Melbourne again!

We stayed in Lorne again on the way home and during a game of Canasta we heard a promo on Getaway for the first 100 callers to receive cheap accommodation at the Mercure in Melbourne! It was only $99 and we got a free breakfast too so it was a perfect end to our holiday! We were able to go in and out of the city with great ease and so we went shopping, ate a Pellegrini's again and also found a little chocolate shop in Royal Arcade called Koko Black which Nathan had been trying to find all week. We had afternoon tea there as my Easter present (he got fresh coffee from Vic Markets for his pressie). What an experience! We had an iced chocolate - the house specialty I believe - and a Belgian Spoil. This included a small pot of chocolate ice cream, a small pot of chocolate mousse, a piece of shortbread and two Belgian chocolates. Although the portions were tiny, it was so rich and delicious and filling that we decided we didn't need any dinner!

We went and hung out in the hotel room to let our stomachs settle and them we got doled up and went to the Casino.

Although we lost $10 on the pokies, we still had a fantastic night! We watched one guy who had originally bet $30 on the roulette tables lose the entire $2000 had won! It was unbelieveable, but he just kept betting. Every time he would put a few hundred dollars worth of chips on the table he walked away and came back with his eyes covered only to learn that his money had been won by the dealer! I'm so glad we don't have a gambling problem! That guy could have had a plasma TV or something instead of a few cheap adrenalin thrills!

After the Casino we stayed at Southbankto wait for the fire balls. They were really hot and very exciting and I was glad that I didn't smell any roasted pidgeons!!!

The Great Ocean Road... part 3

After our stay in Port Campbell (which, despite the zillions of tourists that stay there each night shuts down by 7pm) we weren't sure what to do with ourselves so we travelled a little bit further down the coast and saw a couple more stunning features including London Bridge (which really has fallen down) and The Grotto.

We decided not to go travelling much further towards South Australia so deided to meander back towards Melbourne. We stopped at a couple of cheese factories and a winery where we sampled everything and ended up spending a small fortune! They were lovely though and it was great to see the little places that create their products from start to finish.

We went north a bit and ended up in the Otways - a gorgeous rainforesty national park which, despite the lack of rain is incredibly stunning. We went for an hour's walk to see the rainforest an a lovely waterfall called the triplet falls.

This was our favourite sign: Dotted along the drive was a nice little reminder for the tourist to stay on the right side of the road!!!

The Twelve Apostles

We ended up visiting the Twelve Apostles three times!

Once in the afternoon when we got there, again at sunset after we secured the last bit of accommodation in the little town of Port Campbell and then again the next morning at sunrise. It meant that we got to take a heap of different photos with heaps of different lighting effects.

I was only disappointed that we couldn't hang around for a few hours and see them in the midday sun!

It was incrediby freezing! We really didn't have enough warm clothes for our morning escapae so we had heaps and heaps of layers - anything we could get our hands on really! Nathan even wore mum's thermals!

The Great Ocean Road... part 2

After we left Lorne, we travelled the road until we got to Apollo Bay. We went for a little uphill hike to see another dry waterfall in the distance and then we srove up to a place called Mariner's lookout. The reason for the name was obvious because on a clear day you can see for miles - it's fabulous! Takes a little while to walk uphill again as the road doesn't go all the way to the top.



We drove along heaps of fantastic coastlines, through rainforest and gum trees filled with koalas! We got out and had a look at the koalas - just like the rest of the tourists!!! They were so gorgeous...





A few hours later, we reached the Twelve Apostles National Park and we finally got to see the dramatic cliffs that the southern Victorian coastline is renowned for. It really is breathtaking!

The Great Ocean Road... the beginning

After the nationals, we had 6 days all to ourselves to just have a holiday! We decided to meander down the Great Ocean Road and check out every site of interest that we could find. This included travelling over the massive West Gate Bridge out of Melbourne, stopping at the surf shops at Torquay, having a peek-a-boo at Bell's Beach and the flat waves that made the Ripcurl Pro get postponed and the many lookouts on the way to our first stop, Lorne.


We stopped at the Split Point Lighthouse. I thought it was lovely but I couldn't shake the sense of familiarity I had when I was wandering around but then I saw a sign... The lighthouse was the one used in the TV show Round the Twist which we watched when we were growing up! I was singing to myself for ages afterwards "have you ever... ever felt like this? Strange things happen... are you going round the twist?" I think that this was one of the highlights of the trip!



