Wednesday, October 7th, 2025 - The Worlds 'Oldest Story' and 'Fish' Farming - Budj Bim, UNESCO Cultural Landscape

Sunrise over Our Little Cottage in Byaduk, Victoria

This photograph of the gorgeous bucolic setting, near Byaduk where we were staying, shows you why the early European settlers viewed this part of Australia as as an idyllic haven. Due to winds arriving unfettered from the Antarctic, it is cool, with plenty of rain, and the volcanic, basalt soils are fertile. An early explorer, Major Thomas Mitchell, travelled through this land in 1836 with Aboriginal guides, and described it as being lush, inviting and 'flowing with milk and honey'. He even named it 'Australia Felix' -  or 'Happy Australia'. He might as well have been a real estate marketer, as his rhetoric drew a rush of European settlers here, in the belief it would be ideal for their flocks and herds. 

Of course, when they arrived, it didn't look like our little farm house - much work went into clearing the land to create this rural landscape. 

Reuben Smith, Our Guide For the Day (Photo By Frances Peters)

However, Fran and I had not come here for the beautiful, rural landscape. Our interest was to visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Budj Bim (Mount Eccles), in Western Victoria. This was not to be a day of spectacular sights - compelling photography was elusive. What was spectacular, was the journey we took with our guide, Reuben Smith, and the stories and knowledge he entranced us with. When he welcomed us to country, he introduced himself as an Eastern Gunditjmara man, who's mob was Kerrup-Jmara Gunditj. If we had relied on our perception of skin color, Fran and I would not have recognized him as an aboriginal man, but as the day progressed, we learned that every ounce of his being was indigenous, as he shared his enormous breadth of knowledge about the area  and his people, who have lived here for close to 40,000 years. 

One of the first things we figured out was that Reuben was not a fan of Major Thomas Mitchell whose successful marketing drew many Europeans to the traditional lands of the Gunditjmara nation, here in Western Victoria.

(Gunditjmara is pronounced 'goon-didge-mara' - it rolls off the tongue nicely when one gets used to saying it.)

Tae Rak/Lake Condah - Eel Population Sampling

The core theme of the day was revealed when we got to this rather large lake, Tae Rak, or Lake Condah. We learned it had been a key part of a substantial eel aquaculture system that has been dated to be 6,500 years old. The people in the water are not demonstrating the traditional procedures - they are using a fyke net (ooh, I learned a new word!) to trap eels as part of a population study.

Yes, today was all about eels. Now you might think that was a yucky theme and feel sorry for the boring day we were about to have. Let me tell you, Rueben was so excited about eels, and knew so much about them, it was one of the most interesting days I've ever had! It will certainly be unforgettable - I mean it was eels, after all.............

Eel Tasting Plate at Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and Café (Photo From Their Website)

.......... and yes, we did eat eel with our lunch. Eel is a fatty meat and more protein rich than red meat, so is served in small portions. The dark, curled up food in the middle of the plate is eel, similar to what we ate. The process of smoking it renders the fat out and leads to quite an appetizing flavor. I was hungry and completely forgot to catch a photo of our meal, so I downloaded this to give you an idea of what we had. It was quite delicious - I was pleasantly surprised.

Mount Napier

Before we were to immerse ourselves in the history of eels, we were headed to a volcano. Without consulting a map, I thought this one, which we could see from our rural cottage in Byaduk, would be our destination. It just had that lovely cone shape of a nice little volcano - though it looks as if it lost its top a bit. However, this was not 'the one', as it is just one of many recent volcanoes in this part of the world. I was surprised to learn that Victoria is home to over 40,000 volcanoes and forms the Western Victoria Volcanic Plains. This ranks as the third largest volcanic plane in the world! Historically eruptions have occurred every 5,000 to 7,000 years, with the last one being 5,000 years ago. So....... when and where will the next one be?

The cause of all this of volcanic activity is the very same hot spot that had formed the Warrumbungles 18 million years ago. This area currently has the hot spot under it, causing all the activity here.

 Our destination volcano today was Budj Bim, or Mount Eccles, which is 25 miles south west of Mount Napier.

Budj Bim - This is a Volcano?

When we got there on our tour, I kept looking around for the volcano. Where is it? I learned that this is a fissure volcano, meaning that the magma just started spewing out of a crack in the ground and never built up into a mountain of note. It only rises 584 feet above its surrounds. Estimates suggest it may have first erupted 38,000 years ago.

Keep in mind that the Gunditjmara are believed to have been here for 40,000 years, therefore they would have witnessed the eruption, and indeed there is a creation story about it. The story tells us that Budj Bim represents a Creation Spirit who was dancing with his three brothers. When they were finished, the brothers went off to create other parts of the country, but Budj Bim stayed here, laid down and went to sleep. He stayed asleep for many years until one day he was awoken, poked his head up out of the country and looked around. Then he began to spit out his blood, which flowed across the country and his teeth rained out of his head. The people saw this as punishment, thinking it could be because they were not treating the country, or each other, the right way. Slowly they started to see, that as Budj Bim's blood was slowing down, it cooled and turned into solid material that they could walk over - providing the materials and shaping the land to form wetlands. This provided the landscape with which they later developed their aquaculture.

