Melbourne Morning

There are many things one can do while visiting Melbourne but then the Bazflyers are not renowned for seeking out ‘usual run of the mill’  activities. Good friend Laurie belongs to a blokes a cappella group who go by the name of “Men in Suits”. This well dressed non-religious parody ensemble delights in lifting the spirits of musically deprived fellow citizens. In pursuit of this mission they can sometimes be spotted wandering the city streets in a well dressed pack while delivering pop-up performances at random places. 

A rare opportunity to be a Men in Suits groupie, at least for a couple of hours, was enthusiastically accepted by the Bazflyers even although it entailed a pre-dawn train commute into Flinders Street station for the gathering of Men in Suits under the Clock. Among the hustle and bustle of the city coming to life at the start of a new day, we followed Men in Suits as they performed at various downtown locations and even on an iconic Melbourne tram. Judging from the faces of people going by and those who stopped to enjoy, the singing blokes in suits certainly lifted the spirits of many fellow citizens….

Men in Suits

Melbourne waking up to a new day

Clocks at Flinders Street station

Reminder that Easter is not too far away

Iconic Melbourne tram

Early Morning tea awaits

Strahan

With an average annual rainfall of something like three metres, West Tasmania is indeed a wild and wet landscape. Remarkable then that when the Bazflyers visited this sparsely settled area we were welcomed with absolutely beautiful weather. Clear skies, cool mornings and warm days.

Strahan is Tasmania's main settlement 'out west'. Snuggled within the sheltered reaches of Macquarie Harbour it serves as home for a fleet of crayfishing boats and an assortment of businesses supporting the region's tourist industry.

The narrow entrance into Macquarie Harbour from the Great Southern Ocean is known as Hells Gate. At first glance the name would appear an appropriate label for a neck of treachous water but delve just a little into the area's absorbing history and the real meaning of Hells Gate becomes apparent.

Among the first settlers at Macquarie Harbour in 1822 were convicts, many guilty of only minor misdemeanours. Their incarceration at the harshist of all Australia's convict settlements was an inhuman existence almost beyond belief. These men and women suffered the most appalling treatment of humans in the history of Tasmania, with the singular exception of the Aborigines. The terror of this shameful place gave rise to the saying when transported to Macquarie Harbour; of going through Hell's Gate....

Passing the opposite direction through Hells Gate on a good day

 

Sarah Island was the site of Macquarie Harbour's infamous penal colony between 1822 to 1833

 

After two century's only a few ruins remain from Sarah Island's convict past

 

Crayfishing boats at Strahan

 

Bruny Island

Bruny Island sits to the south of Hobart. It flanks both the Tasman Sea on the east and the Great Southern Ocean at its southern end. The Island is actually two seperate land masses joined like an hour glass by a narrow sand bridge which is also home to a thriving Blue Eyed penguin colony. However, to see these delightful little characters you need to be waiting there at dawn or dusk. 

Sand bridge joining the two land masses 

 

A ferry service is kept busy transporting locals, visitors and vehicles to and from Bruny Island, and among yesterday's travellers were the Bazflyers. There are many Ecco attractions available for visitors to the island ranging from camping in the National Park to an award winning trip by boat along the towering cliffs that form the island's south east coastline. Our journey to Bruny Island included was to experience these cliffs....from the sea and we were not disappointed.

Water transportation 

 

Getting up close and personal with the impressive coastal cliffs

https://youtu.be/iF1Dc9Uf6wA

This feature is aptly known as "The Dragon's Breath"

https://youtu.be/S4iXcxXK8M0

A good day out on the Great Southern Ocean

https://youtu.be/VBOFkL1JplA

Where the Tasman Sea and Great Southern Ocean meet

 

Southport

Take the Huon Highway out of Hobart and some 100 kilometres later you will have driven to the southern most settlement in Australia, aptly named Southport. 

Along the way you pass through the small settlement of Huonville, administrative centre of the tranquil Huon Valley, a region appropriately famous for an array of food produce and an annual food festival. The food festival is one of the most popular regional events in Tasmania and as good fortune would have it, this year's two day festival was in full swing for the Bazflyers arrival. Entertainment, a huge variety of food stalls and thousands of happy people.

 

 

 

Detour off the meandering route that follows the Huon River on its way to the great southern ocean and you are quickly engulfed in a land of tall trees and swift rivers. This is Tasmanian forest country and where home to the Tahune Air Walk. An opportunity to walk among the forest tree tops at one of the most visited tourism attractions in Tasmania. 

 

 

 

The road ends at Southport

 

 

Sandy Bay

Without too much effort stories and points of interest can be discovered almost anywhere and a short walk along the streets of Sandy Bay in Hobart proved to be no exception. The suburb has some of Tasmania's most expensive real estate comprising an eclectic mix of historic cottages and modern architecturally inspired buildings. It is also the location of Australia's first legal casino, Wrest Point Hotel Casino, opened in 1973.

As consistent visitors to Norfolk Island over the past decade, it greatly interested the Bazflyers to learn the land at Sandy Bay was originally granted to Norfolk Islanders when the colonial authorities forced them to relocate to Van Diemen's Land in 1808.

