On the Road Again....

After a couple of day back in Canberra (just enough time to do laundry and like each other again), it was on the road again, to the west this time.

We drove our way down the South Coast through the beautiful gum tree covered 'mountains' with glimpses of the coastline. After an overnight stop in Targ---no---Traga----no-----Trala---not that either---Traralgon (finally!), it was off to the bright lights and big city of Melbourne. Once we'd moved into our room and got the train figured out it was time to go to the Melbourne aquarium. It's always a great experience.  The penguins are always a delight and the sharks and rays are magnificent. It's even cooler when they swim right over you in the oceanarium.  It almost feels like you are in the water with them. Before leaving we watched the penguins for a good 30 minutes and were able to have a question-answer opportunity with one of the presenters at the aquarium. We learned about the chicks and eggs that were being raised in the enclosure. We also learned that our personal guide was originally from Vancouver. Her Aussie accent threw us off there for a while.

Once our undersea adventure finished, we jumped on the Circle Tram to get the free roundabout tour of the CBD. It got a little more adventurous than we thought when we got stranded a quarter of the way around. Who knew they kicked you off after 6:00 pm. So, it was a walk through the rest of the city. We made it back around to the river just in time to see the River Fire show at the casino, and really, once you've seen that what else are you going to do but go to the casino that just put the river aflame. We each lost $10 in quick order, and being the daggiest people in the casino, we figured it was time to hit the pavement again.

We had an early morning as it was time for the Australian Open. Before heading to teh Open, we did some shopping at the Queen Victoria Markets. We really tried to buy the place out. Mom and Dad found some souvenirs, and I found food.


It was a gorgeous day at the tennis grounds at Melbourne Park. We spent part of the morning wandering around the grounds, watching the crowds line up for free-bees. We also managed to get our picture taken with a giant tennis ball. With your grounds pass, you get access to about 20 courts, including the ones where the players warm up. I'd heard that Andy Murray (ranked 4th in the world) was warming up down there so, being the tennis junkies that we are, we started to take a bunch of pictures of one of the greats of this age.... then found out later he was really a nobody and that everyone else was taking pictures of Ivan Lendl at the other end of the court (one of the greatest of all time) coaching. At least the other guy was cute.

Wozniak serving

It just happened that we were at the tennis the day all the Canadians were playing so we played tennis court musical chairs to watch them all play. We started at Aleksandra Wosniak match vs.Shuai Zhang of China. We sat right behind Zhang's coach, who was sorely disappointed to watch his charge lose to the Canadian. There were quite a few Canadian fans to cheer her on and ask for her autograph afterwards.  Unfortunately, she lost in her second round match 2 days later.

Andy Roddick's perfect abs! Oops, I meant serve.

Milos Raonic

The next stop was to see the great Canadian hope (or so everyone else told us) Milos Raonic (ranked 23rd) defeat Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. His serve was devastating, and that's about all I can tell you about tennis play.  I also took off for about half the match to watch one of the hottest men in tennis - Andy Roddick - warm up on the outer courts. His serve was devastating and so was his smile (ok, I think I just vomited a bit in my mouth, sorry about that). Then it was back to Milos to watch him finish off the match with two straight aces.

Mom and Dad trying to look like real tennis fans

Mom especially enjoyed the Milos match as she became friends with two women, one from Tasmania and one from British Columbia, who told her all there was to know about tennis. She had a great time and was then able to tell Dad and I all about it as we watched for the next 2 weeks.

We finished our time at the tennis watching Stephanie Dubois vs. Elena Vesnina of Russia. Our third Canadian of the day and the 3rd win. Only one Canadian lost on the day, but we didn't watch her, so it doesn't count. We were 3 for 3 on the day. Dubois also lost her second round match. Milos Raonic did go onto the 3rd round but lost to the Aussie favorite Lleyton Hewitt.

The day was the best $29 spent on a sporting event ever.

We left the tennis grounds and walked along the Yarra river, back to Federation square to meet up with some friends of mine. I'd met Simon and Keren on Contiki tour in Europe in 2008. I spent many a day/night with Simon and Keren drinking beer and eating pork across Central Eastern Europe. It was now time to renew acquaintances in Australia. We had a fabulous 3 hours catching up and sampling the beer and cider on tap. It was like no time had passed at all. It was a great way to end Day 2 in Melbourne.

The next day found mom and dad in Gaol. Yup, that's right. I had to bail to the two naive Canadians. Here's the mug shots to prove it.

