#bermagui blue pools

[tcr55]

The Blue Pool in Bermagui is one of more than 100 ocean- fed rock pools along the NSW coast.

Expanded in 1937 by a local philanthropist, it often has the same about of marine life as nearby “all natural” rock pools.

More green than blue today.

It was cool in at first, but I warmed up.

[shrinetolove]

alex at blue pools

2019

[alluneedissunshine]

Blue pool swells by donnnnnny Via Flickr: Big swells on the south coast. If née South Wales today

[oceaniatropics]

Bermagui Blue pool, New South Wales Australia, by Brad Chilby

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Breaking dawn colours the sky, reflecting off a tidal pool and onto the rock face in Bermagui Blue Pool, New South Wales.

IMAGE CREDIT: Jo Cripps

[salonduthe]

Bermagui’s Blue Pool is at the bottom of a cliff and access is via steep steps. Photograph: Nicole Larkin

(with thanks to the Guardian)

[nowtravel]

Fun Group Activities in New South Wales, Australia

The southeastern Australian state of New South Wales is well known for its national parks, coastal cities, and rugged coastlines. Visitors travel hundreds of miles to explore the Blue Mountains, various surf beaches, and even dozens of wineries within The Hunter Valley region.

As familiar as you might be with the offerings of NSW, discovering group activities can be a little harder. If you’re about to set off on an Australian adventure, here are some not-to-be-missed experiences for you and your loved ones.

Wine Tours

Travelers exploring north of Sydney in NSW may end up in one of Australia’s most significant wine regions. Consider the Hunter Valley wine tours as a fun, educational group activity that teaches you about some of the finest wines in Australia.

The Hunter Valley has made a name for itself with Shiraz and Semillon wine varieties, and many family-run and world-renowned wine brands call this region home.

National Parks

While pleasing everyone on a group trip is not always easy you won’t find too many people saying no to an adventure through one of New South Wales’ many national parks.

Explore the world’s oldest cave systems within the Blue Mountains National Park, and conquer your fears with a ride through the mountains on the Scenic World cable car. There is also an abundance of hiking and bushwalking activities, such as the Sea Acres walk in Sea Acres National Park and the White Sands Walk in Jervis Bay National Park.

Culture, Arts, and Heritage

Even if you’ve explored the world and have already seen your fair share of culture, your travel group will likely be amazed at the offerings in New South Wales. An eclectic mix of European and Aboriginal history is on display in the many museums, art galleries, and festivals across the state.

Check out Aboriginal rock art in the national parks, explore gold rush towns looking for precious gems, or even pay a visit to various filming locations. New South Wales has provided the backdrop for many famous movies, including Planet of the Apes and Mission Impossible.

If your group is in the mood to experience more local produce after going on a wine tour, you may even be just in time for one of the state’s many famous beer and wine festivals, cultural festivals, and food festivals.

Wildlife and Nature

What better way to spend your vacation than getting up close and personal with Australian wildlife and nature. New South Wales offers many different wildlife activities, such as whale watching, zoos, and sanctuaries. If you’ve never seen a koala or kangaroo, there are plenty of opportunities to get quite close to them and grab that first glimpse.

While you’re outside in nature, you could also be exploring some of the most famous waterfalls, such as Winifred Falls in the Royal National Park, and Belmore Falls in Kangaroo Valley. Travelers heading along the NSW Coast may even decide to take a break in one of over 100 ocean pools from Yamba to Bermagui.

Winter Activities

Groups planning trips away from home often find that some of the most competitive rates are in winter. While the weather may not be easy to predict, you can at least be ready for winter activities. NSW is home to many standout ski resorts – even some of the largest in the southern hemisphere. Get your skis ready for over 60 miles of cross country trails at Perisher, or visit the highest ski field in Australia, Charlotte Pass.

Life is all about making memories, and there’s no better way to do that than with your closest friends and family. While you’re planning your next group adventure in Australia, consider making the journey to New South Wales where wine tours, ski trips, cultural experiences, and more await your attention.

