Our flight arrived in Melbourne quite late in the night but we were picked up by Kamila’s uncle and her cousin Kasia. When we arrived at their house, despite the late hour, Kamila’s aunt ignored our protests and fed us before sending us to bed. This late night snack should have been a warning to us because the next two weeks we spent in Melbourne Kamila’s aunt was on a mission to fatten us up like pigs.
Next morning Kamila and I left JP sleeping and with Kamila’s family went to church to attend Sunday mass in a Polish parish. It was actually quite surreal to hear so many people speak Polish so far from home. After the mass we returned home for a giant breakfast (first time in ages) and to prepare for a little excursion we had planned. We packed the car full and together with Kasia and her boyfriend Adrian (visiting from Germany) we set off to Phillip Island.
The Sunday was beautiful, warm and sunny even though we’d been scared by everyone that it’s going to be already cold in Melbourne. It’s so weird – May and it’s getting cold, June and August and it’s the middle of winter. The world is really upside down here. Anyway, after about an hour’s drive we made a brief stop at Pannys Chocolate Factory for some free chocolate sampling. From there we drove to the island and stopped in the main town – Cowes – where we found a really cute family-run motel to stay for the night. We left our bags there and hurried to the main attraction of the island – the world famous Penguin Parade. Kasia and Adrian had already seen it so they just dropped us off there. Together with a couple of hundred other people we waited for the sunset to watch the penguins waddle out of the water and into their burrows. The ones that live on Phillip Island – Little Penguins – are the world’s smallest penguins. They are absolutely adorable and watching those cute wee creatures struggling with the waves and the current to get out on the shore was a lot of fun. They swim in groups and they wait for all the members of their waddle to come on shore before proceeding so if one of them gets washed back into the sea they all have to wait. That causes a lot of oohs and aahs from the audience. They always get out of the water in the same spot and take the same path to their burrows. I think we spent around a couple of hours watching them going to their homes. After the parade Kasia decided that she wants to embrace her Polish heritage and get drunk on vodka. So we stopped at a store, stocked up on trash food and alcohol and headed back to the motel. As Kamila didn’t really know her Australian family well (some of them she’d never even met) it was the first opportunity for the girls to get drunk together. Growing up in Poland guarantees certain experience in alcohol-handling but Kasia, having been in Poland only a couple of times in her life, didn’t have that advantage.
Next day we drove to the Nobbies – a magnificent headland with boardwalks and lookout points that offers spectacular views of the coast. I’ve never experienced a fiercer wind, it was almost apocalyptic, but the scenery was amazing. When we had enough of the tearing wind we drove back to Cowes and headed to the beach. We stopped at a small restaurant at the pier for excellent fish and chips and after lunch drove back to Melbourne.
Even though we had giant late lunch we still had to eat huge dinner. Polish hospitality means stuff the guest with food so much he can’t get up from the table. But the food was delicious; it was like being home again. After dinner we went to town for standup comedy in a club called Spleen. It was pretty good even though we had to seat in the front row, which clearly means you’re going to get picked on. This time it was JP’s lucky night.
Next day Kasia had to work so the three of us took off to explore the city of Melbourne. We got off the train at the Federation Square, where we were only supposed to check out the tourist information center but we ended up staying there the whole day. We were completely enchanted by two institutions there: the Ian Potter Centre and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). The former center is part of the National Gallery of Victoria and houses an impressive display of Australian art, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. JP wasn’t impressed at all but I personally loved the colors, textures and the pointillist quality of Aboriginal art. Many of the paintings depicted what is called Dream time. Dream time is the creation stories of the Aborigine people. These art works present the stories of how the earth was formed, plants, animals and people were created. The latter institution, ACMI, was the one where we spent most time, until we were actually asked to leave. It is a state-of-the-art center dedicated to television and film, relating the history of both the moving image and the Australian film industry. But our favorite part was the interactive one explaining various special effects used in filmmaking. The best one was a booth, called Time Slice, in which your moves were filmed by 36 cameras and a 3D Matrix-like video was created. Really impressive. We actually didn’t have enough time to try out all the tricks as it was closing time and we had to leave. When we got back home no one could believe that we had spent the whole day in Federation Square. They found it hilarious that we were actually planning to go back there to finish the exhibition in ACMI.
And we did return the next morning before meeting another cousin of Kamila’s – Ola. Kamila had actually never met her cousin before so there was a lot of catching up to do. Kamila was trying to figure out all the complicated family relations. Ola took us on a trip to Daylesford, around 1.5 hour’s drive from Melbourne. The town is famous for natural mineral springs (you know, water smelling of rotten-eggs), historic bathhouses and spas. We had lunch there and then went for a walk in the botanical gardens. It seemed so different there. Suddenly there were no evergreen eucalyptus trees but the park was full of European timber. And as it was Australian fall the park drowned in reds and yellows. Beautiful. When later we stopped at Lake Daylesford suddenly the sun came out and the willows around the lake became a rustling ring of gold in the mellowness of autumn. That moment if felt like home. After Daylesford we drove back to Melton near Melbourne to Ola’s house for a barbeque. There we met the rest of the family – her husband Robert and her two teenage kids, Robcio and Julia. Once again we had too much food (it’s a Polish thing) but we had such a great chat that we stayed up almost till midnight.
