How could two race lovers visit their daughter and son-in-law in Melbourne while the Grand Prix season opener was happening and not attend?

We decided to get grounds passes, rather than grand stand or marquee passes, because then we would have access to the entire track and all of the show cars.  It was a good thing we went with this option too, because we literally walked the entire track!

We arrived early, and by public transport so that we could enjoy the fine, albeit slightly warm, Australian beer on this beautiful autumn day.  The schedule for the day was quite full, allowing us to see GT, V8 Supercars, and the Porsche Carrera Cup before the Formula One race.

After these races, my favorite part of the day commenced: the RAAF Roulettes!

And the RAAF Jet flyover, for which we were perfectly located at the far end of Albert Lake with a gorgeous view of Melbourne.

Finally, we reached the main event!  The Formula One cars hit the track for a 56 laps or 2 hours of racing, whichever came first.  There was one crash during the race, which we saw on the big screen, and then we got ourselves lined up at the end of the race to see them remove the car from the track. I’m not sure if they do this at all F1 races, but we were allowed onto the track after the race ended!

If you’re in Melbourne for the Grand Prix season opener, I highly recommend attending, even if you’re not a race fan.  It’s certainly an experience to be had!

Tasmania was Mom & Dad’s first taste of traveling Heather-style.  We had a 6:00 AM flight out of Melbourne on Thursday morning and came back in on the last flight Friday night, giving us two full days in Tassie but we only had to pay for one night in a hotel.  This did, however, mean a 3:15 AM alarm clock….

We were in our rental car by 7:30 AM and on the road to Richmond where our first stop was the Ashmore on Bridge for breakfast, very large long blacks and a flip through the visitor information we picked up at the airport.  As I read the menu at the center table of the bright but chilly dining room looking for something warm and hearty to eat, I came across Savory French Toast served with Field Mushrooms and Spinach.  I thought to myself, “Huh.  Savory french toast?  That seems weird and interesting all at the same time,” so I ordered it.  The others had the Eggs Benedict, which they really enjoyed, but I highly recommend you give the Savory French Toast a try!

After we were fed and coffeed, we headed for our first Richmond destination: the Richmond Bridge.  This bridge, along the Convict Trail, is the oldest bridge still in use in Australia, the oldest stone arch bridge in Australia, and was built using convict labor.  According to the historical marker on site, the sandstone for this bridge was hand-quarried and hand-hauled to the site of the bridge, where the jailer (or gaoler, in Australian English) was so cruel that the convicts pushed him off the bridged to his death while he slept in a drunken stupor.  None of them were convicted for his murder.

It was a beautiful, sunny and brisk autumn morning in Richmond, making for a very tranquil visit to the Richmond Bridge.  The ducks, geese and swans were happy to have us linger with them.  Did you know that Swans in Australia are natively Black Swans?  There are only approximately 80 living white Swans in all of Australia, and they all live along the Avon River in Western Australia.

As we stood along the bank of the river admiring the bridge, I looked up and saw the steeple of a church.  When I suggested to the group that we investigate, because it looked beautiful, they agreed.  Lucky for us we stumbled upon the St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, which is regarded as the oldest Catholic church in Australia, having been built in 1836.  The architect, Fredrick Thomas, was a rehabilitated transported convict that eventually became an architect.  The church and cemetery are open to the public for visitation, and I highly recommend visiting {and donating to} this spectacularly beautiful and historic site.

Since we were on a tour of Australia’s oldest, we also decided to visit the Richmond Gaol, which is the oldest intact jail in Australia.  No longer in operation, this is now a tourist site that remains largely unchanged since its closure in 1945.  As we toured, we were able to step into solitary confinement rooms, which measure 6 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet, where convicts could be held in complete darkness for 24 hours to 30 days eating just bread and water.  I couldn’t last 30 seconds with the door closed, which makes me think I’d have gone crazy if I had to stay in there for 24 hours or more…CREEPY!

Our goal for the day was Port Arthur, so we began our journey down the Tasman Peninsula.  Our first stop was along a scenic loop off of the main highway at Pirates Bay Drive Lookout on Eaglehawk Neck, which is “the gateway to the Tasman Peninsula.”  Here we learned about our next four scenic stops we would make on our way to Port Arthur.

