East Cost Road Trip - Newcastle to Hawksnest

Hilary suggests we take a road trip up the cost and so we set off up to Hawknest. From there we take a walk along the Wind Woppa Reserve spit and up the hill at the end. On the way down Hilary spots a huge goanna snoozing on a tree. We then head a little further up the coast for a picnic on the sand. We are the only people for miles on this huge sandy beach but we are both utterly bemused by the 4x4s tearing up and down the sand.

Newcastle

The nearest city to Hiliary’s house is Newcastle so we head in on the train to have a look around. I really industrial city like its English namesake. However a few minutes’ walk out of the city and you get to beautiful golden sandy beaches.

East Maitland

After a dash across Melbourne and to check in with barely minutes to spare I have a short flight up to Newcastle to stay with mum’s cousin Hilary.   

Hilary is really wonderful and it is amazing to spend time to her one-to-one. Of the handful of times I have met her before has been as part of a family gathering. It is lovely to hear her stories and tell her about my recent adventures.  When her daughter Tanya comes over one evening I am really struck by the strong family resemblance between them both and my mum and grandmother.  

Hilary has an appointment in East Maintland so I tag along for the ride, picking up a walking tour guide on the way. 

Cakes in St Kilda

My last day in Melbourne and I go with Alison to visit her mother in St Kilda. Apparently the thing to do is to visit the window of all the cake shops to pick out the cake you want before heading inside to indulge. Predictable I choose a huge chocolate fudge cake.

I then spend some time on the pier watching the kite surfers before walking along the coast to Brighton before jumping on the train back to Mentone.

Bendigo

On my way back to Melbourne I take a detour up to Bendigo, mainly because it has a really funny name and I used to have an old work contact who used to live here and would often talk about the place. It is still really too hot to do too much touristing so after a quick look around it is back to the City to await the ‘cool change’  

A quick stop at Hanging Rock

We took a trip out to Hanging Rock, I really wanted to visit after reading “A Picnic at Hanging Rock” and watching the very eerie film as a child. We arrived too late to get any closer although we did get stopped by the police who wanted to know why we were stopped on the highway. Were firebugs in the area and apparently our behaviour was suspicious. Martyn explained that I was a pom who was excited to see the Kangaroos on the racetrack and we were soon on our way. It was really interesting staying in this area as bush fires are a constant threat especially when temperatures get as high as they have been. It’s unbelievable to think that there are people who start them deliberately.

Echuca

Now to Kyneton and to stay with some more of Mum and Dad’s friends and some more Australian Hospitality. Martyn and Vicky lived in England in the 90s and Martyn worked with my dad. Martyn took me for a day trip to Eccuca, a fascinating town on the banks on the river Murray,  We took a ride on a steamer which would have been relaxing if it hadn’t been so unbearably hot. I loved seeing the river life and the Australian version of the house boat.

Melbourne - The Open

Coincidently I am in Melbourne while the Open is on. And as Alison and Robin are avid watchers I kind of get swept up in the excitement of it all.

Melbourne - Along the River Yarrow

My last walking tour and this time it is along the Waterfront.

Melbourne Parks and Botanical Gardens

Another self guided walk, this time the Secret Gardens walk 6 kilometre walk passing sculptures, monuments and walking through the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens as well as Queen Victoria Gardens and Kings Domain

Melbourne - The Laneways and Street Art

There is so much to see in Melbourne, as I am on a budget I opt to do some self guided walking tours. The maps and guides are available from the visitors centre.

Walk 4 is the Lanes and Arcades tour and it takes me through the laneways and gives me some history at the same time. Melbourne is a really colourful city not least because of all the street art. 

Touristing in Melbourne

We have left the sand sea and surf behind but not the heat as we head back to the city. Melbourne is currently experiencing a heat wave and the temperatures are in the 40s. I have never experienced heat like it. It is unbearably hot but really dry. When you step outside it is like stepping into tumble dryer, or like someone holding a hairdryer in your face. It is not pleasant at all but this is my first time in Melbourne and I am not going to let a little hold me back from sightseeing.

Philip Island Penguin Parade

The penguin colony at Philip Island is big business with hundreds of tourists turning up every evening at dusk to see the Little Penguins return to the colony after, up to two weeks at sea. There are huge stands built on the beach to accommodate the spectators and as visitors have been watching the parade for almost one hundred years the penguins don't know any other way and we are assured that they are not bothered by all the people. In fact, the penguin population in the Philip Island colony has risen from just eight thousand to over thirty thousand in the last decade so they must be happy penguins.

The Nobbies - Philip Island

We head out to the Nobbies to take a walk and to try and spot some seals or penguins

Koala Conservation Centre - Philip Island

Alison and I take a day trip out to Philip Island, This is mainly to see the Penguin Parade but another bonus is that we can make an afternoon stop at the Koala Conservation Centre. This is a great place to see the Koala in their natural environment. You get to walk along the elevated boardwalks enabling you to spot the Koalas high up in the trees. Most of them were sleeping but we were lucky enough to see one of them snacking on his Eucalyptus. Oh... and we saw a couple of wallabies too. 

