Category: Little Adventures (Page 2 of 4)

Nothing like starting off the new year with a Little Adventure – especially when I’ll be jumping on a ferry to go to an actual island on the first day back at school for teachers.

Kangaroo Island is a large blob at the bottom of South Australia and is well-known for its foodie crops like cheese and honey, along with a seal colony and lots of nature walks. Cafés and wine bars are of course a staple. When I had a Little Adventure in South Australia back in April 2021 I drove down to where the ferry docked and thought, “One day I’ll go over there and see Kangaroo Island.”

Soon, I’ll be there.

I left home at 6:20 AM to drive to Adelaide, where I’ll be staying for a few days with Jenna’s family. I drove all day, only stopping once for lunch at a little place called Kaniva.

It has wheat silo art, which is what made me get out of the car. Then the other art on the main drag persuaded me to stop for lunch.

I love the brown kelpie sitting at the back.

Sheep and pigs were dotted up and down the main street. It’s a smart move by the locals. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one to stop for a break here.

In the afternoon the rain came down. I could hardly see the road at times, but honestly, if you’re going to have a driving day on a holiday, you may as well let the bad weather use itself upon that day. Hopefully by the time I get to the island, the rain will have moved on and I’ll be left with nothing but sunshine!

Two days later Jenna’s parents gave me a quick tour of Adelaide, ending up at Semaphore, a trendy beachside town. We popped into a local bakery for lunch, then wandered out along the jetty.

It was a stunning day.

The local lifesavers were out doing something-or-other on the beach, while on the other side of the jetty…

… there was a spot of beach cricket going on.

There are a lot of impressive homes along the foreshore. I liked the look of this one.

We were just about to head off back to the car when Andrew, Jenna’s dad, called us back. He’s found a pet lizard, sunning itself on the base of a statue.

When I was last in Adelaide in 2021, Jenna’s parents took me to a winery where they bought me this very expensive bottle of wine. I told them that I’d save it until I was 60, then we’d open it together.

I’m a woman of my word. On my last night with them, we enjoyed it.

I had a lovely few days with them. It’s a lucky thing when you get on with your in-laws.

Then it was time to leave Adelaide and get onto Kangaroo Island. It’s a 2 hour drive down to the Jervis Bay ferry.

I tell you… they sting you on the ferry! I remember years ago when I was in the Barefoot Investor’s investment club, one of the recommendations he gave was Sealink. The reasoning was that they were the only option for people to get cars etc to various islands that they service.

To bring my car to Kangaroo Island and back was in the high 300’s.

Yikes.

I picked up a brochure at the ferry place, and while I was waiting to board I read through it and circled the things I thought might be interesting to see. I dd my research! Better late than never,

Here’s the road leading out of the first town and on towards the rest of the island. Apparently the place is quite big. As Jenna’s Dad said, “You could fit 10 Malta’s in there!”

And here’s the view from my window. Both a pool AND a sea view.

From the little I’ve seen so far, this place looks stunning. The weather is terrific and I have 3 full days to explore.

Dad joke of the day:

The next excursion on my “use up the voucher I got for Christmas 3 years ago” was a half-hour drive around the Botanical Gardens. Now obviously I wasn’t expecting this to be the most wildly exciting 30 minutes of my life, but it was actually a nice way to spend a beautiful sunny day in the city.

If you squint, you might be able to make out “Merry Christmas” on the walking bridge.

Festive bollards.

Living so close to the station as I do, it’s so easy for me to get to the city. Jump on the train and glide right in. Take a book from my bag, get immersed in it – this time it was Stephen King’s ‘Holly’ – and before I know it, we’re coming into Flinders St station.

I decided I’d walk to where the tour begins. The Tourist Centre for the Gardens is tucked around behind the Shrine, right next to the Observatory, so it’s not a long walk. I set off, deciding that I was going to treat Melbourne like a tourist.

But a few metres down the road, something didn’t feel right. I had my big leather handbag with me, so I could fit my book, my lunch and all the other things that we carry with us, which is the very same bag I travelled with on my last trip for 5 weeks.

