Last night was spent in an excellent motel and we enjoyed a few beers with an English couple who organise travel and ticket arrangements for small groups for F1 and other events. We didn't sample the wood fired pizzas at the excellent hotel as we had enjoyed fine dining at lunch on Mt Rael, overlooking the Yarra Valley at Healsville. Great views
We began our tour with a rapid drive to Melbourne via the Hume. We will have taken many days longer on the return journey but this is our main January getaway.
We have been lucky with the weather which enabled us to walk around the city and take in the gardens and historic buildings. I have barely scratched the surface.
We stayed a few nights with Greg, Rachel and Amanda in Helen and Warwick Alexander's (???) apartment in Collingwood. The Powerhouse is a converted factory close to the centre of Melbourne. We easily walked to the museum and city and there were plenty of cheap eats on offer. Recommended.
I enjoyed my visit to the Museum, Young and Jackson's pub and later the Royal Exhibition building but much remains for a longer visit, along with parts further afield.
Greg took us on a suburban run out to the Yarra Valley New Year's day, taking us along Spring?? road and other impressive 6 and 8 lane roads. We also saw his old home in Viewhill street which has not changed much over the years - except for his home! We began our wine tasting at St Huberts who suggested Tokar Estate for lunch. Yering Station was underwhelming, the gallery at Tarra Warra was a surprise
NYE was fun. Greg and Rachel wandered in to town but we had a good view of the Yarra Park (MCG) fireworks at 9.30 and later at midnight. I have some excellent video as well which I will upload once I have wifi.
Decided to head north after NYE and once again. meandered up through the Yarra Valley. This time we sampled some expensive wines from Coldstream (bought a Pinot made by James Halliday), Yarra Yering (nothing under ($90!)
and some of the TarraWarra wines after viewing the Geoffrey Smart exhibition.
After exploring this area, we will head to Canberra via Corryong and Tumut. Should be fun. More photos soon.
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Location:Elm Lodge, Bright, Australia