The name of the creation spirit was actually not included in the story, as 'Budj Bim' translates to 'high head' or 'top of skull'. What one can see from a distance is the top of the Creator Spirit's skull, just poking out of the earth. When you consider that this story has been passed down from generation to generation for 38,000 years, you can see why it's called 'the oldest story in the world'!

Edge of Budj Bim Crater - Don't Fall In (Photo by Frances Peters)

The history of the European name - Mount Eccles - is worth noting, too. The 'explorer/surveyor', Major Thomas Mitchell, was shown the site in 1836 by his two indigenous guides. Mitchell chose to name the place Mount Eeles to honor his friend, William Eeles. He had fought beside Eeles several decades earlier, when they were both serving in the British Army, in Spain. (I thought the name Eeles ironic, in view of the fact that this was the area where the Gunditjmara were cultivating eels!) But, this name only lasted until 1845, when a local farmer was having the area surveyed. A draftsman was unable to read the script properly, and transcribed it to Eccles, which stuck until 2017, when it reverted to Budj Bim again. 

It seems to me that it makes more sense to call the mountain 'top of head', rather than naming it after a person in England who never visited the site, especially when that became basically a completely made up name connected to nothing. There never was a person or thing called Eccles! While one can appreciate it's origin with Mitchell wanting to honor his friend, that name has little connection to the area.

Sheep - How Did It Get It's Name?

Reuben, our guide, spoke at some length about how places here got their names. In some cases (like the story I told about Coober Pedy) they misinterpreted the words they heard the Aboriginal people using. One of our favorite examples was a place near Ballarat, which we were to visit later in our trip - Wendouree. It seems that a European settler in the area saw a group of Aboriginal people down by the lake and asked what the place was called. The answer was 'Wendouree', so that's what he called the lake. In fact, the word means 'go away' (expletive!) in the local language. Apparently the gathering had been for some ceremony and they wanted him to f*** off, as he had no business being there. We got a laugh over that one.

Reuben also gave examples of the difficulty the aboriginal people had with naming new things that were arriving in their environment after colonization. Take sheep, for example. We know they're sheep, because someone told us when we were little to use that word for that particular animal. But what do we know of the origins of the word? While we might be able to Google its etymology and find it was of Germanic origin, what did the word actually mean to the people who made the attribution. The Aboriginal names are very descriptive. They were astonished by these creatures that had this thick fur, unlike anything they'd seen before. The word they used, guada parrta, translates as 'walking puff of smoke'. Now even if you'd never seen a sheep, that description would help if you ever ran into one. Other examples were a rooster being called 'the cry out for daylight bird' and a caravan being 'the moving house through country'.

I found this conversation very interesting: the idea that we have lost the connection to the origins of many of our words. I came to see that the descriptive meaning of the words used in the Aboriginal language did create a better connection to the entity being named. It helped me get a little better understanding of what is meant by the frequently stated 'Connection to Country', that seems core to Aboriginal identity.

 

Darlot Creek, Near Tyrendarra, Indigenous Protected Area

The volcanic action of Budj Bim led to the development of widespread wetlands in the surrounding area. Streams like this one, Killara (Darlot Creek) was typical of the routes the eels swim through from the ocean, which is three to four miles south. Now, I don't know about you, but eels have never been anything that I have ever seen outside an aquarium, and even there I would walk past them with a sense of revulsion. Let me tell you, this day changed my whole opinion of eels! They are very mysterious, as they have no gender in fresh water. During Medieval England, they were a favored food during lent. They were a fish with no sex organs, so the church did not feel they posed any risk of creating carnal distractions! Also in Medieval England, when cash was not king, debts were paid in eels. (Happily they were delivered smoked, not fresh!) 

Eels are the reverse of salmon, as they leave fresh water to breed in the ocean. Once in salt water, their intestines develop into sex organs and they start a very long swim - without any food. The Northern Hemisphere eels go the the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Hemisphere ones to a place near Vanuatu in the Pacific. No one has ever witnessed eel sex, as they drop to the ocean floor for spawning. A popular theory is that sperm and eggs are released into the water where external fertilization occurs.

In case this is not enough information for you, about these amazing creatures, there are many podcasts about them. (Who knew!) The link below has an interview with the world's only 'eel historian', Dr. John Wyatt Greenlee. It is pretty interesting!

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/what-the-duck/what-the-duck!/102056784

6,500 Year-Old Man-Made Channels at Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

OK, so now we've got wetlands formed by the lava, we've got eels swimming up from the ocean, but how does that turn into aquaculture? After all, eels can't be bred like other fish or farm animals, so it has to be a matter of constantly trapping them, doesn't it? Here comes the remarkable development.

