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
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 :)
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
We saw many pretty sights along the drive. Here we are at a beach along the drive (clearly overdressed!), and a lighthouse.
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
Can you spot me?
Blue Moutains
Jenolan Caves
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.
Sydney
Thank you Australia for an exciting and truly memorable vacation!! :)