The first of our 4 scenic stops was Tessellated Pavement.  {Geology nerd moment} These formations are formed when a relatively flat surface is cracked by contractions or small movements in the earth, forming fairly consistent and even rectangles in the surface.  The erosion then causes either pans or loaves, depending on how much time that portion of the rock spends under water.  The pans are concave formations formed where the rock is mostly out of water, allowing the salt crystals to develop and erosion to  occur more quickly.  Loaves, on the other hand, look more like the top of a loaf of bread, spending more time under water, thus not allowing the salt crystals to form or erosion to happen as quickly.  Either way, they’re a fascinating texture in the rock at the sea shore along the Tasman Peninsula. We all had fun admiring the little crabs, snails and fish trapped in the pools of water formed during low tide.

The Dog Line was created by Peyton Jones to prevent prisoners from escaping Port Arthur.  He placed half-starved ferocious dogs at regular intervals, including on rafts in the water, along with lamps to brightly illuminate the cockle shells, and a detachment of soldiers across the narrowest point of the peninsula.  This, along with the frigid cold water, prevented all but a few from escaping Port Arthur.

The Blowhole, formed by erosion from the sea, was pretty spectacular despite fairly calm seas on this beautiful autumn day.

From The Blowhole, we took a nice stroll out to the Fossil Bay Lookout.

Next we moved onto the Tasman Arch and Devil’s Kitchen, which share a car park and are an easy stroll apart.  Standing at the lookout, looking down into Devil’s Kitchen could make you queasy in the knees if you have a fear of heights, because all you can do is look down into the frothing sea below.

Honestly, we could have spent the entire day enjoying the beauty of Eaglehawk Neck, but we decided to head for Port Arthur, a World Heritage listed site, that operated as a maximum security prison for repeat offenders after being sentenced to transportation in the British Penal system.  Included in our admission was a guided tour to get the lay of the land, a harbor cruise to see where the dead were buried and the location of the boys prison, and entry into all of the buildings and museums on site.

The convicts at Port Arthur were among the first to be subjected to psychological punishment in addition to physical punishment.  Depending up  the severity of their in-prison offense, they could be subjected to reduced rations, flogging, or separation.  Those sentenced to a flogging would be kept conscious for each lash issued by the cat-o-nine tails.  If the doctor deemed that they could be killed by proceeding, they would be sentenced to water duty, where they would work in shoulder deep freezing saltwater of the bay until the doctor decided they were well enough to continue with the punishment.

If they continued to repeat offend at Port Arthur, they could be sent to the Separate Prison, where they were hooded and forced to stay silent.  They were allowed no interaction with any of the guards or other prisoners, and the only time they were allowed to use their voice during the week was to sing hymns at the weekly church service.  As you tour the Separate Prison, you are asked to do so in complete silence to understand how loud and overbearing silence can be.  We were allowed inside of the chapel, and even into the separation cubbies that the prisoners attended the service from.  I can only imagine that solitary confinement would be worse than this, and those who did not behave in the Separate Prison would be sentenced to up to 30 days in solitary.  So many of the prisoners subjected to the Separate Prison developed mental illness, that a lunatic asylum had to be built at Port Arthur.

Some of the wardens at Port Arthur subscribed to the belief of reformation and rehabilitation, rather than punishment.  Prisoners were given training in a trade, such as ship building, shoe-making, metal/black smithing, timber and brick making, and flour milling.  A non-denomationational church was built for the prisoners by a warden that believed they would attend if the minister/priest/reverend/rabbi didn’t alienate them by preaching from specific sectors.  Historians say that this was a favorite time of week for many of the prisoners, so apparently this warden was right.

We also visited the memorial for the Port Arthur Massacre, which led to national gun-reform in Australia where Australians willingly and voluntarily turned over their arms.  As this is quite a sad and sensitive subject for my Australian friends, I will say no more on the subject.