[granthrax]

I spent a bit of time listening to the ocean this weekend, waiting for the waves to speak to me. You know what the sea said to me? “You’re too fat for those jeans and no one understands why you’re wearing an Iron Maiden band tee!” ... “Also, I don’t love this haircut on you.” ... Who knew the ocean was such a judgey bitch?! (at Bermagui Blue Pool) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bteq-CkheON/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1s5c38loumary

[abordodelmundo]

El día no pintaba para bañarse...Pero aún así hemos ido hasta la "Blue Pool" en Bermagui. Una vez allí hemos dicho : "Va, ya que estamos, nos bañamos". Nos hemos puesto el bikini, hemos bajado los 70 escaloncitos hasta abajo. Ya había algunos valientes nadando. Una vez allí hemos dicho: "Va, ya que hemos bajado, nos bañamos". Nos hemos acercado hasta el borde y hemos metido los pies, se ha levantado viento y hacía un fresco... Así que al fin hemos pensado: "Sabes qué? Que no me baño"🤣 Así que aquí no hay foto bikini. ¿Vosotros sois de es@s valientes que se bañan aunque sepas que al salir del agua te vas a arrepentir 😜? ➖➖➖➖ #abordodelmundo #rtw #travelgram #travelphotography #travel #bucketlist #wanderlust #travelbloggers #viajar #instaviajeros #viajerosporelmundo #wearetravelgirls #lplafotodeldia #travelpics #traveldiary #nomadstories #buscablogs #iamtb #ddotraveling #roadtripaustralia (en Blue Pool) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsuuHSIl51E/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ntdj5pn1gig4

[randomrepeat-blog]

The Morning Light at Bermagui Blue Pool.

[oscar-odstudio]

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Doing some laps. In the blue pool #workout#swimming #Australia #nsw#fitness #motivation #training💪 #gymowner #personaltrainer #travel #oceanlife (at Blue Pool Bermagui NSW) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5PdHatJvR2/?igshid=13jncx4vibf4v

[keiranlusk]

A bird's eye view of the #Bermagui Blue Pool today. We had the place to ourselves for a little while! #sapphirecoastnsw #seeaustralia #fromwhereidrone #dji #southcoastnsw https://ift.tt/33OkikZ

[mysydneymemories-blog]

