They laugh at me when I pronounce place names.  A is sometimes pronounced like an English O, other times as and English E.  An example would be Wagga Wagga pronounced as Wogga Wogga, or Alan pronounced like Ellen.  This last once confused the hell out of me at the Heide Museum of Modern Art when a painter was referred to as Ellen as earlier the guide had expressly said that it was a male.  During the same tour another painter was referred to as Liz when his name was Les – so E is pronounced as I.  Apparently that’s how you’re supposed to tell the difference between Kiwis and Aussies.  Six is sex (NZ) and sex is six (Oz). U can be pronounced like an English A – Tuross Head becomes Tarass Head.

The Tim Tams are good though – particularly the coffee one!

The Mornington Peninsula turned out to be just over an hour’s drive from the house so I set out on a Friday to avoid the weekend crowds.  Most of the wineries are open Fri-Sun so that worked out really well.  There were very few people around apart from in the vineyard restaurants.  The area is beautiful with varied coastal landscape – the ocean side beach was absolutely stunning with some very wild surf breaks.  I drove all the way to the end of the peninsula just to see what that was like and then had a coffee in Sorrento.  Wow what an upmarket place, full of expensive shops and food places.  Still the asparagus was only 70c for a bunch – the cheapest so far.

I had learnt my lesson from the Yarra Glen about food so made sure I got to a place to eat before 3pm.  The nearest winery to Sorrento is The Cups Estate and I had a lovely posh lunch and a glass of their 2015 Syrah.  Apparently as this is cool climate wine  making they are encouraged to call it that rather than the usual Aussie Shiraz – never mind.

I then drove to the 10 Minutes by Tractor winery which had set up a pop up cellar door at a local restaurant as the winery had burnt down in January.  I was the only customer but the wines were pretty good and the lady who worked there recommended the next winery – Oceans Eight.  I have to say of all of them this was my favourite.  Once again I was the only customer and the place itself was stunning.  The family live there and it had a more authentic feeling than lots of the others.  The wines were fantastic and pretty expensive but then all these wineries are boutiques and the prices are high.  I had decided not to buy anything anyway as when I checked online you could buy the wines cheaper at Dan Murphy’s if available and also they were mostly out of my usual Aussie price range of $10-15.  The top Oceans Eight wine was the 2013 Aylward Pinot Noir at $80 available online for $60 – that’s quite  big difference.  It was very good though!

I then added on a 4th vineyard but frankly I might not have bothered.  Main Ridge is the oldest winery on the Mornington Peninsula but their wines were mediocre and the only place that actually charged me for the tasting.  It’s usually $5 but this place was $10.  Mostly as I’m on my own they don’t bother to charge which is a nice bonus.

So all in all a much better experience than the Yarra.  If it wasn’t for the dogs I would probably have stayed there overnight.

Mornington ocean beach

The Cups Estate Pinot Noir

The Cups Estate

The Cups Estate tasting list

Posh lunch

2015 Syrah

10 Minutes by Tractor tasting list

Main Ridge

Main Ridge

Oceans Eight

Oceans Eight tasting list

Main Ridge Tasting list

Mornington ocean beach

The Cups Estate

The Cups Estate tasting list

Posh lunch

2015 Syrah

The Cups Estate Pinot Noir

10 Minutes by Tractor tasting list

Oceans Eight

Oceans Eight tasting list

Main Ridge

Main Ridge Tasting list

Main Ridge

Rhonda (Boston Terrier 5 years old) and Charlie (Italian Greyhound 5 months old) were the cutest things ever to look after.  It was a real eye opener looking after someone else’s pets.  It made me realise how easy going I and our pets are!   Rhonda took to me immediately although I wasn’t too keen on her jumping up and trying to kiss me while taking my eye out.  Charlie took ages to come to me but apparently Greyhounds are known for being shy.  What a life these dogs have – fed twice a day on vanilla bean yogurt, beef mice (raw), dog mince (raw) and some dried dog food.  They also had a probiotic pill with their dinner – no idea what that was for?  Rhonda loved walks but Charlie was too young to take out and also she wouldn’t leave Rhonda so that was fairly easy.  They could be left alone for most of the day as the back door was left open for them to go outside – no problems with security then…

I did love looking after them but started to feel trapped as I was so far out in the suburbs (Greensborough) and there was nothing really close that I could just walk to other than the shopping mall which did have good coffee at least and Rhonda was up for walking there.