I was walking with it slung over my right shoulder. Casually, with no regard for pick-pockets and thieves. That’s not how a tourist wears their bag!!!! At the next traffic light, I slung my shoulder strap across my body, making sure the bag opening was against my hip. I fished out my phone, holding it so that if a photo op presented itself, I’d be ready. My Antarctica Pee Bottle was dangling from my other hand, filled with peppermint water to minimise my cough.

Ahhh. NOW I felt like a tourist! I set off with renewed vigour. Let’s see the sights!

As I walked past the Arts Centre and along St Kilda Road, I was reminded of the morning that I walked along the streets of Santiago in Chile, looking for the Sculpture Park. As I got to the Victorian College of the Arts, I stopped at a bench outside and ate lunch, reading a little more from my book as I did. Then I kept walking.

Looking at the open expanse of green and huge trees on the other side of the road, I thought, ‘If I was a tourist here, I’d think this city was beautiful.’

Trams rattled past and when I saw the Shrine, I crossed the road and walked up the steps to see it.

I remember Mum bringing us kids here. I’ve been back to the Gardens since then, of course, but never back here. I didn’t have time to go in and explore, but I walked around the outside. I still remember seeing the Tomn]b of the Unknown Soldier, but he’ll have to wait for another time for another visit.

Here is the Eternal Flame. The idea behind it is eternal life: if the flame never dies, then so will the memory of those who have fallen.

This statue has two parts. There’s another WWI soldier on the other side.

He’s staring resolutely ahead, standing on a German helmet. He means business.

This is representing the people left behind when a soldier is killed.

This was my favourite one. I remember learning about Simpson and his donkey when I was in primary school. Here’s his story from Wikipedia:

Simpson landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915 with the 3rd Field Ambulance as part of the 1st Australian Division. In the early hours of the following day, as he was bearing a wounded comrade on his shoulders, he spotted a donkey and quickly began making use of it to carry his fellow soldiers. Simpson would sing and whistle, seeming to ignore the bullets flying through the air, while he tended to his comrades.

He used at least five different donkeys, known as “Duffy No. 1”, “Duffy No. 2”, “Murphy”, “Queen Elizabeth” and “Abdul” at Gallipoli; some of the donkeys were killed and/or wounded in action. He and the donkeys soon became a familiar sight to the Anzacs, many of whom knew Simpson by nicknames such as “Scotty” (in reference to his ancestry) and “Simmy”. Simpson himself was also sometimes referred to as “Murphy”. Other Anzac stretcher bearers began to emulate Simpson’s use of the donkeys.

Colonel (later General) John Monash wrote: “Private Simpson and his little beast earned the admiration of everyone at the upper end of the valley. They worked all day and night throughout the whole period since the landing, and the help rendered to the wounded was invaluable. Simpson knew no fear and moved unconcernedly amid shrapnel and rifle fire, steadily carrying out his self-imposed task day by day, and he frequently earned the applause of the personnel for his many fearless rescues of wounded men from areas subject to rifle and shrapnel fire.”

Other contemporary accounts of Simpson at Gallipoli speak of his bravery and invaluable service in bringing wounded down from the heights above Anzac Cove through Shrapnel and Monash gullies. However, his donkey service spared him the even more dangerous and arduous work of hauling seriously wounded men back from the front lines on a stretcher.

On 19 May 1915, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove, Simpson was killed by machine gun fire.

Private Victor Laidlaw, with the 2nd Field Ambulance, wrote in his diary of Simpson’s death:

Another fatality I found out today – was a private in the 1st Field Ambulance, he had been working between the base and the firing line bringing down wounded on a donkey, he had done invaluable service to our cause. One day he was bringing down a man from the trenches and coming down an incline he was shot right through the heart, it is regretted on all sides as this chap was noticed by all, and everybody got to know him, one couldn’t miss him as he used to always work with his donkey, cheerful and willing, this man goes to his death as a soldier.^[18][19]

After I crossed the road to the Botanical Gardens and found the minibus, we all tootled around the gardens for half an hour. I had a fat German tourist sitting next to me on the left, which turned out to be the side with all the best photo ops… just for anyone who might do the same tour one day, so here are some shots that I was able to snap.