Remember I said at the beginning, this was not a day for spectacular photography. These sites are no longer functional, having degraded since the arrival of Europeans. The wetlands were drained for farming, so water no longer flows through these channels. Sheep and cattle have stumbled through, knocking structures about.

In the photo above, you can see channels that were formed through the rocks. These are man-made, created by the Gunditjmara 6,500 years ago. Hot coals were put on the basalt, then once it was heated sufficiently, cold water thrown onto it. The basalt cracked and fractured to form these channels, much like you would see with Pyrex dish being put into cold water, straight out of the oven, .

luk bagurrk gunga, Sculpture in Bronze, by Kim Wandin, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

The next step is to catch the eels. The method used traps, similar in shape (but not size!) to the one in the photo. These were woven by the women, from spear grass that grew nearby. The firm grass gave them some rigidity. The traps were placed in the channels, with the water flowing into the wide mouth. The eels followed the current, swam right in, one after another, after another, and so on. When they hit the end, couldn't turn around because it was too narrow and there were too many of them.

Trapping was done in the morning and evening, so four hours of work yielded 1,000 to 1,500 portions of food. Because eel is very rich in protein and fat, a four ounce serving is plenty. In three months, it was possible to catch 90 weeks worth of food. This was pretty good living.

Holding Pond at Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

Humans do like to find ways to improve things, so the next step was to find a way to have fresh eel available all year round. The solution they found, in the days before refrigerators, was to put the eels into holding ponds. You can see one in the photo above, with phragmites growing in it. Phragmites is a form of papyrus native to Australia, and it oxygenates the water, creating a lovely, big, sustainable fish tank. The omnivorous eels were fed food scraps from other animals and from the guts of other eels. Dams and blockages were used to control the flow of water in and out of the holding ponds. Instead of having to spear the eels, they were 'harvested' by placing a trap in a channel and creating a flow of water. The eel, thinking it can now escape, swims into the trap! Easy pickings!

A Small Mob of Kangaroos Look On, Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

A side benefit to the system of creating holding ponds was that it drew other game to the area. This reduced the need for the hunters to spend energy chasing around the country, for different meat. It was all very efficient - few human calories were burned in the process of obtaining food, especially when compared to traditional hunting. Any parts of other game that were not eaten, would be fed to the eels.

Another noteworthy food source for the Gunditjmara and other Aboriginal groups, was grinding seeds for making a form of bread, similar to damper. We had learned of this when we visited the Karrke Cultural Experience near King's Canyon, but did not appreciate the age of this practice. It has been dated back to 65,000 years ago in some parts of the country. This pre-dates European bread making by tens of thousands of years. Also the seeds were not always randomly gathered from the wild. In some parts of Australia, there were forms of cultivation involving fire and soil aeration which contributed to large harvests. It lends credence to claims that the Australian Aboriginal people were the world's first farmers and bakers.

Here's a link with more details if you're interested.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210228-who-were-the-worlds-first-bakers

A Post Partum Burden

When humans give birth, we must find ways to carry our offspring around. Many traditions have found 'hands free' ways of doing that with slings and backpacks etc. But the kangaroo mothers have us beat, because the joey can decide when it's ready to get a free ride! I felt sorry for this Mom, as I think her baby looks quite big enough to be getting around on it's own! The joeys may continue to use the pouch for up to a year and a half. Once they get to a certain size, Mom will just push them away from trying to hop back in - she's like 'Yeah, you're 16 pounds now, Joey, I've had enough! Grow up!'

Smoking Tree, Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

The eels were smoked in preparation for eating. It would take about three and a half hours if it was to be eaten immediately. The trees were planted and shaped a generation ahead of the time they were needed, so there was always be one available near the ponds. They were hollowed out and packed with clay to stop them burning, and to create an oven. The meat was hung on racks secured with notches carved into the tree. This tree was struck by lightning in 2009, but was the only example still available at this site. 

In addition to food, the eels provided a form of currency for trading and for this purpose, smoking would take three and a half days. This made a type of jerky which travelled safely to the more distant areas where trading would take place. This allowed the Gunditjmara to get essential items like spear heads from other tribes. 

At Tyrenderra, which we visited, there were two harvesting points, 19 holding ponds and seven smoking trees. At Tae Rak/Lake Condah, there were 12 harvesting points and over 100 holding ponds. This was no small thing - it really was a large, wholistic, food processing plant.

Village Location, Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

It comes as no surprise then, that with a certain food supply, there was no need to be nomadic, so permanent structures were built. The visible remains we see today are rocks scattered around on the ground - these were the 'teeth' that the Creation Spirit had spit out. The rocks were stacked in 'U' shapes to form the base of the houses, called wuurns. The roof was formed with a timber frame, and covered with branches, turf, sod or earth to render it waterproof.