Motherhood offers greater rewards than parliament

I wish Kelly O'Dwyer well in her choice to spend more time with her family. I advise her that young children ask a lot of questions and want answers relevant to the subject. -Bea Hodgson, Gerringong Kelly O'Dwyer has legitimate reasons for quitting politics, but no doubt other Coalition members will be jumping ship in the lead up to the election for less than honourable reasons. I suspect the prospect of at least six years in opposition, or worse still, suffering the humiliation of losing their seat, will prompt some not to recontest as election day draws nearer. -Graham Lum, North Rocks The Liberals' Kelly O'Dwyer and Senator David Bushby ("Liberal senator announces resignation, gets plum overseas post 60 minutes later", January 19-20) have announced their resignations. There will be more to come as the thought of those long, lonely years in Opposition begin to keep our Coalition representatives awake at night. And if you are a woman in the Liberals and Nationals? You could be the last one standing. -Wendy Atkins, Cooks Hill Our environment should be an Australian value I was prompted by the values ("Australian values: what the bloody hell are they?", January 19-20) article to read the government's booklet for would-be Australian citizens, Our Common Bond. Not one serious hint of Australia's amazing biodiversity, except for floral emblems and the odd picture of a gum tree. Not even a koala or kangaroo, except for the coat of arms. Many people new to a place find connection, beauty and solace in the natural environment of their new home, just as many Australians serving overseas in world wars found comfort in receiving gum leaves or wattle sprigs pressed between pages of letters from home. Maybe even a mention in the government booklet that Australia is the home of the gum tree would be some acknowledgement of what contributes to make Australia distinctive, and hopefully engender a love of the incredible animals and plants that exist only here. -Jane Gye, Cowan When I came to Australia in 1970, the widely held values of the time supported separating Indigenous children from their parents, keeping married women out of work, racism, keeping "new Australians" in their place and hating Japanese. The White Australia policy was still widely supported. Corruption, in NSW and Victoria, was widely tolerated. Rather than having an obligation to accept the values of my new country, I had a clear obligation to oppose them and to lend my support to those who sought to change them. New South African citizens at that time had an obligation to oppose, not support, the values of apartheid. And, for goodness sake, what values should new German citizens have adopted at the start of the 20th century? The very idea that anyone has an obligation to adopt Australian values just because those values are Australian is absurd. -Martin Bibby, Beecroft In 1956, I "swore allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors" at a ceremony conducted in the Blacktown Shire Council. I sent my Certificate of Naturalisation securely encased as a scroll to the NSW Department of Education to qualify for permanency of employment. The document was returned to me folded several times and no longer suitable for mounting and display. As an avowed Republican, I have made inquiries about renewing my allegiance to Australia and its people, rather than the British monarchy. (PS I will abide by any dress code nominated by ScoMo but will not wear a baseball cap.) -Ferdo Mathews, Robina (Qld) Diversity equals quality in politics The excellent editorial ("It is time to bring outsiders inside Canberra's bubble", January 19-20) gets to the heart of Australia's political system problems. Lack of diversity and quality in the parliaments. It goes beyond the gender issue. Remarkably two other articles in that edition concentrate on the same problem: Eryk Bagshaw's "No more diversity, lots more staffers" (January 19-20) and Michael Koziol's "Why era of box seat independents is almost over" (January 19-20). What is missing in these pieces are two crucial questions: why is it so? and what can be done about it? The cause is the single-member-district electoral system. The remedy: introduction of proportional representation open party list, used in 90 other countries. As the major parties have no plans for governance system change, the minors and independents should get the ball rolling. In addition, drop the Westminster practice of selecting governments only from elected MPs. The talent pool available in the wider society is really much larger. -Klaas Woldring, Pearl Beach Is it better to have a "bubble" than a "swamp" in Canberra? -Ciaran Donnelly, Lane Cove West Hemp is the answer If the cotton farm fields are so empty of crop, and the return on harvest as low as reported ("Cotton industry rejects blame for ailing Darling", January 19-20), now would be an excellent time to transition to growing hemp. The move at this time would give them everything to gain and very little to lose. -Anthony Healy, Willougby East No butts about it So Wendy Squires was "talking out of her butt", was she ("True blue furphy: Australia is changing, but not for the best", January 19-20)? Sorry, luv, here in Australia the word is "bum" or "arse" or, if you are in polite company, "bottom" or "behind", although those who have upper-class pretensions might use "derriere". -Ian Falconer, Turramurra Lack of support That the alleged killer of Aiia Maasarwe ("Aspiring rapper held over student's 'horrific' killing", January 19-20) has been arrested is good news. More disturbing is the young man may be suffering from mental health issues and is perhaps homeless. That