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Melbourne, Australia
Sunday, December 2, we had planned
to do some sightseeing around Melbourne but it was raining
so we decided to hang out at the Park Hyatt. We have determined
that this hotel is without a doubt the most well decorated
one in which we've stayed. The style hints of Japanese with
a very art deco flair. Most of the walls are burl wood with
chrome and frosted/etched glass appointments. The back lit
colored art glass panels reflect off of the opposing chrome
& wood. There are large wooden columns that create secret
areas for privacy. The floors are works of art that are different
colors of marble with hand-cut designs set in. Where there
is carpet, it is extremely creative and is surrounded by black
granite. The ceilings have cove lighting and interesting deco
designs as they curve from one area to another. Having said
that, the service is not on a par with what we have experienced
in previous hotels. I think we are hopelessly spoiled.
Monday morning, we awake to more
rain. We were supposed to have taken a helicopter ride down
the coastline to see "The Twelve Apostles" (rock formations),
but the ceiling was too low, so it was cancelled. I turned
on the TV and stumbled on to the Redskin-Cowboy game (live
at 8:00 a.m.). This turned out to be an unpleasant experience
since the cursed Cowboys beat the heavily favored Redskins.
Ashley had retreated to the lounge to read the paper.
After the game, we rented a car
and drove for about two hours into the Yara Valley wine country
in the rain trying to escape cabin fever. We passed by the
vineyards and then on to a road through a beautiful misty
forest of giant Ash trees and huge ferns. We were afraid we
had somehow managed to enter Jurassic Park and half expected
to see a man-eating dinosaur around the next bend in the road.
On the way back, we saw a road
sign that said; "Drowsy Drivers Die". Since I qualified as
drowsy, we decided to stop for some ice cream at the Healesville
Ice Creamery. We asked the proprietor if he knew how to make
a Coke Freeze. He agreed to give it a shot. I don't think
that the Carefree, Arizona Dairy Queen has anything to worry
about. That's where we met Liz Gibbons and her two beautiful
children, an eleven-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old
son. Her husband, John, had recently been named the director
of the Healesville Sanctuary.
One of Liz's interests is rescuing
injured koalas and returning them to the wild. Ashley mentioned
to her that she wanted to see a duck-billed platypus while
we were in Australia and Liz said that the sanctuary was the
place to go. After an enjoyable visit with the three of them,
we took the five-minute drive and were soon taking pictures
of kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas. When we arrived at the
"World of the Platypus" the Gibbons family including the husband,
John, greeted us. We were then treated to a private tour of
the facility.
The Healesville Sanctuary is
the only place that the platypus has been successfully bred
in captivity and they have succeeded twice. I know that it
is commonly accepted that God is perfect but you have to sort
of wonder if the platypus wasn't one of his mistakes. It is
a mammal that lays eggs and then nurses its young. As they
were leaving, Liz gave Ashley a stuffed koala as a gift. She
didn't know that it was Ashley's birthday.
Tuesday was our day to play Royal
Melbourne Golf Club. When we woke we were reluctant to open
the curtains. We were afraid it would still be raining; it
wasn't. Maybe things were turning for the better. At 10:30
AM we were at the first tee. They don't have golf carts (buggies)
at Royal Melbourne. They also don't have caddies except on
the weekend. It was cold and very windy but we were anxious
to play the course so off we went. It is a great layout but
we soon discovered that we were in no shape for such an undertaking.
By the time we finished eighteen we were barely ambulatory.
Soon after returning to the hotel,
Pam called and said that the airplane had been jury-rigged
and we would be able to leave for New Zealand tomorrow morning.
It does appear that things are turning back in our favor.
The repairs will be completed in Auckland, New Zealand next
week. They have to be completed in Auckland because once we
leave there, it's nothing but 8,000 miles of water until we
get to California.
Till next time,
Pat
Melbourne
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Park Hyatt, Melbourne
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Park Hyatt, Melbourne
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Park Hyatt, Melbourne
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Fern Forest
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Giant Ash Trees
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Hats are the Law
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Wild Birds
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Ferns in the Mist
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Stevenson Falls
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Ice Creamery Internet
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Tasmanian Devil
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Can you find the Baby?
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Taking a Nap
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The Gibbons
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Wallaby
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Swans
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Kawala
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Royal Melbourne
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Royal Melbourne
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