Had to get out of Victoria too cold.
On a plane to sunny Queensland
Sunrises
Sunsets
Beaches
Surfing
Temperate rainforests
Flowers
Art, trees, a river and a mountain
Self Portraits
Wonderful company
And Bangalow Palms
Brisbane
Category Archives: Travel
Changing Seasons. August and September 2018
In the last two months I have been busy with moving and visiting my mother in several hospitals. Mum is 95 and has undergone bowel surgery and is currently in a rehab hospital. She probably won’t be able to go home.
In late August. early September Melbourne endured a horrible industrial fire. I have added a couple of pics.
We have moved to our new house but are still managing the old property as we hope it to be subdivided into two blocks. This is a very involved process requiring all kinds of local government scrutiny. I do not agree with rampant, unchecked development so I am in full agreement with this process.
Our new house is comfortable and is situated on 1600m2 in 10 year old estate. A considerably more manageable piece of land. We are loving it so far; it has a few flaws but what house hasn’t? Our older dog doesn’t like much but the young dog loves it.
Spring has arrived here. We are experiencing warm days and cold nights. Like Su in New Zealand, we have been warned of a horror Summer ahead of us. So I am enjoying these beautiful days. And I am yet to cop hay fever!
Today is the day of the Australian Rules football grand final. Two avian teams are playing – the Magpies vs the Eagles. I follow neither. I am supposed to have some allegiance to the Victorian team, the ‘pies’, but I can’t bring myself to that place. I will be barracking for the Eagles (from Perth)
Below are smattering of photos I have taken over the last two months. Check Su’s great page for more pics.
Grevillea at our new house
Crepuscula rays
Crisp morning from Red Rock
Battling Melbourne traffic
Gippsland lakes
Filtering on board
Gippsland Lakes
McLennans Strait
McLennans Strait
Lake King
Mt Macedon
Fire from 50 km away
Downstream aftermath
Mum
The Changing Seasons January 2018
It’s the holiday season in Australia and it’s been a hot one. I may add some words later but here is some pics from the month. Added for Su’s new changing seasons
New Holland Honey-eater and agapanthus
Raked clouds
Lake Tyers
Lake Tyers
Adele and her flare
My day flare
The fire crew at Lakes Entrance
Hot sky
Ascending in Atrani
In August last year, Jo and I stayed in beautiful little 3 bedroom home stuck to the side of the hill in Atrani, right next to Amalfi, and below Ravello. We stayed there with 2 other couples for a week, and it was a very special part of our stay in Italy. Not unlike the rest of Italy, climbing steps is a daily routine. I fell in love with the labyrinth of steps throughout the Amalfi coast and would love to return one day before I am too old to tackle them with gusto. From the piazza, below the road, where we needed to go for our regular alcohol or coffee fix, and the occasional feed, there were quite a number of steps to our rooms. I loved going up and down them, but they weren’t for everybody. This post aligns with the wordpress weekly photo entry
Ah, the serenity
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged anything but on the changing seasons. Here’s a bunch of photos specially chosen for the Serene theme. Apologies as some have been previously published.
At home
At home
Wye River
Wye River
Wye River
Wye River
At home
Lakes Entrance
Rosebud
At home
Rosebud
At home
Rosebud
Lakes Entrance
At home
At home
Lake Victoria
Altona
Hobart
Maldon
At home
Lake Tyers
The Changing Seasons, October 2017
A frantic month of ‘Where did that go?’ I had some leave, did some burning, visited Tasmania.
Took the dogs for a run down the Altona dog beach. They had a ball.
Since the nasty grass fire of February 2014, we have had many piles of dead cypress trees awaiting burning. Last weekend was coolish with favourable light SW winds. Perfect pyro weather. This was 3 of the 8 piles we burnt. There are just as many, if not more, dead trees to burn next Winter.
Jo had a bit of fun in the bobcat.
Last week I flitted down to Hobart for 24 hours. Too short. I love that place.
And thanks to Ruth at RuthsArc I was able check out some wonderful new sculptures. The weather and light was not the best.
I’ve added these for Max’s Changing seasons.
Solitude in a crowd
Back in August and September I travelled to Italy. It had a great affect on me then and now. Yes, it was a first visit to Europe and we had to go to where all the tourists go. But here in Australia I can find solitude whenever I want it. I forget how much I treasure it. Early in our holiday I was jetlagged and resisting adjusting. I just got up early; no-one was up.
Later I found I could find quiet places that the tourists didn’t like much. Like on the back walk at Villa Cimbrone, Ravello
It was more difficult to escape the crowds in Naples, Florence, Lucca, Pisa and Cinque Terra. I gave in to the wonders of the art, and sheer beauty of these places. By the time I arrived at Bolzano I needed my space.
At Venice I caught the vaporetto over to Lido, hired a bicycle and rode to the south tip of the island. Yeah this will do.