Next morning we returned to the city center to explore some more. We took a free tourist City Circle Tram that is a very informative and practical way to visit the city. Apart from the tram there is also a bus line that takes you to all the places of interest. It’s something like to CitySightseeing buses but completely free of charge. We found Melbourne in general extremely tourist friendly. The free transportation is just perfect and the tourist information office so well organized and full of free publications. Really, the best place for tourists we have visited.
So we took the tram to Fitzroy Gardens (a par on the eastern edge of the city center) where we wanted to see Captain James Cook’s cottage. The cottage where he was born was built in England in 1755 and transported to Melbourne in 1933. Hence, it’s the only 18th century building in the city. Then we had a walk to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (Australia’s largest and most popular stadium) where Kamila and JP wanted to visit National Sports Museum, but it turned out to be quite pricey. So instead we took a bus back to the city center and jumped off it in Chinatown. There we stopped to eat our packed lunch – Kamila’s aunt really made sure that we had plenty of food anywhere anytime. Then we got back on the bus and went to the University of Melbourne, where we wandered the campus in search of the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Although it was really small there were some really nice exhibitions there. As the day was coming to an end we walked back to the city center to get a train back home. We wanted to visit Queen Victoria Market on our way but it was already closed at this hour.
Next day Kasia was off work so she took us for a walk to one of the trendy suburbs situated on the Port Philip Bay – St Kilda. The weather was decidedly autumnal. We had a walk down the promenade while theatrical clouds played over the pier and brisk ocean breezes skipped along the foreshore. We saw the iconic Luna Park (it was closed though) and an art deco movie theatre Palais from 1914. Then we stopped for tea and cake in one of many cafes there. There were so many of those sweet little masterpieces lining the shelves that we had a hard time picking up just one cake each. But we knew we had to get back home for dinner and I have already mentioned how big those dinners were. So we just pressed our longing faces to the shop windows and devoured the delicacies in our imagination.
After dinner, while we were getting ready to go out partying Kasia and Kamila took care of our entertainment by giving a little recital. Kasia played the piano while Kamila sang “Can you see the love tonight” from The Lion King. Wow! That was something. You should have been there because it’s one of those memories that I will cherish till the end of my days. Actually, I have a video of that if you want to see it… After the show we hit the town. We were planning to go to a club that plays 90s music but JP forgot his ID and they wouldn’t let us in. Instead we went to some other club that played live music – really good musicians. We came back quite late (around 3 a.m.) which definitely didn’t give us enough time to recover before next day’s trip.
We had to get up really early because Kamila’s uncle was taking us on a day trip – driving the Great Ocean Road we were to reach the amazing rock formations of Twelve Apostles. When we got into the car we were like zombies but Kamila’s uncle told us that we have an hour till we even get to the Great Ocean Road so we could sleep in the meantime. We did, of course, to the point that he had a hard time waking us up once we got to this arguably one of the most stunning drives in the world. No matter how hard I was trying to focus on the beautiful scenery around me my eyelids were lead-heavy and kept closing against my will. So I did miss some parts of the journey, but after what I saw I could spend ages talking about how beautiful the Great Ocean Road is. The views were breathtaking – the steep limestone cliffs, crashing waves and beautiful blue ocean were an amazing sight. We stopped at various lookouts trying to take in the natural beauty of the coast. One of the en-route attractions was Split Point Lighthouse and Eagle Rock just off the shore from the lighthouse. When we finally arrived at the Twelve Apostles the weather was sunny but very windy. What can I say about the famous rocks… they’re simply stunning. The water has carved these marvelous rock outcrops out of the limestone that makes up the coast. There used to be 12 of them but these days, due to erosion, some of them have collapsed. Still, the view was absolutely breathtaking, both of the stone formations and the towering cliffs with the pounding waves below.
We returned to the car to get some lunch. Kamila’s aunt, as always, prepared so much food for us that it was impossible to eat all of that. When we got back home, straight for dinner, we were still stuffed from lunch. Kamila and I are quite used to the Polish ways of hospitality and overfeeding guests but JP was absolutely terrified. We were forced to eat so much during our stay in Melbourne that I was having nightmares in which food would chase me around the house. The food was really delicious but our shrunken stomachs just couldn’t cope with the amounts.
Next day Kasia took us for a walk to another seaside suburb – Williamstown. It used to be the main port before Melbourne and as it’s just round the coast you can get a great view back across the harbor to the city. We visited a botanical garden (where Kasia learned to walk), the marina and a wee Sunday market. On the way back home we stopped in an old-school Ice Cream Shoppe (just like the one of Taylor Doose in “Gilmore Girls” sans the stupid staff uniforms) for a moment of pleasure. Then another very quick stop for shopping (I bought myself a new iPod) and back home for more food.
