Fitzroy Gardens

The Fitzroy gardens The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) Valued for their historic, aesthetic, architectural and horticultural significance; the Fitzroy Gardens were classified by the National Trust in 1974 and placed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1999. The gardens were initially designed by Clement Hodgkinson and planted by park gardener, James Sinclair, as a dense woodland with meandering avenues. The land originally had been swampy with a creek draining into the Yarra River. Originally set aside as a reserve in 1848, the gardens derived their name from Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy, Governor of New South Wales (1846 - 1851) and Governor-General of the Australian Colonies (1851 - 1855).

Conservatory

Another feature of the gardens is the Conservatory (1930), housing magnificent indoor floral displays that are changed five times each year, Today it was a Hydrangea & Fushia display. It looked gorgeous.

We ate lunch at the Pavillion Cafe. I recommend it for a lovely day out.

Queen Victoria Market

We went to the Victoria Market to buy fruit and vegies for Xmas.
The QBE is the oldest and largest market in the southern hemisphere. The Market is a major Melbourne tourist destination, offering a variety of fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood, gourmet and deli foods as well as specialty delicacies.
It also has a large non-food related market, selling a diverse range of clothing, shoes, jewellery
and handmade art and crafts.
Did you know the site it now stands on use to be a cemetary and although they did reinterned bodies there are still approx 9,000 people buried under the sheds and carpark of the market.
The market was once known as a thriving underground pirated goods centre. A massive crackdown in 1997 has helped to clean up the market's image, but has also resulted in an increase in prices for these types of goods.
We love the atmosphere and the diversity of the market that is why we come here.

Four Mile Creek

Four Mile Creek is on the East Coast of Tassie. It took us about 1 and a half hours to drive there. We went through St Mary's and stopped to get the necessary alcohol. Then continued on through the harrowing St Mary's Pass. Finally we arrive at this tiny and I mean tiny settlement of about 30 homes (no milkbar) to be greeted by our friends and hosts the Jensens.
We spent 5 days there exploring the area. Billabong Bay, Bay of Fires, St Helens etc. The weather was a lovely 23 degrees and it rained only once in the morning by the afternoon it was fine and sunny. We went over the Elephant pass to have lunch at the pancake barn there. That was sweet. Had a dinner in St Mary's Pub and Evandale Pub. Great meals. Finally came home Tuesday.

The only downer to the trip was on the way to we sat on the runway for 2 and half hours because of a faulty something then on the way back our morning flight was cancelled and they put us on an evening flight. 10 hours in Lauceston airport is enough to drive you potty!
Thanks John & Debbie for a relaxing and fun holiday.

Italy

After 2 years of planning , we finally went to Italy to see where Ang was born, meet his relatives and look at the sights. Maybe learn a little of the ancient culture. We went with 2 of our children and one of their partners. Unfortunatly due to a family death we had to come home only after being there 2 weeks. However over those 2 weeks we had a great time. We managed to go to Rome. Siracusa, Floridia. and Florence.

Echuca

Well it has been a while since I've written here. Since my last post I have left my travelling job and returned to teaching. I still continue to travel but only during the school holidays.

This September We went to Echuca./Moama. We actually stayed in a motel in Moama but spent most of the day walking around Echuca and looking at the sites. We went on a paddle steamer. It was great to see the water so high and greenery everywhere.

As always the port was fantastic and I love strolling along it. We had devonshire stea in the Wisteria Cottage by an open fire. Just lovely.

On the way home we went via Bendigo where we went to the art gallery and also visited the Catholic Cathedral Sacred Heart. The stained galss windows were just lovely.

They had just finished evening prayers there and the scent of the incense wa still woffting through the air. It brought back memories of back at old St Pius in West Heidelberg.

HALLS GAP

I went to Halls Gap this week. Ang came along too. While I was working Ang went golphing.

Halls Gap is located on the floor of the picturesque Fyans Valley, 250 metres above sea-level. By road it is 251 km north-west of Melbourne via Ararat. It is essentially a tourist village at the eastern edge of Grampians National Park - one of the state's most outstanding natural features and a major destination for holidaymakers and bushwalkers.

