Back in the Land Down Under

Saavuimme Melbourneen keskiyöllä kahdeksan tunnin lennon jälkeen. Kerrankin maahantuloprosessi oli kivuton, vaikka laitettiin meidät sentään huumekoirien haisteltaviksi. Taivaalla loisti tuttu Southern Cross -tähtikuvio, kun ajelimme tyhjillä moottoriteillä kohti Melbournen esikaupunkialueita. Tuntui kuin ei oltaisi juuri poissa oltukaan (täällä siis venähti pitkälti vuodet 2009-10).

Nukuksimme siis Rohanin perheen nurkissa, ja aika meni sukuloidessa. Rohan on puoliksi italialainen, joten sitä sukua myös riittää. Poskia on saanut pussailla sen verran, että juro suomalainenkin oppii tavoille. 

Australia Day picnic

Kengät jalassa sisällä talossa tepastelu tuntui väärältä. Outoa oli myös juoda pitkästä aikaa hanavettä. Öisin opossumit möykkäsivät talon katolla. Vaikka ulkona on helle, sisällä palelee. Kylmien talojen lisäksi liikenneruuhkia ja pitkiä välimatkoja ei ollut ikävä. Koko ajan meitä hellittiin Melbournessa +35 asteen helteillä, mutta saimme kokea myös Melbournen kuuluisat neljä vuodenaikaa yhdessä päivässä.

Muutamia päiviä vietimme Gippslandin maaseudulla, jossa Rohanin äidillä on maatila. Kaukana kaupunkien valoista näkyi taas se uskomaton tähtitaivas, mitä Suomessa tuli ikävä. Täällä Gippslandin alueella asuu muuten jättiläismatoja, jotka voivat kasvaa yli 3 metrin pituisiksi...

Night Market

Mitä odotin eniten paluulta? Food, glorious food! Ahh, Melbournen ravintola- ja kahvilakulttuuri. Mellussa oli selkeästi massakausi. Sushijunia, halpoja sushirullia, Victoria Streetin vietnamilaista, Chinatownin kinkkiä, Lygon Streetin italialaista. Raflavinkkinä pakko hehkuttaa trendikuppila ChiChi:tä, jossa meille tarjoiltiin seitsemän kielen mennessään vievää vietnamilais-thaikkuruokalajia. Parina keskiviikkoiltana kävimme Night Marketilla juomassa sangriaa, maistelemassa herkkuja ympäri maailmaa ja kuuntelemassa livemusiikkia.

Kävimme myös tsekkaamassa Roxetten konsertin Rod Laver Arenalla. Mahtia!

Kaupassa tuoreiden vihanneksien paljous sokaisee. Ausseissa ei eineksiä syödä. Ja joka kerta etsin tietysti turhaan hedelmävaakaa. Grillausta (sekä ihon että ruoan) ja piknikkejä, niistä on Mellun kesä tehty! Vastapainoksi rehkittiin salilla. Kaiken tämän keskellä unohdimme organisoida alkavaa reissua, kevyttä 25 000 kilometrin road trippiä Australian ympäri. Jatketaan siitä ensi kerralla!

Last Weeks in Melbourne

I had one month in Melbourne before going home. I had a nasty surprise waiting for me when I got home, as the chick I rented my apartment to while I was gone had trashed it, stolen a lot of my stuff and taken off. Winter was on it's way and the weather was getting chilly. Rohan spent a couple of weeks with me before going on his big trip. We did a lot of touristy things that I still hadn't got around to doing during my time in Melbourne. We visited the Old Melbourne Gaol. 

We also got a little taste of what it is like to be arrested and locked up in the City Watch House. I was a happy prisoner! 

I got a little taste of where I belong...

The infamous bushranger Ned Kelly among dozens of others were hanged here. The gaol was very intriguing and also a little bit creepy when you think of all the lunatics and killers who have stayed there. Definitely a must-see in Melbourne!

We also went to an Aussie Rules footy match at Etihad Stadium. Melbourne is all about the footy at this time of year, so you have to go and experience it. The atmosphere was fun and of course I had the hat and the scarf. No idea who was playing, but I think we won!

There is a place where you can go ice-skating in Melbourne so of course I had to take Rohan, who had never been on skates before.

We visited the Melbourne Museum as well, and wandered around discovering the street art in the maze of the Melbourne laneways. 

After a couple of weeks Rohan left on his big trip and I stayed in Melbourne. The last two weeks I felt stressed, sad and wistful. I knew it wouldn't take long before I would be missing Melbourne again, but at the moment I felt like it was time to go home. At least for a visit. 

Before going home, however, I somehow found myself in the middle of the hectic but beautiful VIETNAM!? Stay tuned!

Back to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road

The next day we visited Rohan's sister in Warrnambool. Warrnambool is a lovely small town on the water. It is situated on the south-west coast of Victoria, near the western end of the Great Ocean Road. It is known for whale watching from June to September. Southern Right whales swim only a hundred meters from the beach. You can also see seals and dolphins. We went for a walk to see the beautiful coastline.

We drove through the Great Ocean Road quite quickly and didn't stop to see everything this time. The road was as winding as I remembered. The first stop was the Bay of Islands that really takes your breath away. Pictures don't really do justice, and that is why I have a video for you people (below)!