Port Arthur was shut down in 1877, and for a time Tasmanians tried to forget.  When bush fires moved through in 1897, the mentality was to let it burn.  Many of the buildings were torn down in the late 1800s/early 1900s so that the stone could be used for other buildings, rather than quarrying stone.  Tourism began almost as soon as the prison closed, but it wasn’t until 1979 that this officially became a historic site.

The history and beauty of Port Arthur is so great that we walked until our feet hurt and the sun was gone before heading back to Hobart, where we stayed at the Quest Trinity House.  This was absolutely perfect for us, having two bedrooms, a full kitchen and spacious lounge.  We had dinner at Maldini Cafe Restaurant before finishing the evening with a whiskey tasting {for Ben, wine or beer for the rest of us} at Nant.  I’m not usually a whiskey girl, but Ben asked me to taste one that had been aged in a Pinot Noir barrel.  I did not enjoy the taste, but it smelled amazing!  By this point, we were exhausted!  We did get up at 3:15AM for our early morning flight to Hobart…

Our second morning in Tasmania was a bit more relaxed than our first, allowing us to lounge around in our awesome hotel until check-out before heading up to the Cascade Brewery to take the tour.  Did you know that this is the oldest continuously operating brewery in Australia?  It was originally founded as a saw mill in 1825, and then converted into a brewery in 1831, surviving severe bush fires through the years.  In the beginning, the workers were allowed to drink beer all day long, every day, as the worked; at some point in the 1900s this was changed to allow the workers to only drink during their breaks.  Fun facts from the tour guide was that some of the workers could down ten pints on a tea break!  In 1993 Cascade Brewery was bought out by Carlton, eliminating the chance to drink on the job.  However, to keep some of the history, each employee gets a slab (for my American friends, a case) of beer with each paycheck and the bar hosts a free employee happy hour each Friday starting at 4PM.

Included with your tour, you get four 7-ounce beers, allowing us to try nearly all of their beers!  Consensus within our group was that we preferred the Cascade Draft and the Cascade Stout.  Because the Cascade Draft is not exported to the mainland of Australia, Ben and I decided to purchase a 6-pack of this, and, why not the stout too?  Mom and Dad learned that domestically within Australia, there are no limits of the liquid you can carry on when Ben and I carried these bad-boys right through security and onto the plane.

Though our first day in Tasmania was sunny and beautiful, our second day was more what you’d expect from mid-March: rainy and cold.  After our brewery tour, we stuck around for lunch and found ourselves still there for the 2PM Beer Pulling Competition.  Naturally, Dad and I both entered, and I won my round taking me into the grand finale, where sadly I spilled my beer and lost.  The Cascade Brewery is really an excellent way to spend half of your rainy day in Hobart!

After touring the brewery, we headed back into Hobart for a bit of shopping and sightseeing on foot before having dinner at Jack Greene Bar.  By this point, we were all so tired from our full-on two days in Tasmania, that we were ready to sit and glad to be heading back to Melbourne.

Tasmania is so uniquely beautiful and different from anywhere else in Australia, that it is a MUST SEE should you find yourself in Australia! {I know!  I end nearly every post about Australia with a must see comment, but this is an incredibly beautiful country!}

In the two and a half years that we’ve traveled this massive, beautiful country, I believe that the Great Ocean Road is one of the most beautiful places that exists here.  It was our first weekend away when we moved here (The Great Ocean Road in 2 Days) and I’ve been itching to do it again.  When Mom picked it out of her travel guide, saying she’d like to see it, I was super excited!  Our friend generously lent us her car for the adventure, I reserved a room in Warrnambool, and we decided that we wanted to make it to the 12 Apostles for sunset.  We had a plan, so we hit the road.

I thought it would be nice if we took a small detour through Geelong, because the waterfront is so pretty. Unfortunately, after two and a half years driving in Australia, the road sign placement still confuses me!  For those of you who are familiar with Geelong, we ended up on Separation Street rather than North Shore Drive.  Trying to suavely play it off, I suggested that we drive past my office, but also managed to mess that one up, as I’ve only ever left the office this way….We did eventually find the office, and the waterfront, but our quick detour through Geelong was actually about an hour long!

