Nov 2007

'From little things, big things grow' Little Things by Paul Kelly

G'day again folks

We are back in Sydney for a few days ahead of flying to New Zealand on the 16th. We've just had a crisis budget meeting and have been shocked at how much we have spent since arriving in Australia, but it's all good. At the end of the day we have had an amazing time in a beautiful big country, we may not be back for a while so we might as well make the most of it.

So read on to find where our money has been going......

Monday November 5th
After updating the blog we headed into Melbourne and watched the Cup Parade in the City Centre ahead of the big race on Tuesday. We then headed to the trendy and funky Brunswick Street in the Fitzroy area and amazed ourselves by not buying anything despite going into umpteen shops selling vintage and retro gear. We did have a nice couple of beers in a pub called The Provincial, a grand old building looking like it's in need of some serious love and attention on the outside, but inside it's cool and modern with a touch of old grandeur about it.

We then walked back into town and got a train back out to Surrey Hills where Meg picked us up at the station in time for dinner. Meg cooked a lovely chicken and mushroom risotto and we watched TV. We then packed up our stuff for a trip to Phillip Island for the Chill Island music festival tomorrow.

Tuesday November 6th
A beautiful sunny day, music, beer, fresh air, gorgeous scenery, a tiny island and sunshine. I know I'd mentioned that already but it is kind of important and certainly helps create the right atmosphere for a music festival.

We got up at 7.30am and were on the road to Phillip Island by 8.30am. After one wrong turn we were back on track and it was a very pleasant drive down to Phillip Island taking around 1.5 hours. We checked into our campsite for the night, a 45 minute walk from the festival site. We had originally booked a cabin but as we couldn't check in until 2pm we decided just to pitch our tent and go for some breakfast. We had bacon and egg rolls at a funky wee surfers cafe, went back to ditch the car and walked to the festival site.

The Chill Island festival is on Churchill Island, a tiny wee island reached by a one-lane bridge just off of Phillip Island, which is a slightly larger island reached by a two-lane bridge just off a massive island called Australia. That may sound confusing but it's really simple if you look at a map. Only Churchill Island is so small that it's not on most maps. You will find Phillip Island though!

Anyway, we walked to the site and got a lift for the last half mile off a passing jeep. We hopped in the back with another couple only to discover one of them was originally from Scotland. We parked and walked up to the site. It was held on a farm and we soon discovered that the festival was very aptly named. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed. The stage was set at the bottom of a hill, a natural arena, with the sea in the background. There was only one stage, some beer stalls, food stalls and funky little clothes stalls. The opening act were just finishing as we got in around 12.30pm. We bought our first beer of the day and headed down to the front to watch the second band of the day called Tin Pan Orange, a trio featuring a lovely female singer, acoustic guitarist and electric guitarist/violinist. They were really good and we quickly moved on to our second beer of the day and our first garlic pork hotdog. We then grabbed a 3rd beer in time for the next band who really got the crowd going - Tumbarumba. They are a percussion band and played a mix of latino, funk and samba. The sun had now burnt all the clouds from the sky and young and old danced in time, or sometimes slightly out of time, to the funky rythms and beats provided by the band. The singer was really cool and she sported what the Happy Mondays would refer to as a kinky afro.

The next band were called Hot Little Hands and are being touted as the next young Australian hope. They had some decent tunes but lacked choruses in too many of them. They have potential though. The festival was being curated by Clare Bowditch and she was on next with the majority of the crowd moving forward or rising to their feet to greet her. She played a great set and enjoyed bringing on her new son to greet the crowd.

Next up was an Australian legend called Paul Kelly. Innes and Maureen's son Andrew had been to see him the week before, and ended up backstage drinking with him, and he gave him a rave review so we were looking forward to him. He didn;t disappoint and was the hit of the day by a country mile. He came on stage himself and launched into a tune with the refrain 'From little things, big things grow' and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. His bass player joined him, followed by two guitarists and a drummer. His set was excellent. He's very influenced by Bob Dylan, so that went down well with me. Almost as well as the Carlton Draught!

The sun set and the last act of the day was ARIA award winning artist Goyte with his band. He was pretty good, but a bit of a letdown after Paul Kelly and the glorious sunshine. A lot of the older festival goers left before he started and we only stayed for 5 songs. He is talented but a bit too Radioheady. He wasn't really in tune with the way we were feeling. Or maybe we were too drunk to appreciate him!

