Hallo all!
Thank you Annette for starting us off. Somehow a public holiday weekend has crept up on me. Tomorrow is Queen’s birthday.
My Victorian bus trip saga. We left bright & early 7.30 am, down the SE Freeway to a coffee stop at Tailem Bend, then onwards on same road as recent trip to South-East. As we zoomed through the wee towns of Coomandook, Coonalpyn, Tintinara, Padthaway, once again I tried to snap the churches from bus. Mostly I captured trees, shrubs & tiny bits of church! Lunch stop in Naracoorte where I grabbed a pie, eaten as I walked in the opposite direction to last visit and captured 3 churches (one now a funeral chapel).
We crossed the (unmarked) border to Victoria, this provoking much discussion as to where exactly. Those with phones were able to tell when the time changed – eastern states are ½ hour ahead of SA. Through Apsley & Edenhope, a detour from highway to Warrock Station near Coleraine. This property dates back to 1843. George Robertson took over the sheep run of 11,700 acres in 1844. A cabinetmaker from Glasgow, he designed & built the 57 wooden & brick structures, including the homestead. Some are in a sorry state, others have been restored, 33 are heritage listed. In Coleraine we visited the chocolate factory. I think almost everyone bought a supply! Late afternoon we arrived at our Hamilton motel, conveniently situated across the road from the botanic gardens and a mere block from the city centre.
Day 2 we set off south to Portland on the coast (about 50 miles). As we passed small settlements on the highway, eagle eyed fellow travellers called out “church on the right” “on the left”. I have yet to convince them that I do photo other things beside churches!!! Free time to wander Portland, then a ride on the cable tram restored & run by volunteers. The lady conductor alighted as we crossed each road and stopped the traffic with her red flag. Lunch was at the Cape Nelson Lighthouse cafe, a very tasty & nourishing minestrone soup. Next to Cape Bridgewater where some walked to the Petrified Forest, a series of sandstone tubes. Previously it was thought they began as trees & then transformed into sandstone. The interior of the tubes eroded by millions of years of rainfall and weathering as it was just decaying plant matter. New theories now discount that idea suggesting they formed through the natural erosion of stone in the ground, with the remains looking coincidentally like fossilized tree trunks. See here or here. To be continued
I get gobbledegook when I try to post photos on this site, however you can view my pics on flickr. I post a few every day - you will need to scroll back to those of Warrock Station to find the start of my Victorian trip. If you click on the pic, sometimes I have more info in the notes.
AQ: I see you had two extremely young people on that trip. Anybody we know? :-))) On page 3 of the flickr page, there's a photo of the Port Adelaide Uniting Church with the blue stone inlaid in the walls;it must've been so much brighter when it was newly built. That must've been from a previous trip. Are these folks on the tours people you've traveled with before so they know to alert you to churches? I also looked at the history page on the Warrock Station web site; interesting.
Diane: Looks like your area's in for storm; hope they aren't too bad.
Have a good Sunday all.
Unknown said:AQ: I see you had two extremely young people on that trip. Anybody we know? :-)))
Ha ha ha.
On these trips there are always some regulars who have become friends. After all we are all interested in the scenery, history & variety of things that our tour leader finds for us. You must have scrolled back a long way to find Pt Adelaide Uniting! That one would look so much nicer if they had not built it facing south, as it is usually in shadow. Pt Adelaide is only 20 mins away and I should take my camera mid-summer when the sun is far south. I love the churches with polychrome brick or stone. That bluestone is a type of slate. The bluestone we saw in Victoria is different, it’s volcanic basalt, very dark.
Linda - I have been trying to post my trip saga since I returned a month ago. I hope it isn't a month before I continue the rest of it!
Thanks ANNETTE.
AQ, Thank you for thevery interesting account of your trip, I'm going to look at the pics very soon, after morning caffeine shot.
Morning all, it is grey and cool here and has been raining. We are just fed up with the weather!
Back latef
aquilareen said:Linda - I have been trying to post my trip saga since I returned a month ago. I hope it isn't a month before I continue the rest of it!