Accommodation wasn't cheap in Lorne because the backpackers was booked out and a basic motel was $110 so we decided to treat ourselves by staying at place called Bridun Bed and Breakfast. It was beautiful and felt homey after our stay in basic hotel accommodation outside of Melbourne. The hostess cooked our breakfast herself and so we had fresh fruit, yoghurt, bacon eggs, toast and mushrooms cooked in rosemary. Mwahh!

The next day we got up early and drove to the Erskine Falls, 9km from Lorne. Since the whole of Eastern Australia is in a drought, the waterfall was barely more than a trickle (and it's one of the wettest around) but the surrounding rainforest was exquisite.

Exploring Melbourne

Being in Melbourne seemed like a great excuse for a holiday so we took some time off to explore the city before we travelled the southern coast to see the twelve apostles. I got to meet up with my gorgeous friend Audrey who showed my around Melbourne on foot.
She took me through heaps of cute arcades and alleyways and showed me all of the most important sites around town.

I think we walked for about six hours in total but I was rewarded by lunch at the best Italian place I have ever been to. Pellegrini's (66 Bourke Street) has the best homemade pasta dishes, fantastic atmosphere and really good value for money. The service is fabulous and the coffee is superb and I think it would have to be one of my favourite places in Melbourne. That and the Fitzroy Gardens. Nathan claims that Pellegrini's has the best coffee he has ever tasted and we went back a second time because it was so good!

National Band Championships 2007

The nationals were held in Melbourne this year and the band played really well. It came 6th out of 16 bands but the biggest highlight was catching up with old friends who we don't get to see often enough!

Of course, it's also fun to fill in the long nights after having a long day at the competition - never drinking enough to affect the playing though!

Ange's 25th bithday!

What a night! It was pretty messy but heaps and heaps of fun. The marketing team went out to celebrate Bree and my birthdays and the fact that it was Friday. We went to the Victory and didn't move from the table until we went home at about 1.30am. Alex looked after me beautifully and it was definitely a fantastic way to celebrate my birthday!

The opening of the River Heart Parklands

Our Big Band was invited to play at the opening of the River Heart Parklands, which is the redevelopment of the bank of the Bremer River. It was fantastic to be invited because we were the only entertainment playing for a host of VIPs including the local councillors and the Minister for my Department, Andrew Fraser. When I got there I was really surprised at how lovely it is - the boardwalks and the plants they've put in are gorgeous and the gigantic water feature is great too.

As it was an invite only event, we had canapes and free drinks and then enjoyed speech from a talking tree (just ask me) and a fireworks display... the only problem was that the sparks from the fireworks fell on the riverbank and lit it on fire! I think they'll have to work on that before New Year's eve!!!

Gardening, gardening, gardening...

Nathan and I have been going crazy in the garden lately! We're making our yard look really beautiful by adding flowers, trees, shrubs and herbs and religiously watering each and every plant to make sure it not only survives this horrible drought, but also looks more and more fabulous as time goes on. I have to say that even though most of the plants are still babies, it's really adding to the look of our place. Today I planted a heap of flowers in the front garden including dianthus which is my favourite! We also planted some garlic chives because Nath wanted some for cooking and tended to our tiny paw-paw tree and the passionfruit we got for a bargain $2. Fingers crossed that the bats won't want to eat our fruit in the future... but I think when they bear fruit, we'll have to cover them just in case.

Jas and Kyren say 'I do'

We celebrated Jason and Kyren Luostarinen's wedding on the first Saturday of 2007 in style at the Hope Island Golf Club. It was a gorgeous day, everyone looked beautiful and the reception was perfect. The happy couple then moved to Holland a few days later to start their newly wed adventures away from prying eyes... and to do some cool music stuff too! Congratulations guys!

Happy birthday Marcus!

We celebrated Marcus' 29th birthday with mango daquiris, great food and company but best of all... Airyk! Our favourite American is here to stay for a few months and it was wonderful that he could be here to share the fun and wish our beautiful Marcus a happy birthday before he starts to get really old! I made a passionfruit cheesecake and Nathan and I forgot the birthday card which was actually quite lucky because we had written happy 30th in it! We'll just have to give it to him next year!