We wandered out to the car-park looking for a bus back, then decided to walk, then I stuck my thumb out and we hitched a lift with 3 young guys in a camper van. Ideal! Australians are very friendly.

I do enjoy camping but that night we were kept awake thanks to the sounds of various birds and frogs!

Wednesday November 7th
We checked out at 9am, a little tired and groggy after a bad nights sleep and quite a few beers the day before. We headed into the centre of Phillip Islands biggest town, Cowes and got some sandwiches and fruit juice to perk us up. We nearly got attacked by seagulls when we attempted to eat it down by the harbour so we got in the car and drove to a beach to eat the rest of it.

After a quick visit to the Penguin Park we headed back to Melbourne where we had to hand our car back. The depot was a bit out of town so by the time we had dropped it and got back into town we decided to get a quick bite to eat and head back to Ian's for a quiet night. Ian cooked another lovely meal of pork and chicken salad with thai corn cakes and we hit the sack for an early night.

Thursday 8th November
We slept soundly and didn't rise until 10am. We did a bit of washing and chilled out until 12.30pm when Ian came to pick us up to take us to the Healesville Nature Sanctuary. Ian had taken a half day and was in a great mood as he contemplated his soon to arrive retirement. The nature park was set in the hills surrounding Melbourne and the highlight of our few hours there was undoubtedly the birds of prey exhibition featuring an eagle.

We then drove round to Mount Dandenong where you could gaze out to Melbourne and the bay with superb panormaic views. We also passed the site where Ian and Felicity used to live years ago. Ian had built the hosue himself and had received word that it had burnt to the ground. Sadly that was true and Ian was quite emotional at sight of it. We saw some pictures back at his house and it looked amazing. Set among trees and in the hills.

We got back to the house and headed into town with Meg to see 'Control' a film about Joy Division and in particular Ian Curtis. The film was really good and very true to the book written by Ian's widow, that it is based on. It didn't glamourise Ian or Joy Division in any way and captured their humour and talent.

Friday November 9yh
Got up at 9am and caught the 10.30am train into town and wandered up to Victoria Market. Lynn bought some nice hairclips and I bought some boxer shorts - essentials! We got a bite to eat and then wandered into town and caught the tram to St Kilda. We wandered round some shops and along the pier and then had a couple of beers at the Vineyard and then the Espy before going back for dinner and another couple of drinks with Ian and Felicity.

We bought Ian the new Eric Clapton book and some flowers for Felicity as a thank you for their hospitality.

Saturday November 10th
Had a lazy morning and packed our bags ahead of an early flight to Sydney the following day. We got the 1.30pm train into town and had lunch and a beer in the funky Flinders Lane. I bought a couple of shirts out a cool shop as I was badly in need of some new clobber. You do get fed up wearing the same stuff. We then walked along the river to the Botanical Gardens and had a couple of beers by a lake in the glorious sunshine.

We then lost track of time and hotfooted it back into town to get to the big football game (soccer) Melbourne Victory v Sydney. The game was in an amazing 100,000 seater stadium but only 40,000 turned up. The atmosphere was good, the quality alright and the game ended 0-0. The highlight was the last 20 minutes when former Boro and Celtic star Juninho came on for Sydney and nearly scored a couple. He was by far the best player on the pitch.

We did enjoy the game though and it was good to see a live football game again, despite the fact it finished goal-less.

Sunday 11th November
We're back in Sydney after getting a 7.15am flight. The flight was only $10aus more than a train and the bus was the most expensive method of transport of the lot. After spending so much time with family and friends, not to mention camping, it was a bit of a shock to book into our hostel - 790 George Street, at $76aus per night. Still that is one of the cheapest places and it's recently been redecorated and our room is nice.

We had breakfast in Darling Harbour and we went on an afternoon tour of the Opera House. It's as spectacular inside as it is out and we have contemplated going to see a classical show there. We changed our mind when we found out the cost and decided to say 'what the hell' and book on to the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb tomorrow instead! It's expensive, but like I said before, when will we be here again? We don;t want to get back to Scotland with any regrets and so far we don't.

We had a nice cheap meal in Chinatown tonight and no beers. Tomorrow we'll get up bright and breezy and head to Bondi Beach and Manly before our sunset climb up the bridge.

Tune in on Nov 17th for an update. COME ON SCOTLAND.

