I have no idea...

... what the person responsible for this is trying to say, but the situation was so insane I had to take a pic of it. A goat, lying on a surfboard, atop an old car. Yeah, that's not sumfin' you see everyday. The picture was taken somewhere between Lakes Entrance and Glenrowan.

Power's Lookout

My last post from the fair land of Australia is from Power's Lookout, in Victoria. It is situated a 3 km (2 mile) drive through the forest, on an unpaved road, way the hell up in the hillside above the tiny hamlet of Whitfield. Iffin you do find Whitfield, the lookout is actually signposted.

It is named after one Harry Power (born Henry Johnston), an infamous "bushranger" (a glorified, roving horse thief) who at one time supposedly had Ned Kelly as his apprentice. Power spent most of his adult life in prison for one thing or another, but the thing he is remembered for is the hiding place that today carries his name.

The views are quite nice from up there, all pics here.

The long, flat road from Glenrowan to King's Valley.


There are two lookout points. This is from the most easily accessible one, right by the parking lot.


And this is from the second one, where you have to walk both up and down stairs that are bolted to the mountain.




The path looked like this.




View back towards the first lookout.


Dere be trolls in dem dar hills!

Glenrowan and Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly has become something of an Australian Robin Hood figure. As with most of these figures, his actions have largely been explained from the motives of people living many years later, and history and myth are mixed up in an unsavory way.

Kelly may have been wronged by Australian authorities, but that does not excuse his murder of policemen and civilians, nor his frequent use of violence against those who stood in his way. He was a rotten, lying, thieving bastard who got exactly what he deserved.

To make a long story very short, Kelly and his men were holed up in Glenrowan in June, 1880. The cops came and a firefight ensued. Kelly was badly wounded and taken to Melbourne, where he was swiftly tried and hung in November. Good riddance. However, the one good thing he did before he died was to lay the foundations for a big tourist industry for the tiny town of Glenrowan.

All pics here.

This show costs 26 Oz dollars and you can't take pictures. I strongly recommend you go WITH someone, as it is so hilariously bad you need witnesses to back up your stories. Made by happy amateurs with access to high tech equipment.


A more serious museum that costs only $6, and where photography is actively encouraged. This is a replica of the Kelly house as it would have looked back in 1880; there's nothing but a few ruins on the original site today.


A huge Ned Kelly figure stands on a corner. The hat was part of the ridiculous outfit the gang made for themselves, as part of some insane armor. Kelly was still shot three times.


The site where a wounded Kelly was arrested after the gunfight. "It's only a flesh wound".


The site of the inn where they were holed up is now a field, where a little Shetland Pony is grazing peacefully. The cops set fire to the inn and three of Kelly's men were burned, two of them to crisp. In the background is Mt Glenrowan, known as Mt Morgan at the time. It was where the gang had their HQ for some time, before the last battle.

Alpine National Park

For some of the way today I drove through the wonderful Alpine National Park. Since I didn't notice with any great interest exactly where the park began and where it ended, and since the landscape was pretty spectacular outside as inside, I've grouped all these images as Alpine NP.

Tuscany on steroids.


Spectacular views from the highest tops.




Clouds were clinging to the ridges or blowing swiftly past; sometimes over me, sometimes under.


The long and winding road...


More winding road.


A greyhaired forest.


Snow! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!


I believe this place was called Floursack Field, on account of what the white stones looked like.

Sugar baby

I stopped for a late breafast around 9:30, at a bakery in the little town of Omeo. At least I think it was Omeo, it may have been some kilometers before Omeo. Anyways, they have a cool little bakery there with the most saliva-inducing goodies you can imagine. Behold:

I had one of the donuts on the upper right.


And a cherry slice so filled with sugar, it had the consistency of a brick. But soooo good.


I also had one of the muddy fairy cakes. I feared it would taste of coffee, which I hate, but instead it had a sugary, berrylike flavor.


