On Sunday I took the tram and the train out to where Yvonne lives, in a suburb called West Footscray. I continue to be amazed at how east the public transport is here — a dream for life in Los Angeles! I hadn’t seen my nephew Sean since Christmas 2009, and he’s almost 18 now! Tall, handsome, and becoming an Aussie after growing up in Indonesia. He is sweet, and curious and engaging; it was wonderful to spend time with him and get a bit more re-acquainted. I also got to meet Yvonne’s partner of 5 years, Chris. He’s an artist who works in several different mediums including bronze and print making. He is charming and creative and they all seem so happily settled in Melbourne. I will spend more time with them later this month. And then yesterday I took a group tour to Grampians National Park.
Rising abruptly from the surrounding Western Plains, the Grampians (Gariwerd in the original language) is a series of rugged sandstone mountain ranges and forests rich in wildlife. One of Victoria’s most popular holiday destinations, the park is a great venue for camping, climbing, scenic drives, bushwalks and nature study. It was an early pick up (7AM), since it was a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there. As I’ve noted on previous tours, there are always interesting people with whom to talk and share the adventure, and this was no exception. It was an international coalition from Canada, Scotland, Taiwan, Singapore, France, as well as Texas and Perth!
One of the best, and most interesting of the walks, is the Grand Canyon loop walk. This short (900m) circuit track is arguably one of the most interesting walks in Victoria – especially for kids who will love bounding along the rock platforms, up the steps and above the ravine which runs down to the creek. Not for those with ancient knees, the walk is nevertheless pretty accessible, with solid handrails strategically placed to guide you along. The walk follows across the rocks and into the ravine – which while not on the scale of its American namesake, is still very impressive – before it climbs out of the gorge for beautiful views and then makes its way back down. But my favorite of all the spots was McKenzie Falls, an always-flowing 35 km drop into a deep pool. The walk down is about 2km, and steep, but well worth it. The other vantage point was the Bluff Lookout provides sweeping views of MacKenzie Falls and the MacKenzie River from high above the gorge. The lookout provides the only opportunity to capture the multiple cascades of the MacKenzie River as it flows through the gorge. I took the walk down to the bottom (and back up), and was not disappointed.
The wildlife didn’t disappoint either — a kookaburra raiding a plate of leftover french fries at lunch, some emus in the grass, a swamp wallaby just by one of the car parks, and finally a mob of 20 or so kangaroos munching on the grass on the town football field. These roos were so used to people that you could get quite close to them; one woman in the group even pet them. I stay clear enough, given that I’d heard the males can be aggressive and these seemed to be a mob of many males! It was wonderful to be out in nature, out of the city for a day. I will have more of these types of experiences in the days ahead!
Seeing all your posts of Australia – really reminds us HOW little we’ve seen of our own country (e.g. we’ve never been here and now we really want to).