My Grandmother Goes to Melbourne

It is not every day that a forty-year old with a family of her own has the pleasure of welcoming a grandmother who has flown half way 'round the world to see her. Amazement has been the response of many who heard that she planned to visit, but visit she has, much to our delight. I asked her just now for her thoughts on Australia, and she replied, "Beautiful!" She has certainly seen enough of the state of Victoria to have an opinion, as I will attempt to demonstrate from a few photos. My favorite one of her was taken Sunday afternoon at a place called Loch Ard Gorge, along the Great Ocean Road.

I think my grandmother's hair looks especially nice. We booked her an appointment at Basin Cuts in Malvern, and the man who did her hair was exceptionally thorough as well as friendly, providing her with an excellent down under experience. My mother was amused by listening to the conversation of a pair of ladies getting their hair done at the same time. Their complaint of the day was the lack of culture demonstrated by the increasing numbers of those who take away their hot drinks rather than sitting down to consume them properly in a cafe. "Can you imagine that they drink their tea for all to see?" exclaimed the one. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," agreed the other. "There is no privacy to be had when one is walking down the street." Fortunately my mother had neglected to bring in her take away cappuccino with her.

Loch Ard Gorge may well have been the most spectacular sight of the past week, but several other places have also provided a feast for our senses. Thanks to my grandmother's generosity, we stayed two nights in Apollo Bay in an apartment overlooking the water. The next two pictures show the view from our windows.

And here we are soaking in the scenery and sunshine:

One fervent wish of my grandmother was fulfilled midway through our trip on the Great Ocean Road. Most happily my mother decided to read the guest book in our apartment, and there she heard about a colony of koalas near Cape Otway. Eyes peeled on the tree branches overhead, we made our way down the road to the Cape Otway Lighthouse, and we were not disappointed. Many were still sleeping, but others had woken to eat and to peer down at the handful of tourists below them.

In some cases the koalas were perched directly over the road itself. We had been hearing grunting noises that sounded similar to what you might hear on a pig farm. Ross mentioned the existence of feral pigs and started shooing James back into the car, but we confirmed that it was the koalas when one just overhead lifted its noise high in the air and grunted for minute or so.

For lunch the following day we enjoyed fish and chips in Port Campbell. It is hard to say which part we enjoyed more, the beautiful beach or the perfectly crispy fish.

Other highlights include a trip to Cooks Cottage, the oldest building in Australia according to the signage at the site. It was built in England in the 1700s by the parents of Captain Cook and later transported to Melbourne.

Cape Schanck of course received a visit early on in the week. It is somewhat humorous that I spent so much time worrying about the weather being too hot for sightseeing. Jackets have been desirable most days during the past week and a half.

My grandmother mentioned just now that I had better include photos of the Little Penguin we found this afternoon. We walked the pier at St. Kilda Beach in the hopes of finding one, and thanks to James, we found one not old enough yet to go out to sea. Most of the holes in the rocks had only feathers left, so we were happy to come upon this little guy preening himself. Once or twice he stuck his head out, but I had some trouble getting the camera to focus on him rather than the rocks.

We have also had a wonderful ride through the Dandenong Mountains on the much-loved Puffing Billy, but that will be a post of its own. Tomorrow we hope to visit the Werribee Mansion, and that will give us one remaining day before they are off to the airport again. Apparently the Qantas pilots are threatening to strike, so it remains to be seen whether they will make it out of Melbourne as planned. We will be quite happy to have them stay a bit longer, especially James, but hopefully for their sake the trip home will go as smoothly as the journey this direction.

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This is a great post ! Thanks for including such wonderful pictures ! We are so glad your grandmother was able to make it, and is enjoying herself so much! Love to the kids, et al.

Posted by: janetjames | 02/15/2011 at 11:50 PM