I liked the name of this place. The add hung in the bakery.

The Great Alpine Road

Several places along the way there were trees of all shapes and colors, and if I'd stopped to photograph them all, I'd still be out there. So you'll have to settle for these pics.

All pics from the Great Alpine Road here.

Should I have curled up?

I'm posing a question to the internets, more specifically to anyone with any expertise in spiders. The only thing I know about spiders is that they die when I stomp on them, which I do as often as humanly possible. However, this fella was way too high for me to reach, so I let it be while I went about my business in the bathroom. I'll spare you the details.

Anyway, my question is this: Is this just a common, disgusting but harmless spider, or one of Australia's many lethal, bloodthirsty killers? In short, should I shrug or should I curl up and cry?

Devil's Backbone

Had a long, slow, very pleasant drive from Lakes Entrance by the Pacific to Glenrowan today, through the Alpine National Park area. I'm dividing the pics into several posts, but they're all worth a look, this is possibly the purdiest scenery I've seen yet, even better than the mountains around Katoomba and the drive to Cowra.

These pics are from a place along the way (the B-500, Great Alpine Road) called Devil's Backbone. It was the first serious climb, with a ridge and a snug little valley below, called Sandy Creek. Very cozy, as you can see.

Ish nice.


The very definition of "snug".


Green fields and brown forests above...

Victoria coast

Today I've driven from Eden, New South Wales to a place called Lakes Entrance in Victoria. The latter area is part of the system of lakes left here by the last ice age (appx 10,000 years ago), some of them separated from the Pacific by a thin sand bank. There are also several rivers that run out into the sea here.

I'm sure the place is absolutely packed in the summer, but it's quite tranquil now that it's winter. But if you're ever in town, let me recommend an Italian place called Pinocchio; their Beef & Reef (similar to American Surf & Turf) is very good and in addition to prawns they have scallops. Mmmmm. Also good: garlic bread and Italian pancake. Drooolz.

All pics of the Victoria coast here.

Next stop Antarctica.


Mist over the beach. This place was called Sailors Grave. Morbid, I know.


The beaches stretched for miles in each direction.


Stwange rocks.


This little birdie was jumping around on the beach like a tiny, feathered kangaroo.


From another place, just southeast of Sailors Grave.

Funnies

Two funnies I took here in Eden.

The local sales rep is a native. Very native.


*Snortgiggle*

Eden graveyard

I also took a little stroll around the graveyard that was situated right across the road from the beach. As I've said before, it's interesting to see old graves and try and garner some information from them. Sure enough, there were some from the 1800s, and they were all "in the care of the lord", etc. The newer ones were more "good memories from yer mates" and that sort of thing.

Quite a few of the dead had had titles like captain or skipper, and some graves were for people lost at sea. Some, as always, were for the young - usually there was no cause of death, but a few had been killed in car crashes and a few had drowned. I especially noticed the relatively high number of graves marked "unknown". I don't know if these are aboriginees or people washed up on the beach or if Eden is drifter central, but I found it strange.

Sunrise over the graveyard.


"Taken by the sea", sixteen years old. Tombstone formed as a surfboard. RIP buddy.


All these white crosses were unknown graves. Stwange.


These older, somewhat more elaborate stones were also "inhabitant unknown". Possibly the name has just been washed away by the weather?




This was the most recent I could find. Small and unnamed. So many lives, so many stories.

Eden beach

This morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 6AM, to try and catch the sunrise. T'was a bit cloudy, but I still got to see some nice fog and waves and stuff. I also took a walk in the local cemetery, which is right by the bay (separate post). The bay area here in Eden is known as Twofold Bay, since there are in fact two bays. Uhm.

Fog on the beach. Mmmmm, fog. View to the north.




View to the south.


With the graveyard on the other side.


The sun coming up.


Next stop for the water? South America.


On the other side of the hills to the south was the other half of Twofold Bay.

View towards the land to the west.