Loch Ard Gorge is my favourite place on the Great Ocean Road. It was named after one of the most infamous shipwrecks in the area. 52 people were killed and only two miraculously survived. Tom was washed into the Loch Ard Gorge and saved Eva, who couldn't swim. The story is tragic but really fascinating.

The 12 Apostles was as packed with tourists as usual. 

The Great Ocean Road is one of the things you shouldn't miss when you travel to Melbourne. But one or two days on the road is not enough. I've been there twice now but still there are places that I haven't seen and would like to go back to. Rainforests, beaches, holiday towns, wildlife, not to mention the stunning coastline. 

The same day we were back in Melbourne. After two months on the road it felt really strange to be home, although I did enjoy the relative warmth of my apartment. Melbourne was getting ready for winter and I had to start preparing for leaving Australia, my second home.

Anna in Wonderland - The Grampians part II

We spent two days in the Grampians. Spectacular cliffs, weird rock formations, lots of wildlife, waterfalls, lakes, forests, beautiful walks...

The second day we did the Wonderland walk around the Pinnacle lookout (below). The walk was long, around 10 km but the views over Halls Gap were absolutely breathtaking!

It was sunny but the weather was really chilly so I had to borrow Rohan's clothes to stay warm. After all, I had only packed tiny clothes for the tropical weather of Queensland! The next night I was shivering from cold the whole night despite wearing 5 LAYERS of clothes!

The morning before we left we saw a pack of kangaroos and emus by a lake. One of the kangaroos had a baby joey in her pouch.

Katso kenguru loikkii... Did you know that kangaroos use their tails as an extra leg? And they can't move backwards!

The Grampians were impressive and I could have spent more time there, at least if I had had some warm clothes with me. But it was time to move on, back to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road!

Anna in Wonderland - The Grampians part I

The Grampians is a series of mountain ranges 235 km west of Melbourne. Yes, we were getting closer to home. And it was getting really cold, too! We arrived during sunset and saw heaps of kangaroos.

The next day we started exploring. First we went to see the MacKenzie Falls. 

After that we did some walks and saw some amazing scenery.... 

Space to breathe!

More pics coming up soon!

Mi casa

Finally.... A couple of pics of my dwelling in Melbourne. 7th floor, 5 minute walk to the city centre. Quite a new building, for students, smells Asian. Features a tiny balcony, tv, double bed, laundry, microwave, toaster, all the pots and pans you might need, a desk, wardrobe, lamps and a chair. 

View from the balcony

It was really hard to find a studio in Australia because most people live in share houses, there aren't many studios around and the demand is huge. So I was very lucky to get this one. Although now that I don't share with anybody I kind of miss the company of others...

What's hot in Melbourne Summer

Just when I thought summer was starting to be over, it's been HOT AS again for the whole week!

1. Festivals

There is always a festival! Heaps of music festivals during the summer such as Future, Good Vibes, Raggamuffin, Soundwave and Big Day Out. At the moment there are Melbourne food & wine festival and Brunswick music festival going on with comedy festival coming up! There are heaps of different events and concerts too.

Placebo playing @ Soundwave

2. Live music

Live music is very popular throughout the year. Many bars and pubs have often really good cover bands and those are often the best nights out...

Great cover band at Crown Casino

3. Street art and performances

There are heaps of people singing, painting, beatboxing, drawing, pretending to be a statue, playing didgeridoo or bongos, dancing, anything to get people's attention and a few bucks in the city.

4. Jogging along the Yarra river or at the Royal Botanical Gardens

A fun alternative is to buy a cask of wine and go for a 'picnic' along the river and watch people jog! :)

5. Sunbaking

There are beaches after beaches along the coast if you drive away from the city centre. The most popular is St Kilda beach, which is however definitely not the best one with heaps of tourists and jellyfish.The further away you go from the city, the better the beaches get.

6. Afternoon nap at a park

7. Eating out

Heaps and heaps of restaurants for all tastes from all parts of the world.

Christmas Down Under

Christmas Down Under seems to have all the glitter and tinsel of an American Christmas; Streets, shops and homes are full of decorations and plastic Christmas trees. Christmas lighting is taken to extraordinary lengths by some ordinary households, too. Christmas starts early like in Finland, and the closer it gets to Christmas the crazier the razzmatazz gets. Christmas in Australia is their summer holiday season and the hottest time of the year, so we're just dreaming of White Christmas here.

 

 

Christmas tree is picked up and decorated early, too. Australians are not very religious people, but some families do attend the midnight mass. However, more families go to Carols by Candlelight, an outside concert where people sit on blankets, light candles and sing carols. 

Carols by Candlelight

Christmas seems to be a big thing here as well and it is spent with family. Extended family. All the aunties and uncles and cousins and friends and everybody. Christmas Dinner is often a barbeque on the backyard. The big day here is Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve, and presents are unwrapped on Christmas Day when the kids wake up at dawn.

 

The Christmas spit

The Christmas sales start on Boxing Day. Early in the morning there were massive lines outside Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Myer and such. I had no desire whatsoever to go shopping that day and fight with 100,000 other people over a pair of socks that's a little bit cheaper than normally or line hours to try on clothes. Crazy.

To me it didn’t really feel like Christmas this year with just +39 degrees on the eve of Christmas Eve. Although I enjoy the heat, I really missed snow and the darkness and the atmosphere of a REAL (Finnish) Christmas.

Tomorrow morning at 5 am we’re off to Sydney to spend New Years, a modest 10-hour-drive.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!