Image of Completed Wuurns (Houses)

Here at Tyrendarra there were around 18 houses, plus additional storage and community huts. The entire area of Budj Bim had 150-200 homes and this is where the really sad part of the story begins.

Scattered Remains of Wuurns, Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

When Europeans began exploring remote lands, they were supposedly guided by the principal of Terra Nullius, or 'nobody's land'. The doctrine originated with Pope Alexander VI in 1493 and it allowed European powers to 'discover' and claim land that was not inhabited by Christians. By the time Captain Cook arrived in Australia, it was more broadly interpreted as land that did not have 'civilized' inhabitants. Thus, the convenient perception that indigenous Australians were simple nomads, led the British to decide that terra nullius applied - there was no 'civilization' here. Australia was claimed and settlement began in New South Wales in 1788.

The Henty's were the first settlers in this area, in 1834. They were whalers and stayed on the coast at first. After a while they explored northward in hope of finding potential farmland. They found the permanent housing of the Gunditjmara, but this showed a high enough level of 'civilization', that it make Cook's interpretation of terra nullius problematic. Here were people who were not nomads, who had permanent structures and who 'farmed' eel. This dilemma was solved by the the Henty's actions to basically destroy the evidence. Later settlers continued to kill the Aboriginal people. This included massacres. The numbers given by our guide and the numbers found 'documented' online differ from each other, but it has now been recognized as genocide.

Our guide said that population estimates of Gunditjmara before European settlement was about 35,000. (I was unable to confirm this online.) After 34 years of colonization, a population count in 1867 recorded 448 Gunditjmara remaining - a 97% decline. To simply be Gunditjmara was a death sentence.

Another Wild Koala, Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area

I thought we might want to move on from that conversation with another koala fix. Fran and I were very fortunate to have a second sighting of a koala in the wild here. We learned that aboriginal people did not eat koalas. You might think Aaw, that's because they're so cute, but no, it's because they're toxic due to all the eucalyptus they eat, and it will 'turn your guts'! It would be like extreme food poisoning. As a result of this, the creature traditionally had absolutely zero predators. Sadly, in today's world, feral dogs and foxes pose a threat. They don't eat them, but will kill them nevertheless. Combine this with deforestation, destruction of their homeland and an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, and the koalas unique evolutionary success is projected to disappear. So sorry.

Time to Go

Eventually our little koala took off. He was done with posing. It's also time for us to move on from this very eye opening day. 

I hope I've been able to relay some of the extraordinary things we had learned. I never imagined eels could be so interesting and I left with a better appreciation for the very ancient history that unfolded in my homeland. Although the Aboriginal culture is not my heritage, I'm proud of the work that is being done to uncover, conserve, educate and re-develop aspects of this world's oldest continuous living culture. 

Way to go Australia. Keep it up, Mates!

Monday, October 6th and Tuesday, October 7th, 2025 - Great Ocean Road

 

Split Rock Beach, Airey's Inlet, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

We were just starting our drive along the Great Ocean Road and saw this beach close to the eastern end of the famous drive. It was well named, as we saw the rock was indeed 'split' and it enticed to stop in to see what it offered.

Split Rock Beach, Airey's Inlet

We found that crisp air, turbulent water, jagged rocks, and a deserted beach under clear skies was a recipe for us to go 'ah'! This was our introduction to the much touted Great Ocean Road on the south-west coast of Victoria. The only land between us and the Antarctic, is a small island south of here - King Island. We were surprised how cool it was as we travelled along this coast, but once we figured out that these winds were coming from the Antarctic, it made sense.

Split Rock

The rock along this coast is 10 to 20 year-old limestone, which is soft and prone to erosion. The very active ocean here, has carved out many sea stacks, arches and caves. This rock looks as if it might be on its way to becoming a stack.

Split Point Lighthouse

As this coast has been treacherous for shipping, it has five lighthouses along this stretch. The Split Point Lighthouse at Airey's Inlet, was built in 1891, is 111 feet tall and stands 216 feet above sea level. It is still operational, and was automated in 1919, so no more keepers live there. It is open for tours but I was intrigued to see people up on its balcony drying their beach towels. As there is no keeper and one can't stay overnight, I couldn't imagine what they were up to, but the photo will be added to my 'laundry' collection of photos!

Memorial Arch at Eastern End of the Great Ocean Road (Photo by Frances Peters)

The 151 miles of the Great Ocean Road runs between the towns of Torquay in the East and Allanford in the West. It is a two lane road that was built between 1919 and 1932, by veterans returning from the First World War. 