Back in Rome a few days later I found solitude in a crowd. In the middle of a busy day at the Colosseum. It was there all the time, I just needed fine tuning. Added for WPC solitude.
Doors in Italy
Pontone
Positano
Ravello
Atrani
Atrani
Firenze
Lucca
Lucca
Lucca
Pisa
Siesi, Il Dolomiti
Some doors I stopped to take snaps of in Italy
The Joys of Camping
Jo and I used to be avid campers. Now with a busy life and a large slab of our holidays being taken up with visiting a caravan which is left by the beautiful Port Phillip Bay for three months in late Summer and early Autumn, we don’t tend to go camping anymore. We are also no longer that keen on sleeping on the ground. Early this year we purchased a teardrop caravan. It’s basically an insulated double bed on wheels with a kitchen at the rear. Well, firstly Rosebud, then medical issues, then our trip to Italy; this weekend seemed a perfect opportunity to use our little teardrop. The post is not really about the teardrop, but returning to camping. Here’s a photo of me at the rear of the teardrop on Friday.
First of all, we have had a very wet Spring, and as soon as we stepped out of the car we were swooped upon by hundreds of mosquitos. Well our friends saved the day with Aerogard, which they hadn’t forgotten, because they wanted to avagoodweekend (for Aussies). We ducked down the supermarket later and they were sold out. The chemist had some super-dooper 4% DEET aerogard for quite a hefty price. We snapped it up.
The first Tuesday in November is Melbourne Cup Day. A crazy long horse race that any horse can win. We get a public holiday for it! Many folks have Monday off to make it 4 days. I had Friday as well to make 5. We were visiting Maldon, in the Central Highlands of Victoria, for Jo to perform in the Maldon Folk Music Festival, and for me as an audience member. Maybe I will write about the festival at another time.
Well secondly, you need to stock up with food and ice before you come, as it is quite dear in a festival town (I did not forget beer). Thirdly, it is Spring; bring clothes for all seasons. It was hot and freezing cold, wet and dry and calm and very windy, all in a period of four days. Bring enough plates and glasses and….oh do I have to go on? It’s obvious we had forgotten all the things we used to collect with our eyes shut when we were younger. I also manage to burn the tops of all my fingers in stupid metho stove incident. I ‘ll have that reminder for a few weeks. I’m lucky it wasn’t worse.
Look it didn’t matter so much, because the festival had great food laid on at fair prices. We had a counter tea one night. And what’s more they had shuttle buses running from the campground to the town centre every 10 minutes, which were all part of the ticket. And a big shower toilet block on a semi-trailer. The music was an absolute joy. Jo’s choir did really well too.
The land where we were camping is very harsh land. Dry trees, rocks and no topsoil. Normally such a pain to be hammering pegs into. Not this weekend; soft as, due to the rain.
But hidden in the grass is thousands of hungry mozzies. Regardless, is was so beautiful and quiet. I’ve been told it is not always so. Some weekends this area is descended upon by 4WD and trail bike enthusiasts. Here is some pictures showing you what they do to the bush, apart from filling it up with noise. No offence intended for 4WD friends out there. I know you are respectful of the bush.
Alternative track, made because the other two had become unnavigable
A new erosion hazard waiting to happen 1
More mess
One thing I did remember was to never camp on top on one these. An ant nest.
Only a few on the surface. I did not want to stir them, so I took this pic from a distance.
Ant nest
I’ll leave you with a wet dry land panorama of the bush above our camp. What a lovely weekend.
Post note: It has been pointed out to me that I over stated the negatives of this trip and thus implying that we may not have had a great weekend. There were only two things that were not so good about this weekend. Burning the back of my hand, and being chastised for talking in the Troubadour tent while a show was on by a bossy audience member. It was bit like being back at school, because I wasn’t talking, it was someone on the other side of the table who she could not see! Anyway, I have a thing about blowing your own trumpet, and tend to do the opposite too much.
Blue Grotto Shine. Isle of Capri
Back in September 2016 I visited the Isle of Capri, near the Amalfi Coast in Italy. We visited the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) on our journey around the island. It was still very much the early shoulder season, and the weather was perfect, so the flocks were out to see this natural wonder. I thought it maybe a tourist con, but it was very impressive. The blue shine in the grotto is due the red light from the sun being filtered out by the water in the narrow entrance. If you choose to visit, do not be bullied into paying a tip to the boatmen. Ours suggested that is was mandatory to pay him, sang for only half of the time others were singing, and threatened me (jokingly) for not giving him a tip. Others may not get the joke.
The Isle of Capri can be an exxy place to visit. Plan well and you can do it relatively cheaply. Did I plan well? No. But I did enjoy the day. Either catch the Circumvesuviana from Naples to Sorrento and travel by boat from there or go direct from Naples. By all means, do stay in Naples, as it is a wonderful city. We came over from Amalfi. If I was to return, I would consider staying in a B&B and having a good look at the island.
Mick's Cogs 