You can't beat country hospitality when it's done well and the Coal Creek Motel does it very, very well. You'll find the motel just on the outskirts of Korumburra, in South Gippsland, just opposite the Coal Creek Museum and Park. 
Oh Kevin. You idiot. You thought you had it all, you were of top of the world, you were invincible. And you've nearly lost it all because of a text? How is that even possible? 
When the YHA's own website says 'not recommended for families' it's a bit of a giveaway that the hostel is going to be full of young party people, and your chances of a decent night's sleep are going to be pretty slim. Having just spent three nights in the Brisbane Hilton, I'd had enough of being pampered anyhow, and since tonight's stay was coming out of my own pocket, I was happy to take a chance on it.
Irony, pure irony.
With a name like Bic Runga, I had absolutely no idea what sort of music we were in for, whether it was a he, a she, or a them, or even if this was a music gig at all. Let's face it, Bic Runga could easily have been a pseudonym for a big hairy World Wrestling Federation heavyweight. 
"The warmer weather is definitely on the way as we were told there was a snake sighting on the 17th hole. Any balls that went astray in the rough stayed that way, not many wanting to risk the chance of a friendly sighting!!" Competition Report, August 2011A friendly sighting? Is there even such a thing? Besides, I'd would be pissed if you built a golf course on top of my house without prior consultation.
"On one occasion this led to a snake being disaquainted with its home which in turn slowed the pace of work." The Starting Years at Werribee Park - A recollection by Alan Thompson (Life Member WPGC)
The Federation Trail is a twenty three kilometre bike path in Western Melbourne, running from just north of Williamstown, then through the south western suburbs to its conclusion just south of Werribee town centre. Its route has been made possible by, and closely follows Melbourne's old outfall open sewerage system. That might not be the best marketing hook for this trail even though the sewer has long since closed, but it does have its pros and cons. 
In a country defined in so many ways by its British heritage, I really thought it would be a land of plenty when it came to down to finding a good pub or three. Not so, and I have been sadly disappointed on numerous occasions. I have long since come to the conclusion that the reason tourists rave about British pubs so much is because you really can't find anything quite like them anywhere else in the world. 
Australia holds the world record for gambling, with more than eighty per cent of its adult population trying their luck on the horses, sports betting, casino tables or gaming machines (better known as Pokies to the locals.) It's the Pokies that are the main draw and also a real social problem for many Australians - the sheer number of them is astounding: for a country with just the fifty third largest population in the world, it has by far the most gaming machines on the planet. Even a smallish Australian city puts Las Vegas to shame. They are absolutely everywhere, from cities to country towns, from casinos to your local pub. Australians spend more of their income on gambling than they do on putting clothes on their back. "For many, the jingles and electronic clatter of the "pokies" have become just as quintessentially Australian sounds as the call of a kookaburra." BBC NEWS ONLINE
I loved what these two guys did. Some cracking songs, some great live gags, some brilliant video sketches and some intensely awkward audience moments, the kind where you want to burst your seams, but you're not quite sure it's allowed. For example, their stand out track was a celebration of their girls' time of the month as a sign of their own ongoing freedom. But to think that this duo were a couple of crude, foul mouthed hoons would be far from the truth. They were razor sharp. Too sharp at times for the most of the audience, which occasionally left an awkward silence hanging in the air. Which was a shame, because this was their final series of performances as a duo, and I think their originality will be missed.
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| And some people say they're a bit backward in Geelong? |
Here's what you get at the Stonelea Country Estate: Kangaroos on your doorstep (tick), tranquil lake just yards from the deck of your cottage (tick), wholesome, delicious hot breakfast (tick), easy access to stunning hill walks in the Lake Eildon National Park (tick), cosy log fires (tick)... Stonelea has so many great things going for it, you may well wonder why anyone would dare complain. But complain they do (*see Tripadvisor if you don't believe me.) 
Bizzare. The only word I can use to describe the Tea Rooms. And I don't think I mean that in such a derogatory way, though I'm not 100% sure. We were expecting a cosy cafe with hearty home made food on a fresh Autumnal evening, eating with the locals, and maybe even washed down with a nice pot of Earl Grey. What we got was a high end Italian restaurant filled with City folk, complicated nouvelle cuisine, and all priced at the high end of the Melbourne CBD range (which is one hundred and fifty kilometers away by the way.)
Remember the days of rather boring animal conservation campaigns from yesteryear? The kind that had the phrase Save the Whale stamped at the top, with a picture of a sad looking Humpback underneath it? Nope? Not many people did. Lecturing to people has never been a popular way to get the masses inspired. |
| Bingo. My home for the start of Day 3. |
In the 1950's their numbers were so low, that biologists feared they were close to extinction. The good news is that their numbers are now rising healthily and there's thought to be around fifteen thousand across Southern Australia. Make that fifteen thousand and two. 
Point Cook is the place we call home. It's a relatively new suburb of Melbourne, approximately twenty five kilometres south west of the City, traditionally the home of the Royal Australian Air Force and set in thousands of acres of open farmland. That's all changed in the last three years, as it's become Australia's fastest growing suburb, fuelled by thousands of immigrants chasing work in the World's Most Livable City, or those simply trying to get out of the choking inner suburbs. It all sounded perfect. There were wide open spaces, large plots of affordable housing and easy freeway access to the city. But Australia's fastest growing and most marketed suburb is now being labelled the country's sickest. Where did it all go wrong? |
| Sorrento Pier. |
The phrase 'Hello Possums' may well make you come over in a cold sweat at the mere thought of the dreadful Dame Edna Everage TV show from the eighties, but here's hoping that this rather cute photo will reassure you that a Possum is in fact one of Australia's most common marsupials. As their name implies they are found in plentiful supply in Eastern Australia, but less common is actually getting a photo of one during daylight hours. I was delighted to come across this beauty earlier this week in Point Nepean National Park just before midday. 
With a little time on my hands, I had decided to make the most of it, and head off on my bike for a few days adventure - three days, three bays, five trains, three maps, and one hundred and fifty kilometers cycling worth of adventure to be precise. Real Boy's own stuff. 
The first leg involved taking the train to a small village called Bittern, sixty five kilometres south east of Melbourne, on the rarely visited Western Port Bay. This was actually three different trains, including one for the train spotters - the last remaining suburban diesel route in Australia. Cool. The journey lasted around two and a quarter hours, ran like clockwork, and all for the princely sum of five bucks, which is pretty amazing value. 
There are so many public holidays and festivals over a long Melbournian summer, it's a challenge to keep up with them all. I literally free wheeled into this one, as it cut through the Yarra River bike trail where I was headed for a day's cycling. As it turned out, I had stumbled across the curiously named and widely energetic MOOMBA festival. It wasn't a hard decision to join them for an hour or so, what with the glorious late summer sun, and two very eye catching events kicking off a little further up stream.... 
