AUSTRALIA 2002
And
Lisa McCabe-Paul Tucker Wedding
March 19 to April 15

Useful Links
 Coester Homepage

Our Australia Photo Pages
 Sydney Photos
 Blue Mountain Photos
 The Wedding Photos
 Koala Photos
 Grampians National Park Photos
 Yarra Valley Photos
 Phillip Island Photos

    First let's begin with a little geography lesson.  Saying we visited Australia is almost exctly like saying someone visited the United States. Australia and the U.S. are almost exactly the same size-huge.  We visited Sydney in New South Wales and Melbourne in Victoria as shown on the above map.  All of the other areas we visited were within about two hundred kilometers of those cities.  So we've seen almost nothing of Australia even though we were continually on the go for almost four weeks.

    The parts we saw were so different yet so much the same as here at home.  McDonalds were everywhere.  We recognised all of the brand names.  The people were the same except they had a hard time understanding our accents and vice versa.  They drive on the wrong side of the road which caused me a bit of trouble at first but which I overcame in my couple of thousand kilometers of driving both stick and automatic cars.  They play a really cool game called Australian Rules Football or Footie.  Lots of nonstop action, large crowds and loads of fun.  We attended a game in Melbourne.  I won't explain the game (only a couple of rules) but the field is over twice the size of an American football field!  The mountains and national parks could have been in Utah, Colorado or California except for the unique Australian wildlife of kangaroos, wallabees, koalas, kookaburras, wambats and such.  The food was uniformly fantastic, particularly the seafood, and the wines and beer were marvelous.  Prices really benefit Americans since the Aussie dollar is only fifty-three cents U.S.  A really lovely country from A to Z.  No wonder they call it OZ.

    The trip to Australia is the hard part. Five hours from Florida to Los Angeles, a few more waiting around airports, and then fifteen hours from LAX to Sydney.  Fortunately we got Business Class tickets from our perk of being a UAL employee's parents.  Unfortunately something I ate gave me a wicked upset tummy so I couldn't rest much the whole flight.  We took a taxi to The Rocks section of Sydney to our hotel, the Quay West.  Our tenth floor apartment  had a panoramic view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. It was raining cats and dogs but we went for a quick walk to the harbor for our first grate seafood platter anyway.  Late that evening Barbara came in from the U.K.  Barbara is Yvonne's (and mine) dear friend and the mother of the bride.

    We spent four days touring Sydney and using their fabulous ferry system. We walked the harbor and Royal Botanical Gardens which has great harbor views and enormous fruit bats hanging in the trees. Then took the ferry to Manly Beach for good views of the South Pacific, cliffs and topless girls.  Other highlights were the Maritime Museum and Northwest Territories Exhibit  where we learned about the aborigines and the didgeridoo at Darling Harbor.  By chance Australia's premier didgeridoo player was at the Exhibit while we were.  Then a ferry to Watsons Bay over on the coast where we ate at Doyles Restaurant which has been in continuous use since early 1800s.

 Next we headed for the Blue Mountains and a lovely hotel named Lilianfels located right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the national park.  Since I had about zero wrong side driving experience, Barbara got us out of the city and to the Blue Mountains. Once there I did the rest of the driving.  Virtually no traffic to contend with. We hiked about four km on the Katoomba Trail over to the aerial tram and the scenic railroad. Rode on each. The railway used to be used to haul up mining buckets and is the steepest railway in Australia or the world or something. It is hauled by cable and counterweights down a steep canyon. Next day another couple of hour hike to Wentworth Falls.  Late in the afternoon we went fourwheeling with another Steve from Cool Safaris. He took us to a magnificent rock formation called The Lost City down a hairy trail.  We also saw our first wallabbes and kangaroos with Cool Steve. Just as we arrived at the hotel the skys opened up and it poured for twenty-four hours.  The next day since the weather was lousy I drove about 100 km to the Janolan Caves where we toured a big cavern and listened to excellent singers (tourists) sing in a big room.  This and the next day were the only serious rain we had the whole trip.   We viewed a movie called The Edge, an ecological film about the Blue Mountains and how we are destroying it. Steve hiked all that afternoon in the rain. At least it was a warm rain.  Once you accept being completely soaked it is fun acting like a child again.  Finally we walked a long way to Leura where the ladies pooped out but Steve picked up a girlfriend named Pamela and continued to the Cascades. Worth the hike.  Life at Lilianfels was quite civilized. They had a fantastic spa, high tea in the afternoon, a couple of  dinners that we actually dressed for (coat and tie) with live music, and a computer center so I could
keep up with my email.

On March 30 it was drizzly and foggy but I drove us back to Sydney for our flight to Melbourne.  It is just a one hour hop and Paul met us at the airport to go his and Lisa's new home in Sunbury a Melbourne suburb.  Nicky, Lisa's sister and husband Ben arrived that day also from the U.K.  You'll see in the photos that they have a beautiful place with room for all of us. Sunday we dropped by the vineyard where the wedding would be held and then went into Melbourne for a football game. Yvonne didn't want to go being the epitomy of a non sports fan, but she loved it. We had a blast .  After the game went to Melbourne Harbor for a fancy dinner at Donovans.