Unfortunately the day we went there the weather was terrible, rain and hail and a terrible wind storm and of course freezing cold. The next day however was lovely and Ang had a great golf day.The drive home was relaxing looking out at the scenary.

Barmera & Loxton North

Last week I went to scho0ls in Barmera & Loxton Nth district. Barmera is on the Sturt Highway past the Barossa & Clare Valley. So the driving was quite enjoyable. However it took me 4 hours to get there as the traffic in Adelaide was fairly heavy and they were doing roadworks pretty much up to Truro.

Barmera is part of the Riverina. I travelled over the Murray many times to get to the various towns. Besides wine, the area is of course famous for its fruit especially citrus fruit.

I stayed at the Barmera Hotel. The staff were very nice and I was surprised as to how the hotel was busy even early in the week. My room overlooked Bonney Lake

To get to Loxton Nth I travelled through Berry. Again that was a pleasant drive and because it had rained recently it was quite green all around. The fruit trees were beginning to blossom.

I was worrried I was not going to make my 3:30 plane so I rushed a bit getting home. I hope I don't receive any speeding tickets!

Balaklava Yorke Peninsula

Last week I visited Balaklava Primary School on the Yorke Peninsula. Balaklava is a delightful historical town well worth a visit.

It's history began in 1849, Balaklava began as a stopping point for Bullock Trains, which traversed the Gulf Road from the Burra Burra copper mines to Port Wakefield. In 1870 the first large grain stores were built by an Adelaide Grain Merchant, Charles Fisher, opening up the area to farmers. The town was surveyed in 1877 and named after the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War.
Balaklava today is one of the main agricultural townships in the Yorke Peninisula area. It took me about an hour and half to travel there. The country side is quite flat but surprising green compared to other parts of South Australia considering the drought. The township has a lot of lovely buildings but I was most impressed by a mural I found on a children's playground/garden situated at the entrance to the town.
The garden and mural situated at the entrance to the Balaklava Community Library was created in memory of the late Des Ross AM in recognition of his remarkable leadership and service to his community, state and nation. The mural depicts the town community and is very interesting to look at. The mural was made from tiles depicting building and scenes of the community. The one representing the local school is of a teacher giving a history lesson. The flooring was made from individual tiles painted by the people of Balakalva. I had a delightful day working with the teachers at the local Primary school and a most enjoyable trip home.

Perth to Victor Harbour

Been extremely busy since Townsville. Had an opportunity to go to Perth for a staff meeting . It was great because I got to catch up with our other trainers and catch up with the goss. We also had a visiting techo from Atlanta, USA to discuss the finer points of the polyvision board. Unfortunately we had a little too much merriment after work at the various pubs we took our visitor too. The photo above is from my hotel overlooking the outer suburbs of Perth.

Last week I flew to South Australia and drove to Mt Compass. I arrived early so I decided to continue on to Victor harbour. Quite a nice little spot. One can see they are starting to develop it for tourists and possibly retirement residents.

The drive down there was lovely. Adelaide has had a fair bit of rain so all the fields were green.

On the way back from Victor Harbour I stopped at a look out just as I was entering Mount Compass and took these pictures. I was lucky that I stayed with a teacher from Mt Compass Area school. They had a great house and were excellent hosts. They told me that Mout Compass is the wettest area in South Australia. They never need to water their gardens and have never been on water restrictions.

Townsville

I went to Townsville at the beginning of April. I visited two High Schools and met a dealer. I also went to a corporate group to show them how to use the Easiteach software. As usual I suffered from the heat and was glad when I arrived at my hotel to find a fine working airconditioner.

Townsville is in Queensland, Nth of Brisbane and south of Cairns.

What I did like about Townsville were the mountains that surrounded the city everywhere you looked.

I had a pleasent walk along the beach and the people were friendly.

I found lots of typical Queensland houses dotted around the place. They look lovely and cool inside.

Townsville! Not bad I say.