The Great Ocean Road. Torquay to Apollo Bay

Robin takes me for a drive along the Great Ocean Road, We get as far as Apollo Bay where we take a walk on the beach and over the rocks. Robin even spots a baby seal swimming in the shallows. I am beyond excited about this.

Kangaroo spotting at Jan Juc

At dusk we drove out to Jan Juc to see if we could find some kangaroos. These are probably the worse photo on my whole blog but I don't care as I was so excited to see my first ever wild roo.

There was a group of about twelve of them and this one hopped at speed through the paddock to see us.

Torquay, Victoria, AUSTRALIA

I am not ready to leave Indonesia; I am not ready to leave Asia. I am not excited about Australia.

Luckily for me, I have been invited to stay with a friend of my parents. Alison, knew my parents from their days in Sheffield, when they were all in their twenties. Alison is Australian but spend a few years living in England and when my parents mentioned to her that I would be visiting Australia she very kindly invited me to stay with her and her husband Robin. And so for the next week they thoroughly spoil me and after months of guest houses and hostels it is such a luxury to be staying in somebody’s home. For the first few days we are at the family’s holiday home in Torquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road, and then it is back to Mentone in the suburbs of Melbourne. I have a really wonderful week with them. 

Goodbye Asia

6 months 2 days
11 countries
6 sleeper trains
Goodness knows how many busses
5627 mosquito bites (at least)
16 waterfalls
7 caves
Countless beaches
256 temples (I'm guessing)
11 forts
10 days noble silence
102 hours meditation
1 surfboard induced nosebleed
4 visits to Bangkok (3 too many)

4 flat tyres (1 car (India), 1 rickshaw (India), 1 autorickshaw (Cambodia), 1 bus (Indonisia))

I will miss Asia. I will be back! 

A quick stop in Denpasar - Bali

I loved Java so much that I don’t have any time left to see Bali. I arrive in Denpasar exhausted from the bus and ferry and a really strange border crossing in the middle of the night. It was another crossing where I did wonder if I was going to make it back onto the right bus but it all worked out fine. My bus arrived at Denpasar bus station at about 5am and after an hour or so sitting on my bag we are squeezed onto a mini bus and taken further into the city. Then it is into a taxi to a hotel to catch finally up on some sleep.  Once suitable recovered it is out onto the streets in search of food.

Rainbow Waterfall & Malang, East Java.

Still travelling East through Java towards Bali where I will pick up my flight to Australia. Malang is a bustling town but luckily we are staying in a quiet area and find an amazing restaurant local restaurant where we proceed to have breakfast lunch and dinner. We hire a little scooter and head out to see the Rainbow Waterfall. Unfortunately the heavens open on the way back and the temperature rapidly drops. We are shivering for the whole of the hour long ride back. The rain is like freezing needles on our skin. There is no hot shower waiting for us when we get back but it feels heavenly just to get into some dry clothes and then it is over to our favourite restaurant for some more tempeh. Time is also spent with Lesley trying to renew here visa. I am somewhat envious that she will have more time to spend in Indonesia as I am gearing up to leave for Aussie.

Borobudur

After a spot of breakfast we are off to explore Mahayana Buddhist temple

 of Borobudur with all the other tourists

Sunrise over Borobudur and Mount Merapi

We have a really early start... So early in fact that it was hardly worth going to bed. The alarm goes off at 3am and the guide is already waiting for us in reception. We have a sleepy ride in the car out to the viewpoint to watch the sunrise over Borobudur and Mount Merapi. We arrive at a little hut and it is raining hard. It is pitch black and we slowly make our way up the track to the viewpoint. The next hour is pretty spectacular, not the great sunrise view we had been hoping for but still we get to witness the Borobudur temple emerge from the low clouds as the day breaks.

We don’t really notice all the other tourists arriving but by the time we due to go back down to the hut the little track has turned into a mud slide. And of course we are wearing the backpackers footwear of choice, flip-flops! Miraculously we arrive back down at the car in one piece and not too covered in mud.

Freedom tea

When we arrived back in Yogya after meditation we headed to the market and Leslie bought lots of spices and a big metal kettle and once back at the hostel she brewed the most amazing tea. We kind of turned the hostel lobby into our living room for the afternoon. It was heaven and the tea was delicious.

A few thoughts on my 10 day vippasana meditation

How did I end up spending Christmas 2013 meditating in Central Java?
When I left England 7 months ago, I had hadn't heard of Vipassana or ever considered trying meditation. Then a friend I met in Cambodia, who had completed the course at a Dhamma Centre in Thailand, told me all about his experience a few years before he spoke about it with such passion and enthusiasm my interest was ignited. He spoke of the immense positive benefits it had brought him and how he was trying to find the time to go again.