Visitors!!

On September 23rd, our first visitors arrived in Melbourne...my parents!

Their visit was much anticipated by both us and by the traveling party, who took the trip in part to see us and also to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary! Their visit was planned over school holidays so that I would be free to explore with them without the burden of working during the week. Due to the fact that my dad is still working, he could only take two weeks off, which meant about ten days in Oz after you account for travel and also spending a day in LA (where they did a whirlwind tour of Hollywood, drove up the PCH, and got in the audience for a Jay Leno Show taping!). I tried to pick activities that would "highlight" the best of what Melbourne has to offer, since they would spend only seven days here before flying to Sydney for a long weekend. I also did not want to completely exhaust my parents, as after all, it was meant to be a vacation for them!

When they arrived on Saturday morning, we let them get settled into their new surroundings, but then went to Willy for the day to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. We also ate dinner at a great restaurant within walking distance of our house, which forced them to stay awake even though they would have probably liked to have been asleep! They were troopers though, and managed to avoid going to bed until around 10pm, which helped them get adjusted to our "local" time.

Mom insisted I take this picture to show Erik driving on the "wrong" side of the car!

Strolling on a lovely Saturday in Williamstown with the CBD in view.

Williamstown Beach

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Phillip Island. This was one of the few days that Erik was able to join us for activities, as unfortunately he was (and still is!) quite busy with work. I am going to do a separate post for Phillip Island, since this was our first visit there, but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures from the Koala Sanctuary. We also attended the Penguin Parade, but they do not allow photography (much to my mother's dismay!), so the only pictures I have from that event are of the lovely sunset over the ocean that evening.

One of the koalas that my mother became attached to...she did not want to leave!

There were many wallabies at the koala sanctuary, though Sandy did not have much interest in them!

Watching the water for any sign of penguins

Monday was rather low key due to the fact that I sustained some sort of food poisoning, likely from a Red Rooster (a local fast food chain) rotisserie chicken. Unfortunately I was still feeling sluggish on Monday, but that did mean that we could relax at home and watch the Ravens play Sunday night football. Later on in the afternoon, we took the train from Footscray Station into the city so that we could ride the City Circle Tram. The free tram travels around the city in about an hour, giving a little bit of commentary along the way. It is a good way to get your bearings of the city and it was a nice way to spend a cool afternoon. On the way home, we stopped at Olympic Doughnuts so that my parents could try their famous hot jam donuts. The place looks incredibly dodgy, but luckily the girl in front of my mother explained that she had been coming to get donuts for years from that place (it opened in 1981), so my mom was convinced they were okay to eat. :)

Flinders Street Station

Hanging out at the tram stop

Hot jam donuts at Footscray Station!

On Tuesday, we departed for the Great Ocean Road! The three of us (Erik had to stay home to work...booo!) headed out in the morning and set our sights on reaching Apollo Bay that evening. We would return back to Melbourne on Wednesday night for Erik's birthday dinner. Our trip was absolutely fantastic, and I will do a separate blog post about our trip there as well, because there is just too much to write about in one post. Highlights included surfers at Bells Beach in 3 meter swells, kangaroos at Anglesea golf course, baby koalas on the road to Cape Otway lighthouse, witnessing two koala fights on the same road, stunning views from Teddy's lookout, a tapas dinner in Apollo Bay, and obviously seeing the 12 Apostles.

Wednesday evening we celebrated 34 years of Erik with pizza for dinner and cake for dessert. He even had a few presents to open, some of which traveled all the way from Africa, where Erik's mother spent some time just a few months ago.

Birthday boy!! :)

Rainbow chip cake is the way to this guy's heart!

For Thursday, we planned a trip to Queen Victoria Market. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of mom and dad at the market, but I think they enjoyed looking at the items the stalls had to offer and they did a good amount of souvenir shopping there as well. I actually drove to the market (which I would never do under other circumstances because I hate driving in the city), and came to a sign where I was supposed to do a hook turn. Well I have never encountered that before and I had absolutely no idea what to do! There were no cars coming in the other direction (though there was a cyclist who probably had to slow down to avoid hitting me), so I just turned right instead of waiting like I was apparently supposed to do. I might need a Melbournian to work with me on this hook turn thing! On Thursday evening, we headed to a local brewery, Matilda Bay, for a beer tasting. I will post additional information about that as well, because I think local readers might be interested in learning more about that adventure. We all had a great time and also met some "friends" during our tasting experience!

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Our friends!

Friday was spent watching the Ravens on Thursday night football and also packing up for the next adventure -- a trip to Sydney! On Friday night we had dinner with some members of our "footy family", who were generous to host us for dinner after just returning from a three week holiday in Europe the day before. My parents enjoyed being able to be inside the home of an Australian family and there was no lack of good food, drink, and conversation! We flew out of Melbourne on Saturday morning on different flights and met up at our hotel, Marriott Circular Quay, later that afternoon. Again, I will do a separate post on Sydney, but here are a few pictures from the trip.