The construction of the road served several purposes. First it opened up an area of the state that had been previously inaccessible - revealing the beauty of the coastline, and providing new economic opportunities. It also employed soldiers who had returned from the war in Europe. They worked for good pay, lived in tents, and worked without the help of heavy machinery - using picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and explosives to carve out the road in difficult terrain. Not only were returned soldiers employed, but the project was dedicated to their peers who had not returned, making this the biggest War Memorial in the world. The funds for the memorial were organized and raised by the Great Ocean Road Trust, which received donations from return services leagues and local communities, as the state government was reluctant to fund the venture at that time. As early sections of the road were opened, tolls were charged for the single lane, unpaved road. Finally in 1936, tolls were removed and the Great Ocean Road Trust relinquished management to the state government. The road was sealed and eventually improved to its current condition.

Wire Mesh Protects From Rockfall

The rock cuts through unstable limestone, and is subject to persistent and recurring rock falls, presenting a significant hazard to motorists. Many are stabilized by wire mesh, which you see in the photo above, or retaining walls.  

An Important Reminder

Many people visit the area on day trips from Melbourne. We saw fleets of buses at some of the more popular sites. Fortunately, there are many pull-off areas to allow people to enjoy the dramatic ocean, beaches and cliffs below. 

There are many tourists from other countries who, like us, have rented cars, so this warning was well placed. I always have to remind myself that the steering wheel must be in the center of the road. I know when I get home I will have to really concentrate for a while, to check that I'm on the correct side of the road in the United States. Because Australians drive on the left, it was more convenient to travel from Melbourne toward Adelaide, which allowed us to could easily pull into the pull-offs and viewpoints.

Lorne

Our first overnight stop was a small, touristy town called Lorne. To find accommodation, one must look beyond hotels, as there are only two in town, and they are small, older hotels. It is refreshing to see that the area has not allowed large hotels to dominate the scene, so one must also look to B&B's, apartments and cottages.

Picnic and Beach Area at Lorne

At Lorne, the slopes were less steep than other parts of the drive, and one could access the beach, which is popular with surfers. If creepy crawlies in the water are not your thing, there's a very nice looking Sea Baths here, which offers a number of recreation, wellness and fitness activities. There is also a pier which is popular with fishermen and is a good location to watch whales migrating between May and September. Once you leave the immediate area of the town there are a number of walking trails, but time did not permit us to indulge.

Bushfire Place of Last Resort

Health & Safety laws in Australia require towns and places of work, to designate assembly areas in places that are deemed safe. This is where people are asked to gather during an emergency such as flood, fire or other types of disaster, allowing improved communication, support and assessment of the impact on people. They are clearly signposted throughout Australian towns. I have never seen one quite as heartbreaking as this one in Lorne - 'Bushfire Place of Last Resort'! The image of people gathered here with fire raging all around them is fairly terrifying - it implies that all other efforts at sheltering have failed. Australia is very hot and dry, so bushfires are an annual, seasonal threat here. The eucalyptus leaves contain a lot of oil, which burns easily and the hot oil vapors help fires spread quickly. This sign was in a very open area, far from any trees and several hundred yards from the beach. If people assemble here, they may survive, but it means things have got pretty bad!

A Deserted Coastline Stretches On

Ahead of us we could see the coast looping from one cove to another, yet there was no sign of people on the beach, in the water, or in the scattered, small settlements. What a feast for the eyes!

Looking Down

Sometimes, it was a matter of pulling over to the lookout on the side of the road to look at the vista below. Sometimes the name of the overlook was named, sometimes not.

At Water Level

In other places we were able to get onto the beach and enjoy watching the waves crash on the rocks. Today the ocean was fairly quiet. 

The Other Side of the Road

When we were able to see the land away from the coast, it was stunning. Green, rolling hills. Probably used for grazing, as it was too steep for crops. The green lusciousness was quite unexpected!

The Hinterland

It was quite extensive. As we approached Cape Otway, the road moved away from the Ocean so we saw more of rural Victoria.

Eucalypts Line the Road

Much of the time, the view was obscured by eucalyptus trees.

Why is There a Gaggle of Tourists Here?

We were puzzled when we saw a group of people standing on the side of the road, looking up at this tree. It was like 'Looking For Waldo' to figure out why. Do you see it?

Our Hope Was Confirmed - Koala in the Wild!

How happy we were to zoom in and see that, yes, it was a koala up in the tree. They can be devilishly difficult to spot, so whoever found it - 'Bravo!' Once again we relished in checking out this distant fellow, in his own home, not a zoo or reserve.

Moving On

Eventually he decided to move on, and so did we.

Johana Beach

We stayed near Johana, but there was no development near the beach, so there were no ocean views for us. It was about a 20 minute drive to get to the beach - but it revealed a beautiful pristine world. 

Jumping For Joy, Johana Beach

It was one of the few places we saw people on the beach. This person was walking dogs, and I agreed with the enthusiasm of the white dog who looked as if he loved the briskness, space and energy of the ocean.

