My husband Abhishek, my brother Neeraj and I traveled to Australia for 2 weeks! Abhishek was presenting at a conference in Melbourne, and Neeraj and I tagged along to see the pretty country :)
The three of us flew from different parts of the world to rendezvous at Melbourne - Neeraj from India, me from Boston and Abhishek from Chicago! We spent the next two weeks exploring Melbourne, Sydney and surrounding areas. This blog post is to recount the gorgeous sights we saw, people we met and experiences we had!
The three of us flew from different parts of the world to rendezvous at Melbourne - Neeraj from India, me from Boston and Abhishek from Chicago! We spent the next two weeks exploring Melbourne, Sydney and surrounding areas. This blog post is to recount the gorgeous sights we saw, people we met and experiences we had!
Melbourne
Nimma attai, Sekhar attimber and Swetha received us at Melbourne, and we stayed with them during our week there. It was really nice to finally see their lovely home, and spend some time with them.
The first evening we were there we set off for Phillip Island to see the famous little penguins.
Before the penguin show we walked around at Nobbies Broadwalk, a really nice pathway along the Phillip Island coastline. The open sea spread out before us as far as the horizon!
Really like this picture of Swetha and me :)
The first evening we were there we set off for Phillip Island to see the famous little penguins.
Before the penguin show we walked around at Nobbies Broadwalk, a really nice pathway along the Phillip Island coastline. The open sea spread out before us as far as the horizon!
Really like this picture of Swetha and me :)
Once dusk set it, it was time for the world famous penguin show!
[Image from: http://www.visitmelbourneblog.com/ and www.visitphillipisland.com]
These little guys are out for food in the sea during the day and start returning back to their burrows on the shore after dusk. We were seated a little further away from the shore and asked to stay really quiet to avoid scaring them. Also, no pictures were allowed (hence borrowing from the web :D).
There were seagulls flying about on the shore, and kept flying close to these guys when they were coming out of the water. This seemed to scare the little penguins who kept ducking back into the water, and running out when there were no seagulls. I don't think the seagulls actually eat them, but they seemed to be scaring them nevertheless. It was really cute to watch!
There were seagulls flying about on the shore, and kept flying close to these guys when they were coming out of the water. This seemed to scare the little penguins who kept ducking back into the water, and running out when there were no seagulls. I don't think the seagulls actually eat them, but they seemed to be scaring them nevertheless. It was really cute to watch!
Great Ocean Drive
The next day we head out on the famous Great Ocean Drive. This road is a gorgeous stretch of 150 miles along Australia's south eastern coast. The road is actually a war memorial, constructed by veterans returned from World War 1.
We saw many pretty sights along the drive. Here we are at a beach along the drive (clearly overdressed!), and a lighthouse.
We saw many pretty sights along the drive. Here we are at a beach along the drive (clearly overdressed!), and a lighthouse.
The 12 Apostles is one of the major attractions along the Great Ocean Road. They are gigantic sandstone rock formations in the ocean. We had seen gorgeous pictures of them online before going, but we were still blown away when we actually got there! Nature's beauty far exceeds anything a human can make!
The coast along the Great Ocean Drive is made of limestone, and these formations came from sea water and wind eroding the coast, and carving out these formations. Water and wind continue to erode away these formations too, which causes them to collapse. Today there are only 7 apostles left, but as water works it's magic, there might be more in the future! I remember thinking that the road is awfully close to the coast - maybe they will have to move that in a couple of decades too!
The next couple of days we set about exploring Melbourne. Here are some pictures from the picturesque city.
It's a pretty city, didn't feel as crowded or big as bigger US cities like NY or San Francisco. It also seemed quite laid back.
We also got a chance to meet some old friends. Here, we're with Ashita a school friend I was meeting after almost 10 years. Ashita was talking about the laid back culture in Melbourne, saying she has seen signs on shops in downtown Melbourne saying "Too Hot! Gone home!" :D. I cannot imagine seeing such a sign either in India or US!
Also met Priya, but in all the chatting we forgot to take a picture. Neeraj also caught up with a bunch of old friends.
Grampians National Park
The next day we head out for Grampians National Park - a gorgeous national parks featuring great views and striking sandstone mountain ranges. The park is around 150 miles west of Melbourne. We were to stay at Grampians for 2 nights and 3 days.
The drive from Melbourne to Grampians was quite nice. When we started driving, Abhishek was a bit anxious about driving on the other side of the road, and Neeraj was a little anxious about driving so fast. With the combination of driving expertise slowly on the right side of the road (from India) and driving fast on the wrong side of the road (from US), we made our way slowly but surely towards Grampians :)
The drive was mostly open hilly country side all the way. There were plenty of animals on the hills grazing. This is a site you rarely see in the US, and I enjoyed looking it. Felt quite relaxing and nice.
