Winging It in Oz: OWU Roommate Reunion: Australia (Part 2)

Wow, where do I begin? I’ve gotten SO behind on blogging since Sarah left. I’ve been really busy with bat stuff like planning and coordinating the winter cave survey and giving a talk for the South West Integrated Flora and Fauna Team teleconference. I will blog about all that later, but for now I’ll bring everyone up to speed about the second half of Sarah’s and my adventure in Oz.

After taking a few guided cave tours at the park so Sarah could get a taste of the history of the caves (when Sarah saw her first echidna!), we headed off to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. We are in whale watching season now, so we stopped at several known whale sighting spots along the way (Portland, Port Fairy, and Logan’s Beach in Warrnambool) to try our luck at spotting some Southern Right Whales. Unfortunately we had no luck, despite the fact that whales had been seen at those locations only days before. Ah well, it was still a beautiful day and Sarah got to touch the Southern Ocean for the first time. Farther along the Great Ocean Road we stopped at Martyr Bay, London Bridge, and the Twelve Apostles, a must-see when travelling through the area. It was near sunset when we arrived, so we had a great view of the sun dipping below the horizon behind the rock formations. Picturesque and perfect.

Shadows from the skeletons of megafauna in Victoria Fossil Cave.

Standing on the Naracoorte Caves entrance display of skeletal megafauna.

Looking for Southern Right Whales.

Logan's Beach in Warrnambool. Unfortunately no whales.

At London Bridge.

Sunset over the Twelve Apostles.

That night we stayed at a caravan park that we had chosen because it was near our next day’s adventure, the Otway Fly Treetop Adventures in the Otway National Park. We headed there the next morning after a close call with the car’s extremely low fuel level (WARNING: If you are ever driving in Australia, fill up with gas (petrol) if you get to half a tank. Unlike in the US, petrol stations are so few and far between and I’ve nearly run out several times (and did run out once). It’s also a good idea to carry a can of petrol in your car, just in case.). It was a nice day, but it got a bit chillier once we entered the cool temperate rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest environment of the park. It looked and felt like a whole different world. The trees were deep green and covered in thick moss, little sunlight penetrated the thick tree canopy, there were large ferns everywhere, and it was eerily quiet, with very little birdsong. When we entered the Prehistoric Path to see some dino replicas, I could truly imagine myself in the time of the dinosaurs.

Ha, got it!

Sarah's T-rex impression.

After the Prehistoric Pathmcame the attraction that had drawn us to the park in the first place: the Treetop Walk. The metal walkway, which is built above the ground so as to minimize disturbance to the vegetation, started out relatively low to the ground, but gradually got higher and higher until it reached its maximum height of 30 meters (about 98 feet). There was a tower that ascended even higher (to a height of 47 meters above the forest floor (about 154 feet)), so of course we had to check that out. When we got to the top the breeze was blowing and the tower swayed gently. Quite an interesting feeling!

At the beginning of the Treetop Walk.

Almost to the tower!

Look at the people to give some indication of how high up we were.

This place looked like it was right out of a Jurassic Park-type movie.

After several hours wandering through the park and walking along the Treetop Walk, we sat down for a delicious, fresh lunch from the park’s café and then headed off back on the Great Ocean Road to complete our journey to Melbourne. We made it there around 6:00pm, which was perfect timing since we wanted to see the fireworks at 7:00pm. Every Friday in July the city put on a fireworks display over the waterfront, which sounded like a perfect way to start our weekend in Melbourne. It was. The large crowd gathered on the waterfront, the club-type music blaring from the speakers, and the city lit up in the background got us pumped up for a busy weekend. Unlike in Adelaide where we had lazed around and casually toured most of the time, in Melbourne we decided to amp up our tourist modes and hit some key Melbourne attractions.

Haha, in one of Melbourne's shopping centers they had a playground full of snow.

At the Docklands for the fireworks.

A fire eater!

Our tourist experience began on Saturday afternoon when we attended a professional footy game (AFL, or Australian Rules Football) at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), the largest stadium in the country and the place where the Grand Final is held every year. Before the game we walked around the area so Sarah could see the Rod Laver Arena, where the Australian Open is held every year. Sarah’s a big tennis fan so she HAD to see the arena. We passed by the Olympic Park near the MCG and the Rod Laver Arena (the 1956 summer Olympics were held in Melbourne). For the game we had good seats pretty close to the oval so we could see all the action. I had been to one footie game before, but that was a local game in Naracoorte with amateur players. This was a whole different thing. The crowd was obviously MUCH larger, and the crowd participation was amazing. Every time a team scored a goal, the followers of that team jumped out of their seats and erupted in cheering. The team we were rooting for, the Richmond Tigers, won with a score of 101 to the Melbourne Demon’s 78 (Note: In Australia, you do NOT say that you “root for” a team, as that means to have sex. Instead you just say you support a certain team.).