Superb Fairy-wren, Johana Beach

We also saw a sweet little blue bird. It was superb...and that is also it's name - the Superb Fairy-wren. It is native to Australia and quite common. This is a male - the female is a dull brown. You might look at him and think he's cute and cuddly. Clearly the females Superb Fairy-wrens find him appealing too, but they see 'hot and sexy'! Here are a few interesting fact about them that I found on the Australian Museum website:

'The Superb Fairy-wren was one of the first Australian birds to be described. Male Superb Fairy-wrens have been labelled as 'the least faithful birds in the world'. Females may be courted by up to 13 males in half an hour, and 76% of young are sired by males from outside the social group'. 

Oh, my! Looks can be deceiving!

The 'Twelve' Apostles

Finally we arrived at the 'pièce de résistance' of this route - the 'Twelve' Apostles - along with the rest of the world. The sight of the huge parking lot filled with many buses and cars was daunting! The walkways and viewing platforms were crowded with people who's appearance and accents revealed they had come from far and wide.

Another View

When first sighted from the ocean, this collection of stacks was named by George Bass in 1798, the 'Sow and Piglets' - the larger one in front was the 'sow', the smaller ones in back, the piglets. In later years, it was also referred to as the 'Pinnacles', or just the 'Apostles', but eventually it became known by the name it still carries today. This was to appeal to the tourists who came to marvel at this beautiful sight. However, they were taking liberties with the name, as there there were only ever nine of stacks. In 2005, a 150 foot stack collapsed, and a second one disappeared in 2009, so now it's only seven of them. A sign told us that 'wind, rain and high energy waves of the Southern Ocean continue to carve these iconic old 'apostles', which will eventually disappear.'

Gog & Magog

To the east of the more famous Apostles, were two others standing on their own. These are called Gog and Magog. I thought they were also rather impressive. There used to be steps down to the Beach close to them - called Gibson's Beach, but they were closed off - most likely due to erosion.

Near Loch Ard Gorge

Happily, once we left the Twelve Apostles, there were no more crowds. We figure that it must be the turning point for the day trippers coming from Melbourne. Further west, we stopped at Loch Ard Gorge, but a navigation choice on my part, kept us from seeing the main gorge.....so here's just a glimpse of the cliffs nearby.

Loch Ard Memorial Plaque

My 'error', however, did lead us to a small cemetery, which had this memorial plaque, naming the victims who sank with the Scottish ship, the Loch Ard, in 1878. There were 54 souls on board, and two survived. Some of the bodies were recovered and are buried in this little cemetery. 

This part of the coast - 81 miles from Cape Otway to Port Fairy - is known as the Shipwreck Coast. One of the early explorers, Matthew Flinders, a very experienced sailor, said of it "I have seldom seen a more fearful section of coastline". He was right. It has seen 638 known shipwrecks over the years, but only 240 have been recovered to date. Waves are driven by the winds that come from the Antarctic. They hit the coast here, which is part of the reason the landscape is so dramatic. Add fog to the large ocean swells, along with a little human error, and one has a disaster like the Loch Ard, which foundered here. How sad that ships like this had succeeded in navigating the route from England, which took anywhere between four to eight months, only to come to their death so close to the end of their journey!

Port Campbell

The end of our journey through this very beautiful area was at Port Campbell with its whopping population of 372. It is located on this lovely sheltered cove, which provides a safe haven from the wild seas. Before the railway and road came to this part of the coast, shipping was the only means for transporting goods from local farms, so this harbor was crucial to the area. It had been established by whalers in the 1940's and is one of only three such safe harbors along the Great Ocean Road, the others being Lorne and Apollo Bay.

There was a lovely grassy area down by the port, but I suspect the surfers would not have the same convenience to access the waves as they do in Lorne - they have to head over to Two Mile Bay, a short drive away to the west.

 

There was no merchandise for us here, just a nice cup of tea before we headed to Warrnambool where we enjoyed the luscious warmth of hot mineral baths before headed north to our next adventure. That's the next story - a squiggly one!

Thursday, October 2nd to Saturday October 4th, 2025 - City Rocks: Bondi Beach to Blue Mountains

 

Bondi Beach

If people know of only one Australian beach, it would be Bondi. Just a 20 minute drive from Sydney's  CBD, it features often in movies, and in the summer is packed with swimmers, with many lifeguards monitoring the crowds. You might even luck out and see 'nippers' being trained -a junior lifeguard training program - which teaches water safety and builds surf confidence in the children who participate.

Beaches are central to Australia's national identity, providing a venue for family and community relaxation. Those emigrating here from Europe, found the beautiful and sandy beaches evoked freedom, and independence and provided an outlet for pleasure and a relaxed lifestyle. 

As you see, Bondi is a sweeping, beautiful wide beach, in a cove contained by two rocky points.

Bondi Icebergs Club

The Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club is located at the south end of he beach, along the rocky shore. It has been around since 1929 and is the only licensed swimming club in the world. The 'iceberg' name refers to the fact that their open air pool is open year round (it gets quite chilly in the winter) and every week the hardiest of swimmers take a dip here to impress others! (Could there be another reason to torture oneself in that way?) They even encourage children - called the 'icecubes' -  to join them. (Cruel and unusual punishment in my book!)