Then into two cars for the two and a half hour drive to Grampians National Park and the Marwood Villas.  The Marwood is really a lover's hideaway five star style.  Hot tubs in each room, complete privacy. We took over four of the six villas. Every morning we had up to nineteen kangaroos on the front yard along with rabitts and foxes. and each evening the kookaburras would make a photo appearance.  It would have been perfect if the sadists we were with wouldn't have made us hike so much.  While the two younger couples took a nine km hike, Barbara, Yvonne and I hiked to the Pinnacles a 4 km walk all up hill. The photos show it better than I can describe it, but it was a real accomplishment for Yvonne and Barbara who prefer level groomed walks.  They were so proud after completing it.  That afternoon we drove 15km to McKensie Falls where only I had the energy left to climb the many stairs to the Falls.  McKensie Falls is a perfectly beautiful spot with the falls, a basin beneath and greenery all around.  Again look at the photos.  The next day we all returned so the other wimps could see the Falls.  One day Paul spotted a koala up a tree near Marwood.  They are really hard to spot. We all loved looking at it and trying to get a good photo.  Included is a page of koala photos but these were all taken at two sanctuaries.  I hiked by myself back up to the Pinnacles because I thought it was such a great hike.  There I met Patricia and her boyfriend who were traveling for six months from Switzerland.  I hiked all of the way back to Halls Gap, four km with them. A nice couple.

    We drove back to Melbourne on April 5 to get Lisa and Paul ready for the wedding.  They were the two most relaxed people in the group.  That evening Barbara hosted fourteen people at a nice Italian restaurant for a prewedding dinner.  All of the attendees had flown over from the U.K. or U.S. for the wedding.  We met up with some old aquaintances that we had met in England and found several other nice new friends.  Saturday was the big event.  At 3 pm a bus picked us up at the house and then went to the motel where the rest of the sixty guests were staying and on  for the short ride to the wedding.  The weather was perfect for the outdoor wedding at the local Goonawarra vineyard.  Chairs were set up in a  pleasant garden facing a small gazebo.  I escorted Barbara to her place of honor and the assumed my duties of unofficial photographer using Nicky's 35 mm camera. Yvonne did the video (which turned out to look professional!).  Ben gave the bride away and Nicky was the bridesmaid.  Lisa never stopped smiling for hours and hours.  It was a wonderful ceremony with three readings that reflected Lisa and Paul's love for each other.  Champagne was served outside while photos were taken and then into the main building, a converted church I think, for a candlelight dinner.  After speeches by Ben, Paul, Michael and Lisa, dancing commenced until midnight. the cake was cut and we returned home by coach.  The bride and groom were supposed to sneak out at 1130 but were having such a great time that they stayed to be the last to leave.
    Sunday a catered barbeque was held at the newlywed's home for all of the wedding guests.  This casual event let everyone get to know one another and greet the couple in a relaxed setting. the caterers did a fantastic job with lots of entres and at least five main dishes. Lots of Australian beer and wine flowed once again.

    No rest for the weary!  Monday morning we were back on the road again headed for the Yarra Valley about two hours northeast of Melbourne.  This time we had three cars since Nicky and Ben were leaving us after Yarra Valley for a few days on their own.  I felt like a sixteen year old with my own car after being chauffered for the previous couple of weeks.  I got us lost driving through Melbourne but after seeing more of the city than we wanted we made it to the Araluen Lodge about an hour later than planned.  The McCabes know how to pick accomodations. Araluen's back yard abutts the Kinglake National Park and is a beautiful facility with generous hosts, Gretha and Tim Edwards.  The Yarra Valley is a district of rolling hills known as a center of winemaking, cattle and horses.  It is surrounded by national parks.  A very relaxing setting.  After settling in Yvonne and I took a drive over to Healesvile and Marysville along the Black Spur, a winding road that climbs up the mountain through a forest of the tallest and straightest trees I've ever seen.  At Marysville we visited Steavensons Falls one of the tallest in Australia.
    The next morning Yvonne and I were awake early so at 0600 we went for a drive up a one lane gravel road into Kinglake Nat'l Park.  Along the way we saw hundreds of cockatoos and seven kangaroos along with several red and green parrots.  The road was cut into a steep mountain with a sheer dropoff a foot from the wheels or so it seemed.  Later we went back toward Healesville and visited Badger Wier where we took a km walk and down to The Rainforest, a rather touristy disappointing short hike showing the ecology of the rainforest.  The drive down there was even worse than the early morning one.  The road was almost nonexistant and in long stretches I have no idea what I would have done if a car came from the opposite direction.  There was absolutely no room to pass and only a thousand foot drop to the side.
    We drove an easier route back to the Healesville Sanctuary where they have many Australian species. We spent hours observing the koalas.  They are so appealing. See photos.  Also watched a Birds of Prey demonstration with several different Australian eagles, hawks and vultures.  Avoided the enclosed kangaroos since we saw so many in the wild.
    Another early morning.  Up before dawn to go ballooning with Global Ballooning.  I had been before but this was a first for Yvonne.  The photos show it better than I could describe, but all seven of us had a great time floating over the Valley in fine weather with visibility all the way to the south coast beyond Melbourne.  Immediately upon returning from our champagne breakfast we were picked up by a van for a winetasting tour. Everyone but me enjoyed it, but to me they all begin to taste the same.  So after a lunch (champagne of course) I begged off and was returned to the Lodge while the rest continued tasting and tasting and tasting.  Instead I took a two hour hike up into the national park where I saw a few wallabees and more cockatoos. I was also attacked by wild dogs, one a poodle and one  little fluff ball. I managed to fend them off. I also saw some cute colts with their mothers in the pasture across from the lodge.