At long last, we made it to Torquay and decided to start our journey down the Great Ocean Road with a quick stop at the beach and a much needed large long black!

Our next stop, which came up much faster than I was expecting was Bells Beach.  While we were here, the surf was moving in, they were setting up for the surfing competition that was happening the next week, and I found these amazing shells that had clearly been worn down by the sea over time.

Then we continued along to Urquhart Bluff Beach, of course watching for Kangaroos as we left Bells Beach (we didn’t see any) and in Anglesea (we didn’t see any here either, but we missed the golf course).

By the time we reached Aireys Inlet, I was starting to get concerned that we’d somehow missed the Great Ocean Road sign, maybe while we were on the Bells Beach loop road….but I remembered loving the lighthouse and view at Aireys Inlet.  I also get a kick out of the fact that it’s called Split Point Lighthouse, because it always makes me think of Split Rock Lighthouse, which is my favorite lighthouse.

Fortunately, it turns out we did not miss the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, it was just much further down the drive than I remembered!  We also made some stops along the side of the road as we drove, you know, to prevent carsickness.  It is quite a windy road.

We arrived at the Twelve Apostles exactly when we planned, despite our earlier detour through Geelong. I was, again, blown away by how breath-takingly beautiful the Twelve Apostles, and all of the Great Ocean Road, are!  Just like the first time down this drive, I kept saying, “We’re in frickin’ Australia!” and “Look at the color of the water!”

After the sun was gone, we hit the pavement and headed for our hotel in Warrnambool.  We stayed at the Best Western Olde Maritime, which was adorable.  Our room was lofted, giving my parents a bit of privacy and separation from me, but still allowing us to chat long after we’d turned the lights out.  Raj in reception was extremely friendly and welcoming, even calling Bojangles to tell them we were hungry and on our way.  I would not recommend the vegetarian pizza with pumpkin and pesto, and I would say that you need more than 1 pizza to feed 3 hungry people.  The waiter misguided us a bit on that one, saying that 1 pizza was probably plenty for the three of us.  I would say that would have been true if we were having it as a starter rather than a main.

Warrnambool, it turns out, is an adorable town and our hotel was so near the beach that we could hear the waves in the morning.  Naturally, we sought out the beach because we all are drawn to water and who wouldn’t want to take a walk on the beach in the morning?

Did you know that they call Logan’s Beach in Warrnambool a WHALE NURSERY?  Between May and October the Southern Right Whales come into Lady Bay to birth and raise their calves; we discovered this by following the signs for the Whale Nursery, thinking it would be some sort of attraction (I know, very American of us…), and then discovered this.  Had I known this 2 years ago, I would have spent {much more} time in Warrnambool in winter!

As we drove from Warrnambool back down the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne to see the things we’d missed the day prior, we headed through cattle country.  I thought to myself, “I think there is a Warrnambool Vintage Cheddar that Ben and I really like…”  Suddenly, I saw a sign for FREE CHEESE TASTING 500 METERS, so I said, “Free cheese tasting anyone?” just before I slammed on the brakes and pulled into the parking lot of Allansford Cheese World.  Let’s be honest here, it was a rhetorical question.  Who wouldn’t want a free cheese tasting (unless of course you are lactose intolerant)?

After politely wandering through the gift shop, cheese shop and reviewing the cafe menu, we made a beeline for the cheese tasting.  We were allowed to taste 6 cheeses, each better than the last, and then decided to take an entire wheel of the Warrnambool Club Cheddar with us.  It was absolutely the favorite of all 3 of us.  Despite all of our adventures while Mom & Dad were here, we made it nearly half way through this kilogram wheel of cheese before they left; Ben and I finished it off within a week of them leaving.  It was a cheese not to be wasted, and to be shared in extreme moderation with my gleeful pups.

Once we hit the coast, we found ourselves at the Bay of Islands, where I again found myself exclaiming, “Look at the color of the water!”

“What’s the Grotto?” I asked not too long after leaving the Bay of Islands.  Since none of us were certain, I naturally pulled in to find out.  For the curious geology nerds like myself, it’s a natural formation that occurs when the sinkholes in the limestone meet up with the eroding cliff.  The water inside of the Grotto was eerily still against the crashing waves of the Southern Ocean in the background.