Love
Murray and Lynn
xxx

[b]'Life is just a precious minute baby'
'Open up your eyes and see it baby'
'Give yourself a better chance or time will pass you, right on by' - Time Will Pass You By, Tobi Legend

We're in Melbourne, the city that many onsider to be the coolest in Australia. It's too early for me to confirm or deny that, or offer my opinion, but I should be in a position to do that by next week. So how did we arrive in Melbourne I hear you ask, well let me tell you a little story...

Tuesday 30th October
We woke up in Amy and Simon's at 7am as we had a taxi booked for 7.30am to take us to the airport for our 9.10am flight to Adelaide. We said goodbye to our wonderful hosts and jumped in the cab. Our journey nto Perth by bus had been eventful and our journey out towards the airport started in that manner as well. We had gone about 20 yards from the house when the driver stopped and in an Eastern European voice said 'excuse me, I stop the car to vomiting'. Lynn and I looked at each other and rubbed our eyes as the woman driver ran to the side of the road and vomited. She got back in a few minutes later and said, in the same Eastern European voice 'I am pregnant'. Aaawwww. She was a little embarrassed but Lynn and I assured her that we did not mind and that she should take her time. As long as we made our flight!

We both slept a little on the flight and arrived in Adelaide at 1.30pm, they are 1.5 hours ahead of Perth. We phoned Lynn's old neighbours from 20 years ago to see if we could head to their house for a couple of nights, Lynn's Mum had assured us this would be OK as they had been in Scotland very recently and caught up with Winnie and Les. Our luck was in as Innes and Maureen picked up the phone to say they had just arrived back from their 6 week European holiday 1 hour previously.

We double checked that it was OK to stay and hailed a taxi to their house. Thankfully the driver didn't vomit, although he did have to use satellite navigation to get us there. Innes and Maureen stay in a lovely house a 20 minute tra ride from the city centrre. We had a good chat in their back garden while eating toast and cheese and drinking nice cups of tea. Their daughter Julie and her boyfriend Andrew popped in on their way to their running club and gave us a lift to the beach so we could have a walk for an hour. We then went back and had a nice dinner and a few glasses of wine. Dinner was chicken in a curry sauce with rice and veg. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Wednesday 31st October
We had a lazy morning and caught the 12pm tram into town. The weather wasn't great and there was a bit of a drizzle so we headed straight to the Central Market, stopping off at a vintage clothes store on the way where Lynn bought two jackets as she couldn't decide between them. We then headed for the South Australia museum and ended up spending about 3 hours in there as they have a fantastic Aboriginal art collection and some amazing old films of Aborginal life from the 1920's and 1930's. We also tried our hand at painting in an Aborginal art form and failed spectacularly.

We went back to the house for a good old Scottish dinner of haggis, neeps and tatties! Julie and Andrew came around as well as Julie's brother Andrew. Dinner was lovely and we all had a great chat. Innes and Maureen were brilliant hosts and good laughs, I can easily see why they are still good friends with Lynn's family after so long in Oz.

Thursday 1st November
We got up at 8am to say goodbye to Andrew who had stayed the night before. Innes gave us a lift to Apollo car rentals as we had booked a car and camping equipment for a week. It worked out around $400 AUS cheaper than a campervan for the week as Adelaide seemed to be incredibly short of campervans.

It was raining quite heavily as we set off from Adelaidem but we plugged in our IPOD connector the stereo and listened to some good tunes as we made our way south to McLaren Vale. We stopped in a small town of Scotish descent called Strathalbyn, bought some sandwiches from a bakery and sat in the lovely bandstand in the town centre park. We then drove to Wellington and got the ferry over the Murray River and headed towards Robe, our base for the night thanks to Innes' recommendation.

We checked into our camp site and set up the dome tent in no time at all. The camp site was part of the Big4 chain, all very reputable sites and it had a swimming pool so we went for a swim for just under an hour. Lynn then drove the short distance into town as she didn't fancy a beer or wine. Innes had recommended checking out an ancient Scottish pub called The Caledonian, built in 1859. The pub was full of character and local characters! We took a table by the open fire and had a lovely meal. Lynn had kanagaroo steak and I had swordfish, washed down with a couple of pints. We went for a short walk along the beach after dinner but the rain came on so we went back into the pub and Lynn had a cup of tea and I had another pint. We went back to the tent and slept well.

