Back home

We came back a couple days ago. The flight from Sydney to Copenhagen via Bangkok was according to schedule and again we were upgraded to First Class from BKK to CPH.  :-)


Writing a blog during a vacation is exhausting, but looking back I am glad I did. Receiving so many input and experiences it is difficult to keep track without some sort of record. More than once I have totally forgotten what we did the first week of the vacation.


Forget all about tablet's and iPad's. You need a laptop. I did bring a cable for Ethernet but Wi-Fi worked fine. 


I brought three lenses but used my 24-70mm 2.8 to shoot 99% of the pictures. It was especially handy at the nature shoots of cause but also at the indoor events where I could shoot without using blitz. My extern hard disk also came in handy as shooting RAW+L generates a lot of GB. A 8 GB memory card is too small, it takes less than a day to fill it up - go for a 32 GB then you have a couple of days before you have to transfer all the pictures to your laptop AND external hard drive (just to be on the safe side).


Just one last thing: Go to Australia, it is an exceptional experience - I for sure am going back to visit Australia again.

The wedding of Figaro

(As I am running out of MB this is super short)

The first point on today’s agenda was: City Market also known as Paddy’s Market.

On our way to Sydney Aquarium we walked through Chinatown and Darling Harbour.

Maria from Team Benn’s had arranged we could see the premiere of the Mozart opera: “The wedding of Figaro.” All I had to do was to pick up the tickets at the Box Office. So today we had the opportunity to see the Opera House from the spectators point of view. It was my first opera so I guess that Sydney Opera House is not a bad place to start. And just for the record I can confirm: “It isn’t over before the fat lady sings." ;-)

I do not think that I will spoil it for anybody by revealing that Figaro got married after all.

Backstage Tour

Today started early. We had to be at the Sydney Opera House stage door at 6:45 for our backstage tour.

Our hotel is situated out side the centre of Sydney so for all our events a good deal of planning the transportation is needed. We had planned to take the bus, bought tickets, and asked for departure time and was told the busses started 4:00AM. Some properly did, but not the one we should use, it first started 7:00AM. So we walked for 45 min and got to the stage door just in time.

 It was very interesting to see the condition that the performers and employees have to work under. Many of the difficulties they suffer under today can be traced back to the dismissal of Utzon.

We took a stroll around Circular Quay and the Rock’s. Circular Quay, is the hub of Sydney’s public transportation system. From here, ferries, buses, and trains will take you anywhere in the “Harbour City.”

The Rock’s is the oldest part of Sydney with many of the old buildings restored and still in use with many pub’s, café’s and souvenir stores.  As it was Sunday The Rocks Market (www.therocksmarket.com), the city’s “premier” farmers and authentic Australian products marketplace, was in full swing at George Street.

At corner of Argyle and Lower Fort Street is The Garrison Church www.thegarrisonchurch.org.au). Built in 1843, this is Australia’s oldest church.

And just beside the church at Argyle Street we saw the Argyle Cut a tunnel dug through the hillside by convicts.

In the afternoon we did some Sydney sightseeing by bus.

Blue Mountain

Today we were on a one day trip to  Blue Mountain. The tour started in front of the hotel at 7:15.   

The bus that picked us up was also the one going to Blue Mountain so we did not have to change at the bus hub.

After 1h 30 min driving we stopped in Leura a small town in the mountains outside Sydney. Just at the restaurant an attempt to set a Guinness World Record in most people dancing Charleston was going on outside at the main street.

Even though the whole area is covered with green trees it is called the Blue Mountains because the fumes from the eucalyptus oil in the trees reflects the blue colour and gives the mountains a blue gleam.

After the coffee break we continued to The Three Sisters, which is just a fantastic view.

The Scenic World visitor centre is placed on top of the mountain; we then took a cableway down to the rainforest and did the 45 min walk (on board walks) and a Trainway brought us back up again. When entering the seats we were leaning backwards to the degree of almost laying down, but after a few meters it felt we were leaning forwards. Did I mention it is the steepest railway in the world with a 52-degree ascent?