One thing we did notice was the lack of “music” throughout the game. Unlike in most sporting events I’ve been to in the US, there were no sounds broadcast over the loud speakers to announce when a goal had been made, and there were no announcers. Also, at the beginning of the game the national anthem was not sung, which I was quite shocked by. The US national anthem is something that’s so prevalent in our sporting events that to not have it felt weird. There definitely is not a lack of national pride in Australia, so I guess they just show it a bit differently.

In front of the MCG.

Sarah with her beloved Rod Laver Arena.

In front of Olympic Park.

What?

After our footy game experience, the next thing on our to-do list was to visit the Chill on Ice Bar. We had read about this place in one of the brochures in the hostel and it sounded pretty cool (no pun intended). I’d always wanted to go to an ice bar, so what better place to do it than in Australia? At Chill on Ice the entire bar is made of ice, including the stools, tables, bar, sculptures, walls, and even the cocktail glasses. It’s definitely a tourist attraction, but hey, we were tourists, right? The entry fee included the use of a parka, boots, and gloves to keep warm, a free cocktail once inside, and 30 minutes in the bar, which doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but when it’s -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) inside that’s PLENTY of time. One of my favorite parts was being able to “eat” the cocktail glass after finishing the drink!

Melbourne at night.

Chilling out in the Chill on Ice Lounge.

Sunday’s adventure took us to the Queen Victoria Market, which was only a few blocks from our slightly-out-of-the-way hostel. We made it just in time before the market closed. The place was HUGE! There were so many stalls with every imaginable item possible. Clothes, knives, jewelry, fruit and vegetables, trinkets, souvenirs, massages, framed photos, you name it. We happened upon an opal jewelry stall, which was perfect because one of the opal earrings that I bought in Adelaide fell out and washed down the drain when I was taking a shower a few weeks back, so I was looking for another pair. Opal is my birthstone so I really wanted some earrings. The prices at the stall were much less than the prices at the opal stores, so I lucked out. I ended up with a beautiful pair of opal studs that look red in one light and blue/green in another.

This one's for you, Father.

Sarah browsing in the Queen Victoria Market.

Very Australian.

A penguin playing the bagpipes. The night before in the same spot was Elmo playing Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean on the trumpet.

That evening we headed into the city for drinks, which ended up being 30 minutes of walking around the streets looking for somewhere that was open. Our brochures had said several places were open on Sundays, but we couldn’t find any of them. We ended up at Welcome Stranger on Bourke Street, where Sarah gambled away $25 on the pokies and I watched her lose her money.

We had one more touristy thing to do on Monday before heading home: visit the Old Melbourne Gaol. We took the Watch House Experience Tour, during which we were “arrested” and locked up. The City Watch House acted as Melbourne’s central custody center or “holding place” for people arrested and awaiting trial. We were all lined up and led into the gaol by the Charge Sergeant, a “mean” lady who gave us our orders and went through with us the procedures the prisoners would have gone through. We were locked in a cell for several minutes in the dark (quite dark!) and then got to walk around the men’s exercise yard, where up to 80 prisoners spent almost all day, every day. There was a separate adjacent exercise yard for police informants, as you can imagine what would have happened if they had been allowed in with the rest of the prisoners. We then went into one of the padded cells where prisoners were put if they were likely to harm themselves. We finished in the women’s exercise yard, which was slightly smaller than the men’s yard but there were usually only a few women in there at a time. The Watch House was used up until 1994, which I couldn’t believe. The place seemed so run-down and out-of-date!

Help, I'm stuck in jail!

Being lined up for inspection as part of the Watch House Experience Tour.

The men's exercise yard in the City Watch House, where up to 80 prisoners spent most of their day.

Locked in a padded cell.

I always knew she was a bad egg!

I guess I'm not much better...

We then went through the actual Old Melbourne Gaol, which is right next to the Watch House. The gaol was built in 1842 and closed in 1929, and was the site of 133 hangings including Australia’s infamous bushranger Ned Kelly. The first inmate was a woman arrested for profanity on the steps of the gaol during the opening ceremony. Most of the prisoners were locked up for crimes like gambling, debt, and disorderly conduct. The youngest inmate was three years old, and he was arrested for idling because he had no money in his pockets and no parents. Women prisoners were often put in with their babies. Times sure have changed!

Inside the Old Melbourne Gaol.

The death mask of a prisoner, which was made from the corpse after execution.

These leather gloves were secured to a prisoner's hands in order to prevent "self-abuse" (aka masturbation).

On the way back to Naracoorte we took the inland route (which is a bit faster than the Great Ocean Road) so Sarah could see more of the countryside. We stopped in Ballarat, one of the centers of the first Australian gold rush, and toured the Gold Museum.