I travelled into Melbourne CBD (Central Business District) on the train quite a few times to go the galleries, the fabulous Queen Victoria Market and wander around the laneways.  I took the tram out to St. Kilda and had coffee on the pier.  I do think that if I had been a bit more central I would have got a lot more out of Melbourne but then on the other hand I had a free place to stay which was comfortable if a little strange and lots of doggie cuddles.  Would I do it again?  Only if it was just a weekend or just cats.

Charli

It was so cold they had to wear coats

Rhonda

Cuddle time

UP to no good

Charli

Rhonda

Coconut chilli mussels – yum

For Julia

It’s a mango

A long way from home

Bought some of this

Wine shop in the market

Very popular food stall

That’s me saying cheese

So maybe doing wine tastings in the Yarra Valley on a Sunday isn’t a good idea? Seems like half of Melbourne was there. Also it turns out most of the wineries are open 7 days a week. The wines are expensive at an average of A$ 25/bottle at the cellar door and the food although it looked good was even more. I guess I have to get used to a different price level from the UK but it’s proving hard. When you go somewhere as a tourist everything seems more expensive than at home at first (not Bali though…) until you find your feet. That has not been the case here. Dan Murphy’s is a chain which sells beer and wine and has a very good selection. You can buy wine from A$2.99 to 299/bottle. A$10-15 seems a reasonable level and you do of course get an amazing selection on Aussie and NZ wines as well as lots of other countries in the world. Supermarkets are not allowed to sell alcohol. They do have drive through bottle shops which is something I remember from years ago which for 2 Norwegians left us speechless. Anyway here is a list of the wineries, for those of you who are really interested I can supply the list of wines as well as I tasted over 30 and spat out every single one as I was driving!

Yarrawood, Immerse Winery, De Bortoli, Balgownie and St. Huberts

I am really not into horse racing but when am I ever going to be in Melbourne on the day of the Melbourne Cup again?  It’s a national holiday in Victoria so I bought a ticket and a hat ($7.99 in the 2 for $5 store – not sure why it was 7.99?)

Anyway, race day arrived and it was bucketing down with thunder and lightning.  Roads, rails and creeks were flooded.  I made it there in one piece armed with my hat, raincoat and umbrella.  The whole event is huge and I mean huge!  It’s the richest price pool in the world.  People were really dressed up – both men and women.  I was glad I made an effort although I hadn’t brought any heels with me so went with my white Converse.  That turned out to be a really good idea as the race course was very very wet.  98% of the women wore hats – fanciers mostly – and their dresses were totally over the top – imagine Newcastle girls going out on the toon.  Some of them might as well have been naked with what they wore but the crowd was very young and I think that’s great as horse racing seems to be mostly older people in the UK – but then what do I know.

The weather cleared up for the race itself and it was really hot and sunny.  I was surprised how close I managed to get to the racecourse – basically right up against the low fence quite close to the finish.  I bet on 3 horses – Yucatan, Best Solution and Youngstar.  I didn’t win anything as the prize was taken by an outsider which nonetheless was owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the legendary owner of the Godolphin Stables. The minute the race was over the heavens opened again and as I didn’t win anything I decided to head home.  It was a fun day and I’m really glad I went.

In order to get from the Sunshine Coast to my next assignment in Melbourne I had to fly to Sydney, pick up a car and drive to Greensborough near Melbourne.  Car rental is very reasonable and so is petrol.  Also in a country where the car is essential for getting around just like in the US renting the smallest car there is will get you a large car by European standards with all mod cons although in my case not GPS which did lead to some difficulty getting around.  Google maps only works if you set it up when you have Wifi so I had to resort to my ancient Samsung which got me to where I was going in the end.