Then we went to the Sky Way a return trip over a 270 m deep canyon. (Starting to get used to hights.)

Next stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park a private owned zoo with a big diversity of Australia’s wildlife.

Among other species we also saw this little creature, a Tasmanian Devil.

On the way back we drove by the Olympic City and saw some of the stadiums (from the outside). 

Harbour Bridge Climb

After breakfast I went back up to the room to confirm tomorrows booking for Blue Mountain.

We then walked to the stop for the free tourist bus. After waiting for 10 min we were beginning to be pressed for time so I asked a bus driver on a regular route if we could by tickets for Circular Quay, he said we could just hop on and drive with him. On arrival at Circular Quay we bought ticket for Captain Cook’s Coffee Cruise with 5 min to spare.

The harbour cruise is a must when in Sydney. The waterfront is fantastic.

After a short walk to Cumberland St. where the bridge climb was starting I started to get a little bit nervous, yet again I was to do something high in the air. 

    (If you look carefully at the picture you can actually see people climbing the bridge.)

First we were asked to dress up in climbing gear. It is quite complicated and you really have to listen up and comply. Trying to find your own way to do it don’t work. Before going through a small training tour to get used to help the harness around corners and learn how to climb up and down of steep ladder like staircases we went through the safety rules.

And then on to the climb. WOW. A fantastic experience. During the climb our guide Phil told in detail about the construction of the bridge in a very interesting way. What a view. Fantastic. Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring cameras so I cannot show any pictures.

Once back down we had to get out of the gear in reverse order and before leaving we got a certificate saying we had climbed the Harbour Bridge. It was 3 h 30 min fantastic experience and a must do when in Sydney.

We then rushed back to the hotel to change for our 7:30 PM reservation at the Sydney Tower. A 250 meter above ground rotating restaurant. We waited 15 min to get window seats and once again what a view.

Canberra - Sydney

Today was the last day driving, we are going to stay in Sydney for the rest of the time left. Before leaving Canberra we stopped at Canberra Glassworks where it is possible to see glassmaking as it happen and view an unique exhibition.

www.canberraglassworks.com

 On road to Sydney I decided for a detour and turned off the GPS. How difficult can it be to navigate in an unknown country? Well, at first it went according to plan but after a while we saw a road sign with the name on the town we just came from. We then did a u-turn and a couple of questionable turns ending up in front of this:

You are sitting in a 2-wheel drive designed for tarmac only, in front of a stream crossing the road with no idea which way to go, what would you do?

I of cause choose to continue and crossed the stream but when the road turned into a steep dirt road I u-turned and drove back over the stream and back to a road the GPS could find and came back on track and left the GPS on for the rest of the day.

We then came to Robertson aiming for Albion Park. It was a mountain pass with hairpin bends and a 10% steep way down. What a fantastic drive.

Canberra

As yesterday today was mostly transportation and as we started out from Merimbula, we found some sandwich and coffee at a bakery down town and drove off. After typing in the address for the hotel in the GPS I noticed the arrival time was 1:30PM.

Driving at Princes Highway we saw some fantastic nature. At the most beautiful views it was impossible to stop, and when it was possible to stop it was difficult to take a picture that would capture the scenery.

At most town’s there is an info centre, they are a gold mine of suggestions of what to see and what to do in the local area, further they got a lot of detailed maps. They are easily found by the yellow “i” on a blue background. But if you are in a hurry you should try to avoid them, because it take long time to do a visit, especially if you tell you are from Denmark. And if you are the only costumer in the shop they are also very talkative.

We tried to follow one of the suggested Tourist Drives but returned to Princes Highway fairly quickly. Did I mention it was a fantastic drive?

After lunch at Batemans Bay we went on to Braidwood, it is said to be a historic town, and it properly is but it is not shown. It looked pretty “normal” to me. We tried to drive around to see if anything of interest would show up but decided to continue after a few minutes.