Two iconic sites in one shot. Lots of people out enjoying the lovely Sydney weather!

Family!

My parents flew out of Sydney on Monday at 1pm and arrived back in Baltimore at 8pm on Monday night, over 24 hours after they left Australia. We had a fantastic visit with them, and we are so glad that they were able to make it here to see what our lives are like Down Under. Stay tuned for more detailed reports from their visit! :)

Whitsunday Islands

If you have not read about why we decided to visit the Whitsundays, you can read that post here. Once the decision about where to go was made, we had to choose which boat to sail on during our trip. There are probably close to 100 tour operators of boats that sail around the Whitsunday Islands, so the task of narrowing down which operator we would choose was not an easy one. We wanted a smaller boat, without the backpacker/party-all-night-long vibe, and we were somewhat limited due to our dates, because each boat only sails a few times per week. In the end we choose to go with "On Ice", a 46 foot sailing catamaran with ten passengers and two crew.

"On Ice"

Our boat set sail at 4pm on Saturday and we quickly got to know our fellow passengers. On board were an Italian couple on their honeymoon, two young German backpackers, Australian sisters originally from the Sydney area, an American who currently lives in Manly, and his girlfriend who lives in San Francisco. Our skipper was Phil, a Kiwi who comes to Queensland in the winter months to work, and Bo, a native South African who spent much of his life sailing around the world. A good group can probably make or break your trip, and we were fortunate to have a fantastic group of people on our boat!

Our private room on the boat

The first evening was spent making progress away from Airlie Beach. Soon into our trip, we enjoyed snacks while watching the sun set out on the open ocean. We anchored in a small cove off of Whitsunday Island (the largest in the group of the "Whitsundays"), and enjoyed meeting our fellow travelers over dinner and beers. All food is included on the trip but alcohol is BYO and we did not have a shortage of drinks on this trip!

Sunset #1

The boat gets moving early on these trips, as there is a lot to see in a couple of days. We set sail for the passage between Whitsunday Island and Hook Island, and due to the tide coming in and a bit of wind, the boat was rocking. I was actually on the front of the boat hanging out with Jonas, one of the German guys, and we unexpectedly got soaked from a massive wave! I think I decided it was a good idea to take some motion sickness medicine at that point. :) Footage from that passage is included in the video at the end of this post, but do not watch if you are prone to motion sickness!

Before the massive wave engulfed us!

Bo preparing our brekkie

Our first stop of the day was at Tongue Bay, where we walked up a small hill and were greeted with a breathtaking view of Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach. The beach is known for its "swirling sands", and even though it was high tide, we could still see that phenomenon occuring.

The Germans and I with Whitehaven Beach in the background

We then sailed around to Whitehaven Beach so that we could set foot on the amazingly soft sand. The sand is actually 98% silicon, which is what gives the sand that gleaming white color. Needless to say, it is stunning!

Our boat approaching Whitehaven Beach

We had a few hours to hang out on the beach, and Erik remembered a hike to a lookout that he did when he was in the Whitsundays ten years ago. We went in search of that trail and ran into this:

1 of 3 goannas that we saw on this short walk!

The view at the top was nice but not spectacular, as the trees were overgrown, so there was no view of the beautiful beach. It was worth the hike just to run into the goannas, though!

Once we returned back to the beach, Erik did some stand up paddleboarding while I enjoyed the soft sand.

From Whitehaven Beach, we took off for Hook Island, where we got in an early evening snorkel session. This boat has a sea scooter, which is essentially like a fan that you can use while snorkeling to get you around faster. Erik and I used it and found that it was a great way to cover a lot of ground but that it made us cold quickly because we were not using our muscles to swim! After a hot shower (a luxury not found on many of the sailing boats), we enjoyed another beautiful sunset from the deck of the boat.

Sunset #2

In the morning we set off for a prime snorkeling spot off of Hayman Island called Blue Pearl Bay. This spot is known for its fish and in particular, a large Maori Wrasse fish named Elvis. Fortunately, "the king" made an appearance for us, which you can see in the first snorkeling video below around 1:25. Shout out to my parents, sister, and brother-in-law, who sent us a GoPro camera for our birthdays this year!! Hopefully the videos do not make you seasick...it was our first attempt using the camera and we did learn some good tips for next time. Both the fish and coral were impressive at this location, though you can definitely see how tourism has affected the coral and the colors are clearly not as vibrant as they once were.

Snorkeling in Blue Pearl Bay from Ashley Hanson on Vimeo.

We then set sail for Langford Reef to try to spot some sea turtles. That was a successful venture, and in addition I spotted two black-tipped reef sharks in the shallow surf while walking along the beach! This video is mostly snorkeling with the sea turtles (we saw a single turtle and a family of three), but if you have sharp eyes you can spot the reef sharks at the 20 second mark . They are extremely skittish and swam away quickly when I entered the water near them.

Langford Reef Sea Turtles from Ashley Hanson on Vimeo.