We got to Grampians late in the evening. It was much chillier here than in Melbourne. We had booked a hotel at the park itself. Our hotel had an expansive lawn in the front, and there were quite a few kangaroos grazing. Was really cute to see!
The next morning we set of early to see the fabulous lookouts at Grampians. Here we are at the Boroka Lookout.
It was really a LONG WAY DOWN! One of the funniest comments I got on the picture of me and Abhishek was - Did you feel the sudden need to stretch? ;)
Another viewpoint - The Balconies - that blew our breadths away!
Can you spot me?
Can you spot me?
Our next stop was MacKenzie falls. The hike to the falls was around 1 mile each way, though with a steep incline. The falls itself were pretty, but perhaps a bit over-hyped.
Neeraj's picture looks straight out of a travel magazine ;)
Our next stop at Grampians was at the Australian Grand Canyon, which is much smaller than it's famous American namesake, but nonetheless pretty.
And last but not the least - Kangarooooos! They were quite unafraid, and were standing around quite close to the trail - must have been close to 20-30 of them. We even saw female kangaroos with their babies in the pouch, but they were further back. In fact, we were a little intimidated as we were the only ones on the trail, and their speed, strength and numbers were much greater than ours.
With our hearts full, we drove back to Melbourne. We spent the next morning at the ISKCON temple in Melbourne, which was a very nice experience. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Nimma Attai, Swetha and Sekhar Attimber as we took our flight to Sydney!
Blue Moutains
Our first stop in Sydney were the Blue Moutain, a mountainous region about 30 miles west of the city. The mountains are so named since they appear as if in a blue haze from a distance. The blueness comes from the the large population of Eucalyptus trees on the mountains, which release oils into the air. These oils refract light, and makes the haze look blue. And the very much looked that way, especially around sunset. We took this picture as we were driving up to the mountains. Don't they look blue?
The next day we set off to see the sights around Blue Mountains. Our first stop was the "Three Sisters". The Three Sisters are a unusual rock formation near Katoomba. Aborginal legend has it that these were three sisters from the Katoomba tribe which fell in love with three brothers of a rival Napean tribe. Tribal law forbade them to marry, but the brothers decided to whisk them away causing a war. A witch doctor then turned these girls to stone to protect them from harms way, intending to revert them back after the war. But he was killed in the war, and the three sisters are still in stone. Fancy store ain't it? Nevertheless, here are some images from this rock formation.
Jenolan Caves
We then set off to the see spectacular Jenolan Caves. The caves are located about 19miles west of Katoomba.
The Jenolan caves are one of the largest network of limestone caves in the world, covering about 25 miles along the subterranean Jenolan river with over 300 entrances. The are the world's oldest caves and the first caves were created almost 340 million years back! New caves continue to be formed today.
The Jenolan caves were formed by the underground Jenolan river. This entire area is made of soluble limestone. The underground river continues to dissolve this limestone slowly but surely, creating new caves and extending the cave network. The power of water never ceases to amaze. When we were visiting the Arches National Park in Utah in the US, water was actually leveling the arches (made of Navajo sandstone), and here water was creating new caves.
We did an afternoon tour at Jenolan and walked through the age old stalactites and stalagmites. The pictures don't do justice to this spectacular place. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
The Jenolan caves are one of the largest network of limestone caves in the world, covering about 25 miles along the subterranean Jenolan river with over 300 entrances. The are the world's oldest caves and the first caves were created almost 340 million years back! New caves continue to be formed today.
The Jenolan caves were formed by the underground Jenolan river. This entire area is made of soluble limestone. The underground river continues to dissolve this limestone slowly but surely, creating new caves and extending the cave network. The power of water never ceases to amaze. When we were visiting the Arches National Park in Utah in the US, water was actually leveling the arches (made of Navajo sandstone), and here water was creating new caves.
We did an afternoon tour at Jenolan and walked through the age old stalactites and stalagmites. The pictures don't do justice to this spectacular place. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
We finished off the day at Blue Mountains with a hike upto Wentworth Falls. We did a brushwalk upto the falls and were rewarded with nice views of the Blue Mountains range and the falls. The hike up was definitely worth it!
Sydney
Our last stop in Australia was Sydney! We spent the day seeing the sights of the famous city. Here is the most famous landmark!
We had a nice dinner, and strolled around the city in the evening. The next day, with our hearts full, it was time to pack our bags to head back home!
Our trip to Australia was such an enjoyable one. We saw some great sights, both in the cities and in nature. Had a wonderful time staying with Nimma Attai in Melbourne and catching up with old friends.
Thank you Australia for an exciting and truly memorable vacation!! :)
Thank you Australia for an exciting and truly memorable vacation!! :)