My first stop was Wagga Wagga and due to various delays at Sydney Airport I got there after dark.  Driving through the completely parched landscape in Spring time was sobering as there’s been a drought for years now and farmers have been very badly hit.  You often see notices in shops that prices are being raised due to the drought and last week they had a televised music festival to raise money for farmers – Hay Mate. The landscape in Queensland was lush and green in comparison although that was along the coast and it may have been just as bad further inland.  Wagga Wagga turned out to be a pretty affluent place with nice shops and restaurants although finding something to eat at 9.30 pm proved to be difficult – I had to beg the barman and he did manage to find me something.

My next stop was Bendigo – now you may ask why? – well a knitting friend had told me there was a Mill there and that it was a nice little old town.  Being a knitter that proved enough for me to make a detour.  Bendigo was indeed a much older place than Wagga Wagga but not as up and coming.  It reminded me very much of those mill towns in New Hampshire which have fallen on hard times.  Judging by the signs for wool, shearing equipment and such things it may indeed have been a mill town but probably not anymore.  Apparently it was also a gold town so both of those things have gone it seems.  The Bendigo Wollen Mill is still in operation but their output was not very inspiring for a keen knitter other than the fact that they had yarn in just about every colour shading you would want.  There was also a cute old fashioned tramline you could take into town.  The town centre was pretty deserted.  This may have been something to do with the fact that it was now 37C and that everything closed at 5.30pm.  I managed to find what looked like the coolest place in town to eat before heading for Melbourne.

I visited the Sunshine Coast 30 years ago with my very good friend Olaug at a similar time of year.  We drove from Rockhampton (having visited Great Keppel Island) to Brisbane which probably took about 5 days with stops.  We got to Noosa and stayed in a hostel and I remember that we were very put out as it rained!  Not something we were prepared for.  Anyway we had done quite a lot of riding near London so decided that it would be a fun thing to do.  The stables was called Clip Clop and we went on an amazing 2 hour ride on horses that weren’t shod – I was very surprised as I thought that all horses had to be shod as I had never seen this before in Norway or England.  We rode through Lake Weyba and I have a wonderful photo of us looking like we were riding on water.

Anyway 30 years later I suggested to Peggy that we might do this again and although Clip Clop no longer existed there was a new place called Noosa Horse Riding which were doing very similar rides so we signed up.  It was a wonderful ride in glorious sunshine and we rode through the lake in the same way that I had done 30 years before.  The horses were beautifully well kept and were not shod either.  Mine was called Ken and was a previous trotter so had a looong stride when we trotted through the forest although he didn’t like water so was not happy when we had to do that.

It’s quite a strange thing to recreate your holiday after 30 years.  It’s not something I thought I would ever do.  It brings back all kinds of memories of the trip.  It was only the 2nd time that I went on a long haul holiday.  I don’t count the 4 years I spent in the US.  The best thing about it is that Olaug and I are still close friends after so many years!

Here are some photos from 2018:

I have waited quite a few days before updating the blog about  my arrival in the Sunshine Coast so that I could soak up the atmosphere.  The fact that I’m here is due to Peggy, a home swapper from Florida, whom I have known for many years and who is house sitting for 3 months near Lake Kawana.  We met up in Amsterdam and London last summer and she suggested that I come join her for a couple of weeks and now here I am.  I am staying in an apartment right on the lake – the view is beautiful – only 20 minutes’ walk from the beach.  The beach is stunning – miles of white sand and surf breaks and hardly any people particularly during the week but even at the weekend there’s so much beach it would take an awful lot of people to make it look even vaguely populated.  The apartment building is a mixture of retirement and medical professionals as it’s is right in the middle of a very large medical university campus with several specialist services and at least a couple of hospitals.  The rest of the area seems to be devoted to small businesses servicing the large property developments springing up along the coast.  It’s pretty bland with strip malls lining the main roads and enormous stores selling BBQs, outdoor gear, furniture and fitness centres.  It reminds me very much of the Florida coast with tropical vegetation and climate although the birds and occasional wild life is very different.  The bird calls are exotic and the birds much more colourful.  We see the occasional kangaroo and once met a water dragon walking along the pavement – obviously lost but exciting nonetheless.

