Robot Claw

Yesterday was a full day that took us into the ACT and Australian capital of Canberra. On the way we stopped at the world (?) famous Dog On The Tucker Box:

This is a statue about 5 miles from Gundagai. You can enjoy it yourself in the photo, and rest assured there’s not much else to see if you actually visit! I did buy a $2 tamagotchi knock-off at the adjacent rest stop though 🙂

A little over an hour later we arrived at our motel which is conveniently located next to our next destination which was the miniature village of Cockington Green.

We visited this place about 35 years ago as kids, and I’m reasonably sure we’ve changed more than it has! 

It’s a linear path through a series of mostly 1/12 scale miniatures. About 2/3rds of the place is themed after the UK and the remainder is international. There’s a decent amount of variety but we both thought the detail could be better. There’s also a short steam train ride which costs extra. It’s not very big; you could easily see it all in an hour.

If you look closely you can see some cute little hidden scenes scattered around. But looking close also reveals areas in need of repair, such as fallen figures, missing paint, broken electronics etc. Surely these could be seen to?

I don’t want to dump on the place too much, but it’s not inexpensive for what it is, and one might expect a little more maintenance for the price. I’m glad we went again after so many years, but I doubt we’ll be returning in another 35 years 🙂

That’s Telstra Tower, which overlooks the city of Canberra from nearby Black Mountain.

And that’s Canberra! It’s a great view from the outdoor viewing platform but it was very chilly and windy up there! It’s a good tower though, and great value for the (low) cost.

Today we head east for the coast and another town we haven’t visited for 35 years. At this point the day is a blank slate: what will we find?!?

We drove to the city of Wagga Wagga yesterday via Albury for lunch. This means we’re now in the state of New South Wales!

Our hotel is attached to the local RSL club, which means pokies are only a hop and a skip away. Bernard’s still up from a big win in Melbourne and after a bit of fluttering yesterday he ended up (again) with a slight net profit!

We didn’t do any tourist activities yesterday – just drove and relaxed – but these next two days have potentially full schedules. Stay tuned…

Yesterday we left Melbourne and drove southwest toward a natural tourist attraction called The Twelve Apostles. This was a drive through endless dry, yellow fields of sheep and cows interspersed by eucalypts.

We didn’t see any (living) kangaroos, but at one time had to stop for an echidna crossing the road!

The drive took a few hours and eventually we arrived at the destination. Although it’s somewhat remote it was very busy (even on New Year’s Eve!) and mobbed with tourists. And here’s what we came to see:

There were twelve rock formations originally, but many have crumbled and only a few are still visible above the water. The top photo looks west, the bottom east.

The ocean itself was the bigger attraction for me: that’s (arguably) the Southern Ocean which has always been somewhat mysterious and exotic in my mind. Monsters live there, and only madmen dare to sail it.

The winds blowing up from Antarctica were cyclonic and inflated our windbreakers admirably, but it wasn’t exactly cold and out of the wind we even got a bit overheated. A path led us down to a beach (behind and east of where the above photo was taken) where I was able to dip my feet into the ocean…

It was cold! Though it’s farther than the horizon, from this point on Australia the next stop south is Antarctica and the ocean was giving me a hint of what to expect! 

We continued to Ballarat where almost everything was closed (it was evening on New Year’s Eve and a Sunday…) so we were forced to enjoy McDonalds, which turned out to be as delicious as it had been for lunch seven hours earlier 😉

Oh and the new year? I welcomed it fast asleep!

That’s St Patrick’s Catholic cathedral, which didn’t charge $5 for a ‘photography’ license like the Anglican cathedral in town (St Paul’s). From the outside I found St Patrick’s more impressive, but I have to admit St Paul’s was prettier inside and I probably should have sprung for the license! As always, we lit candles for mum and dad 🙂

Melbourne Gaol is a must-visit if your ever here. It’s not large, but is a well presented look at Australian penal life back in the mid-late 1880s. Many of the prisoner stories involve the goldfields, and many are sad and leave some doubt as to the guilt of the (often executed) inmates. 

Prisoners were housed alone in tiny cells and silence was enforced at all times, even when they worked alongside their fellow inmates. In addition they wore cloth masks to even hide their faces to enforce separation. It was a bleak existence.

The prison is most famous for once housing and eventually executing Australia’s infamous ‘bushranger’ Ned Kelly.

He’s a blog post unto himself, but I was very impressed with the detailed history the gaol presented, as well as discussion of his legacy within a modern context.

Oh, and you can buy loads of Ned Kelly souvenirs in the gift store ?

That’s a view toward the docklands pier, slightly south of the city. Can you guess why we visited? Here’s a hint:

‘Melbourne Star’ it’s called. It’s 40 stories tall, takes half an hour to go around and costs $36 a ‘flight’!

I really enjoyed this. It’s slow and very smooth, and there’s plenty of time to appreciate the views. Since there weren’t many riders, we got a car to ourselves (they hold 20) and enjoyed the ride.

However I have to say the view – which is mostly industrial expanses or construction – leaves a little to be desired. Had this been built downtown on the Yarra river it would have been a tourist magnet. Out on the far side of the docklands though, it’s probably not a must-do 🙂

I’m getting my dreaded ‘Australian visit sore throat’ as well. I’ve already begun an intense treatment of medicated lozenges and frozen cokes to feel better. Let’s hope it works!