Hi friends and welcome to the new year and another blog post!
Due to the lack if internet I haven’t been able to post anything from my travels until now, so here’s a long recap of my holidays, enjoy!
Sunday 09/12
Time to say goodbye to my Gold Coast home for five weeks and greet Melbourne with open arms as my flight departs from Coolangatta airport at 14.55 in the afternoon. Visiting my godparents in Melbourne has been something we’ve been planning pretty much since the beginning of my exchange, and it’s finally happening after a long time no see haha. (The last time I saw them was in Japan in January of 2015) So I landed in Melbourne Tullamarine airport at around 6.30pm where my godmother Cathy was waiting for me. I got my luggage from the conveyor belt and we were quickly in the car catching up on our way to their house in East Melbourne. We arrived and after greeting Mike, Tom and Ollie (also Lilly, their cat) I got a tour of their lovely house and then unpacked some stuff, had dinner and went to bed.
Monday 10/12
On Monday Tom showed me around Canterbury which is the near by shopping area and we had sushi for lunch there. After a couple of hours we headed back home. In the evening after dinner we went to see Mike’s field hockey match at the oval. So Monday was a nice and relaxing day where nothing that special happened but I still had time to see Melbourne which was nice.
Tuesday 11/12
Tuesday was filled with more intense Melbourne exploring. At lunch time Tom and I took the train to the city to meet Mike. We had a nice lunch of dumplings in the China Town-part of the city. After lunch they took me to AC/DC and Hosier lane which are famous for their street art. After browsing the alleyways Mike had to get back to work and Tom and I headed to the Eureka tower which is the highest building in Melbourne and the second highest in Australia. The tower is 297 metres high and it has 91 floors. The view from the top is quite different to the view from Q1 but equally amazing. It’s more urban but you can still see the bay and the sea behind the busier streets and high skyscrapers. We also decided to do "The Edge" which was a glass box that goes three meters outside of the building and that was a whole other experience in itself. Then we walked to the Shrine of Remembrance and the Federation square. Later that day we didn’t do anything too special, just had a night in.
If you want to see more click here
Wednesday 12/12
Wednesday morning I left the house with Cathy to go to Carey, (which is the school that Tom and Ollie go to) where we helped organise the teachers’ Christmas lunch. That took the whole early afternoon so we had a late lunch. In the evening I went with Tom to his gym class from five to six. I really enjoyed it and it was fun doing an instructed class.
Thursday 13/12
Thursday afternoon we had made plans to go to the cinema with one of Tom’s friends. We went to the Lido cinema in Hawthorn to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The movie was good and afterwards we had a light lunch and walked around Hawthorn a little bit before heading home. In the evening we drove to the house of a Finnish family that live in Melbourne to have dinner together. A sauna was also a part of the evening. We had sausages and potato salad in a very Finnish fashion and fruit and ice cream for dessert. So I got to talk a bit of Finnish which was actually kind of confusing since I feel like my brain functions in English now haha. We had a really lovely and relaxed evening.
Friday 14/12
On Friday Cathy had a day off from work, so Cathy, Ollie and I went to visit the MCG sports museum in the morning. They had lots of different exhibitions; cricket, AFL, the olympics to name a couple, and some more interactive sections as well. We spent around three hours in the museum and afterwards had lunch in a nice cafe in Richmond. Then we took the train back to home and Ollie got ready for his cricket match. Meanwhile Cathy and I drove to the supermarket to get some supplies for Friday night's cricket dinner that Cathy was hosting for Ollie's team. Unfortunately it started pouring down with rain and the cricket match got cancelled so there was no dinner either.
Saturday 15/12
Saturday morning I woke up pretty early to go to the Queen Victoria Market with Cathy and Mike. First we browsed around the different stands looking for a good breakfast place. After we had had our coffees and breakfasts we started doing the actual shopping. We got seafood, meat, cheese, bread and other bits and pieces for a dinner party later that evening. The next stop was a farmer's market in Boroondara where we bought lots of fruit and veggies. After that we went to the market in Camberwell to pick up the things we were still missing. A little after we got back I went for a bike ride with Ollie. We rode on a special mountain biking course and then tracks in the park. It started raining again so we headed back. Some time later the guests came, I was helping with the food in the kitchen. The dinner was very nice and successful.
Sunday 16/12
Sunday's agenda was a pre-Christmas family lunch with Cathy's side of the family as we were going to Tasmania over Christmas to see Mike's parents. We had Yum Cha out and later went back to the house and had some coffee and dessert while doing Kris Kringle for the kids. My present was a pair of Lululemon shorts.
Monday 17/12
Monday wasn't as busy as the weekend had been, Tom and I ran some errands for Cathy. The most exciting part of the day was probably having lunch at IKEA as I have missed the Scandinavian food (though the meatballs somehow weren't as good as the ones back home haha). In the evening after dinner we went to watch Mike's field hockey match and later for an evening walk around the neighbourhood.
Tuesday 18/12
Tuesday was a really fun day because Cathy's brother Paul took us (me, Tom, Ollie and their cousin James) on a bike tour around Melbourne. We left the house in the morning and rode to the train station and took the train to somewhere near St. Kilda. We rode to the beach, had coffees and then rode to the pier which was pretty cool. We carried on through different areas of the city and ended up having a very nice lunch at an Italian place in Carlton. From there we went back to the train station and took the train home.
Wednesday 19/12
Wednesday again was quite busy but productive. Myself and Cathy went to the city to do some shopping. We went to the ice breaker outlet, a coffee shop, petbarn and the supermarket. In between we also had some frozen yoghurt which was very nice. In the evening we celebrated Cathy and Mike's 20th wedding anniversary by having dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. We all had plenty of delicious food.
Thursday 20/12
On Thursday Cathy's mother took Ollie, James and me to the Queen Victoria Market for lunch. We had nice wraps in a lovely outdoor cafe right next to the market. Afterwards we went to explore the market, first we browsed the souvenir stands that I didn't get to see last time because of the weather. Then we went inside the market building to see all the food in the delis. We spent about an hour and a half in the market and afterwards we split up, they took the train back home and I stayed in the city. I basically went on a photography mission. I took a lot of pictures of the skyscrapers, the cute cafes and the busy streets. I wondered around for a couple of hours and then took the train home. My mission was completed with success and I didn't even get lost :)
If you want to see some of the pics I took click here
Friday 21/12
On Friday Tom and I went to the cinema in Camberwell where we had arranged to meet with the kids of the Finnish family we had had dinner with a few days ago. We went to see the new Grinch. After the movie we walked back home and everyone started packing for Tassie.
Saturday 22/12
We all woke up early on Saturday morning for our flight to Tasmania. The flight wasn't too long, maybe an hour or so and we soon arrived to Devonport. Mac and Margaret (Mike's parents) were waiting for us at the airport. We got our bags and were headed to the farm in Moriarty. We unpacked a little, and then Cathy, Margaret and myself went to the House of Anvers which is an old chocolate factory in Latrobe. I had a really nice chilli hot chocolate. After our drinks we went to the chocolate shop and I bought some nice chocolates. Then we headed back to the farm. I did some weeding in the garden and also got to drive the lawn mower. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed and we didn't do much else.
Sunday 23/12
On Sunday morning Cathy, Mike and I went to a market in Devonport called the Providore Place. There were a lot of crafts, gifts and a few more foody things as well. Later when we got back, I got to drive the farm ute in the paddock with Mac and he also showed me around the farm a little more. So that was my first time driving a car :)) (In Australia you're allowed to drive on private property without a license) In the afternoon after lunch we went go karting, which I hadn't done before either but it was fun. So the day involved a lot of driving haha. Then around three Cathy, Margaret, Tom and I went to another market. This one was more of a farmer's market so there were a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. On the way back we stopped by the Devonport lighthouse and also walked along a path to a lookout to see the view.
Monday 24/12
On Monday morning around ten we went for a bush walk and tried to spot some platypuses but unfortunately didn't see any (the timing wasn't the best since they are more active in the early morning). We did however see a giant plastic one, which wasn't quite the same but anyway. In the afternoon we went to Hawley beach for a couple of hours. In the evening we had a really lovely Christmas Eve dinner. We had potatoes, peas, carrots, pumpkin, gravy, ham and Christmas turkey.
Tuesday 25/12
Christmas Day! In the morning we did our stockings (pillowcases) first and then moved onto the bigger Christmas presents under the tree. I got some really lovely presents! We played card games until it was time for Christmas lunch. First we did our Christmas crackers and got out our paper crowns and the bad jokes. For lunch we had salmon, trout, potato salad, sunshine salad and regular salad. For dessert we had Christmas pudding with all the toppings. Though my Christmas was very different this year I really enjoyed it. I hope you have also had a lovely Christmas time with your friend and family!
Wednesday 26/12
On Boxing Day we didn't do too much. In the morning we went to the beach for a while. For lunch we had some of the leftovers from Christmas and in the afternoon we went for afternoon tea to see Mike's relatives. In the evening we decided to go penguin spotting. We drove to a special spotting platform by the beach. The only penguins we saw were the baby ones waiting for their parents on the beach. The adults come to shore after dark to feed their offspring but the tide was so far out that they would have had to walk a long way on the rocks. Even though we didn't actually see the adult penguins I was happy to see the babies.
Thursday 27/12
Thursday morning we had some visitors over on the farm for breakfast. One of Cathy's friends and her family were passing through Devonport before their roadtrip in Tassie. We had toast, eggs, bacon, mushrooms, yoghurt and raspberries. Later in the afternoon we headed to the beach, then played some card games, had dinner and went to bed.
Friday 28/12
Friday was a very exciting day since we were going mountain biking in Derby. We left early in the morning and the car ride to the small village took about an hour and a half. So we arrived in derby a bit after eight o'clock and got our rental bikes from the bike shop. Cathy and myself had booked a lesson for the morning to learn the basics of mountain biking. The boys went straight to the trails. The lesson lasted for about two hours I think and it was really helpful and all the tips were definitely super useful. After the lesson we all had lunch together at the Two Doors Down cafe. The food was very nice and afterwards the boys took a shuttle bus to the top and did some black trails. Cathy and myself headed to the green trails which I think were just perfect for our skill level considering the conditions. It was a really hot day and the heat made biking very exhausting so we had regular breaks once in a while in the shade. Besides the heat the trip was really successful and by the end of the day we had done all of the green trails in Derby. I really enjoyed our day doing something different that I'd never done before. On the way back to Moriarty we stopped in Scottsdale to get some food for the rest of the week. By the time we got back (after seven-ish) everyone was pretty tired so we didn't do too much other than had dinner.
Saturday 29/12
On Saturday morning I picked some raspberries from the garden and in the afternoon we drove to Devonport to have lunch at Mac and Margaret's house. We had some really nice fish, potatoes and salad for lunch and afterwards Cathy, Mike, Tom and I walked to the Bluff beach cafe to get some coffees. In the evening we went to see the sports carnival in the Devonport oval. They had different distances in running and cycling.
We got some pretty good seats right by the track and stayed almost until the end of the carnival.
Sunday 30/12
I was super excited about our Sunday plans because we were going to Cradle Mountain yayy!! Cradle Mountain is a mountain in the central highlands region in Tassie and it's in the Cradle Mt. - Lake St Clair national park. In the morning we left the farm and drove for about an hour and a half to the national park. We took a shuttle bus from the car park to one of the upper stations and started walking along the path to Marions lookout (1223m). From there we hiked to the Kitchen hut and had our rolls that we'd packed with us. After lunch Tom, Ollie and I climbed the summit track all the way up to the top of Cradle Mt (1545m). The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the long hike. After a while when we'd admired the views for long enough, we descended back to the kitchen hut and started to walk down to Dove Lake via Wombat Pool. That took us around an hour and that was pretty much our route for the day. On the way we saw an echidna in the wild eating ants which was pretty cool. Then we took a shuttle from Dove Lake back to the visitor center, had some drinks and snacks and the we were off on the road again our way back to Devonport. We had a delicious dinner in Devonport at Mac and Margaret's, and again we all were quite tired after a long day of hiking and climbing. We watched cricket, had some tea and then drove back to the farm and went to bed.
You can see pictures from Cradle here
Monday 31/12
Happy New Year's Eve! On Monday we drove to Devonport, Ollie and I went to the Bluff beach for about an hour, then Cathy and Mike picked us up. We again had a lovely dinner in Devonport instead of Moriarty, then we walked to see the firework show in the harbour at nine. The fireworks were surprisingly good and I really enjoyed them. So our New Year's eve was very relaxed and not too busy which was nice. I hope you enjoyed your New Year's Eve! 2018 has definitely been one of the best years of my life so far but I'm even more exited about what 2019 has got to offer!!
Tuesday 01/01
On the first day of the year we went to a wildlife park in Mole Creek. The Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary is about an hours drive away from the farm. First we just looked around the park before the scheduled tour started at 11am. We got to see a Wombat, Quolls and also lots of Tasmanian Devils. They also had a few birds, like eagles and owls. Then we went to feed the Kangaroos for a bit and then had to head back. On the way we stopped in a honey shop where we had delicious honey ice creams and also the Ashgrove dairy, where we bought some cheese. In the afternoon we went to Hawley beach for the last time. The rest of the day was nothing special, just packing to leave the following afternoon.
Wednesday 02/01
Wednesday afternoon we left Tassie and flew back to Melbourne. But before that we finished packing, had a nice lunch and the last raspberries of the trip for dessert. Then it was time to drive to the airport, say our goodbyes and board the plane. Once we back in Melbourne, we unpacked, did some washing and had dinner.
Here you can see more photos from the farm.
Thursday 03/01
Thursday was pretty fun, Cathy, Mike and I went to do some shopping in Melbourne Central. I didn't buy anything, just browsed around in some nice shops. My favourite was definitely Milligram, a cute stationery shop and they had other nice stuff as well. We had lunch, continued to do some more shopping and then had to head back. Cathy and I went to Camberwell to do some food shopping as well. In the evening I packed my bags ready for Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.
So that's the first part of my holidays, I'll try to get the second part about South Australia up on the blog as soon as possible :) I hope your new year has started off well, mine definitely has!
xx
Wonderful photos! Good that you had the opportunity to see Tasmanian Devils!