such a young man is no doubt filled with our society's many unhealthy attitudes towards women, the other question to be asked, is how is it okay that in such a wealthy country as ours do we tolerate the failure to support those suffering from mental health issues, and their all-too-common partners of unemployment and homelessness? We should all be able to walk our streets in safety, but we should also look at the growing disparity in wealth and how that affects the lives of those born into poverty and hopelessness. -Colin Hesse, Marrickville Engineering consent Thank you for your article, Elizabeth Farrelly ("NSW, where any mug can be an engineer", January 19-20). Should we wish for a tsunami to destabilise these atrocious buildings? Seriously, we've never had really good buildings in Sydney, nor in the whole state. No wonder we pay to stay in weird European flats that were built in the 16th century. Despite the wars, they stand. The showers beggars belief, the kitchens are invariably minuscule, but we like the streets they line, the towns they blend into. Ah well. -Carolyn van Langenberg, Blackheath Elizabeth Farrelly points out a lot of the problems that have been around for a long time in the engineering and construction industry. The peak professional engineering membership body, which only accepts engineers who have qualifications acceptable to the body, is the Institution of Engineers Australia. Members have the post-nominal MIEAust, but there is no requirement for engineering/construction companies to employ engineers with this qualification in NSW. For many years the institution tried to get a distinguishing word for "professional engineer", which could only be used by MIEAust members. This appears to have been unsuccessful, consequently anyone can call themselves an engineer with or without qualifications. -Ian Nicholls, Baulkham Hills Long weekends a must In answer to Stuart Dorney's letter about the placement of Australia Day (Letters, January 19-20), before 1988 that is what happened, the last Monday of January was Australia Day, until a politician decided we should celebrate it on the actual day. The "last Monday" was low-key, none of the hype and hyperbole we have now, plus most businesses were closed so the majority of the population could have a weekend to celebrate or commiserate the day. Remember when Australia was "the land of the long weekend", now we are a global city business must be open for the tourists or the locals who forgot the bread. In this election year, both state and federal, let's pressure the politicians to give us back our long weekend. So Michael and Bill, if you win, can we go back to the future, give us back our long weekends? -Robert Pallister, Punchbowl Last century Australia Day used to be moved about to make it a long weekend. Does that mean you would change your birthday to the nearest Friday or Monday? -Ron Field, Bermagui Germany's friendly fire Edward Houghton-Ward declaimed De Gaulle's antipathy towards England and Churchill in particular (Letters, January 19-20). Elsewhere in Europe, the Germans had their own problems. Due to vaulting ambitions and professional egos, Admiral Raeder (Kriegsmarine) clashed with Marshall Goring (Luftwaffe) over the tactical use of air power in support of their naval operations. Communications were so poor that once, early in the war, the Luftwaffe managed to sink two German destroyers. The Royal Navy was delighted. Inter-service rivalries are a killer. -Mike Fogarty, Weston (ACT) More design flaws? Given the problems surrounding the construction of Arthur Phillip High School are sufficiently serious to inspire a decision to build no more high-rise schools in NSW ("Blowouts spell end for school high-rises", January 19-20), it seems reasonable to ask why the design process did not reveal at least some of them? -Norm Neill, Darlinghurst Service interrupted Also, Rob Hughes (Letters, January 19-20), the tennis champions you named don't go through an elaborate, time-consuming routine before serving, unlike Nadal, Murray and many women. With all their years of experience could they not learn the simpler way? And with ball boys and ball girls available there is no need for players to keep spare balls. Keeping one in a pocket is one thing but there is no such special provision in women's pants. Why do they do it? -Roger Henderson, Wollstonecraft CANARY TIME How delighted I was to see Clive Palmer's political advertisement in the Herald (January 19-20) highlighted in yellow. It helped my eye look elsewhere immediately. The colour is so appropriate, just like a canary in a nickel mine. -Deb McPherson, Gerringong I see from Clive Palmer's large in-your-face ad that we need more women in parliament. Palmer says that women "should be accepted not just because of their beauty". If that is the barometer for their acceptance in parliament then it seems we really do have a long way to go. Sack your copywriter, Clive. -Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl CASSETTE REVIVAL I hope they know they'll need a pencil to wind the spool on when it gets loose ("Music fans hit rewind in cassette fad", January 19-21). -Michael Deeth, Como West ROYAL PAIN It's a stain on Australian bodies and institutions that we need royal commissions, with probably more to come, to investigate wrongdoing in society. Why not have a royal commission into royal commissions, and while we are at it, one into the Tomic and Hewitt feud? -Corrado Tavella, Rosslyn Park (SA) Most Viewed in National Loading https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/motherhood-offers-greater-rewards-than-parliament-20190120-p50sin.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

