Melbourne 2013

Australia and Kuala Lumpur October / November 2013

2013 found us on our way back to Australia, this time via Kuala Lumpur. I arranged the trip with AusTravel. I had visited KL on an earlier stopover but this was Jonathon's first time. From there we went to Brisbane, Tasmania, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Please click below to go to the relevant pages.

Kuala Lumpur

Brisbane

Great Ocean Road - page 1

Great Ocean Road - page 2

Hillie collected us from the airport and we had a lovely evening eating and comparing notes on music (Jonathon and Dave) and generally chatting and catching up.

On the Saturday we went to Australia Garden which was a great space to admire Aussie plants and then stroll round a 5km track through the bush.

flower

Some of the areas were quite recently planted whereas others were pretty well established.

flower

There was quite a lot of water around as well as arid and desert areas - nicely laid out.

We even took some people photos of each other as we wandered around.

After we'd had a good wander round the garden and had a bite to eat we set off on a trek through the bush. First stop was a look out.

track

Jonathon being arty again!

track

We didn't see any snakes on the track but Jonathon spotted one when we were in the garden area.

j&s

Intrepid explorers - this was a track supposedly but it was a bit different to the other tracks that were clearly marked.

bird

We heard and saw a lot of birdlife on our walk and in the garden. There were lots of butterflies flitting about as well and we also spotted a couple of black wallabys.

Dinner was at East Empress in Glen Waverley which was very tasty then back home for more music discussions and bed.

What a difference a few hours can make. From 28C on Saturday to about 16C on Sunday and very windy with occasional showers.

Hillie and I went off to church while Dave played golf and Jonathon explored Dave's music collection. Hillie then took Dave to the airport for yet another business trip (don't know how he does it).

It brightened up a little bit in the afternoon (but didn't get any warmer). With jackets and jumpers on, we ventured to Jells Park to see if there were any water birds around. Delighted to say that there were.

coot
Eurasian Coot

It seemed strange to see Ibises in the tree. There were Cormorants in the same trees so Jonathon practiced trying to take pictures of flying birds as they went to and fro.

Australian White Ibis

ibis
Australian White Ibis

Great Cormorant

There were a few wild flowers as well as we enjoyed a nice walk around the lake.

j&h

Jonathon & Hillie trying very hard to identify the birds we could see.

Australasian Darter

hillie

Bird spotting, just in case there were any in the trees.

White Faced Heron

Eastern Great Egret

Purple Swamphen

I will get a decent picture of that bird!

hillie

Hillie being kind and holding Jonathon's monopod while he crawls about to photo a Purple Swamphen.

Eurasian Coot

Silver Gull

Pacific Black Duck

White Necked Heron

duck
Pacific Black Duck

Hillie's favourite - a Superb Fairy Wren.

As always, we had a great time with Hillie and Dave but the weekend came to an end and we had to press on. Next stop Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road.

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Great Ocean Road - page 1

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Australia and Kuala Lumpur October / November 2013
2013 found us on our way back to Australia, this time via Kuala Lumpur. I arranged the trip with AusTravel. I had visited KL on an earlier stopover but this was Jonathon's first time. From there we went to Brisbane, Tasmania, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Please click below to go to the relevant pages.
Kuala Lumpur Brisbane	Hobart Freycinet Launceston	Melbourne Great Ocean Road - page 1 Great Ocean Road - page 2
Hillie collected us from the airport and we had a lovely evening eating and comparing notes on music (Jonathon and Dave) and generally chatting and catching up.		On the Saturday we went to Australia Garden which was a great space to admire Aussie plants and then stroll round a 5km track through the bush.



		Some of the areas were quite recently planted whereas others were pretty well established.

There was quite a lot of water around as well as arid and desert areas - nicely laid out.









	We even took some people photos of each other as we wandered around.


After we'd had a good wander round the garden and had a bite to eat we set off on a trek through the bush. First stop was a look out.
		Jonathon being arty again!
We didn't see any snakes on the track but Jonathon spotted one when we were in the garden area.

Intrepid explorers - this was a track supposedly but it was a bit different to the other tracks that were clearly marked.


We heard and saw a lot of birdlife on our walk and in the garden. There were lots of butterflies flitting about as well and we also spotted a couple of black wallabys.


Dinner was at East Empress in Glen Waverley which was very tasty then back home for more music discussions and bed. What a difference a few hours can make. From 28C on Saturday to about 16C on Sunday and very windy with occasional showers. Hillie and I went off to church while Dave played golf and Jonathon explored Dave's music collection. Hillie then took Dave to the airport for yet another business trip (don't know how he does it).
		It brightened up a little bit in the afternoon (but didn't get any warmer). With jackets and jumpers on, we ventured to Jells Park to see if there were any water birds around. Delighted to say that there were. Eurasian Coot
It seemed strange to see Ibises in the tree. There were Cormorants in the same trees so Jonathon practiced trying to take pictures of flying birds as they went to and fro.
Australian White Ibis	Australian White Ibis	Great Cormorant
There were a few wild flowers as well as we enjoyed a nice walk around the lake.
Jonathon & Hillie trying very hard to identify the birds we could see.
		Australasian Darter
Bird spotting, just in case there were any in the trees.
		White Faced Heron

		Eastern Great Egret
Purple Swamphen	I will get a decent picture of that bird!	Hillie being kind and holding Jonathon's monopod while he crawls about to photo a Purple Swamphen.
Eurasian Coot	Silver Gull
Pacific Black Duck		White Necked Heron
	Pacific Black Duck	Hillie's favourite - a Superb Fairy Wren.
As always, we had a great time with Hillie and Dave but the weekend came to an end and we had to press on. Next stop Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road.
Back to main index Back to holidays index	Kuala Lumpur Brisbane Tasmania	Melbourne Great Ocean Road - page 1 Great Ocean Road - page 2