As it was Sunday, Kamila’s family decided to throw a typical Aussie barbie for us and invited another of Kamila’s cousins she had never met before (Szymek) and his family. I don’t think I need to tell you how much food there was. Suffice it to say that we weren’t even able to try everything. We had a very nice time in a family atmosphere until we had to say goodbye to Kasia, who was going away for a few weeks to another town for an internship. So we waved her goodbye and spent the rest of the evening watching movies.
Next day we went to the city for the last time. We started our walk in the Docklands with their historic wharves and public marinas. There were some really cool large scale artworks like the Cow Up a Tree, Blowholes or Dockland Rings, where we stopped for a wee break. We crossed the Yarra River to the Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct and then continued to NGV International, a branch of the National Gallery of Victoria. We really liked the exhibitions there as well as the iconic building itself. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see all the exhibitions we wanted as they were already closing the gallery. Before getting back home we strolled a bit in Queen Victoria’s Gardens and along the river.
Next day Kamila’s uncle took us on another trip. This time we visited the Macedon Ranges, starting with the majestic sentinel of Mt Macedon. After that we took the opportunity to have a look at the Hanging Rock that inspired the novel “Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Joan Lindsay and featured in a 1975 movie of the same title. Both the novel and the film talk about the mysterious disappearing of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher on Valentine’s Day in 1900. Hanging Rock is actually a long extinct volcano, formed when lava blew through a vent in the earth about 6 million years ago. High soda content in the lava and the workings of rainwater have created unusual rock formations like the Eagle or the UFO. The Aboriginal Wurundjeri people who lived in the area had been avoiding the place as dark spirits were believed to live there. The rock has always had mysterious feel about it and many visitors claim that they can feel the spirits of the girls as they climb the Rock. I, personally, didn’t feel anything but still enjoyed the whole atmosphere of mystery and the supernatural. When we got to the split in the rocks with the Hanging Rock itself (a boulder suspended between other boulders) we tried to show on photos how scared we were but it looks more like an excitement than fear.
When we returned to the parking lot we had a brief break for lunch and drove to the town of Bendigo to visit Kasia. When Kasia finished work we visited the hospital hotel where she was staying for the period of her internship and then went for a wee walk. Bendigo was a gold-digging town in 19th century so a lot of Chinese miners came to live there. Hence the Victorian architecture of the town mixed with a very rich Chinese heritage. For example, there is a Golden Dragon Museum that has the oldest and the longest imperial dragons in the world. The town was very quiet and almost deserted on a Thursday afternoon. After the walk we said goodbye to Kasia for good and returned to Melbourne.
On our last day in Melbourne Kamila’s cousin Szymek and his wife Ania took us on a day trip to the Grampians. This region of Victoria is dominated mainly by a series of sandstone mountain ranges. Yet another dramatically beautiful place in Australia. It was around 3 hours’ drive from Melbourne and, as their two youngest kids tagged along, we were watching kid movies all the way there. We arrived first in Halls Gap (the town that functions as a gateway to the park) and stopped for a wee walk by Lake Bellfield. Then we drove to Boroka lookout that offers one of the best panoramas of the Grampians – it looks over Halls Gap and the plains to the east of the range. Next, we headed to another viewpoint – Reed Lookout – and the rock ledges known as The Balconies. We had a magnificent view over the rainforest below and the mountain range around. JP, who has an inherent need to climb things, had to ignore the safety railings and climb on the balcony to stand at the very edge of the ledge. After that we took a walk to Victoria’s largest waterfall – McKenzie Falls. Going down to the base of the falls was easy but coming back up proved a bit of a strain on the older of us. Our timing was perfect and we had to falls to ourselves. As we were leaving a large group of schoolchildren arrived and spread over the whole area like locusts. We were glad to get the hell outta there. After a short stop at Broken Falls we drove to Lake Wartook, where we tried catching some kangaroos to take back home to Europe. Sadly, the bastards were too fast for us. As it was getting late and we had a bit of a drive ahead of us we decided to head back. We stopped to watch the sunset at Lake Fyans. There were some strands of drowned timber in the water, which gave the place a post-apocalyptic vibe.
We returned from this trip quite late and went straight to bed knowing we need to pack next morning. After forcing us to eat 3 huge meals before 2 o’clock, Kamila’s aunt and uncle took us to the airport. It was actually quite emotional goodbye. After almost 2 weeks in there it started to feel like home. Kamila’s family was amazing; they really made us feel like part of the family. Kamila’s aunt was so confused with who is who that she kept calling Kamila “Karolina” the whole time we were there. We were really sad to leave Melbourne but are looking forward to the next meeting, this time on our turf.
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Kamila
JP
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