[upthereandback]

2018 a new adventure

We are going to Perth for Christmas via the Flinders Ranges and Alice Springs

The Flinders will be as part of an AOR Rally, guided by a friend who calls South Australia home.

So to get there we decided to explore Victoria in the Winter. 

“You must be mad” they said, “everyone goes north for the winter”

Sure but that means we’ll be the only ones there.

We have been proven sopt on, lovely quiet time with crisp mornings and beautiful days.

Victoria here we come, but first we have a few NSW towns to visit....

Currarong

Kinghorn Point

Ulladulla harbour

Warden Headland

Brou Lake

Potato Point

Narooma

Tilba

Bermagui Coast

Blue Pool

Tathra

300 Year old African couch

Next post Victoria

[jo-shanenarooma]

Heading South

 5/01/2018: It was a late start today with no rush to get out of bed. Apart from a brief getaway with Jo having a few days off after the Christmas break, we deliberately chose this area as one of Jo's descendants, her great, great grandfather William Ringland, settled here some time ago and made a name for himself sailing ships up and down the coast transporting goods and such.

Captain’s ticket

William was born in Cumberland, England and married Susan Gallagher in 1848 in Sydney. That same year a daughter was both born and lost and on Boxing day 1849 their first son, also named William was born. During this period William earned a living as a sea-going mariner out of Port Jackson. By 1854 two more children, Joseph and Margret were born after which William changed his vocation to victualler and made a living out of working from the Fortune of War Inn in Pitt Street where in 1856 another son, James was born. Within two years he had pulled up stumps and moved everyone south to Greenhills on the Shoalhaven where he obtained a publican's licence to run the Settler's Home from which another child appeared, Henry in 1859. Around 1861 after Alfred was born, he and Susan again relocated, this time to Wagonga near Narooma where he took up the role of Master Mariner. On Christmas Eve 1864 the last of the tribe, John was born.

Image of William Ringland (they think)

First thing on the list today was a swim. Shane set off for a swim at the beach, Jo and Zac swam at the pool and Soph stayed in the cabin. Refreshed, we regrouped and planned the day ahead while Zac cooked up some bacon and eggs for breakfast. Ringland’s Point and Bega was the plan.

Lagoon at the end of Handkerchief Beach

Heading back north toward Narooma, we took a turn to the left before hitting the township and entered a new housing subdivision called Ringland’s Estate and a little further on Ringland’s Point overlooking Ringland’s Bay. After moving to the area, William and Susan purchased a substantial plot of land overlooking Wagonga Inlet where they built a small home for the family. It was around there that Susan would stand and keep watch for her husband returning home from his seafaring duties, captaining his tall ship up and down the coast.

Wagonga Inlet

Joanne considered that there was enough Ringland presence in the area to file for a land rights claim.

Old shot of Ringland’s Point. Ringland’s Bay to the left

After a good look around we headed to the Narooma Visitors centre and found a book that mentioned William as well as regattas that were held at Ringland’s Point during the 1920’s. While at the point a phone call to Jo’s brother, Michael, gave us an extra task for the day. William was buried at Bermagui to the south. He moved there after Susan died and lived there until his death in 1898. She died of the palsy while he was at sea during 1866 and is buried at Ringland’s Point, somewhere on the shores of Wagonga Inlet. No evidence of the gravesite or any indication of its location exist today.

Could be sitting on her

Having looked around the visitors’ centre, its local history and seafaring memorabilia, we had to keep moving and with Bermagui added to our agenda, southward bound it was. Predicting a late finish for the day we stopped to pick up more groceries and took them back to the cabin on the way through.

The turn to Bermagui was a few kilometres along the Princes Highway, not far but the continual grey nomads and their caravans made the trip much longer than anticipated. A few kilometres further and we were back on the coast, passing small waterfront communities and across Wallaga Lake, a picturesque and seemingly shallow waterway via a rickety old timber bridge and long causeway.

Attractive surrounds and popular

Next stop the graveyard, but not before having to navigate the busy Bermagui waterfront with heaps of families, young’uns and boats everywhere. All enjoying the sunshine.

The graveyard was just out of town off of Bunga Street, across from the beach. Except for the trees in the way it everyone there would have a good view. Its dried grass was representative of the whole of the east coast at the moment, dry as and in drought. The beware of the snakes sign gave credence to the time of the season. At first, we just looked around as we find cemeteries interesting. They represent local history. Further down the hill, Jo found what she had been looking for, William’s grave, albeit a little more modern than anticipated, buried with his son Joseph, who died in 1937. There was also a commemorative plaque dedicated to Susan. Jo was somewhat moved by the experience as she was standing at the grave of her great, great, grandfather.

William and Joseph Ringland R.I.P.

Jo ended up spotting some flowers near the graveyard entry (not another grave) and after a quick dash to the fence line to pick some mauve and white agapanthus along with a few ferns, a quick bouquet was put together on left at the headstone.

We regrouped, decided not to drive to Bega, and much to Isaac’s disgust, headed back. It was almost three and Bega was still an hour away. An interesting town that we detoured through on the way down was on the cards. Tilba, founded in 1873, looked interesting with numerous old buildings turned into shops lining the main street.

Central Tilba lied in the shadow of Mount Dromedary, known as the sacred mountain Gulaga, ancestral mother of the Yuin people. During the late nineteenth century, gold was discovered on the mountain, starting a gold rush (bet the locals were happy) which led to the establishment of Central Tilba, where we were and just down the road Tilba Tilba. We drove through the main drag and pulled up adjacent to our first stop, the ABC Cheese factory.

