Category: Little Adventures (Page 3 of 4)

Remember last year, when people from our pasts reconnected on Facebook because we were all in lockdown and had lots of time on our hands? After things eased up, I went on quite a few reunion lunches and coffees.

On one of these, I heard how a school friend’s husband was working at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. I’d vaguely heard about this place before, but when Blogless Sandy mentioned that her walking group had been there and really enjoyed it, I decided to use it for my latest Little Adventure.

(Basically, when I retired I decided to take a Little Adventure once a month. I’ll go somewhere/do something that I never have before. What’s the point of freedom if you don’t explore a little?)

When I got there I made straight for the lookout, which was perched on the highest part of the whole area. Here I found a map of the place. I decided to save the top part for a further Little Adventure sometime in the future and to hang a right just after the Perched Swamp and walk along the bottom part of the property.

That’ll be enough for one morning!

So I set off. The track was on a gentle incline. One thing I really didn’t like about this place is that they didn’t allow dogs, so the little woofs had to stay at home. But further up the trail I spotted two labradors. Turns out they were Assistance dogs being trained.

I didn’t want to muck up their training so I held back while they went up the lookout tower first. While they were there I saw this sign underneath:

Phew! Thank goodness there wasn’t a cloud in the sky!

I climbed the steps to the top of the lookout and surveyed my surroundings. The assistance dogs were disappearing down the hill.

I don’t know what’s causing the sparkle on the horizon, but it looked pretty.

It was a bit of a shock to read that on a clear day I could see both Port Philip and Westernport bays from here. Despite having lived here for 6 years, I haven’t yet made the adjustment to realising that I’m far nearer the Peninsula than the city.

Anyway, after a long look around, I set off down the track.

Isn’t this lovely? It’s a little door under the fence so that echidnas can move through.

To be honest, most of the walk wasn’t that exciting, view-wise. This was the usual ‘vista’… fairly boring scrub. But the air was fresh and pure and all I could hear was birdsong and my feet crunching on the gravel.

That wasn’t so hard to take.

Then I got to the turnoff to the Perched Swamp and went down the path. I found this bit really interesting.

If you read the sign, it turns out that this patch of land is like a teacup suspended between the dunes. Water seeps in and it turns into a swamp. Hence the name – the swamp is perched, suspended (in a way) between the dunes.

This hasn’t been filled since 2001, which goes to show how dry this area is. The photo on the sign shows a vastly different view than the one I was seeing.

Two wallabies were having a snack to the right.

If the sign wasn’t there, you’d never dream that you were looking at swampland.

That’s the edge of the ‘teacup.’

A little further along the main track, I saw the sign that told me to diverge and take the road less travelled* to the wetlands.

*Just a little nod to the literature buffs.

Looks inviting, doesn’t it?

All this time I was walking along, totally alone (as I thought), just enjoying the day. I was walking in a shady part of the track, totally alone (as I thought) when I saw a tree with bright green moss on it.

Still walking, I suddenly stopped dead and lifted my phone to take the shot when something moved. For a split second I froze. A woman walking alone NEVER likes unexpected movements near her.

Then I saw…

And something else moved…

They were so close to me! I was so rapt. What an absolute gift.

If I hadn’t have stopped unexpectedly to take that photo and scared the living daylights out of them for a split second, I never would have known they were there.

Here’s the tree with the moss, by the way. Just in case you were wondering.

Considerably buoyed by my wallaby encounter, I set off again. The track turned sandy and then I found the lake.

I walked off the track to get closer, trying to avoid stepping on the wallaby poo that seemed to be everywhere.

Then I saw a duck!

It was even better when she turned out to have ducklings. I stayed there for a while, just enjoying the vibe, then I set off again. My next goal was to get back to the car park.

That quilt isn’t going to make itself.

This part of the walk seemed to go on FOREVER. I was glad I brought my hat as it got quite sunny. I saw a couple of Mums with prams in this section, and I caught a glimpse of the assistance dogs a long way behind me.

Look! Some more duck-like things!

They were a brilliant shade of blue, though it’s only on the left-hand one in this photo that you can get an idea.

I kept walking.

I had no choice…

It was a long track with not much to look at. Fortunately, I had my thoughts to keep me company. I find myself very interesting.

Before you label me as egotistical – just imagine if I didn’t find my thoughts interesting. How awful would that be? You can never escape yourself. You’re always with you, so you may as well enjoy it.

This was quite interesting. When I was walking up towards it I couldn’t make out what these strange little boxes were. Nesting boxes for endangered birds?? Turns out it was far more scientific.

Started wondering if dinosaurs lived in the bush as well as wallabies.

The track had curved and we were back in the trees again. Surely I was getting closer?

