Monday 19 February 2024

17th - 19th - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

We were picked up from the hotel in Sydney late morning and arrived at the airport for our domestic flight to Melbourne.  After sorting out the weight and luggage issues at check in we made our way to the gate where we had our first inkling of something special going on in Melbourne.  The flight was delayed by an hour due to the late arrival of the incoming plane and when we stood waiting for our bags we had another sign of something different.

Our hotel was on the waterfront and after checking in we headed out to explore the city.  That was when the penny finally dropped.  Taylor Swift was in town for here Eras tour, today, Saturday, was the second day and there were women of all ages dressed in sequins, cowboy boots and hats.  They were streaming along the riverside all heading towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a huge stadium that tonight would have 96,000 screaming females in attendance.

There was one incident that sticks out, two older women trying to ride an electric scooter while completely drunk, the scooter took off with out them and crashed, fortunately, into a post.

We walked around the city before returning to the waterside, the first day in a city is one where you have no idea where you are or where to go.  We went back to the hotel, changed and went to a Japanese Restaurant not far from the hotel and sat in the sun and watched the women streaming to the MCG.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and sat on the balcony and watched the sun set on the city, while Taylor rocked the MCG.




The following morning we were up and walked a little more confidently around the CBD before picking up a river tour.  This started off going upstream of the River Yarra as far as was navigable.  Heading out we passed the Rod Laver Stadium, home of the Australian Tennis Open in January, and of course the MCG.  There was not a lot of interest on this section, but things picked up as we turned and made our way downstream back to the city.



Going under one of many of the low bridges.


We went as far as the Victoria Dock, then turned around and came back.  It was a beautiful day and the buildings were reflecting all around them in the sunshine.



Our hotel is the building on the left hand side.


Leaving the cruise we decided to walk along the boardwalk back to some of the areas we had seen.  It was hot, so once again we sort out the cool of an air conditioned shopping mall.  We had a drink and a snack in a bar alongside the river, taking in the wonderful blue sky.

Walking back great views of the city, the bridges and the river.


Flinder's Street station another example of railway station architecture.


We walked around the city again encountering even more Swifties in bars and restaurants, when we came back to the river we had a great view of the MCG and the crowds were already streaming towards the stadium.


We ate a little later, again alongside the river and then retired. 

Monday morning dawned a little quieter, girls pulled cases along the streets, but without the energy and enthusiasm of the previous two days.  We decided to walk alongside the river, heading to the Botanical Gardens.  Australian Wood Duck were on the grass by the river along with Pacific Duck..


The calls of Cockatoos in the trees had us stop.  These were Little Corella a smaller Cockatoo with a distinctive blue eye ring and pink around the bill, they had a crest, but this was white and not that pronounced.


They use their feet like a hand, prehensile feet?




Al ittle further on they were grazing on the ground very similar to we had seen the Sulpher-crested Cockatoos had been doing in Sydney, this one though was rolling over and over as it tussled with a stick.


A nice poss in a nearby Euclayptus.



We walked through Kings Park and came across more Corellas, but this time slightly larger with red markings on the foreheads and on the neck like a cut throat.  These were Long-billed Corellas.





There was a ceremony going on at the shrine of remembrance and as we passed we could here an Australian song about a disaster somewhere, and the words that stood out were "As the plane took off, it was blown to smithereens right in front of our bloody eyes".  Typically Australian.

We entered the gardens and walked around the many paths.  In a shady dark area I spotted a bird buzzing around the trees and bushes.  It was difficult to get on to, with the branches in the way.  This was the best I could do, enough to identify it though, an Eastern Spinebill.


There were a lot of small birds in the trees, very hard to get on with the camera, the only ones I could definitely identify was a Brown Thornbill.

At the centre of the gardens there is a large lake, big enough to have boat trips on it.  A Little Pied Cormorant was fishing in the middle.


A black Swan that I could now tick.


This Monarch appeared around the water, a spectacular butterfly.




Lotus in flower around the edge of the water.


Another Glorious day in Melbourne and another green space in the middle of the city.


We had decided to leave but as we set off I saw something in the water, as it raised it's head I could see it was an Australian Darter.  The snake like head characteristically held up right as it swam with the body under water.



And then another bonus, an Australian Grebe, that looks a lot like out Little Grebe, but with a longer neck and overall larger.  


The eye is also very obvious.



One more look at the wonderful gardens and lake.


From the gardens we made our way back to the riverfront and then decided to find the car hire garage where tomorrow morning I would pick up a car for the next stage, a drive to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road.

After finding Avis we returned to the hotel and then dinner once again in the Japanese restaurant and after that packing once again.  I am becoming sick of those suitcases.

Saturday 17 February 2024

16th February - The Blue Mountains, News South Wales, Australia

Despite the antics of the evening before we were up early to meet the coach pick up at the Four Seasons.  We made our way through the Sydney morning traffic and headed west out of the Sydney on the M4 and through the impressive Rozelle Tunnel.  The weather had not be good on the previous day and today it was still overcast, but dry.  There had been mist the day before and the mountains were not visible, so as we headed west  it was fingers crossed.