After our snorkeling session at Langford Reef, it was time to head back to Airlie Beach. The sail went up and we arrived at the pier on Monday at 2pm. We said goodbye to our fellow travelers and hopped on a bus to the airport, where we flew back to Melbourne that afternoon.

Erik enjoyed helping on the boat when he could. He has some experience sailing with his grandparents around the Great Lakes.

Although it was a quick trip, I felt like we were able to see and do many things because we were cruising around the islands on a boat. I think the choice to take the boat trip instead of to stay on one of the island for a few nights was the right decision, and I would absolutely recommend a sailing trip around the Whitsundays as the best way to see all that the area has to offer.


Whitsunday Islands from Ashley Van Doren on Vimeo.

Airlie Beach

Just a few months ago, Erik and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. I thought that a milestone such as 5 years of marriage would serve as a good reason for a little vacation, though Erik tried to convince me that 5 years is no different than 6 or 7 years or even today, for that matter. :) He does have a point, but after some discussion we decided that an anniversary trip was in order, so I began planning. Planning is one of my favorite things about going on vacation, whereas Erik mostly prefers to "wing it". I think there are positives and negatives to both types of travel, as sometimes when you plan too much you might miss out on things you would have otherwise stumbled upon. On the flip side, if you do not plan enough, you can miss some of the best sights a region has to offer, which is the stance that I usually tend to take. My first thought was that we should head to Port Douglas, near Cairns, to soak up some sun, see the Daintree Rainforest, and dive the Great Barrier Reef. However, that would be a nice trip to take with visiting family and/or friends, so I kept searching. My next thought was to stay at a nice eco-resort on an island off the coast of Queensland, as it would be a bit of a splurge and we could pamper ourselves for a few days. Then I thought that sounded like a vacation we should take when we are old and tired, so I started searching again. It was actually one of the footy club members (a parent of one of the players) who suggested that we sail around the Whitsunday Islands. Erik had done this before when he traveled around Australia 10 years ago, but it would still be a unique experience to go on a trip like that together. After a little bit of searching, we were both sold and the decision on where to go had been made.

The Whitsunday Coast is not easily accessible from Melbourne, despite being a few hours away via plane. All flights go through Brisbane and there is only one flight each day to/from Brisbane, which means you spend quite a bit of time traveling. The Whitsunday Coast Airport has only two gates and is about the size of a large house in the United States. From the airport, it is about a 35 minute drive to Airlie Beach, which is the "jumping off point" for most of the Whitsunday Island sailing trips. We did not arrive until 4pm, which meant that we would spend a full day in Airlie before heading out on our boat. Due to the fact that it was our anniversary and we received a generous financial gift from my parents, we splurged on our lodging at  Peppers Coral Coast. The room was top notch and the manager even left a bottle of complimentary champagne in our room for our anniversary!

Huuuuuuge spa tub in the bathroom

View from the balcony of our apartment

Once we checked in, we walked into town in search of dinner. We ended up at an outdoor backpacker bar with live music and reasonably priced drinks. There was a place to order food next door, so we enjoyed dinner, drinks, tunes, and warm weather for a few hours before heading back to Peppers.

Live music at Magnums

Nighttime view of the pool and restaurant at Peppers

Breakfast was included in our room rate, and the food was good, though not the best hotel brekkie we've ever eaten. We had a bit of time to kill since our boat was not leaving until 4pm, so we soaked up the Queensland sun for a few hours.

Enjoying a beautiful view from the pool lounger!

After checking in for our sailing trip, we went to hang out by the lagoon in town. It makes for a great place to cool off, and the setting right next to the ocean is quite picturesque.

We then picked up plenty of booze for our trip and walked down to Abel Point Marina, the landmark from which our boat would be departing. Soon after, we met our crew and fellow passengers, and we were off on a 2 day/2 night adventure of sailing around the Whitsunday Islands!!

Snow in September?!

Okay, so it did not actually snow in Melbourne today, but seeing as I have not seen snow since sometime around February of 2011, the hail that gathered at our back door today certainly looked like snow!

Every Thursday I teach at the "uni" from 8am until noon and then from 2pm until 4pm. During my lunch break, I generally go for a run and then eat lunch with Erik after my workout. I was very excited about my run today, seeing as it was quite warm and sunny. Of course, I must have momentarily forgotten that we live in Melbourne and the weather can change instantaneously without warning. About half way through my run, I did notice some dark clouds, however, I thought the weather might blow over. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, I was being slapped in the face with hail that was coming down at a 45 degree angle. Lucky for me, I was near a bridge overpass, so I was able to duck under that for a few minutes while the hardest stuff fell down. I decided to tough it out and finish the run in the rain/hail, but had I waited about 15 more minutes, I would have finished my run in sunny and warm conditions! During the remainder of the day, the weather fluctuated between beautiful blue skies and torrential downpours with hail. I returned home about an hour after what I thought was the last hailstorm, so I was surprised to see the remnants of the storms. I really did do a double take when I saw the white stuff!

Is it winter or spring?!

Pellets large enough to do damage to vehicles, I think!

The winds wreaked havoc on the new blooms of flowering trees.