Walk through the shopping and business precinct and Sandy Bay's considerable diversity becomes apparent. Nearly a quarter of the district's population is from Malaysia or China. Perhaps it's a result of population diversity or maybe the cost of realestate, but Sandy Bay is the only suburb of Hobart that has been consistently safe for the centre-right Liberal Party at both state and federal level...

Images of Sandy Bay

 

 

 

Freycinet

The landform of Tasmania's east coast has a markedly dryer climate and overall appearance than anywhere else on the island state. Vineyards prosper on temperate slopes and arch downwards from a gum forest backdrop to the Tasman Sea. The coastline is interrupted with small fishing ports and sweeps of golden sandy beaches. It's no wonder so many locals either inhabit or holiday in this part of Tasmania.

Along this stretch of coast is Freycinet National Park, home to some amazing and dramatic pink granite peaks, secluded bays, secluded white sandy beaches and abundant birdlife. Of course this park proved an irresistible attraction for the Bazflyers to spend a few days.

The hike to Wine Glass Bay involves a steep climb (in both directions) with something like a total of about 700 steps.

 
Wine Glass Bay

 
Pink Granite Rock

 

Vines down to the sea at Devil's Corner 

 

Pumphouse Point

Nestled among the central mountains of Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area at an altitude of almost 2500 feet, is the picturesque Lake St Clair. Carved out by ice during several glaciations over the last two million years, it is the deepest lake in Australia and the headwaters of the Derwent River, upon which the capital city of Tasmania is located.

At the southern extremities of Lake St Clair a long pier thrusts out across tranquil waters providing access to a large solid concrete building. Originally constructed in 1940 the structure housed water pumps for a hydro electric scheme that following completion was never used. Today the pumps are gone, replaced by an imaginative architectural interior, that is now the accommodation for Pumphouse Point lodge.

Like so many innovative projects, Pumphouse Point was incubated from one man's vision and commitment over many frustrating years. The lodge opened in January 2015 and since then it has exceeded all predictions with near full occupancy throughout the year. Understated luxury accommodation in the heart of the Tasmanian mountain wilderness. 

Pumphouse Point

 

Room with a view

 

Help yourself to a row boat

Lake St Clair

 

Bendigo Again

Although the Bazflyers have previously visited Bendigo there's always new discoveries just waiting around the corner. 

The discovery of gold in the soils of Bendigo during the 1850s made it one of the most significant boomtowns in early Australia and one of the largest producing goldfields on the world. Such former wealth is still evident in the city's architectural heritage and the grand Shamrock Hotel is a fine example. This hotel began life in 1854 and rapidly became the town's premier accommodation rivalling the best anywhere. Click here for more about this hotel.

Today's beautifully restored Shamrock Hotel

 

Myer's is a well known chain of premier Australian department stores, but did you know this iconic establishment began life in the city of Bendigo? The Myer retail group was started by Sidney Myer who migrated from Russia in 1899 with very little money and little knowledge of English to join his elder brother, Elcon Myer, who had left Russia two years earlier. They opened the first Myer store in Bendigo in 1900. 

 

Martin's Tree

It was along Havlin Street East, while casually strolling into downtown Bendigo, that I encountered Martin. There he was gainfully occupied cutting back the Begonias that proudly decorated the street frontage of his humble but well cared for cottage. We talked. His lined face and knarled hands belied a good age which in due course was disclosed to be 87 years. We talked more. We talked about the usual topics dear at heart to older folk, such as sons and daughters, and grandchildren. Martin mentioned his wife had passed-on some years ago and he now lives alone, which no doubt explained his readiness and delight in our chance meeting.

I learned Martin came to Bendigo from the Malee in 1962. He told me their small family farm went the way many Malee properties have gone over the years...sold and amalgamated to form large corporate land holdings. It was at about this stage of our chat Martin pointed to an oak tree resplendently growing on the road side opposite his cottage. He proudly related how his family planted an acorn there in 1975. An acorn he and his children had gathered from Rosalind Park. Watered and lovingly tendered over the years this solitary acorn is today a wonderful and visibly healthy tree which is where the story of Martin's tree begins. The local City Council in its wisdom decreed Martin's oak tree needed to go. Why? Buracuacy was mobilised to dispatch Martin's tree because it was not a native Australian species....! 

Predictably, Martin forceably opposed the Council's plan for his tree so this is a tree story with a happy ending. The tree is still steadfastly in place with Martin standing guard....

Martin's tree

 

Martin standing beside his oak tree

 

Martin's simple sign says it all

 

Avalon

Staged every second year at Avalon, the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition is touted as the biggest aviation showcase held in the Southern Hemisphere. This year's event promised a dazzling array of the latest and most capable military aircraft, as well as historic, sports and aerobatic flying displays. How convenient then the Bazflyers were in Melbourne and had tickets for a non-public trade day.

Lots of trade booths representing a smorgasbord of aviation companies 

 

Executive transport anyone?

 

What about a little something to fly smoke-rings in the sky?

 

Smoke rings like this...?

 

There was so much military might on close-up display

 

Like this in-flight refuelling giant 

 

Present arms...!

 

Nice touch after Major Sweeney's aerial display