A trip to Melbourne

I had to go to Melbourne this week to run a training course for a company and so Sue decided to come along and we would use the following day to explore the city some more, following our last visit in 2005. However, our trip coincided with the hottest spell in southern Australia for a century, with Melbourne reaching 43c and Adelaide hitting 46c.

We had an early start on Wednesday, leaving home at 4.30am for the airport and a quick flight into Melbourne. We caught the airport bus into the city and then went our separate ways as I had to continue to the company I was visiting by train and Sue went to find our hotel for the night.

It was already warm but got much hotter during the day and, after a good day, I had a hot journey back in the evening, with some disruption on the trains due to buckled lines and cancelled services. Sue had spent the morning walking around the city centre but had retreated to the cooler hotel room for the afternoon.

We ventured out in the evening, however, and after eating at a good Nepalese restaurant, we caught a tram to Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open was in its final week. We were hoping to see some matches but the heat meant that the games on the outside courts had been cancelled and the only one going on was the sold-out men's quarter final in the covered arena, so we slowly ambled back to the city and watched the match on the large TV screen in Federation Square for a while.

On Thursday the heat was intense from early on, so we walked in as much shade as possible to visit the South Bank area and spent some time in air-conditioned buildings - firstly the new Eureka tower, and then the National Museum of Victoria - both of which provided welcome relief from the heat and the sun. The views over the city from the tower were marvellous and the museum was impressive too. There are some photos from our visit here.

After a late lunch it was time to head back to the hotel and off to the airport where we found that our flight had been cancelled, but we were luckily placed on an earlier one and were soon heading back to Sydney where the temperature was much cooler in the high 20s!

Australia Day weekend

It's been a hot week leading up to the Australia Day holiday weekend, with temperatures in the mid-30's. Although I have the benefit of air conditioning in the office, it's not so good at home and so Sue picked me up from work on Thursday and Friday so that we could head down to the beach for the cooling swim at the end of the day.

Saturday was the hottest day and we went to Narrabeen in the morning to meet a new expat couple for coffee (customers of Sue's) which was good, followed by a dip in the sea there, which was quite rough. We had then planned to ride our bikes several miles to a shop to get them serviced prior to the start of the club rides again next weekend, but we weren't looking forward to the hot ride and walk home again. It was with some fortune, therefore, that just as we left home, my chain broke and so we had to load the bikes into the car instead.

We had gone to a BBQ on Saturday evening when the weather changed with the arrival of some strong winds and cooler temperatures, which continued over Sunday and into Monday, the Australia Day holiday. The day was overcast but warm, so Sue and I headed into the city to enjoy the atmosphere and see what was going on.

We arrived before lunch and joined the queue for Doyle's restaurant opposite the Opera House and were lucky to get an outside table with the view. We then enjoyed a lovely (and probably the most expensive) fish & chips meal, before walking around The Rocks area and watching one of the live bands performing. The activity on the harbour seemed more muted this year, probably because of the weather, and as we headed home around 4pm it was starting to rain, which continued into the evening and must have reduced the crowds for some of the evening events and fireworks.

Jervis Bay

January in Sydney means ‘hot’ and it certainly has been lately. Luckily for us, we had a week’s holiday last week so could cool off in the sea as often as we liked. As the water is now around 22 degrees most days, it’s very pleasant and so I have no cause to complain about finding it cold for a while!

Clive, Caroline, Rebecca and I went to Sanctuary Point in Jervis Bay, a little place on the coast about 3 hours’ drive south of Sydney. We rented a holiday cottage which overlooked St Georges Basin, a large salt-water lake. The house was modern and very comfortable, on a quiet street a short drive from local shops. In between the back of the house and the lake was an area of gum trees which attracted lovely birds. Strangely, there were no cockatoos, but lots of lorikeets, crimson rosellas, king parrots and kookaburras, so I was in birdie-heaven!

