blog, I was entertained to see him show up here!

One of our favorites represented a collection of Mother Goose stories, which we had fun trying to remember, but it was too hard to capture in its entirety in a photo, so you don't get to see it! Sorry!

The geologist in me really liked this one showing the passage of time with dinosaurs and crinoids and cities.

And this guy was poised, ready for flight................

....................whereas his modern descendent decided to rest a while!

A wander on the pier nearby was a hive of activity. Aussie's love the outdoors in spite of all the environmantal hazards. There were swimmers, fishermen, scuba divers, snorkelers, kids jumping off the pier and people learning to 'flyboard', which looked like fun once you got the hang of it.

You can see the pier on the left. Isn't it a beautiful day! It was a four day weekend for many, as Australia Day had been on the Thursday. It was very busy all along the coast.

Aussie fishermen don't always have to catch a big fish to be happy. My Dad used to catch garfish just like this. We'd fry it up for breakfast and eat it bones and all - very sweet tasting.

 
We were intrigued by the flyboarding lessons - I've never seen that before.

The fellow sitting on the back of the skidoo must have to watch the line connecting from the skidoo to the fly board, as he was always looking down at it.

The shoreline at Frankston.

I just liked this mosaic in the pavement at Frankston. The colors appealed to me.


Next we went on to Rye, where we ate at Judy and Angus's favorite noodle restaurant, followed by another pier ramble and a most delicious gelato to chase everything down.

Note the umbrella in the center with the Aussie flag on top (the one with the stars - it's the Southern Cross constellation).

Hub of activity at Rye.

And the fair was even there. Note the caravans close together on the right. There were miles of such campgrounds. Judy said the camp-sites will be passed on from one generation to the next!  

Sarah Lamp, this one is for you. This was in the gelato store after our walk on the pier. I couldn't figure out why there would be a syringe stuck in a cupcake! Perhaps for someone going into insulin reaction, or to cheer up a sick child? I was told it contains nutella and you can use the syringe to inject the nutella into the middle of the cupcake!

The day was capped off with a brief stop at Judy & Angus's son's house in Rye and a visit with Judy's brother and sister-in-lay in the very lovely Somers. It was a great way to 'land' and start to get re-oriented. 

First observations are that the vegetation is very different from what I'm used to now. Even different from that up on the north coast NSW where I usually visit. It emits lovely crisp smells - lemony, citrusy flavors that are very pleasant. The bird noises, especially at dawn and dusk are beautiful - magpies warbling and galahs cawing in flocks as they settle down for the night. 

New architecture and civic art has a very blocky, angular, almost industrial look to it.........often brightly colored, and sometimes amusing, but I haven't seen anything newly built so far that I would describe as soft or pretty.

I am gradually getting settled. Sunday will be another day at home getting packed up and then Monday will see Angus and I going across the Bass Strait to Tasmania with the car on the Spirit of Tasmania (a 10-hour journey). Judy has the good sense to fly and we will meet up with her in Launceston