amisonsabbatical: A Final Look at Australia

Our last week in Australia included a big road trip from Sydney to Melbourne via the east coast and some time in the state of Victoria with good friends. We started our trek with a quick stop at Bondi Beach - a well known surf beach on the east side of Sydney.

Bondi Beach - Sydney (top & bottom)

We then ventured off towards Melbourne! The first part of the trip was really spectacular, with great views along the way. After a good stretch of driving, we stopped for the night in a small town called Narooma. We arrived in the dark and had trouble finding our place, but it was worth the effort as we ended up with a great little two bedroom suite. The views in the morning were a fabulous surprise, showing us what a pretty little town Narooma was!

Our lunch stop... (top & bottom)

Views along the way... (top & bottom)

View by our hotel (golf course & ocean! pretty sweet as!)

Birdy birds... of the parrot sort!

The rest of the drive was more of a slog - it was pretty but nothing like the previous day. We got ourselves to another small town (Bairnsdale) and stayed in a funny old motel. We picked up fish and chips - which were outstanding! The boys were able to watch the cricket on satellite TV so all in all, everyone was quite happy.

The next morning we got up relatively early and were on the motorway around 8:30/9. With about four hours to go, we made our way to the Melbourne airport to drop off the car. Simon graciously picked us (and our bags) up in his big truck! The Eassom home was only about 50 minutes away. Located on an acreage, their beautiful home was filled with dogs, horses, a cat and a warm, hospitable feel! The fact that more than 10 years had passed since we'd all been together was insignificant - it was a really great four or five days. And the kids immediately felt at ease and grew very fond of our hosts.

A "welcome mat" doesn't compare to this fella!

A view from Simon & Lisa's front...

Our temporary home sweet home!


Our hosts! Unfortunately the camera was not in focus!!

Our first full day included a trot on Billy the horse, followed by a lovely walk at Hanging Rock. It was a really peaceful and enjoyable day -

Our second full day was spent in Melbourne city! Simon took us up to the top of his office building to see the beautiful views. After we left him to work we started our walk along the river towards the sports complexes. John was really eager to take a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Club, hence we spent a good part of two hours there seeing the inside of the stadium and finishing up with a quick (and very late) lunch. We had just enough time to walk back along the river, explore some of the fantastic side streets of the city's centre, and stroll through the botanic gardens. Simon finished work in decent time and we went back to our country retreat!

Our third day was another full day of exploration. We drove to Ballarat to see Sovereign Hill to experience an old Gold Mine! It was tons of fun for the kids, and even us!

The first half of our final day was spent packing up our bags. Lisa and Simon were out - Lisa competes with her horses and she had a competition that day with Billy! She and Billy got 6th overall, by the way - a really great feat!! After we were packed and ready to go, the four of us drove off road (using the 4X4 Jeep!!) - our goal was to walk to the peak of a nearby hill/mountain - Mt. William. It was a very short drive and maybe a 40 minute walk to the peak. We saw kangaroos along the way - we literally were chasing them up the road for a bit! After the walk, we got home and regrouped for our two flights to England. The thought of 22 hours on planes was not exciting - but at least what was waiting for us at the other end (our family!) was!!