Ok, they really didn't get arrested but they did take part in the Watch House Experience at the Melbourne Gaol. They spent 30 minutes in the drunk tank for various offences and were then released on their own reconnaisance. So then we had to go through the rest of the gaol. We saw various death masks, read stories of brutality and murder and saw the life of Ned Kelly played out in front of us under the spot where he was hung over 100 years ago. I of course got dressed up in the famous armor. A few minutes later I was looking at the real bullet ridden stuff in the State Library across the street. Very cool.

The next day it was Westward Ho and the beginnings of the Great Ocean Road. Once the best scenic drives in the world.

Leaving the Tropics

After the wildlife adventure at the Great Barrier Reef, it was time to head back south. Our trip back to Brisbane was a much quicker journey as we had to catch a flight back to Sydney, but we still had time for some amazing sights.

After a sleepover in Mackay (said "MacKie"), we made our way down to Bundaberg. Bundaberg is only 10 minutes away from the most accessible turtle laying beach in the world. We were lucky enough to sneek into a viewing when others cancelled. When the sun started to set, we made our way to Mon Repos Beach to begin the vigil.  Only 300 people are allowed each evening and they are given a sticker with the group that they are in. There are only 75 people in each group and each group is allowed down to the beach as a turtle comes up to lay eggs, or, if you are lucky enough, a hatching. The Bendfelds ended up in the final group, so we could be down on the beach by 9 p.m. or 2 a.m., depending on when the turtles' decided to come up to the beach. Thankfully we all had books to read, and I even began to watch a movie. The turtles also came up fast and furious this night, and we were gathered up for our trip to beach at around 9:30 p.m.

It was a beautiful evening with a full moon shining down upon the water and lighting the beach up like it was midday. It was so bright you could see halfway down the beach. We walked about 500m down the beach and came upon our turtle. The turtles dig a hole into the sand using their flippers and then lay anywhere from 80 to 300 eggs. Our turtle lay just under 100. She had been to the beach a couple of other times and is relatively young (as turtles go). The volunteers and scientists measure each turtle and do various tests to check age, health and other factors that will help in conservation in the future.

As soon as the scientists were done and our turtle finished laying her eggs, it was time for her to make her way back to the ocean. It took her about 15 minutes to get her way to the ocean. Our group created an honor guard to watch her make her way to the waves and back out to sea. Once she was gone, it was time to count the eggs and then we got to move them! She had made her nex too close to the tide line and it would be in danger of high tides. Saving the world one turtle egg at a time! It was an absolutely fantastic evening. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it. Unfortunately we missed the first hatching of the year by 24 hours. Maybe next time.

Tracks down to the ocean

The eggs

 Mom and I moving the eggs

After a short sleep, we were off an running again, but not very far. That morning we went to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. Not only did you get a tour of th edistillery, but there were drinks at the end of the tour as well. Dad and I both had some rum before noon. Gotta love vacations! Mom was good and only had some liquer before we were on our way again.

That night saw us in Brisbane again, after a couple of stops to see Big Things again. This time there were pineapples, snakes and rum bottles. I thought Alberta loved their Big Things, but I think that Australia is even worse off for them.

With only a short time in Brisbane, Mom, Dad and I headed for the Southbank (after finding a hotel that ensuite bathrooms as our first choice did not) for some dinner. We walked along the river and found a Greek restaurant that something for everyone (including dad). We then headed back to the hotel ready for the next day.

The next day was spent with the family of one of Uncle Colin's best friends, Drew. We'd met Drew's sister Sharon last Christmas and called her up to see if we could meet up with her and he rmom and dad for the day.W e drove down to the coast to see them and had a wonderful day. Drew's mom took us for a tourist drive and we stopped to have some lunch. When we got back to the house it was time to order some pizza, get out the drinks and have a little party. We didn't leave until dark and then had to go back for Dad's hat. W did say that we would visit again soon. WE didn't want to break any promises. It was a great end to our trip to Queensland.

The next day it was to the airport once again to hop on a flight to Sydney and then head home to Canberra via Bondi Beach for Australia Day. As we flew into Sydney, we got a great view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. That was the best part of our morning as when we got to my car we found the battery dead. I had to dole out some cash to join NRMA so that we could get a boost. It is my lot in life to have car trouble before going to Bondi Beach. Two times in row now this has happened to me. The day was nice at Bondi, even though the water was colder than in Queensland, and we had a nice walk in the surf, watching the surfers. Then it was back home to Canberra.