Our first stop though was the Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary, near Blacktown on the outskirts of Sydney.  Similar to the sanctuary we visited in Hobart, this was more a zoo, specialising in Australian wildlife with over three hundred species on show, although the majority of these were birds.

The sanctuary was surrounded by a housing estate, which has probably grown up around the zoo.  In the trees surrounding the car park were Eastern Cattle Egret.


A lot more orange brown head and neck feathers on these than we see on the Cattle Egrets in Europe.  They were nesting with young birds still present in the nests.

Ii don't usually like photographing the animals in zoo conditions, but as was the case in Hobart there was the chance to capture animals that you would not see in captivity back home.

A Kangaroo with a young Joey.


A Koala, admittedly looking like it was not in a cage, but it was!


And another good view of a Tasmanian Devil.

Our fellow passengers had their chance to have their photo taken with the Koalas and to spend money in the gift shop before we continued on west towards the Blue Mountains, somewhere else I visited back in 2003, but failed to see anything due to the smoke coming from the bush fires.

We were heading to the Katoomba region, the easiest accessible part of the park for a day trip from Sydney.  Our first stop was Lincoln's Rock.  It was quite busy, but the valley was full of mist and we could not see a thing.

While lots of Korean and Japanese people took selfies with the mist behind them I was attracted to calls coming from the bush.  The calls came close and revealed themself as a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo.


The Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo is a large cockatoo. It is easily identified by its mostly black plumage, with most body feathers edged with yellow, but not visible at a distance. It has a yellow cheek patch and yellow panels on the tail.  They have a slow wing flapped flight.
 


It settled in a bush and showed off the tail feathers that give the Cockatoo its name.


With the mist not looking like it was going to clear any day soon we returned to the coach.  Walking back I noticed something red in a bush and on closer inspection it turned out to be a Crimson Rosella.


The Crimson Rosella is named for has mostly crimson red plumage and bright blue cheeks. The feathers of the back and wing coverts are black broadly edged with red. The flight feathers of the wings have broad blue edges and the tail is blue above and pale blue below and on the outer feathers.



The Blue Mountains is best known for its soaring sandstone ridges blanketed in native bushland. Nestled within the wilderness lie charming mountain towns, one of those was our next stop, the picturesque town of Leura, where we had an early lunch and a wander around the small shopping area.  From Leura we headed to an estate where were took a short walk to view the Bridal Falls in the Jamison Valley.


The Blue Mountains have been inhabited for millennia by the Gundungurra people, now represented by the Gundungurra Tribal Council Aboriginal Corporation based in Katoomba, and, in the lower Blue Mountains, by the Darug people, now represented by the Darug Tribal Aboriginal Corporation. 

The Gundungurra creation story of the Blue Mountains tells that Dreaming creatures Mirigan and Garangatch, half fish and half reptile, fought an epic battle which scarred the landscape into the Jamison Valley.


We walked through the bush and down to a viewing platform that looked over the falls.


We were fortunate that there had been rain on the previous day as this meant the falls were in full flow.


The mist was still hanging in the valley, but there were signs it was beginning to lift.


Once again I strayed away from the scenery and picked up a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo flying across the valley and up into a Eucalyptus tree.


A pair greeting each other with raised crests.


Cockatoos in the mist.


The mist was lifting and it was possible to see the sandstone ridges.


We moved to another view point where the view was clear at last.


The question is, why are they called the Blue Mountains?  Well the Blue Mountains is densely populated by oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. The atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which, in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in colour, giving a blue haze as now could be seen.


Walking back to the coach this Common Brown butterfly showed well, yet another simple Australian name, its brown and common.

Next we were off to try and see the main landmark of the Katoomba region, the Three Sisters, hopeful the mist would stay away.  We made our way to Eagle Rock, where there is an overview across the valley to the sisters.

The Three Sisters is essentially an unusual rock formation representing three sisters who according to Aboriginal legend were turned to stone.


Next we followed the Cliff Road around to the next valley, this one called Mega Valley, so guess what it was very big.  From the view point there was a good view of a rock called the Boar's Head, because of it's likeness to a Boar's Head.


A closer view.


Views out across Mega Valley.




It was then back to Echo Point, the main viewing area for the Three Sisters.  This had really changed since I was here back in 2003, then there was a cafe with a view, today there was a walkway, and concreted plaza all with looks out to the Three Sisters.


The Three Sisters is the Blue Mountains’ most spectacular landmark.  So what is the aboriginal legend as to why the three sisters were turned to stone?


The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and 'Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.

The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.


The clouds were building up and there were signs that it might rain, our tour was up and it was time to head back to Sydney.  As we approached the outskirts of the city around the Olympic Park we encountered a tremendous thunderstorm, the freeway was flooded and the cars and trucks all slowed as the visibility was impaired. Then as quickly as it started, the storm moved away and as we came out of the Rozelle tunnel there was no sign of any rain in the city.

We were dropped off at the Four Seasons and from there we went down to the Rocks for dinner.  However with our flight the next day to Melbourne we had to behave as there was packing to be done, so it was dinner and then back to the hotel.  Tomorrow yet another leg in this incredible adventure.