There were still plenty of people around but the factory seemed to be finished for the day. The large glass display windows meant to show us how things were made was empty. Nobody around except to clean up. Nothing inside to tickle our fancy neither.

Cheese kept the town afloat after the gold rush

A bit of time was spent here but not too much. Shop after shop, from the cheese factory to the war memorial were just commercialised “cottage industry” rubbish. A few interesting tid bits, like the candle shop but in a nutshell the place was Morpeth revisited. We didn’t even go to the pub. Instead we took a break in a fifties style lolly shop that served milkshakes with malt. We all had one. Dad suggested that everyone have malt which we did. It didn’t go down too well with the kids though.

The Dromedary Hotel. A man is not a camel

We finally reached the war memorial at the end of the street, crossed over to it and headed back towards to car. Directly in front of us though, was the Bates Emporium and Post Office which gave us a blast from the past. Old post boxes and an old letter box. We went inside to look around but not for long. On our way out the old dude shop keeper remarked to Shane how lucky he was to have Jo as his wife. Shane replied “so I’ve been told”. Old dude “who told you that?” to which we both replied “she did”.

Resting at the Post Office

The area was nice to look at but nothing more than a Venus Fly Trap for kitsch and targeted at cashed up tourists. A couple of candles and a milkshake done us.

Back to the cabin. We were planning a BBQ and some dominos. While Isaac was doing the cooking, Shane was chatting up a couple of old sheilas staying next to us. One was from Vic Rail and the other looked like Judith Lucy. We seen them on the beach this morning which got the conversation going.

Blue bottles, work and holidays were mostly covered while the sausages and steak sizzled away, under the watchful eyes of number five son.

Isaac the cook

Before we returned to the cabin with the food, the ladies recommended that we head down the beach to the channel feeding the lake. They had done it earlier. They jumped into the lagoon and relaxed as the tide took them a few hundred metres inland while taking it easy. Once finished, they got out and walked back to the start to do it again. Sounded like a good idea. We’ll do it for sure.

Dominos to finish off the night

Tomorrow, we’ll head north on another fact-finding mission.

[marielledownunder]

Our adventure (part 2)

We continued our travels from Sydney to Melbourne with different stops. The first stop is the Blue Mountains! I already went there, but it is as big as Belgium, so you can do lots of different tracks. 

We drove to a small town named Katoomba and we did a walk. We went downstairs and we heard you could come back by cable car. Well as a Dutchie we didn’t wanna pay that so we went back up with all the stairs. Felt great after doing that. Then we drove to a lookout point: The three sisters. It is absolutely gorgeous. 

After that, we drove to our free camping spot which I forgot the name. We met a guy named Sean from America. We hanged out together with a bonfire. That night I slept terribly again because of the cold (7 degrees). 

We left the camping spot and we were heading to the Jenolan Cave, which is also part of the Blue mountains. We heard that you had to buy a ticket to enter the cave, but the tours were a bit too long and we didn’t have that many time, so we decided to walk around the blue lake.

We could’ve spot a platypus, but unfortunately we couldn’t find them. Then after checking the cave area we headed back to the car and drove a long way to Batemans Bay. We decided to sleep in the car on a free camping spot, trying to find out if it’s warmer than a tent. That night we met some locals enjoying their long weekend holidays. They were parents aged 30+ and they were pretty much drunk haha. Was funny to see. One of them had a boat and wanted to get his camera, and he nearly fell off in the water, but he made it haha. That night was also a cold night. I think I slept better because it was warmer, but it was still not the best. 

We explored a bit around in Batemans Bay and our next stop was Tura Beach. We stopped several times on our way. The first stop was Mogo.

This is a little old village and it’s well known for it’s gold rush. Not interested in a long tour so we just checked some shops. Then we drove through Narooma, because of its view and after that we went to Tilba Tilba, an old cute village. 

The last stop was Bermagui and its beautiful Blue Pools. The water looked so blue-ish, and reminded me of the McKenzie lake from Fraser Island. 

Then afterwards we finally reached Tura Beach around 5.30 pm. And the good news is, that New South Wales and Victoria have changed their hour system, which means we have one hour more sun! So much better. I missed summertime. We took that advantage to see the beach and then we came back to rest from those camp nights. I saw a bath for the first time in a while, which I didn’t take since I left home. It was amazing and I was totally revived. 