So far I have managed to do most of the things that would be of interest – whale watching, Glass Mountains (although it rained so much I have to go back as I couldn’t see anything), horse riding (more of which later), beach days, quirky museums that were mainly about themselves, Oktoberfest (waste of time and money) and lazy days at home.  Because I’m staying in someone’s home it feels a bit like living here so I’m trying to get into the vibe of the Sunshine Coast.  The food and drink (beer and wine) are outstanding and not expensive although we tend to cook at home.

I have been to many yoga classes over the years but have never really been bitten by the bug.  I often end up in more pain afterwards either through my own inability to recognise my limits or the inexperience of the instructor.

An old friend I met up with in the summer suggested that I go for something a bit more meditative so while in Ubud I decided to take a couple of classes at Yogabarn.  This place is a mecca for people who like yoga.  The site itself is beautiful, spilling down the hill in structures that look like they have evolved organically.  The cost of a class is pretty good at IRD 130.000/class.  You can buy a pass as well which makes it even cheaper.  I decided to go with Yin Yoga which sounded gentle enough for me.  The first class was taught by Danielle who stood in for Carlos who was at the hospital with a sick friend.  She was very spiritual and also a very good yoga teacher explaining everything very carefully and she made sure I didn’t injure myself.  “We are all sacred mirrors” was what she said – not sure what that meant but it made sense at the time -😊.

The next class was Yin Yoga with healing taught by EKA who was standing in for Tina who had a family emergency and had to return to Australia – spot a pattern here?

This class was very different but had the same elements of holding gentle (and for me possible) poses for 2-3 minutes.  The healing bit was done with tennis balls – a first for me!  I emerged suitably relaxed and ran into a fellow CISV traveller – Sayaka from Japan – who was doing the same class.  We then went out and had a large Bintang (beer) which probably ruined all the Yin in the yoga.

There are 2 activities that I have enjoyed here that I want to share although one of them is more like a non-activity!

Cooking class

There are loads of people offering cooking classes with a visit to the large local market outside Ubud so it’s difficult to choose unless you have a recommendation.  I went with one that AirBnb had as an experience.  It certainly lived up to expectations.  Ayu runs a Balinese cooking experience in her traditional family compound – her husband is a traditional healer.  We were 11 people – a motley crew you might say although perhaps typical for the people here in Ubud – a French couple on honeymoon, 2 Aussie mid-40s gals, a young Chinese couple who spoke fluent American English – possibly from HK?, 3 American “students” (they refused to tell us which school they were at – vaguely indicating that it was in Northern California – they looked older than normal college students – no idea what that was all about), Matilde from Stavanger, Norway living in Crouch End, basically 10 minutes from my house in London ( a la travel the world to meet the boy next door, he was E, I was F, Liza Minnelli (Google it) in Bali with her Kiwi boyfriend and his parents) and me.

We were taught traditional Balinese dishes – quite a number – and then got to eat them at the end.  Auy also gave us a great insight into family and village life in a traditional Balinese community and seemed really genuine.  We got all the recipes and I will definitely have a go at home as living in London I’m actually able to get all the ingredients although Auy did offer us substitutes.  I also gave me a good idea of what to order in a restaurant.  I asked the Chinese man at the end if he was going to cook any of this and his was reply was: “No, I just enjoy eating!”

Ayu said that being on AirBnb had transformed her business and that she was building another kitchen so that she could accommodate larger groups.  At the moment her maximum is 12.  I’m glad I go there before it was finished as I appreciated the personal touch which I think she’s going to find hard keeping up with 2 kitchens.

Spa Day

I decided to go with a relaxing spa package at one of the most venerable hotels in Ubud – Hotel Tjampuhan.  It’s where one of the most well-known artists in Bali, a German painter called Walter Spies who kick started a major upswing in the Balinese art scene from the 1930s onwards, lived.  The hotel is set overlooking the Campuhan gorge with a rushing river at the bottom and the spa is outside just on the river bank.  I had a traditional Balinese massage followed by a body scrub and flower bath all skilfully administered by Sari. I was then allowed to spend another 2 hours in their spa. The massage was bloody painful to say the least as my back has been playing up ever since I got here (too much walking around and not doing my exercises).  I was also persuaded to buy something called Bora which is a traditional spice mixture to relieve pain that you smear on your body – who knows.