Friday 2nd November
We had packed the tent and were on our way by 8.30am. Today would take us to the Great Ocean Road. We drove for a couple of hours and stopped in a small fishing village called Nelson for toasties for brunch. We then drove to Port Fairy and on to Portland. Around 15km from Portland the petrol light came on, but we made it to a petrol station in time. We then drove to Port Campbell and stopped to geta sandwich and some info leafets for the attractions on the Great Ocean Road.

We hit the Great Ocean Road at 1.30pm and we didn;t get very far for the next 4 hours as we kept stopping to marvel at sights like the Bay of Islands, the Bay of Martyrs, London Bridge, the Arch, Loch Ard Gorge, the blowhole and Thunder Cave. We then stopped at the 12 Apostles and marvelled at the rock fomrations jutting out of the water. I don't know if our photos will do it justice. Check http://www.greatoceanroad.org

We headed off towards Apollo Bay, our designated camp site of choice for the night. The camp site was by a river and close enough the the beach to hear the sea roar as dozed off to sleep. Before that we went into town for some fish 'n' chips that were very tasty indeed.

Saturday 3rd November
Woke at 7am as it had started to rain. We had a shower and quickly packed up the wet tent and were on our way by 7.30am, intending to head to Phillip Island for the Chill Island Music Festival the next day. The next section of the Great Ocean Road was specacular, a drivers dream. Winding roads cut into cliffs with dramatic scenry unfolding before your eyes at every turn.

We stopped in Torquay for breakfast/brunch at a great wee surfers cafe and had bacon, paoched eggs and toast. We picked up a local paper to find out that the Chill Island festival had been postponed until Tuesday due to a weather forecast of driving rain and possible lightning storms!

So it was a quick change of pland and I phoned my Mum's cousin Ian Johnston to see if we could stay with him for a few nights, earlier than expected. Ian was more than happy for us to arrive that night so we headed off to Melbourne, arriving at Ian and Felicity's fantastic house in the Surrey Hills area (not a million miles from Kylie's Mum and Dad's house) at 1.30pm. I had to reset my watch again as there was a 30 minute time difference.

Everyone was out apart from Ian and Felicty's daughter Meg, who Lynn and I had both met before back in 2004 when she came to Scotland. Lynn and Meg had enjoyed a day out in the sunshine in Glasgow's beautiful West End at a free Belle & Sebastian gig in the Botanic Gardens while I stayed in the flat layed up with torn ankle ligaments!

Ian arrived back from the golf and Felicity arrived back from her Pilates and we caught up over some Pad Thai and drinks. I ended up staying up to watch the Arsenal v Manchestre United game that kicked off at 12.45pm UK time, 11.45pm Melbourne time. It finished 2-2 with Arsenal snatching an equaliser in injury time. A draw was probably a fair result, though Fergie will be cursing the fact that United didn't take 3 points up the road. Both teams played attractive football and it was a good game to watch, my first in a while due to time differences.

Sunday 4th November
The predicted thunder and lightning storm arrived in the middle of the night and some spectacular lightning lit up our room. So the organisers of Chill Island were probably right to postpone it. Not a decision they would have taken lighly as Tuesday is Melbourne Cup Day.

We slept well and late, getting up at 11am for a breakfast of toast, poached eggs and spinach. We booked flights to Sydney with Virgin Blue for only $89 AUS each, cheaper than the bus. So we head back to Sydney on Nov 11th before heading on to Auckland on Nov 16th.

Ian drove us into town and we wandered around the National Victoria Gallery. There were some fantastic works of art from the 18th century onwards, inclusing a Picasso and a Monet. Sadly the Jackson Pollock was in a gallery that was being prepared for an exhibition so I couldn't see it.

We had tea and coffee in Fed Square, put on a few bets for the Melbourne Cup and drove around town in the rain. It was a very miserable day. We went back and Felicty was making a roast for dinner. Meg's sisetr Lucy and her husband joined us for a lovely dinner and drinks and I spoke to my Mum on the phone who sounded more than a little rough after a Saturday night wedding reception!

Monday 5th November
It's 10am exactly and the sun is shining. Good news for the music festival tomorrow. Lynn and I are about to head into town for a day of exploring shops, cafes, pubs, galleries and all that Melbourne has to offer.

I'll tell you all about it in the next blog, probably to be writte on Saturday before we head to Sydney.

Live it like you love it
Murray and Lynn
xxx