Perhaps from the same parking lot as the Grotto, but maybe from the parking lot of Loch Ard Gorge, we followed a hiking path to Thunder Cave, which once upon a time had an arch over it that has collapsed from erosion.  Approximately another kilometer down this path was something called the Blowhole, but we decided that we were not prepared to add 2km to our current hike and did not go down there.  While I’ve not posted a photo here, because they did not turnout well enough, the view from Thunder Cave to the Blowhole was beautiful.

(Yes, we made all the terrible jokes you’re thinking right now, and yes, Ben made them again when we returned from our 2 day road trip down the Great Ocean Road….)

The next stop along our tour of the Great Ocean Road was Loch Ard Gorge, which is named for a ship that wrecked against the rocks at this site leaving only 2 survivors that were stranded on the beach below the cliffs.  Today there are stairs that you utilize to access the beach, which also gives you perspective on how overwhelming it would be to wash ashore here.

Remember that childhood song that went “London Bridge is falling down…” Well, in 1990 the first arch of the London Bridge formation did finally give way to the battering wind and waves of the Southern Ocean, collapsing into the water.  No one was injured, but two people were stranded on the remaining arch and had to be rescued by helicopter.  Despite how terrifying that would be, all I can think is how beautiful it would have been to be able to lookout from the London Bridge back at the southern coast of Australia, and how awesome it would have been to witness this incredible act of nature.

Our last stop before the road took us back inland to Otway National Forest, was the Arch.  The wind was high and the seas were rough that day, making for spectacular viewing of waves crashing through the arch.

Bathrooms are few and far between along the Great Ocean Road, so we did make a pit stop at the 12 Apostles to use the facilities, and were distracted for a time by the helicopters.  Approximately every 15 minutes, a helicopter would land, unload, reload and take-off again within about 2 minutes.  It was so windy that day, that has they turned toward the coast line the downdraft would cause them to dip dramatically towards the ground.

From here we decided to head straight for Cape Otway to see the koalas.  As I prepared to make my righthand turn down the road to the Cape Otway Lighthouse, or the Koala Viewing Road, as I like to call it, there ware lots of cars pulled over and people in the road at the entrance, so I said, “What are these idiots doing? This seems unsafe…” and then I shouted, “OH MY GOD THERE IS A KOALA CROSSING THE ROAD!!!!” (I only remember shouting this once, but believe my Dad when he says I shouted it about 6 times.)  Do you see him climbing over the guardrail? My Mom was able to get an incredible picture of this koala looking straight into her camera as he climbed the tree after crossing the road.  He’s so cute I can hardly handle it!

W made several stops along this road to see a koala high up in a tree, and at one point there were 3 koalas near each other fairly low down, so we got out of the car to have a look.  Several minutes later, I turned around and saw that we’d left the doors wide open on the car in our koala viewing frenzy.  At least now I know where my childlike excitement comes from.

Not surprisingly, we returned to the city quite late that night, starving.  My incredible husband had made pizza crusts and prepared all of the ingredients for us.  Homemade pizzas were just 10 minutes away!

If you find yourselves in Australia, the Great Ocean Road is not to be missed!

As we were planning their trip, my Mom and I discussed that a day of wine tasting in the Yarra Valley would be fun, and beautiful.  Fortunately, all of our friends also LOVE wine and a day was already in the cards.  After all, Lynette, Aaron and I had all recently left Target and required a celebration.

We used For the Love of Grape to organize our outing and ensure everyone could enjoy the tastings that day without the responsibility of driving.  Leah was amazing, and incredibly helpful in recommending which wineries to visit, but also allowing us to to tailor the day as we wanted.  We chose two of the wineries, and had her recommend the lunch venue/tasting and a small winery that was new to all of us.  She was extremely flexible, also, allowing us to tag the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie to the end of our day, at no extra charge.  If you’re planning a day out, I’m certain everyone in our group would recommend that you use For the Love of Grape to organize your day.