With the Welcome Stranger, which weighed 2,284 ounces and was the largest nugget ever found. It was uncovered in 1869 and was found just 2.5cm below the surface. Wow!

The title of a book from the late 1800s. I'm sure glad I didn't live back then!

On the last leg of our journey back to Naracoorte, we got really low on gas, again. It was only 6:00pm when we were driving through the rural towns, but ALL the petrol stations were closed! It was so crazy. I can’t believe that with so much distance between towns/petrol stations, at least some of them don’t stay open past dark. It gets dark quite early here in winter, and truckers and travelers are still out driving past sunset, so you’d think that at least SOME of them would stay open! Luckily we did make it back fine and one of the petrol stations in Naracoorte was open.

Once back in Naracoorte, we decided to continue our touristy mood and see some of the Naracoorte and surrounding area sights. The main attraction in Naracoorte was the Visitor Centre/Sheep’s Back Museum, which chronicles the history of the Limestone Coast and the history and process of sheep shearing in the area. The upper floors of the museum also go through the history of Naracoorte and the life of settlers through the years.

A shelter tree. Aboriginal people used controlled fires to create hollows in large gum trees that faced away from the prevailing cold winds of winter. Some of these trees are estimated to be 800 years old.

In the Bat Cave replica.

Haha, I love this.

At the wool sorter's table.

The Robotic Shearer was designed as a mobile unit with its own power source. It could service a large number of properties by working around the clock to harvest and pack the wool and then move on.

We then spent a day in Mt. Gambier, which is one hour south of Naracoorte. We visited the Blue Lake first and walked up to the top of the crater overlooking the lake. Of course our day couldn’t go off without a hitch. When we got back to the car it wouldn’t start. There was no power to the car at all. We had to call the RAA and wait 45 minutes for someone to come out. Of course when the guy got to us, he got in the car and turned the keys in the ignition and the car immediately started. We were quite embarrassed, but when he looked under the hood he found that one of the battery terminals had been worn through and was broken off, so it wasn’t connecting properly. Luckily it was only 4:30pm so we had time to swing by a local mechanic and get a new terminal put on for only $10. Phew!

Once that was fixed, we went to a local café, Sorrento’s, for dinner, and then visited the Umpherston Sinkhole where Cath had taken me during my first week in Naracoorte to feed the possums. On our way to the sinkhole we walked through a park and a mom possum came right up to us, with her little baby clinging onto her back. She could smell we had food (leftover pizza) so she proceeded to try to climb my leg! Her claws sure were sharp! We quickly backed off after that because I didn’t really like being thought of as a climbing post. When we arrived at the sinkhole there were plenty of possums to greet us and eat our offerings. We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

At the Blue Lake in Mt. Gambier.

Sarah feeding a possum.

Mom and baby possum. So cute!

After Mt. Gambier we headed off to Adelaide for Sarah’s last weekend in Australia. Her flight was for the next Monday. On the drive to Adelaide I let Sarah drive for the first time on the left side of the road. She was thrilled and did quite well. When we got to the city we went through the Central Markets since we hadn’t gotten a chance to visit the last time we were in Adelaide. It wasn’t quite as big as Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market, but it was still neat to see all the vendors. Friday night was our last night out on the town, which turned into a late night/early morning out. We stayed out dancing until about 6:15am, but when we went to leave we couldn’t find our coats. The staff at the club wouldn’t let us check the coat room until they closed, which wasn’t until 7:00am. So we had to wait around until then, to no avail. They couldn’t find our coats; somebody must have stolen them. We were both really bummed because I’d had my beloved (fake) leather jacket for four years, and Sarah had just bought her new coat. We had to walk back coatless to our hostel in the cold and wind as people were going to work. Not quite how we wanted to end the night.

On Sunday, Sarah’s last full day in Australia, we did one last touristy thing: visit the Cleland Wildlife Park. The park is home to many species of native Australian animals, and you can buy animal feed to feed to them. As soon as we entered the park and were greeted by little scurrying Bandicoots I knew this was the place for me. We took several hours to walk through the whole park, and along the way we saw (and fed and pet) some amazing animals, including Gray Kangaroos, Red Kangaroos, a wombat, potoroos, bandicoots, a bettong, Tasmanian Devils, Dingos, a koala, spoonbills, Tawny Frogmouths, Bush Stone-curlews, emus, and Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies. If you’re ever in Australia and want to experience some Australian native wildlife in a natural setting, Cleland is the place to go. It was a great way to end Sarah’s Australian visit.

I drove Sarah to the airport early the next morning, and we parted ways (a bit tearfully on my end) as she got on her plane. I cannot believe I was so lucky to have such a great friend come visit me here. Being with Sarah here was just like college, only in a new place with new adventures. Sarah, thank you for a wonderful time and many, many good memories.