This is in the Oak Grove. A massive tree fell, so they left the stump and put lengths of the rest of the tree around as a gathering place.

FINALLY! Something on my side of the bus. I liked the texture of this one.

Part of the Fern Gully. I remember when Scott came out to Australia in 2019??? we walked here, then sat in a gazebo overlooking the gully and had a fine old natter.

Another nice tree trunk.

This arid garden is called ‘The Volcano.’ Can’t say I really see it, myself.

Peaceful.

Look at that tree!

First view of the lake. The driver said that it used to be part of the Yarra, but 100 years ago it was separated.

And then back into the hustle and bustle. I thought I’d post of shot of one of Melbourne’s iconic trams.

I jumped on one and was back to Flinders st in a trice. Had a dream run… only had to wait 5 minutes for a train and was back home by 4:30.

All in all, this was a nice little afternoon, making memories. I have a much clearer idea of where things are in the Gardens now, which I’ll be taking advantage of in the future.

Dad joke of the day:

(When I retired at the end of 2020, I decided that I’d go and do something or see something that I never had before, just to keep life fun. And so the “Little Adventures” were born.)

Here I am, squinting into the sun while poor Scout is thinking, “What the hell am I doing here?”

It was too good an opportunity to pass up for a Little Adventure. It was a Guinness Book of Records attempt to beat the record of the most dogs of a single breed going for a walk together. Apparently, the beagles held it at 1,026, but Dachshund-loving Melbourne was going to give it a fair shot.

When we arrived at the Elwood Beach foreshore, the place was seething with snags. Just after I left the car and we were walking towards the meeting point, I bumped into 3 women who are teachers at my school. Honestly, you can’t go anywhere without bumping into people from that school!

The rules stated that there was to be one walker per dog. Dogs in prams were fine, mixed breeds were not. It was free to join, but a donation to ‘Devoted to Dachshunds’, a charity that looks after abandoned and neglected dachsies, was asked for. I’ll bet they raked in a lot of money!

Once people were registered, there was a 1KM circuit to be walked.

Scout is an utterly confident little girl at home when she’s with her pack, but this was a bewildering place for a small dog who is utterly convinced that she’s a Cavalier like her brother and sister. What were all of these weird, elongated dogs doing?

I spent most of the walk carrying her. She walked for a little bit, but mostly, every time I tried to put her down, she’d dig her heels in and I’d end up dragging her. So she rode in style for most of the day.

She wasn’t the only one. There were a lot of people around for such a small breed.

There was an awful lot of standing around, waiting to be registered, but once the walk began Scout cheered up. There are intersecting paths and bridges, so the organisers had people with ‘stop’ signs to stem the flow of people and dogs whenever there was a bike rider or some walkers coming from a different direction.

After a while, I tried my luck and Scout consented to walk. You wouldn’t think a 6kg dog would be heavy, but after a while, she’s uncomfortable to hold. My arms were glad of the break.

She actually looks happy in this shot!

But all too soon, she plumped down on the path and refused to move. Ah well… we were nearly at the end anyway.

Look at Melbourne’s skyline in the distance. Such a perfect day for it.

My registration band was 950 and there were PLENTY of people waiting behind me, so I was pretty sure we must have succeeded.

Turns out that well over 1300 snags turned out for the walk, so we smashed it.

But, like Dorothy Gale says as she clicks her ruby slippers, “There’s no place like home.”

Poppy and Jeff forgave us for going on a walk without them, Tom31 came over for a visit and at the end of the day, the dogs snuggled up with Ryan28.

Scout snuggled under a quilt after dinner and let the worries of the day slide away.

On the news, the organiser said that she’d like to give it another go next year. If she does, we won’t be going. Once is definitely enough, especially for Miss Jean Louise Finch. She was a brave girl, but she doesn’t need to do it again.

