Graham's Excellent Eastern Adventure

[ozover50]

Yesterday we headed down to St. Kilda beach - lots of lovely Melbourne Spring sunshine and lunch at Leo's spaghetti bar.

Graham and the city skyline from the St. Kilda breakwater:

Then off to Southbank for a bit of a wander around and a drink at the Casino:

Graham getting to know one of my Teles after dinner:

[melibreits]

Looks like a terrific time--I'm jealous too!

What I wouldn't give to be someplace warm and sunny right now--we've got about an inch of snow on the ground here, with more coming down....

[winston]

Looks like you have plenty of Carlton "neck oil" on hand........................

It also looks like Graham is enjoying that Tele way too much.

[ozover50]

Well, Brian...... when neck oil of my preferred brand(s) is on special at the oil outlet it's worth stocking up a bit. Who's to say that the government doesn't up the tax on lubricants tomorrow, eh?

[ozover50]

Yesterday we headed south to the Mornington Peninsula....... another beautiful sunny day!

We had lunch at Arthur's Seat - a magnificent view of the peninsula and Port Phillip bay:

The off to Portsea and Sorrento, finishing up at the Sorrento back beach:

[ozover50]

Next we found our way to Cape Schanck and the soon-to-be 150 year old lighthouse:

There's a pretty groovy boardwalk if you have the time and want to expend the energy..... we didn't!!

There's a bit of a story attached here. Most of this area is designated a National Park and as such attracts a fee to cover the cost of maintenance, park rangers, etc..... in this case $4.40 per vehicle. The previous night I happened to catch a travelogue on TV and the Cape Schanck lighthouse was one of the featured articles and when I went to pay the fee at the kiosk I batted my eyelids and sweetly asked the girl there if she was the ranger who had appeared in the segment. She got all gushy, 'woo-hoo'd' a few of times and promptly gave me my money back!! I guess there's still a bit of the old 'Aitch' charm left even after all these years!!

[ozover50]

During the drive down to Cape Schanck Graham had spotted a little Aussie critter waddling along the side of the road and on our way back we kept our eyes peeled but couldn't spot him again. Damned if only a few hundred meters further on there wasn't a group of people checking something out on the side of the road, so we immediately pulled up and went to have a gander ourselves.

Forget your kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and wombats............. these cute little beasties are the best:

The little fella even pulled his head out of the ant nest to say g'day:

In case you're wondering, it's an Echidna...... sometimes called a Spiny Anteater. They, along with the Platypus are the only monotremes (egg laying mammals) anywhere in the world. What's also a bit weird about them is that their hind feet point backward.... to assist in pushing soil away when digging up an ant or termite nest.

And yes........... those spines are sharp!!!

[beatlefreak]

That'll teach you to try and pick him up!

[ozover50]

Not me, mate!! One of the English tourists tried but backed off very quickly.

No doubt Graham would have tried if he'd been there...................

[jps]

when I went to pay the fee at the kiosk I batted my eyelids and sweetly asked the girl there if she was the ranger who had appeared in the segment. She got all gushy, 'woo-hoo'd' a few of times and promptly gave me my money back!! I guess there's still a bit of the old 'Aitch' charm left even after all these years!!

I think she saw the gray hair and decided to give you a senior discount!

Great photos, Aitch, looks like the kind of place Shari and I would love to spend some time at.

[longboard_ric]

As usual , Aitch is looking after our visitors

I'm sure this is a trip Graham will remember forever.

Jeff, the Aussie dollar has taken a hiding recently and is now at $0.68 US, so its incredibly cheap. And I'm sure we can arrange some tour guides for you and maybe even a jam

[jps]

This is China Cove at Point Lobos, a nice idyllic spot for a picnic.

[melibreits]

Wow.... Great pics, Aitch! Now I'm hoping even more than ever that we can make it to Oz in 2010!

Those warm sunny beaches look mighty inviting about now....

[kiramdear]

Thanks for the great pictures. It looks like so much fun; I wish I was there.

[beatlefreak]

How 'bout that? They even mark their manhole covers with directions and distances so the Aussies never get lost!