The next morning we got breakfast from the host, lovely! Felt like a flashpacker haha. Before we left, we decided to book another Airbnb, because I didn’t want to camp again haha. Our next destination was Sale, a small town close to the coast. Before we would reach that, we wanted to stop in Eden to watch some Whales. Eden is known for watching whales, but unfortunately we couldn’t find them… 

Then we finally reached our Airbnb and it looked really cute. The host prepared lots of things and we had our own bathroom with our fridge. So cute. We got hungry but we had no kitchen so we went to an Irish pub to get some dinner.

The next morning we had two big things planned: Wilsons Promontory and the penguin show on Phillip Island. Wilsons Promontory is a national park in the most southern part of the mainland of Australia (so not including Tasmania).

 It has lots of wildlife and heaps of hiking tracks. You can also find beaches and see the sea from many different places. Actually we underestimated the size of this park, and we could only do some small tracks. So we walked a bit on Mount Oberon, then later we did a walk close to Norman beach and after that we did a wildlife walk. We found many kangaroos and we even spotted a wombat! We also found emus and many tropical birds. 

Then, around 5pm, we continued our trip and headed to Phillip island, where you can find the penguins. Well, it turned out to be a ‘show’. You had to pay entrance and they would come after sunset. We were prohibited to take pictures. Actually, we took one, but it was so dark that you can’t see them clearly on the picture. We finally saw them and they were so small! How cute! They were even smaller than seagulls, as they are the smallest penguin species on the world.  The guide told us that it was pairing season so we saw all the penguins trying to make a couple, by making dances and cute noises. Lovely. 

After the show we went to our next Airbnb in Wonthaggi, hosted by Michelle. We got a lovely stay and she told us many usable tips. I could even stay if I couldn’t find an accommodation in Melbourne! and yes, I mean accommodation because I am planning to work and live in Melbourne when Ruben would go back.

The next day, we finally headed to our last big city: Melbourne! We arrived at our Airbnb in Port Melbourne, not far away from the city. Our host, Troy, showed us our room and he helped us a lot. We could borrow the Myki (transport) card so we could explore the city. First we walked to Southbank, I thought we stayed there, but it took us 40 minutes to walk haha.

Then we walked to federation square to the information centre and got some tips to do. They also told us that we can use max 8$ for the transport and the rest would be for free! Wow, I wished we had something like that in my country haha. 

In the afternoon we went to the Royal Botanic gardens and we wandered around. Then the sun was setting and we headed to the last ‘winter’ nightmarket of Queen Victoria Market. Lots of music, stuff to buy and of course, food!!! As a foodlover I looked around and got a lovely paella, I missed that Spanish dish. My last paella was more than a year ago. We chilled over there and then checked the nightlife. 

We went to a certain Irish pub to finish our day. I gotta say, I love the vibe in Melbourne! It feels like you’re in Europe, mixed with Australian vibes. Definitely better than Sydney, but I can’t choose yet if it’s better than Brisbane. Brisbane’s southbank is amazing, but the transport and bars are nicer in Melbourne I’d say ;)

We had another day to explore Melbourne. What to do? Firstly we walked again around the CBD (Central Business District) and enjoyed some street art, then we walked around the park with Cook’s cottage and later on we visited the State Library of Melbourne. 

What else? We checked the University of Melbourne but we had nothing to do over there (as we’re graduated) so we left pretty quickly haha. In the late afternoon we went to St Kilda. Well known place for backpackers, and they have a beach over there. It was not the warmest moment of the day so we didn’t stay long at the beach.

Around the evening, we went back to the CBD, and have a drink in section 8. This is a ‘underground-ish’ bar somewhere in an ally, close to Chinatown. Man, I loved that place. Such a great vibe: street art around the walls, cool music, heaters and the atmosphere was awesome. Reminds me a little bit of some places in Germany during my exchange. We started with our drink at 6 and we stayed till 10, on a Friday night. Perfect place if you want to go out but not making it late, or just having a drink in a chill place. Why would we go back that early? That’s because we have a new trip planned the next coming days: the Great Ocean Road!