Dad joke of the day:

It’s funny with work friends. You can know them for two decades, see them every workday, and know heaps of details about their lives, yet once you retire, you see very few of them again. Or maybe that’s just me?

I travelled to China and North Korea with Blogless Helen and her husband Rick back in 2018. She retired at the end of last year and has been playing around with CRT work, recognising that it’s the best of both worlds. Last weekend Blogless Megan and I were invited to go and stay with them at their holiday house at Phillip Island.

Helen and Rick bought this place just before the pandemic. It’s right on the beach, where you just have to cross a bit of foreshore where wallabies and rabbits live before you hit the sand. They’ve done a lot of work on it already, with a new kitchen, new double-glazed windows and lots of painting and it still has the welcoming vibe of a family holiday house.

We drove up after work in the rain and arrived after dark. We found the key and let ourselves in, knowing that Helen and Rick were at the supermarket in Cowes and would be there soon after us. After we’d unpacked, I cracked open the bottla wine I’d brought. It was a gift from a year 12 kid a few years ago – I thought by now it would’ve aged beautifully. (I wasn’t wrong.)

It was a low-key evening. Bangers and mash, washed down with lots of wine and good conversation. I’ve hardly seen Rick since the North Korea trip, so it was really good to catch up.

I may have left my dogs at home, but I still had my dog fix. Helen and Rick brought their dogs. One great thing about small dogs – they’re very portable.

When we woke up, it was POURING! There was no way any of us were stepping outside the house. We settled into a morning of sitting around and chatting, fortified by the excellent omelettes that Rick cooked for breakfast.

By the time the afternoon rolled around the weather had cleared into a sparkling day, though as you can see in the top photo, the sky remained moody.

“Who wants to go to the beach?” Helen asked. Rick decided that he’d rather go surfing, so he headed off while the rest of us grabbed the dogs and went out for a stroll.

Their house is in the perfect position – literally 2 minutes walk from the sand. A short walk through the foreshore, where wallabies and rabbits live, then there it is.

The sand was a different colour to my Backyard Beach – more golden. this beach is a little curve, bordered on one side by a dog beach and on the other by the ugliest lighthouse I’ve ever seen. Utilitarian, isn’t it?

We walked along with the dogs, enjoying the breeze and the fresh salty air, especially after being cooped inside all morning. The contrast was beautiful.

We’re so lucky with our beaches here in Australia. I’ll never forget the awful shock I had at seeing the pebbled beach at Nice. How could this possibly be a holiday destination when you can’t even walk into the water comfortably? (It was uncomfortable on the feet – I tried.)

But here, not 2 minutes away from the house was a small beach so empty that it might as well have been private.

Once we were back, Helen started cooking up a storm. It was clear that dinner was going to be a THING! I knew we were in for a treat when she brought out the Ottolenghi book.

Then after dinner, the hideous truth became clear.

Helen is into playing card games in a major way. I, alas, am not.

The other three settled into a ferociously fought game of 500 that lasted for hours. I contentedly read a book. After I found out who the murderer was, I sat and watched them play until the wee hours. We had different types of gin to sample as the hours wore on, and coincidentally, we all slept very well that night.

The next morning I woke before anyone else. Fortunately, I was downstairs on my own away from the other bedrooms, so I read for a while, then decided to have a shower and sneak out of the house down to the beach.

When I hit the foreshore, I saw a couple of wallabies. I took a photo, but they were too far away to look like anything other than splodges. A woman came up behind me, walking her dog. I mentioned the wallabies and she smiled and said, “Oh yes. there’s hundreds of them here.”

As she walked towards the tunnel in the growth that led to the beach, a magpie swooped down and landed at her feet. She pulled out a ball of mince and threw it down for him. This must be a regular thing.

(And yes – I know people aren’t meant to give mince to magpies because if that’s all they eat, it causes deformities in their babies. I wasn’t the one feeding it to him. But it was still nice to see their friendship; it’s obviously a regular morning ritual.)

After I looked my fill at the wallabies, I followed her.

