Holiday times

A couple of weeks ago we took a lovely trip for half term.  Thankfully, the majority of the week was decent weather, not too hot or cold until the end of the week.

After spending a lovely couple of days with family, we went to a beautiful place on the Yorkshire Coast called Filey, where we've taken a few holidays over the years.  I wanted to share a few photos as we've had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and as it's autumn it means that we don't have to get up too early to see them (although quite often we were waiting for an early train at Filey station to take us out for the day)

Here are some photos from our trip.  We had such a beautiful time (once we had forgotten about the crazy train journey/cancellations/delays to get there in the first place)

Moon coming up over Filey Beach

Sunrise on Filey Beach

Day trip to Scarborough - North Bay

Early Morning looking towards Flamborough

Penguins at the zoo at Sewerby Hall, near Bridlington

A fun tree in the Sewerby Hall gardens

After a few lovely days, the rain came...Still gorgeous though!

Flashback... Great Ocean Road

All photos copyright Robert May

Written 21st March 2011

Today was an early pickup just after 7am for a long trip down the Great Ocean Road, just out of Melbourne.  We took this trip and the Penguin Parade trip (tomorrow) with Go West Tours, and they were fantastic and extremely knowledgable and a lot of fun, I'd highly recommend them.

Start of the Great Ocean Road

On the way we passed through Geelong which looked cute and then our first stop was at Bells Beach, a really lovely looking and picturesque place.  Got some photos here and then hopped back onto the bus. A few more scenery shots and then we had a tea break at the fantastic Lorne. I think I could happily retire there with my cross stitch.

I *think* this one is Bells Beach

We carried on further down the twisty turny road (think snake pass for about 6 hours at F1 like speed), with me feeling borderline not too amazing, and then made a couple more snapshot stops and also a longer stop to spot some Koalas in the trees; we also saw a variety of birdies and an evil looking snake.

Koala

Lunch was a stop in Apollo bay for a quick sarnie, and ice cream, and then we continued via the Otways Rainforest, with a guided wander around.  Further on into Port Campbell National Park, and we arrived at the 12 Apostles, where we both took a short helicopter trip to view the amazing scenery from the skies.  

View of the Apostles from the air

Then, we made more stops to see Loch Ard Gorge and London Arch (Bridge).  The tour guide kept us very well entertained with stories and a variety of music appropriate to each of them.

Loch Arg Gorge

London Arch
(Previously London Bridge
before it collapsed in the middle)

The tour was really fun, if a little tiring because there was so much packed into the day, but we had a fantastic time, and as you can see there were plenty of photo opportunities for Rob.

Flashback...Walk to St. Kilda

All Photos Copyright Robert May.

Written 20th March 2011

Having become a teeny bit more familiar with our local area, we decided to venture on a walk to the beach at St Kilda. We walked for just over an hour until we got to the waterfront, where we were gasping for a sit down and some water, and more brekkie – we got in just before the lunchtime cut off.

After this, we strolled along the beachfront, where there were tons of volleyball games going on, people on rollerblades and bikes, altogether far too much sport happening for 27 degree baking heat.  We had to stop again a bit further down, where we shunned the noisy bar full of local squawking women and opted for the novotel bar – air-conditioned and quiet. Blissful.

Volleyball on the beach

A gorgeous day

A short walk round the local shops at St Kilda and back past some of the Market stalls before we decided to make our way back to town, via the park. However, it just so happens that next weekend is the Melbourne F1 race, and the park was being set up ready for it. We spent a while walking on the racetrack watching them painting all the sponsors logos onto the walls, and imagining what the noise would be like on a race day.  Really exciting, just a shame we aren’t here for the actual race!!

Walking along the F1 racetrack

Pretty scary view when you imagine cars screaming past
 - from one of the holes in the fencing

We were pretty tired and got a mega long day ahead tomorrow, so we opted for a snacky tea in the Blue Train Cafe (thanks Tracey for the suggestion, it was a good one!) and a slow walk back to the hotel.

Now time to crash out. 7am pickup tomorrow!

Flashback... Rottnest Island

Still one of the most stunningly beautiful places I've ever been to.

All photos copyright Robert May

Written 13th March 2011

Absolutely amazing day out today on Rottnest Island, about 30 minutes from Fremantle on the coast.  It is possible to stay on the island, but just a day trip for us since we had so many other things to see!

Looking out towards Perth
(can you spot it in the distance?)

 There are so many beaches and bays on the island, and hardly any people on them all, despite the boat having been pretty full.  We bought a bayseeker bus pass from the visitor centre for later on and set off walking (plenty of other people had hired bikes).  We did a few km before realising we should get out of the sun for a while. There wasn’t much in the way of food and drink stops outside the main ferry stop/village centre, so we caught the bus a little further while we cooled off under their air conditioning and took in some more gorgeous beaches.

Beautiful clear waters

We decided to get off and have a walk a little further on, in fact when we got down to the beach we managed to get down to the clearest sea I’ve ever seen and it was beautifully cooling on the feet which were rather hot at that point and glad to be out of their sandals.  We walked on the beach in the water for an hour or so and it was so amazing and perfect.

Empty long sandy beaches

After that, we hopped back on the bus, back to the main centre again and saw some of the native little furry Quokkas just hanging around. We had a bite to eat and a mojito each in the bar, while we looked out onto the gorgeous greeny blue water and waited for the ferry to take us back to Fremantle.

Refreshments after a long day in the sunshine

A perfectly relaxing and beautiful day, couldn’t have asked for anything better.