Our first stop of the day, was Coldstream Hills.  A few of us had been here before and thoroughly enjoyed it; a few of us had tasted their wines at an event a few weeks earlier and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Based on these factors, we requested this winery be on the list.  We worked our way through every wine they had available for tasting that day, each picking out some favorites.  Unfortunately, they lost us at the end of the tasting with a aggressively long sales pitch, even providing my parents with information on how to ship their wine club to America.  It was so long, in fact, that by the end of it I had forgotten what I was thinking of purchasing.  Thirteen of us walked out of this winery without purchasing a single bottle of wine, not because we disliked their wines, but because we were turned off by the sales pitch.  The friends that had visited a few weeks earlier mentioned as we made our way back to the bus that this was not the experience they’d previously had.  We chalked it up to large group mentality on the winery’s part.

Our second stop of the day was Hanrahan Vineyard, which none of us had been to or heard of before.  In fact, the co-owner of the vineyard asked me about our tour company, so I told her how wonderful For the Love of Grape had been in organizing our day, and advised her to form a relationship with them.  They seated us in a private area, told us their history and then took us on a tour of their wines.  As we tasted, it seemed like each one was better than the last!  The man giving the tasting was extremely personable, read our group well, and just wanted to talk about the wines and their vineyard.  He invited us to stay in the private seating area as long as we felt like, and never pressured us to purchase any wines.  In fact, I had to ask him as we were leaving where to purchase.  I believe each of us purchased two bottles of wine from them, with my personal favorites being the 2012 Shiraz and 2012 Chardonnay!  And we’re already planning our next trip back to Hanrahan Vineyard.  If you’re going out for a day, or planning a tour, be sure to add these guys to your itinerary.

The next stop on our itinerary was Tokar Estate & Restaurant, which unfortunately did not impress anyone in our group.  I should clarify, that the food we had for lunch was very nice, but despite knowing that there were four vegetarians in our group, they did not present a vegetarian menu, instead making us request it in addition to their prix-fixe menu that they were offering us.  After ordering, we were invited to the bar for our tasting, which was not large enough for a group of 13 people.  At the bar, we met the owner’s son, who seemed to have a bad case of the coke-sweats and came across as a douche-bag spoiled little rich brat.  He really didn’t give us any information about the wines, instead talking about how great of a chef he was, that he had to retire already because there was no improvement left for him.  As Ben would say, he was a total FIGJAM (fuck I’m good, just ask me).  Once we were settled back at our table, we weren’t allowed to choose our favorite wine from the tasting to enjoy with our meal, but instead were allowed to choose “red” or “white”, which is what I expect from an airplane or pub, not a winery.  We were served the worst wines from the tasting with our meals.  Overall, this venue was disappointing and I would not visit again.

Our last winery stop of the day was Yering Station, which is proudly Victoria’s oldest vineyard. This was my second trip to this winery, and my honest opinion was that the girl who did my first tasting here was better than the guy who lead this tasting.  She was more informative, involved with the group and friendly.  The guide on this day seamed to be a bit rushed, and had a lot less to say about each wine, how to taste it, what to pair it with, and where to locate it within the massive shop. It was quite busy there, being Labour Day Weekend, but if this had been my first experience at Yering Station, I might not go back.  On this day, I did not make any purchases at this winery, however I have in the past.

After our visit to Yering Station, we stopped off at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery.  It was crazy in there, but we managed to enjoy our ice cream and stock up on chocolates before heading back to the city.  As we loaded into the bus, our wonderfully friendly driver asked if anyone was on a tight schedule.  No one was, so he suggested one additional stop to enjoy the gorgeous view over the Yarra Valley with Melbourne in the background.  This was definitely above and beyond, as we were well past the end of our itinerary and the time that For the Love of Grape had promised to us, but knowing that my parents were tourists and the rest of us had never been before, Eric wanted to share his favorite place in the Yarra Valley with our group.

I’ve already said it, but I’ll say again that I would highly recommend For the Love of Grape if your organizing a day out in the Yarra Valley or Ballerina Peninsula. Hands down, my favorite winery of the day, and I think I speak for the whole group, was Hanrahan Vineyard.