I’m a busy woman. I have things to do at home.

Plus, look at how close those trees grew together. Crazy.

There’s no real reason for this shot. I just liked the colours.

Success!!!!

This was a long walk for me because I’m very unfit, but it was easy. The paths are well maintained and there’s no way you could stray off them and get lost.

When I was talking to Blogless Sandy about it, she mentioned that I’d apparently chosen the most untouched part of the garden to explore. This means that when I next choose to go back, I’ll be wandering around a more planned part, which showcases Australian plants.

Should be good.

All in all, I enjoyed this Little Adventure. It’s nice to think that in these modern times there’s some land so close to the city where for a split second wallabies and humans can scare the living daylights out of each other.

Good times.

It’s an absolute bonus when I can bring the Little Woofs with me on a Little Adventure! This month’s Little Adventure was extremely close to home – it only took about 10 minutes to drive there. I’ve been here 6 years and have never taken the time to go and have a look, but yesterday was the day!

Now that I’ve decided to pick up a few days’ CRTing, I woke up Monday and thought, “What if I get work for the rest of March and miss out on my Little Adventure? I knew I had this day free, and though the siren call of the quilt with literally 5,000 pieces was calling, I decided to throw Poppy, Jeff and Scout into the car and go and see this park.

The McClelland Sculpture Park is set on 8 hectares of bushland. It also has an indoor gallery, but because I had the Little Woofs with me, I didn’t bother to go into that. There was plenty to see in the grounds alone.

We wandered around, with only a couple of other people that we saw from a distance.

The photos I’m showing are only a small sample of what’s there – these were the ones I liked the most.

This one is probably my favourite. I rounded a curve in a path and there it was. It’s fabulous.

I don’t know if you can tell in this photo, but the rocks aren’t sitting on the ground.

They’re suspended. So beautiful.

I took a photo of this because it reminded me of the Buddhist burial ground we saw in North Korea.

See? Obviously they’re not exactly the same but there’s a definite similarity. I took this on my walk when I was totally alone on the side of a mountain in the middle of North Korea.

Life offers some surprising things sometimes, doesn’t it?

I wish this came with a soundtrack, because this piece emits sounds.

The sculpture park has a boundary with a busy road, so at first there’s a constant hum of traffic as you wander through.

But as you meander further into the property and the bush surrounds you, the traffic noise fades and all you can hear are birds.

The Little Woofs loved it. So many smells! Kangaroos, wallabies, foxes… you name it, they were sniffing it.

There’s a nice blend of abstract and more naturalistic sculptures.

There are peaceful paths wending through the property, with artwork popping up, sometimes when you least expect it.

This one was tucked in a little glade.

This one reminded me of the Eureka Tower in the city.

See? Practically identical!

They’ve popped this poor guy on an island. Here’s a close-up:

This was a very time-efficient Little Adventure. All up, it took just a couple of hours from go to whoa.

I’m very sure we didn’t see everything that was on offer, but that only means that we’ll have to come back again.

Dad joke of the day:

I used to have a job cutting holes for trapdoors in theatres.

It was a stage I was going through.

Last week my sister Kate rang and asked if she could spend the morning with me, as her car was being serviced and she couldn’t get a ‘loaner’ car. Of course, I made room in my hectic schedule (heh heh).

“We could go and grab a coffee and maybe take a walk around K-Mart,” she said.

Dear God in heaven. Does she not know me at all?!?

I decided to whisk her away to grab a coffee in a place that was far more interesting than sitting in a mall or on a city street. I hardly ever buy coffee when I’m out, but for her, it’s one of life’s pleasures. So we drove to Dromana, to the gardens of Heronswood.

Heronswood is one of the gardens that Diggers operates. It’s perched on a cliff overlooking the sea, with both ornamental and working vegetable gardens and orchards. They specialise in heirloom plants, which means that you can save the seeds from plants you grow and then use the seeds next year.

I’ve been a member for a while now. I don’t mind supporting them because I think they do really important work. Seeds should be able to be saved.

Lots of different sunflowers were planted around one of the veggie patches. Look at the bees in the middle of this one!

Along with the huge gardens, there were also little ideas like this planted around. I still think most succulents are ugly, but over time I’m warming to some. I thought these ones looked nice.

As we wandered around we came across this citrus orchard. The huge terracotta pots have rosemary planted all around them.

Here’s a close-up. I like the way the pots are positioned not in straight lines, but so they look appealing from the steps above.

We liked this espalier – it’s so well-established that the support wires have been taken off and the branches stand outstretched on their own.

The gardens are full of little outdoor ‘rooms’ like this.

Here’s Kate heading to the café for that much-anticipated coffee.