In Canberry we stopped at the info centre and was told it was to late to see any attractions, as it was 4:30PM even though the GPS said we should arrive 1:30PM we had stopped at to many info centres and done to many detours. So we went to the Danish embassy to take a photo and then drove to the hotel to check in.

We had a 7:30PM reservation at the Alto Tower restaurant, a rotating restaurant 60 meters above ground level with a fantastic view. During the meal we did a little more than a 360 degree rotation as one rotation takes about 90 minutes.

Buchan Caves

We started out buying breakfast “to go” and ate it overlooking the harbour.

We drove to Buchan Caves via Nowa Nowa and arrived just in time for the 10 o’clock guided tour with 3 minutes to spare.

This is one of these experiences that are very difficult to describe so I will not try.

The drive from Buchan to Orbost was spectacular. It is a small mountain road with hairpin bends and a beautiful view almost all the way down. It took more than 2 h 30 min to drive the 58 km.

                    

Looking out from the restaurant a lot of kangaroos was hopping around.

Lakes Entrance

I sat up to late night / early morning to see Djokovic-Nadal. It was a fantastic tennis match, and the longest slam final ever. 5 h and 53 min of awesome tennis.

Seeing it on TV is not the same as being at the game, but when Courier (AO winner 1992 and 1993) and Hewitt are commentators it is almost as good as seeing it live. The details, the insights, the analysis were amazing.

I started the day searching for my iPhone – it was gone. I phoned the Hotel in Melbourne but they had not found one. I am trying to figure out how to make it useless by informing Apple it is lost, but it is still work in progress.

Closed Gold Mine

Today we have been driving for about 9 hours, stops included. The plan was to go to Walhalla and get a guided tour in a gold mine at 3PM. We arrived at 2:45PM by driving at some scenic, hairpin bend mountain roads. The average speed was 20 km/h for the last 12 km. Upon arrival we were told the 3 o’clock tour was canceled. I suspect it was because we were only 5 tourists present.

We arrived at the hotel 6PM, checked in and got dinner down town Lakes Entrance.

Penguin Parade

After breakfast at our regular diner we got a rental car and tried to negotiate our way out of Melbourne without using toll roads. Then enjoying 35 degree C sunshine, and a great tour at cruise speed. We were headed for Phillip Island 140 km south of Melbourne. On route we passed several wineries.

At Phillip Island you can experience wildlife, nature, interactive attractions, surfing, swimming, fishing and a lot more. We chose a 3 Park Pass including: Churchill Island Heritage Farm, Koala Park and Penguin Parade.

At the Churchill Island Heritage Farm you can see how people lived and worked in the olden days. As it turns out not so different from how life took place in our part of the world.

Well, I guess that the Koala Park is self-explanatory.

The famous Fairy Penguins, the world’s smallest penguin, spend their day out at sea, feeding and catching whitebait for their young. At the day’s end, they waddle up the beach in small groups back to their sand dune burrows. Tonight they did it by the hundreds. That was an exceptional experience.

Photographing was prohibited so the picture is downloaded from the Internet.

www.penguins.org.au

Women’s Final AO2012

Yesterday I was over the Edge, today I was at AO 2012 Women’s Final.

It has been yet another great day in sunny Melbourne and today it was 34 degree C.

After breakfast at our ”usual” dinner we started out at Melbourne Aquarium and arrived quit early (10AM) and could more or less walk straight in. It turned out to be a good idea to arrive early as it turned very crowdie later on. At noon the queue went out to the street.

Melbourne Aquarium is a must see, and we opted for a guided tour which is recommendable. Beside the tour we came back stage and heard about the different variety of food that is used, and saw the guide hand feed a Stingray.

www.melbourneaquarium.com.au

We then spend a couple of hours at Harbour City an outdoor mall in two levels at Melbourne Docklands.