Across the water is the Peninsula, where my sister Kate and Blogless Sandy live, though they’re on the other side. I gave them a wave, anyway.

I was there on the beach for nearly an hour, with the place all to myself. I turned left, with the sun behind me, and walked as far as I could one way, then turned and walked all the way to the dog beach. You can see a man and his dog in the photo.

The birds were calling and I could hear the rhythmic sound of the sea. It was very peaceful. I saw some different seabirds from the ones we have in Melbourne.

After a while I found a spot and simply sat and watched the waves. it’s a novelty for me to be alone on a beach. Usually I have the dogs with me and I’m scanning the place, trying to avoid the bigger dogs that freak Scout out.

After watching the waves come in and out and enjoying the sun, I decided that surely they’d be up by now… it was nearly 9 AM! So back I walked.

Turns out that no one had surfaced. Luckily, it’s possible to reach the deck from outside the house, so I grabbed my water and a book and crept up to the deck to read my book in the sun. Normally I avoid the sun like the plague, but I chose a chair at the table where my back would be nicely warmed.

Megan came out to meet me about half an hour later, bringing her crochet, so we sat and talked while we waited for our gracious hosts. By the time 10:30 came around, I said to Megan, “I’m really hanging out for a coffee. If they don’t get up soon, I might get some pots and pans and bang them outside their door!”

Fortunately, these drastic measures weren’t necessary. As soon as Rick’s feet hit the floor, he was grinding coffee beans and putting together another sumptuous breakfast. The deck on their house is perfect for just lounging around and chilling.

We spent the rest of the day on the deck. Helen and Megan played another card game, Rick was on his phone and I took a short nap and then stared at the bay. The water was reflecting millions of little glints from the sun. It was stunning.

At some stage, Helen brought out some dips and crackers and we washed them down with some wine. It was late afternoon when I stretched and said, “Well, we’d better make a move. I’ve got heaps of paperwork to fill in for the new school tomorrow.”

As we backed out of the driveway, narrowly avoiding an old tree trunk at the edge of their driveway, (could’ve been embarrassing!), Helen and Rick stood, waving goodbye.

Up until now, I’ve never really understood the appeal of a holiday house. I remember Mum and Dad keeping my grandparents’ house in Inverloch after they died. It was double the garden work, double the housework, and they were locked into going up there to maintain the place every couple of weeks.

Not for me. I’d rather go and see different places when I have time off.

But staying the weekend up here was lovely. Helen and Rick are slowly doing the place up, making it a chilled place where lots of people can come and stay. I can see them spending many leisurely days there with friends and family, building lots of lovely memories as their family grows larger and school holidays at the beach will become a thing.

Yes, I guess I can see the attraction. 🙂

Dad joke of the day:

I’ve lived in Melbourne my whole life and I’ve never been to Eastland. I’d heard of it, of course… a mythical shopping centre nestled somewhere far, far away. Then David29 fell in love with a girl who lives near it and it became his default shopping centre. So yesterday, all of his groomsmen and his Mum made the trek over there to buy the suits for the wedding.

I’ve had a break from the Little Adventures***, so this is a way of dipping my toe back in the water. First I was working, and then I was travelling. Now I’m working again – but only for 23 more workdays. Then the Little Adventures will be back, baby!!!

This post is not so much about going to a new place. This is a post about celebrating an event that’s new to me. It’s not every day that a Mum gets invited to their son’s wedding-suit-shopping day.

And here’s the son. This was a big job that has finally been ticked off his list. He discovered pretty quickly that trying to get people together for one simple shopping trip is pretty much like trying to herd cats. His best mate Dan was travelling in South-East Asia and only arrived back 2 days ago, while Evan26 is leaving tomorrow for Adelaide, where he’ll be performing his new show for the Fringe Festival there.

Sunday HAD to be the day.

This is Dan and his girlfriend. He and David29 have been mates since year 8 at school. These two are staying with me for a few days until their Air B&B is ready in Melbourne. It’s been so lovely catching up with Dan. He went to live in the US for a few years so now that he’s studying in Melbourne, it’s lovely to see him again.