We have a reputation as a family for holidaying in bad weather, but luckily not this time! The week was sunny and hot most days, just a little cloudy and cool one day when we drove into Kangaroo Valley to admire the view from the top (not!). The rest of our week was filled with exploring the local national park, some tame bush walking, quite a bit of messing about on beaches and the occasional burst of exercise (two sessions of tennis, a bike ride and a short kayak). A great combination of activity and relaxation!

One of the nearby beaches was Hyams Beach whose claim to fame is being in the Guinness Book of Records as having ‘the whitest sand in the world’. Not only did the sand live up to its reputation, but the sea was gorgeous too, with lovely clear water and just the right level of power to the surf to make cooling off a fun experience and not a scary one!

There are more photos from the week here.

Laura stayed at home and I think the family ‘weather’ reputation was with her – the poor girl had to suffer a day or two of temperatures close to 40 degrees, followed by incredible storms. There were a few local bushfires too, but that’s quite normal for this time of year.

We returned home the day before Laura’s 19th birthday, which she celebrated by having some friends round for drinks before hitting the nightlife in Manly and getting home at 4am. How does she do it? Sadly now it’s back to work for Clive, but there were no work crises while he was away and he managed to relax. This was the first time we’ve been on holiday for ages when we haven’t had access to a computer at all, and it was very liberating! Whatever did we do without them?

NYE 2008

We enjoyed a slightly different NYE this year to our first in 2006. As the weather was hot and sunny, the idea of staking a spot at Cremorne Wharf for the day and ending up frazzled didn’t appeal, so Clive, Rebecca and I enjoyed a leisurely day at home, waiting for the heat to ease a little.

After an evening BBQ we set off by car for Manly to watch the 9pm family fireworks. The foreshore was jammed with groups of families and friends, all doing what the Aussies do best – no, not cricket, picnics! Not for them a tired old blanket and curly sandwiches. Looking around we saw tables laid with cloths and covered with dishes of prawns, salads, dips etc. You name it, it was there! The champagne was already flowing in some groups and the atmosphere was one of happy anticipation.

As the light fell, we sat on the pavement above the beach and watched the children playing in the sea and on the sand. Bang on 9pm, the fireworks started from a barge in the harbour, and we could just see the 9pm Sydney fireworks in the distance too. The display lasted about 15 minutes and was enjoyed by all, especially the little ones. We oldies weren’t that impressed, but then we knew what was coming later!

We ambled back to the car and drove to Cremorne, to park as close to the wharf as we could. We were lucky and found a spot about 20 minutes’ walk away, which was great. The wharf itself was packed, as we expected, with the noisier young people at the top of the road and the families with children sleeping on the pavement at the bottom. This is where we headed, as the view from the wharf at the bottom of the road is, we think, the best!

As midnight approached we stood where we felt we’d get the best view, about a metre from the railing. There were about 3 rows of bodies in front of us, but as Rebecca is the same height as me now, she had no problem seeing over people’s heads! We had Irish to our left, French to our right and Asians in front of us (so we got a good view), and the 12 minute display was fantastic, the best I’ve ever seen!

There will always be those who say the money could be spent on more worthwhile things (I’m usually one of them!), but I have to admit to really enjoying the spectacle and forgetting about the money for once! I think our favourite part this year was the waterfall of fireworks that cascaded from the bridge and all along its sides. Well, either that or the fabulous orange flares that fell slowly from the skies and floated gently down into the water. Hmm...


We made our way back to the car on a high, feeling very safe and relaxed – there were families everywhere as well as plenty of police! We all thronged up the middle of the dark streets, waving at residents on their balconies and in their windows, and then gave a lift to a Melbourne man and his son who were heading back to his mother’s house in Cremorne. He said the Sydney fireworks were much better than the Melbourne ones, but then he had to!

We collected Laura from a party at 1am (Caroline was staying with friends) and eventually toasted in the New Year ourselves. A lovely end to another interesting year – but why do they all go so quickly?