We stopped at the nursery on the way out and I bought some Evening Primrose plants for my hanging baskets. According to the gardeners, this plant is “as tough as nails” so let’s hope they’re correct. Four of the hanging baskets are in full sun all day and the petunias all curled up and died.

I was happy with this Little Adventure. It was only a short one, but it was by far more memorable than a gallop around K-Mart!

Dad joke of the day:

There’s a new music band called 999MB.

So far, no gig yet.

Hooray! Live theatre is back in Melbourne! Next month my son will be performing in a play that he and his mare wrote together, which I already know will be hilarious, and his girlfriend will also be performing in a musical the following week. So I’ll be Kulture Vultured by Christmas, which is just the way I like it.

As a warm-up, on Sunday I popped along to see this play, Enough is Enough. It was sponsored by my local council and the price was definitely right. (The ticket was free.) It was held in a new-to-me venue a couple of suburbs over, which definitely makes it eligible for the catch-up Little Adventure I needed. (I missed October, due to lockdowns and putting my back out.)

Let’s hope we are never again in a spot where my Little Adventure for that month was taking a walk on the other side of the bridge. Oof. I’m all for living a quiet life but that was ridiculous.

Anyway, back to the play. The blurb said that it was about gambling and was written by an award-winning local playwright called Kieran Carroll, with Tim Costello talking afterwards. Sounds like a worthy way to spend a Sunday afternoon, doesn’t it?

Interestingly, it was worth it, but not because the play itself was fantastic. It was ok, but what really stood out was the talk that Tim Costello gave at the end of it.

One of the things he said was, “We all know how the rest of the world feels about America and its gun culture. We all think they’re crazy. But what we don’t realise in Australia is that the rest of the world regards our gambling culture in exactly the same way… they think we’re crazy.”

Apparently Australia has around 75% of the world’s pokies, and they’re all in local pubs and clubs on every street corner, except for Perth. In WA, all the pokies are at the casino, which is how the rest of the world does it. I’d never thought about it before, because I’m definitely not a gambler, but having the pokies all through the suburbs makes it very easy for a gambling habit to creep up on people. The accessibility is too easy.

Anyway, he spoke for about 10 minutes or so and it was very interesting. Afterwards, I jumped back on the train and took a look at the new stations and was home in time for dinner.

Home-made pizza… mmm mmmm!

Dad joke of the day:

I used to work in a shoe recycling shop. It was sole destroying. 

With only one more day to go before August finishes, I knew I had to think quickly to tick off this month’s Little Adventure. We’re still in strict lockdown in Melbourne, so I could only travel within 5kms of The Best House in Melbourne. Where could I go?

Then it dawned on me. The little woofs and I have walked along the river many times. But… was there a track that went under the bridge and kept going? I decided that we should explore. I drove to the top of the bridge, then we jumped out of the car to do just that.

Look at this! My memory hadn’t deceived me. Flushed with the spirit of adventure, we set off under the bridge.

As we walked under one set of traffic, the sound of running water was pretty loud.

Then there was a set of footsteps behind me. A guy in a tracksuit was walking near us. he kept back on our left, then suddenly walked quickly forward to veer off towards the river off the path.

Then I heard the jangling of a wire fence. He’d jumped through this hole so he could walk beside the river. Meanwhile, like law-abiding citizens, we kept walking on the gravel park, with a chain-link fence between us and the river.

Until, no more than 20 steps later, the fence ended. Made me wonder what the point of jumping through the hole in the fence was.

On my right was this view.

On our left. This is a water sports centre, I think.

The sun was out and the wind was blowing. This side of the bridge path was pretty well deserted. I kept looking back to keep tabs on the tracksuited guy. He’d stopped on the riverbank opposite the water sports place and was doing some sort of callisthenics. I didn’t want him to sneak up on us unawares… I’ve listened to too many episodes of Casefile! Better be safe than sorry; it’s not as if I’m walking with guard dogs, after all.

I thought this tree was pretty.

The sunshine was making the river sparkle. It was all very quiet and serene.

Judging by the tyre tracks in the gravel, walkers aren’t the only people who use this path.

Then, just as I was trying to get the little woofs to stay still so I could get a decent photo… WHOOSH!

We were overtaken.

After around half an hour we turned to head back to the car. This bridge is a lot lower than I ever realised when I was driving over it.

There are signs warning of possible flooding on the path, which isn’t surprising as you can see how close it is to the level of the river. This is Jeff giving a happy look back. He loves his walks.

And there’s the river leading back towards home.

I’m pleased I snuck this Little Adventure in – just in the nick of time.

I wonder what else I’ll discover within 5kms of home while lockdown exists?