Evan26 and Ryan28. It’s not often that I get to have the whole ‘set’ of sons with me in the one place, but Sunday was one of those times.

Tom31 and Evan26 (again.) These were all taken in the food court after the shopping was done. The boys looked dapper in their black suits and I think they’re all going to scrub up well on the day.

The night before, David29 and Izzy came over for dinner to meet Alena, Dan’s girlfriend.

We all ate together, then I retreated to the couch to play games on my laptop while they sat around the table playing a silly board game. It made me so happy to hear the laughter and talking that was going on between the four of them.

The words on David29’s hoodie say it all, I think. This is a friendship that has (and will) pass the test of time.

***I began Little Adventures when I retired. The idea is that I go somewhere new or do something new to me every month. After all, when I’m not working I definitely have the time!

Dad joke of the day:

My friend’s bike keeps running me over.

It’s a vicious cycle.

Yesterday I had yard duty at the traffic lights on East Boundary road before school, so I thought I’d wear my Oodie to give the kids a bit of a giggle. It turned out to be a big hit with the parents dropping their kids off. I got plenty of laughs and thumbs up.

Not being one to let a good thing go to waste, I also wore it later in the day.

You see, Jenna, Evan25’s girlfriend, is in a play that is being performed in a dance studio in North Melbourne. Both the pre-show email and Evan25 warned me that the room gets very cold, so I decided to rug up in comfort. It turned out to be a wise decision. I was the frumpiest person there, but I was also one of the few not shivering by the end.

That room must have been cold. Even in an Oodie, my hands got slightly cool by the end. I mean seriously – I’m a menopausal woman in an Oodie! But the kids have to find performance spaces where they can.

The day before, I was talking to Blogless Helen and she reminded me that I had to move fast to fit in a Little Adventure before August ran out. Oof. This is why I didn’t start these things until after I retired. When you’re working all week, there’s not a lot of time to set aside to do things like this.

As I drove to North Melbourne to park the car near the dance studio before taking a walk to meet Jenna’s parents for dinner, I realised that despite living in Melbourne for (almost) 59 years, I’ve never been here before.

This is really unusual. When I was a Thermomix consultant I drove all over the place to deliver machines and do demos. So, as I was walking to the pub for dinner, I decided that a walk through North Melbourne will have to be my Little Adventure for this month. Sorry.

I know it’s lame, but at least it isn’t as pathetic as the Little Adventure I had when we were in lockdown and I couldn’t go more than 5KMs from my house! At least this time I’m on the other side of the city! You know, after that Little Adventure last year, I’ve never been back to the other side of the bridge…

A creek near a railway station. I took this on a little bridge while I was still enthused about my 20-minute walk. I hadn’t yet seen the hill that awaited me.

I liked the name of this business.

This reminded me of when we were in Beijing. We saw bikes like this all the time when we were there.

Lots of views like this.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of inner-city suburbs. They just look grimy and concrete-y to me. There’s not enough green. I know lots of people swear by living here, but for me? Nah, not a fan. I find them depressing.

By the time I was walking along, most building sites had shut up shop for the day.

The walk was longer than I thought it would be, so I was happy to finally get to Harriman’s hotel.

Jenna’s parents turned up a few minutes after I did and we had a lovely meal together. They’re based in Adelaide and they make it a point to come over for every show the kids do. They’d booked tickets for Saturday night, so we parted company after they (thankfully) dropped me back at the dance studio.

I’m very lucky with the families of the girls my sons have chosen to be with. I get along really well with both sets – which is something that parents have no control over. The heart wants what the heart wants, but sometimes it brings with it the family from hell. So far – touch wood – we’ve avoided this.

Evan25 and Jenna graduated from their theatre degrees nearly 2 years ago. If they want to work in their chosen fields, they’ve realised that along with going to auditions, they have to write and produce their own shows. This particular show was written by a friend of theirs and was produced by the theatre company that Jenna and 2 friends have started.

I applaud their initiative. I don’t think I ever had the degree of get-and-and-go that these young people have.

Dad joke of the day: