Monday 1st January – New Years Day.
What a lazy New Years Day today was. Or was it? We went for a drive to Lady Stonehavens Lookout at Frank Thomson Reserve on the outskirts of Kinglake.
By the way Kinglake is about 580 m above sea level. There is a great distant view of the Melbourne skyline from here.
Next it was off to Masons Falls Picnic Area.
Recent rains meant the falls were working. Not pumping but working. Granddaughter Hannah’s Pre School has a class visit here every week so she was able to tell us where all the paths led and what the interpretive panels were all about.
On our way home we stopped at Kinglake Raspberries to pick our own.
http://www.kinglake-raspberries.com.au/ By now I had a stinking heavy duty headache and all I wanted to do was lay down under the shade of a tree until it was time to go and could get something for the headache. Once the others had picked a small bucket of raspberries we left.
None too soon as far as I was concerned. I had a couple of Panadeine Forte a cup of tea and a good lay down. I slept for the next 3 hours and woke not exactly refreshed but at least minus a headache.
Tuesday 2nd January
Errol went to work today. He was piloting Qantas Link from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island and back, then to Hobart Tasmania where he stayed for the night.
Nicole Amelia Hannah Donnis and I took the opportunity to visit the Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery at Yarra Glen.
It is amazing how something with the right product, located in an out of the way place can draw such huge crowds. Nicole ordered a chocolate fondue for two people. I called it Death by Chocolate. It included a large bowl of melted chocolate along with liquorice, apple slices, strawberries, banana pieces, honeycomb, nougat, peanut brittle and marshmallows for dipping in the chocolate. It was enough for 5 of us. On reflection it was probably too much. I never want to see chocolate again.
At least until tomorrow!
Nicole drove the girls to Melbourne as their other grandmother is taking them to the movies in the morning.
Wednesday 3rd January
Woke this morning to cold and a dismal day. It was raining and a thick fog blanketed the world. The road outside was only dimly visible.
Errol arrived home then we drove to Melbourne for a 42nd birthday dinner for Greg, Nicoles brother. It was rather an International affair as we sat down to dinner. Greg’s girlfriend is visiting from Russia
while Nicoles other brother, Scott, is married to a Peruvian woman, Monica.
Rounding out the Internationals of course is Donnis from Canada. The rest of us are Ozzies.
Dinner was at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant called the Vegie Bowl.at Forest Hill, a suburb of Melbourne. https://www.facebook.com/vegiebowlrestaurant/ The restaurant although vegetarian and owned by Buddhists has things on the menu such as sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce, honey chicken. However none of the dishes contain meat. The “meat” is a combination of soy, tofu, mushrooms and spices. It was a unique experience but not one I could dine at on a regular basis.
Thursday 4th January
Today we were given a jolting reminder of the devastation which occurred in Kinglake during the bushfires of February 2009. In the 500 metre distance between the house and the small shopping centre the houses are mostly new or if not new, appear to be a mix of old but repaired. There are a few vacant blocks. On one we noticed what would once have been painted fence and gate posts. The posts are charred but still with some paint adhering some of which is still bubbled from the heat. Even the house we are staying in is new, built only in the last 5 years. The house next door has been rebuilt although still incomplete. After walking around just this small section of the community I am reminded of the mythical bird, the Phoenix which rose again from its own ashes.
Conversation at the local supermarket is all about the expected temperature predicted for this weekend, 41 degrees for two days. People are concern°ed about the dry heat and the fear of potential bushfire. The surrounding bushland is dry as is the stringy bark hanging off the trees and the tinder like undergrowth. The locals, having lived through a nightmare, are concerned it will happen again.
Friday 5th January
It was a hot day today, about 30° but the talk around the house and on the TV news is the expected high temp tomorrow of around 40° which will make today’s hot day cool by comparison.
Donnis and I took a walk in the Kinglake National Park to Jehosophat Gully.
