Freycinet

We visited Freycinet National Park early this week.  Here's a view from Coles Bay, the main resort town just outside the park.

A wallaby working the crowd at the Wineglass Bay carpark.  We hiked a bit of the way up toward the viewpoint, but there are over 600 steep steps; we made it to 50 and declared unanimously that was enough.  The rigors of old age.

Although it's almost on the other side of the world, Freycinet has something in common with Acadia National Park in Maine...pink granite!

Pink shoreline with gums growing out of the rock.

Pink granite rules!

Rugged coast in Freycinet.

Cape Tourville Lighthouse

A Mellow, Beautiful Island

We stayed two days in a cozy beach house on Bruny Island, just off the coast of...the island of Tasmania.  Even on a weekend Bruny was quiet...there are only 600-odd permanent residents.  There are fine beaches and pleasant bushland.  Also at least one winery and a distillery!

A tranquil morning on Bruny.  This path started just a few hundred metres from our house.

Bushland on a gray morning.

A secluded beach near Cape Bruny.

The Cape Bruny lighthouse.  It's been around for over 150 years, and has endured many nasty storms.  The last lightkeeper left only about 30 years ago.

Coastline at 43 degrees south.

The beach near Adventure Bay, on the east side of the island.

An oystercatcher patrols the sand.

Sunset from our house.  The wind blew relentlessly most of the time we were there, but abated this evening.

Almost dark...and completely tranquil.

The Lizards hangin' out on our verandah near the marina.

A distant view of our house...it's beyond the red roofed building near the shoreline.  Blow the pic up for a better look.

Bruny Island ferry arriving.

Farewell, Bruny.  As usual we didn't stay long enough...3-4 days would have been better than two.  We still managed to shift onto island time.  Bought some fine single malt whiskey from a tasting room there, and we scored several bottles of locally grown wine.  I'm relaxing just thinking about the place.

Hobart and MONA

The freeway bridge over the River Derwent, just east of Hobart.

Waterfront suburbs of Hobart.

This cement mixer is at MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art.  It's made of iron similar to that used in the neat grillwork on homes in places such as New Orleans and St Kilda.

Massive iron sculpture.

The lettering here is projected onto a manufactured waterfall.  The words come from current news feeds and change according to the headliners.  Unique!

Art from MONA.  

The colors and spires here reminded me of Bryce Canyon.

Japanese fighting Russians, I think.

The Brits are having it out against the WWI Germans in pickelhauben.

Continuing the antiwar theme, these machine guns are sculpted from found objects.  

Folks.

Skyline.

Funky trees.  No doubt inspired by real ones of similar shape.

Kittens at tea.  This model dates from the 1890s.  There is a macabre note here...the kittens are real, taxidermied specimens.  MONA is unconventional, but the art makes you think...and I reckon that's as good a definition as any of good art.

Another word from the water wall.  The words change every second or two.

The US Coast Guard was visiting Hobart.

A bright day in the harbor.

The restored waterfront warehouses at Sullivans Cove.  Originally built in the mid 1800s, they're now hotels, boutiques, and restaurants.  The Drunken Admiral serves up great seafood!  We stayed in a swish apartment just a few metres inland.

Sporting Oz

We went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the premiers sporting venue in Australia.  Sport has been played here since 1863.  The much modernized facility now holds about 80 thousand spectators.  There are statues of notable Australian sports heroes around the ground.  I believe this one is of Shane Warne, an alltime great spin bowler.  We went to the Australian museum of Sport inside the MCG.  Among the many fine exhibits was a virtual reality of Warnie narrating highlights of his career...very cool!  Artifacts included Cadel Evans' Tour de France winning bicycle; Cathy Freeman's chic track suit from the 2000 Sydney Olympics; and Sir Donald Bradman's baggy green cap that he wore during test matches.  All good.

The MCG.  We ate lunch at a nice café on the grounds, overlooking the cricket pitch.  They were preparing it for the Sheffield Shield matches.

This is the house where Captain Cook grew up.  It was dismantled, shipped to Melbourne, and reassembled brick by brick here in 1932.

A fine old Melbourne Hotel.  The Windsor, I believe.

The MCG from a bridge over the River Yarra.

Downtown Melbourne.

Rod Laver, in front of his arena.  This is the main venue of the Australian Open, and Roger Federer won his 20th Grand Slam title here three weeks ago.  Meanwhile, the Rocket, going on 80, is still going strong and attends the majors.

A fine Antipodean City

I am back in Australia...a five year absence was far too long.  And I returned to Melbourne...for the first time since 1997.  It impressed me then as a progressive city...most people seemed to have cell phones at a time when they were still uncommon in the US.  And it's marched on, and shows a handsome skyline from the seaside suburb of St Kilda.

A forest of masts and skyscrapers.

A dog and rabbit enjoying a cuppa on the shoreline promenade at St Kilda.

Cindy celebrating at Luna Park...a Melbourne institution since 1912.  The park was closed on this day...except for a private party...but on a summer weekend in 1997 the suburb was teeming with locals.  The white Australians were sunbaking on the beach in skimpy cossies.  That wasn't acceptable to the Muslims, of course, but they were all in Luna Park doing the rides and having a grand time...at least as much fun as the sunbakers.

There's an old concert hall called the Palais next to Luna Park, and it draws distinguished acts.

A tram rumbles through St Kilda.  We got MYKI cards and easily moved about the city from our swish apartment in Fitzroy.

St Kilda has some wonderful iron grillwork in the old Victorian homes...similar to those in the Paddington district of Sydney and the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Two trams on the main drag of St Kilda.

Our home district of Fitzroy is a funky mix of artists, hippies, and hipsters.  Creative graffiti abounds.