If I hadn’t accidentally locked the keys in the trunk of our rental car, we would have stayed in a resort down this beautiful country road in New South Wales. (Instead, we stayed in a small place across from a mechanic’s garage, where some nice people worked a day and a half to retrieve the key. There were complications with the way the car was built!) Experiencing the wide-open spaces where kangaroos are free to hop is something I greatly miss about being in Australia.
Just a short distance from The Grotto (my last post) is a large billabong teeming with wildlife and plants such as these water lilies.
From a comfortable, shaded platform you could relax and watch the lily pads bob up and down on the water. The word billabong is thought by some to be of aboriginal origin from the word “bila” meaning river. The watering holes are believed to be the result of a river changing its course and leaving behind a stranded pool, which is replenished by rains during the Wet Season. (In certain areas of Australia, only two seasons are recognized: The Wet and The Dry.)
The colors of the Western Australia countryside are beautifully contrasting. At The Grotto near Wyndham, yellow spinifex tufts and stark white eucalyptus bark accent the red rock of the canyon. Add a bit of greenery under a blue sky and you have a rich mixture!
After visiting the library (my last post), you can stroll by either side of the Yarra River that runs through the city…
or take a walk down to the Docklands, an urban harbor district, still under development.
At night, you might walk 360 degrees inside the top of the 975-foot-tall Eureka Tower and see the lights sparkle in every part of the city.
And finally, you can photograph the city from your apartment.
This spacious reading room is one of several in Melbourne’s most famous library, which is the oldest in Australia. In this room alone there are over two million books! I am especially fond of the radial design and the green lampshades.
We received a hot air balloon ride as a gift! Here we are looking down on another balloon as it floats above some Southern California orange groves and vineyards.
And here is the flame that kept our own balloon aloft. We learned during the flight that our balloon captain was an airline pilot who flew balloons for fun. That gave me confidence!
We had started early with champagne at sunrise while floating over the Temecula Valley. The captain poured the champagne, but did not partake. That also gave me much confidence!
PK Photography 