At Rod Laver Arena we had dinner at the Membership Lounge, walked around afterwards and enjoyed the atmosphere. As soon the doors opened we found our seats and saw men’s double warm up before the women’s final.

7PM the roof started to close and a spectacular light show started and the Australia Girls Choir came in and sang the Australia national hymn. Then the AO Trophy were lowered from the ceiling and received by Martina Hingis a 3 times AO champ, 1997-1999.

As the roof was opened again the players were presented and after the traditional coin toss won by Sharapova the game begun. As it turned out the coin toss was the only thing Sharapova won that evening, she was creamed by Azarenka: 6-3; 6-0.

After having seen Kvitova, Sharapova, Azarenka and Clejster it is evident that Caroline doesn’t have what it takes to beat the likes of Clejster. 

Eureka

Every once in a while you should do something that scare you. I did that today.

First we walked via Treasure Garden to Fitzroy Garden to see Cook’s Cottage. Cook’s home was broken down brick by brick and sailed to Australia and rebuild in Melbourne even though Cook never came near Melbourne. www.cookscottage.com.au

On the way to the Tram we got breakfast and continued to Victoria Marked. At Victoria Market you can buy a lot of stuff you really don’t need. But it is fun to look at and it is huge. Going around to see it all would take hours.

The tourist tram transported us via the Docklands to Federation Square where we took a boat ride on Yarra River to get a seaside view of Melbourne Harbor.

www.cityrivercruises.com.au

From outside Eureka looks beautiful, the glass on the top 10 levels is 24 carat gold plated. The lift ride to the skydeck is very fast; it took 36 seconds to the top. Going around at the skydeck was comfortable with a great view over Melbourne able to see the places we have been. 2/3 around the skydeck was a queue for something called: The Edge. Without much thought I bought tickets and was informed there was 25 minutes waiting time. During these 25 minutes I was brought further and further out of my comfort zone starting to realize I was 300 meter up a high rise and had just bought tickets to something called the Edge! Having vertigo it was maybe not the best decision I ever made.

When it became our turn we were guided in a 3 meter by 3 meter cube with frosted glass in the floor, in the walls and in the roof.

At the same time the cube started to move outwards it started to shake and squeak, then the cube stopped and the noise disappeared.

Suddenly the frosted glass became crystal clear and you were in a glass cube 3 meter outside a high rise 300 meter up in the air, with a floor of glass so you could see directly down.

I have been in a more comfortable situation.

www.eurekaskydeck.com.au

Before going back to the hotel we walked along side Yarra at Southgate. There was a lot of small tents where it was possible to buy food, stamps with your picture on, paintings, plastic toy and a lot of other stuff you don’t need but it was a nice walk in 29 degree C.

Australian Open 2012

Today we started at Old Melbourne Gaol after breakfast. Old Melbourne Gaol is a prison operating from 1845 until 1924. It has three levels. Second level was for those prisoners who demonstrated that they could keep the prisons rules. Cells on third level housed trusted prisoners and those nearing release. 

At Police Watch House we were arrested and during the booking procedure we were treated as criminals, lined up, allowed only saying:  ”Yes Sergeant” or ”No Sergeant” and put in a cell. I was arrested for public nuisances. No further comments, but I am sure it was a coincidence.

In the Court we witness a scripted courtroom drama about the trail of Ned Kelly, a famous bushranger. There was 10 scripted roles possible for the visitors to choose from. Those who not got a scripted role became part of the gallery.

Then we headed for Australian Open 2012. We planed to take the free tourist tram line 35. Having waited for approximately 15 minutes a tram driver stopped, got out and asked us if we were waiting for the tourist tram. Maybe it was the hat. Maybe it was the camera hanging around the neck that gave us away but I admitted we were tourists. He then told us that due to national holiday the route was changed. And he then offered us a ride to the nearest stop to the stadium.

That is Australia in a nutshell.

Sitting at Rod Laver Arena seeing tennis is a big experience. The atmosphere is fantastic. Seeing it on TV is not the same, you have to be here and experience it your self.