The Iceberg's Ocean Pool

 As you see, their pool is fed by ocean water. I imagine it would be quite fun to have a wave crash over one in this way. Pools like this were built in the early 1900's at many coastal beaches in New South Wales, as a way of providing safer alternatives to unpatrolled beaches. Not only were there dangers from strong waves and rips, but sharks enjoy these coves as well. The sharks generally don't get in the pools! The link below provides a history of these surf pools, which includes explanations of how they contributed to integration of genders when it comes to bathing.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/the-wet-wild-and-wonderful-ocean-pools-of-new-south-wales-a-social-history

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk 

The temperature was cool, and not being icebergs, Fran and I decided to sniff out the coastal walk around the rocky point to the south, the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. As you see, it gets very rocky here - this is the sandstone that provides the sand for the beaches.

At the beginning, the walk was very crowded. It's 'standard' is to go the 6 km to Coogee to the south, but we were only planning to go to the next inlet, at Tamarama. Fortunately, as we ventured further from Bondi, the crowds thinned.

Fascinating Erosion Patterns

Well, you know as soon as we turned the corner away from the beach and toward the rocky Mackenzie's Point Lookout, we started seeing these fabulous rocks. I was in seventh heaven! The colors, the smooth and rough textures - how one environment creates such different effects is hard to fathom.

Looking East

The splash of color provided by the nasturtiums was also a feast for the eyes.

Little Pied Cormorant/Shag

 There were many birds flying around - seagulls, kookaburras laughing - and this little shag who was sitting below with his webbed feet gripping the rock securely.

Looking North Over to Ben Buckler Point

From the lookout, were able to see whales breaching - most likely humpbacks. The peak season had passed, but the splash from their breaching and blowing was very recognizable. It was all very thrilling in the blustery wind.

Rocks at Tamarama

Once we were arrived at Tamarama, we were not only greeted by a lovely, grassy municipal park, but also by even more fabulous erosion that revealed the colors of the oxidized sandstone. This, to me, looked like a huge shell.

Ignoring the Rules

Before we left, Fran and I were bemused by this scene. The surf lifeguarding stand was immediately to the left. In spite of that and the sign clearly saying 'No Swimming', we saw this man gamboling in the water. Maybe he was a grown-up 'nipper' or 'icecube'!

Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook

Following our visit to Bondi, we headed out of Sydney to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains,  only one and a half hours drive away. On the way we stopped at Glenbrook in the foothills of the Blue Mountains escarpment and visited the aboriginal rock art of this region. As you see, the complexity of the art we saw here was much simpler than what we had seen in the Top End of Australia. It consisted entirely of stenciled hands thought to have been created 500 to 1600 years ago. 

Each handprint is unique, so it is thought to be a ceremonial cave used for initiation. Perhaps each one is documentation of each young warrior's 'graduation' and remains as a statement, saying 'I was here'.

Many, Many Tribes Here

The tribes that lived in this area, and who might have made the hand prints were Gundugurra and Dharug.  I know I've been throwing names at you that are very foreign to our (mostly) European ears. Most of the time when I see them printed, I don't know how to pronounce them, and when I hear them pronounced, I don't know how to spell them. The reason I'm showing you this map is to illustrate that there were many, many different groups of people here, who shared language, culture and skills to live on the ecosystem they inhabited - the all important 'Country'. Within those tribes there were also clans. It becomes most complicated! In our culture, we identify more with family, education levels, economic status and to some extent where we live (neighborhood), or even what sports teams we follow, or type of music we enjoy etc. However, we do not depend on the land we inhabit for our survival and our connection to it is not as much of a vital part of our identity as it is to Aboriginal people, even today. In modern cities, I think there are people who really don't understand the extent to which we depend on nature to underpin our essential needs. 

Nepean Lookout

This river led the early explorers, Wentworth, Blaxland and Lawson into this region, as they tried to find a route across the mountains. As you might imagine, when they found rocky cliffs like this blocking their route, they abandoned following the rivers, and stuck to the ridges instead. This eventually led them to the fertile western plains, which I had flown over, when I first arrived on this trip.

Scribbly Gums in Our Backyard

The place we stayed at, an AirBNB in Katoomba, had a deep backyard covered in these crooked gum trees - scribbly gums.

Scribbles From Insect Larvae

They are called that, as you see, because they have scribbles all over their white bark, caused by the larvae of a moth. The darker vertical curlicues you see here are just remnant pieces of rolled up bark and I thought they made the tree much more interesting than just a bunch of scribbles.

Crimson Rosella

I loved wandering down toward the creek at the bottom of the slope. It took me back my days when we lived on a somewhat similar block of land. I could have pretended I was young again as I made my way  on a very light path through the undergrowth, but my knees kept reminding me otherwise! I was greatly thrilled to come across a couple of crimson rosellas flitting around the trees. Isn't he beautiful!

