Tanunda to Doncaster (Melbourne)

Took a day trip out from Tanunda to Blanchtown on the Murray River..I always had the impression that this was a big 'muddy' river but was pleasantly surprised to see blue green water... and of course the houseboats are everywhere and available to hire....




The Mighty Murray as Ive heard it refered to many times is impressive with the sandstone walls that have been carved by water,wind and the other elements...



I wondered how Blanchtown got its name and never did find out ...but I found it strange that all the houses in the town were coloured cream with either blue or green rooves and gutters...giving the town that 'blanched' effect!

More farewells and we were 'on the road again'...making our way down the coast to Robe that night...

Tanya highly recommended we have Fish n Chips whilst we were in Robe at a place called The Sails...well, they were delcious and Hans tasted New Zealand Hoki for the first time.


Robe itself is a pictursque place...I guess originally a small fishing village... unfortunately the weather was not kind to us there with howling freezing cold wind and rain...but you get that!

Next day we crossed the South Australian/West Australian border..and drove to the Grampians ...Again, the weather wasn't working with us, as we woke up to an electrical storm and rain...sort've puts a damper on any sort of photography!...by late morning as we were leaving the National Park there was a reprieve for a short time...so we got a few pic's.


The journey all the way to the coast again was in the rain and we found a place to stay in Warranbool early that night... the next morning the sun was out again and just in time for us to start our Great Ocean Road experience...But before we left town we went to Town Hill a conservation area located in a crater for wild life...no gates or fences...just an open area where animals live naturally...Saw my first Koala in the wild there...there were emu's, kangaroos, black swans and a proliferation of birdlife...

The Great Ocean Road ...check out some of these amazing features carved by Mother Nature!

The Bay of Islands

The Grotto

London Bridge



The Arch

The '12' Apostles....there is only 7 now standing...

We left the Great Ocean Road at Lavers Hill and went inland to the Otway Ranges...Hans wanted to see and photograph Temperate Rain Forest...Beautiful forests of giant Beech, Pine, Ferns...Waterfalls, babbling brooks, moss on the trees, ... Very much like the flora in the North Island of NZ.


The plants flowering in South Australia and Victoria at this time of year re ignite old memories for me of my earlier years in NZ...the smell of freesias, jonquils, jasmime...seeing flowering Rhoderdendrons, Fushias, Camellias, Iris's, Gerberas, Daffodils, Buttercups, Dandelions, Daisys flowering in the lawns...and of course the smell of newly cut grass...

Hans picking Freesias for the car in the rain!

We are now in Melbourne in the suburb of Doncaster staying with my friend Claire and her family...Claire and I used to live in the same housing complex in Coomera 6years ago so we have a lot of catching up to do!...we used to share a wine or 3 of an evening, in our pocket size backyards...and now we are again sharing a wine or 3 again of an evening!!!...