We saw Clejsters - Azerenka and Sharapova - Kvitova.

We walked back to our hotel nearby and cached Federer-Nadal on TV. 

The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant

After arrival at the hotel there wasn't much time to do anything before going to the colonial tramcar restaurant.

The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant departs from and returns to Tramstop # 125 Normanby Road, near the corner of Clarendon Street.  It is located diagonally across the road from Crown Casino and adjacent to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. 


The restaurant advises booking well in advance. Even though I booked 4 weeks in advance it was a close call to get a reservation at the right day and at the right time.We were advised to arrive no later than 15 minutes prior to the departure time as the trams was departing promptly at the scheduled time.


Just to be sure we got there 20 minutes before, after a short ride with the tourist tram.


The colonial Tramcar Restaurant run on selected standard tram routs through the city and some nearby inner suburbs, returning to the origin. The food is precooked in an conventional restaurant with final heating and serving carried out on the tram. However, unlimited alcohol was included in the fixed meal price.

Halls Gap to Ballarat

After breakfast we drove straight for Ballarat.

The Avenue of Honour is a boulevard in Ballarat which commemorates local soldiers who fought in the First World War. It is a 22 kilometer boulevard that extends westwards, lined with over 3,000 trees, each with a bronze memorial plaque listing the name of a soldier.

Arraving a Ballarat we dorve stright to Sovereign Hill, an recreation of what life was like in the town during the gold rush.

Sovereign Hill

It is a sort of outdoor museum presenting the story of Australia’s goldrush history. Its particular focus is the impact of the great 19th century gold discoveries on the growth of Ballarat, which was a small pastoral settlement when gold was discovered in 1851.

Searching for gold.

There are lots of activities to choose from, we were down a mine to see the ordeals of a gold digger.

We timed our stay at Sovereign Hill so we could be back at our hotel in order to see Caroline play quarterfinals. 

What a disappointment.

:-(

In the evening we saw: “Blood on the Southern Cross”.

Port Fairy to Halls Gap

We started out driving north to the Grampians National Park with its woodland walks, waterfalls and rock formations, via Penhurst to Dunkeld just south of the Grampians.

We stoped in Dunkeld to get some inspiration as to what to see and where to go, but the sweet old lady at the info center was not of much help, we were refered to the info center at Halls Gap. We then took a short stroll  through Dunkeld Park to the Post Office to get stamps for overseas. 

From here it was a scenic drive through the Grampians National Park to Halls Gap where we ‘did’ Silverband Falls, Reids Lookout and the Boroka Lookout.

Halls Gap is located in the heart of the Grampians National Park. The centre is nestled between the soaring rocky mountain peaks that constitute the Wonderland and Mount William Ranges. And the National Park covers 167,000 hectares and is home to hundreds of species of native animal life. 

The info center at Halls Gap knew even less than the old lady in Dunkeld so we relied on what we had prepared back home.

Via Mount Difficult Road we drove to the Boroka Lookout where I tried to take photos capturing the spectacular views over the Halls Gap town centre and south to Lake Bellfield. Further along on the Mount Victory Road was the Reed Lookout with its views across an endless expanse of dense bushland and of Lake Wartook and the Moora Moora Reservoir.

We decided to cut the Sightseeing tour short in order to do some Kangaroo hunting. As being in Australia without seeing a kangaroo was not an option. 

We rated Brambuk National Park as having the highest possibility of seeing kangaroos. And at the info center we got a map with possible ‘kangaroo hotspots’ marked in. And on we went in +28 degree C.The Kangaroos was understandingly hiding in the shadow, difficult to find and impossible to photograph. We went on for quite some time but in vaine. Not wanting to give in we made a Plan B  coming back later on when it had cooled down and the darn creatures would come out from the shadow. With reluctance we stoped our kangaroo hunt to go to our accommodations.

We checked in at D’Altons Resort and what is walking around on the lawn just outside the door a few meters from the patio?