It was a nice walk but we never found the gully.
Errol is on standby flight tomorrow. From 6 am he has to be available if a pilot is required. The only way we can get to the airport from here is when Errol goes to work. Tonight we packed our bags just in case he gets called in. Our standby tickets will be booked on line as we travel.
Tonight was warm enough to kick off the doona at bedtime.
Saturday 6th January
Errol did not get called in so we stay in Kinglake for a few more days.
By 11am the temperature was already 30° and by 5.40 had reached 41.7° but that is where it stopped. The heat was made more unbearable by a hot and strong north westerly wind. A cool change came hurtling in from the south and by 8pm the temperature had dropped to 21°. It was positively cold by comparison.
During the day we drove to the well known and popular Flying Tarts Bakery and Cafe. Although only 2pm they were preparing to close as the high temperatures has kept customers away. They only had 30 customers all day. Well alrighty then we bought the loaf of bread we came to buy plus a huge Vegetable Quiche a half dozen pies, several cakes and slices. Why not? All were marked down to half price. We had a delicious dinner with a delightful quiche and a garden salad with items mainly from Errol’s garden.
Tonight was cool enough to pull the doona back onto the bed.
Sunday 7th January.
Back to winter in the summer. Overcast with a chill wind blowing. I looked in vain all around the town but could not find the iceberg to account for the cold conditions.
We drove down the mountains into the wine producing area known as the Yarra Valley.
First stop was at an impressive winery called TarraWarra Estate Winery.
http://www.tarrawarra.com.au/ This winery boasts an impressive group of buildings, including a museum/art gallery. The buildings are made from pressed earth giving an appearance of sandstone. Wine tasting at the underground bunker- like Cellar Door starts at $5 for a splash taste of 5 different wines.
A little rich for our blood as is the price of wines in the bottle being around $50.
The art gallery was free entry as was entry to all the grounds. The vineyards are neat and well cared for.
The art gallery was huge with this months displays all being photographs – enlarged of course and with some tricky manipulation none of which appealed to me.
The lavish dining room had a menu to match. Lunch was $60 per person for a two course meal. That was also more than we wanted to spend for lunch but a great many people were enjoying themselves in the dining room.
We drove to Healesville and had a look around this old town reportedly the centre of the Yarra Valley Wine Region. We stopped to look at what may have been a car boot sale or perhaps a Sunday Markets. I am not sure what it was called but after looking at the ancient handicrafts and old junk from backyard sheds and garages I was ready to leave after a few minutes. Next stop was the Grand Hotel.
Often referred to as the “Grand Old Lady” we thought it may have been nice to have lunch but it was crowded, noisy and a burger cost $24.
We found a nice Chinese Restaurant which had lunch specials for $12.
After lunch we visited another grand winery, The Rochford. They also charge $5 a head for a taste of 5 different wines. The man who served us the 5 “tastes” regaled us with stories of grape varieties, bouquet, body etc etc etc.
He also commented how this winery did not send much of its produce to other states such as NSW and Queensland whereas wine makers in the Hunter region of NSW and Barossa Valley in SA are more well known interstate and overseas. He said this with a certain amount of disdain for the wines outside the Yarra Valley. This winery was tidy and the grape vines well tended but was simply not as much in the impressive category as TarraWarra.
We next stopped at the RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) https://www.racv.com.au/travel-leisure/racv-club/healesville.html a semi exclusive golf course with lots of pamper. I say semi exclusive as we just drove in, parked and walked around.
Still on our way back to Kinglake we took a back road passing through a small village called Toolangi where we stopped at the huge timber Forest Discovery Centre.
Nearby there is a 45 minute sculpture walk through the forest.
What we have noticed in our drives are the number of locations marked as CFA (Country Fire Authority) water storage point. I guess the logic is if you are fighting a fire in a rural area you need to know where water is available.
Whew! Another long day. Thank goodness it was not heatwave conditions like yesterday.
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