    Phillip Island is a fairly good sized island joined to the mainland by a causeway. It is located in the eastern part of the big bay you see below Melbourne on the map.  The drive down took about three hours and some was along a "tourist road" through another national park so the scenery was magnificent.  In one town we stopped at an enormous mall and were immediately timewarped back to America.  After "roughing" it (yeah right!) in the woods we suffered culture shock but we needed a few provisions, primarily another suitcase to bring home all of Yvonne's purchases and gifts.  We lodged at Abaleigh on Lovers Walk another four and a half star accomodation.  Here we had a house with four bedrooms sitting on the Bay an easy five minute walk to the town of Cowes.  The highlight of Phillip Island is the Penguin Parade. Each evening at sunset several hundred small penguins reurn to their burrow from their day of fishing in the ocean.  Crowds line up to see these adorable little creatures closeup.  Our night it was cold and foggy so it was hard to see them come out of the sea, but we got excellent views of them nearing their burrows.   The sunrises are spectacular for us early risers.  Seal Rocks gives spectacular views of rocks and surf.  I'll let the photos do the talking.
    Phillip Island also has a koala sanctuary in a completely natural setting. They had twenty-one koalas up in the gum trees which are hard to spot. I found ten and that rascal Paul spotted seventeen of them.
    A smaller island named Churchill Island shows how life was lived in the 1800s and is a lovely pastural setting. It was an enjoyable relaxing few hours.
    Yvonne and I took several long hikes along the sea cliffs enjoying the crashing seas hitting the rocks.  Phillip Island was totally different from our other locations being sea and surf rather than trees and mountains.  One day Barbara and we drove two hours over to Wilson Promatory National Park, the southernmost point of Australia.  The weather was not good that day so the spectacular views were muted.  I was taking photos of Yvonne and Barbara standing on a small rock when a wave crashed in over the rock soaking them to the knees.  Barbara was not amused!  We ended the trip with another fine barbeque prepared by the younger set.

    We went to the United counter full of confidence since as you know we had checked the flight from Melbourne to San Fran and it looked about half empty.  The counter clerk said, "Oh you probably won't get on the
flight since it is overbooked."  Apparently I had missed the subtlety that  the load I was looking at was just those boarding in Melbourne, not all the rest in Sydney.  We decided to go to Sydney at least since
that would get us out of your hair. We had Business seats there and were given Tourist boarding passes for the flight from Sydney to SFO.  So when we got to SYD we changed planes and reluctantly took our seats way
back in row 57 at least thankful we were on the plane.

    Then comes an announcement for all standby passengers to deboard the flight so we get off and mill around the terminal with about twenty others some who said the same thing had happened to them the previous
day.  Looked like we were staying in Australia for awhile.  Eventually they called out a bunch of names saying that those were the ones who would be getting a seat , all in Tourist, and we weren't called.

    Then they announced final boarding so I meandered up to the counter behind all of the happy gloating goers to see what help UAL was going to give us to rebook for the next day. They asked who I was and when I said
"Coester" they said, " Here's your tickets."  I was surprised to get tickets at all and they were the only two Business Class tickets in a completely full aircraft.. Boy were we pleased!  Bless Dean!!!!!!

    The rule is that if a standby is on a through connecting flight they take top boarding priority at the connecting airport (Sydney) and apparently that is what saved us and gave us the Business tickets.  I can only surmise that they were waiting until the very last moment to see if paying customers came for those last two seats.

    The flight was long but pleasant. Yvonne slept most of the way and I snoozed a little bit.  Food was awesome.  Much better than the flight to Australia when I had a sick stomach.

    In SFO we had four hours to fiddle around but were told we would definitely be on the plane to Orlando and ended up in Economy Plus with its extra leg room and an empty third seat, so that was just fine. And the Flight Attendents gave us free drinks. why I don't know unless we just looked that haggard.

    Well I guess everyone can see we had a full and eventful Australia trip.  We certainly enjoyed it!

Steve