JOYMOUNTAIN: St. Oswald's Church, St. Kilda's Beach, Dandenong Ranges & The Yarra Valley

I have alot of blogging to catch up on and we leave tomorrow! Hard to believe the time has already gone by. It has been an amazing trip and it is great to see my little Missy getting around and things beginning to settle into a routine. They still have some areas they want to work on, our little Kate seems to have her nights and days mixed up, but babies will do that and it will all sort itself out before they know it.

Let me cover a few of the daytrips we have taken…. After Larry arrived we took some opportunities to let him see a bit of the area. I will give an overview of some of the amazing things we saw and include a few pics.

St. Oswald's Church

Larry & I enjoyed mass at this lovely old church. Afterward we were invited for

coffee and bisquets ( cookies ) in the Parish Kitchen.

We answered all their questions about America and they filled us in a bit about their church traditions in Australia. We enjoyed our time in worship and fellowship with them.

St Kilda’s Beach

St. Kilda’s Beach is Melbourne’s playground. You can stroll, enjoy cafés & pubs, watch the locals, rollerblade & cycle along the Lower Esplanade or enjoy all the shops. The day we went was coolish but St Kilda’s Beach just off the CBD of downtown is a must on a Melbourne visit. (Pronounced Melbun….no R ) There were plenty of people there taking in the sun….and did not seem put off by the brisk day. We enjoyed the shops and stopped in for my favorite…. large chunks of fried potatoes with a bit of crisp to them and always very hot and served on a big piece of butcher block paper. After wandering in and out of shops we headed down to the beach. It is a beautiful beach and though nippy we enjoyed the lovely walk.

Dandenong Ranges

Perched high above Melbourne amid glades of ancient ferns, towering trees, enchanted forests and storybook villages is a spellbinding region. This was my first time in the Dandenongs and I loved it immediately! It was a gorgeous sunny day and Wes, Larry & I (Missy and Kate stayed back this day) was drawn into the beauty of the mountains ahead of us as we climbed the roads to our destination. We traveled through Fern tree Gully that was named because there is an actual fern tree! We stopped and fed large white cockatoos, red cockatiels and pink fluffy parrots who were not afraid to land on our hands, arms and backs. These birds are not in captivity but live in the rain forest of the Dandenong Ranges. One bold white cockatoo took Wes’ whole bag of bird feed and flew to a nearby tree when I pursued it. That drew a laugh from everyone and I gladly gave over the rest of my bag to get away from the hungry birds for fear they would start on me next! We saw beautiful gardens, quaint and cozy breakfast cottages with plenty of old world charm. At the sky top summit we got out for some picture taking and then headed back in Wes’ jeep on an unpaved road! As I gripped the bar in front of me I commented that it felt like a roller coaster ride….and I wasn’t kidding! We all proclaimed it was a perfect day and shared our tales with Missy and Kate when we returned.

Yarra Valley

Missy & Kate joined us on this full day outing. Our destination was the Yarra Valley. From world famous wines to fabulously fresh food and breathtaking scenery, the Yarra Valley is Victoria’s source of indulgent sensations. There is nothing like the magical mountain villages and sun kissed gardens or magnificent forests and cozy bed and breakfasts.
Our first stop was the Healsville Sanctuary. It is Australia’s only Wildlife Centre. It features the Duck Billed Platypus, which is an endangered species. This year there was much excitement about the twin platypuses born. The sanctuary is beautiful in the natural habitat and you can wander in and among the animals with only the most dangerous contained. We also saw Dingo, kangaroo, wallaby, ostrich, Tasmanian Devil, snakes, lizards and much more. Larry loved it and drug me from a warm spot because I missed seeing the large fruit bats up close and personal. Ewwww! We got to feed the kangaroo and that was pretty cool. .

Healsville Sanctuary

Kangaroo

Dingo

Kookaburra

Our next stop was the Wine Boutiques and Wineries. The Yarra Valley is recognized as one of the world’s great wine growing regions. It is home to over 55 wineries and is one of Australia’s finest cool climate regions, which is what produces such excellent wine. We lunched, tested sips of the wine and a variety of cheeses. The scenery is breathtaking with vineyards sweeping the entire valley with colored roses marking the type of grapes grown in each section. The afternoon warmed up when the sun came out and added to the perfection of what we were seeing. Eventually it was time to call it a day and head home.

Vineyards

Today we went to the Queen Victoria Market for a bit of shopping. It is a large marketplace somewhat like a flea market but with fresh vegetables, meats and cheeses along with almost anything else you can think of. We shopped for a while enjoying the busy marketplace taking time to make some purchases and then headed home. I prepared chicken cheese rellenos for dinner and we will spend the rest of the evening packing for our return trip home to Texas. Your prayers for travel mercies would sure be appreciated.