Katoomba Falls Night-Lit Walk

Katoomba's Echo Point is a busy place, but by night time it quietens down as day trippers return to Sydney and sensible people are inside eating dinners in the warmth. Fran and I decided, however, to check out the Katoomba Falls Night-Lit walk, which is free and open until 11pm. As you see, it did not give us sweeping vistas, but the drama of the rocks was enhanced by the lighting. It was a good start and not at all crowded when we went after dinner.

Wentworth Falls Lookout

Our first exposure to the spectacular daytime views from the escarpment of the Blue Mountains, was Wentworth Falls. It is hard to really convey the scope and beauty of the view with photos, so I thought perhaps a video might help.

View From Wentworth Falls Lookout

Many mountains are blue when seen from a distance due to normal haze, but here that effect is enhanced by a fine mist of eucalyptus oil droplets that scatter the blue end of the spectrum more effectively. The escarpments and gorges of this vast, 2.5 million acre Greater Blue Mountains Area, was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2000 for its dramatic landscapes and rich biodiversity.

Although Wentworth Falls offers many wonderful walks, our limited time and my knees suggested that we would be better served moving on to other notable places here.

Panoramic of Perry's Lookdown, Blackheath

So we headed west to Blackheath to see Perry's Lookdown, which offers a vast panorama of sandstone escarpment on the other side of Horden Gully. It was supposedly named after a local innkeeper and the ongoing face of rock opposite was stunning.

Waratah, NSW State Flower

Also stunning was the splash of color provided by these waratah flowers at Perry's Lookdown. They are the state floral emblem of New South Wales and although I had often seen them depicted in images, had never seen the flower in the wild before. I thought it was pretty special!

Govett's Leap Lookout, Blackheath

Not far from Perry's Lookdown, was the view that I felt was most spectacular - Govett's Leap Lookout - giving a grand view across the vast reach of the Grose Valley. This valley was discovered by hikers in the 1930's who valued the red gum forests there so highly, that they bought out the lease to allow it to remain conserved. We all the better for being able to come to a place like this to see the beauty nature offers without the imprint of human development.

Bridal Veil Waterfall, Govett's Leap, Blackheath

I was concerned that the word 'leap' in the name implied that someone had jumped off here, but was relieved to find that it was a nearby waterfall that was doing the leaping! It falls 600 feet to the valley below, and is the tallest waterfall in the Blue Mountains.

Bushfire? No, Cool Burning

When we got back to our little scribbly gum patch at our accommodation, I was concerned to see smoke nearby, with helicopters overhead. In fact, when we first saw it earlier in the day we decided to carry our passports with us just in case we came back to a charred mess! The helicopter was not dumping water, just circling round and round. Later we found out it was a controlled burn which had been successful. We were OK!

Echo Point at Sunset

One of the reasons I was happy to return to the Blue Mountains with Fran was to see again an iconic set of rocks called The Three Sisters, which can be seen from Echo Point, in Katoomba. They are the three lumpy rocks you see in the photo, lit by the setting sun. When I came here as a child, it was just a lookout that a few folks enjoyed. Now, this area is and incredibly crowded hub of all things touristy in the Blue Mountains. Scenic World nearby has a cableway, skyway, and railway along with other attractions. This is not how Fran and I wanted to experience this area, so we had been avoiding it. We had stopped by Sublime Point at Leura, earlier in the day to see the 'Sisters', but the light was all wrong, so we decided to check it out at sunset. It was a great decision. The Sydney crowds had returned to the city, people were sitting having picnics in the evening light, parking was free and we saw a glorious view into the Jamison Valley ahead.

The Three Sisters, Katoomba

You know that there must be a story from the Aboriginal inhabitants to explain how these rocks got there, so here we go. The tribe from this area was the Katoomba tribe, where there were three sisters. Their culture was strict about who they could marry - somewhat like Romeo and Juliet - so when they fell in love with three brothers from the nearby Nepean tribe it resulted in war between the two groups as the elders tried to prevent the 'unlawful' union. It must have been a major war, as the lives of the three girls were in danger. A witchdoctor/shaman, from their own tribe, decided to protect the young women by turning them to stone but, unfortunately, he was killed in the fighting and could not reverse the spell. As a result, these sentinel rocks remain, overlooking the Jamison Valley and enjoying a lot of fame and attention!

This special area was a completely different version of Australian nature, compared to the Red Centre, and stunning in its own way. It had been well worth the journey to see the contrast. I'll leave you with a recording of kookaburras laughing. 

(The creaking sound at the beginning is me changing the settings on the camera, so just ignore that and enjoy the jollity from the Australian bush.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UxoRgy1zsdcctQ7juwsTwyn9uTli1i0G/view?usp=sharing

See you next time.