Ah the autumn....

So Autumn really has hit Melbourne. But no golden leaves creating havoc on all the pavements. No misty mornings and drizzle.

But yes there is rain. Yes I have been very cold and needing jumpers, coats and scarves. Of course, the days when I worked 13 hour days it was sunny and warm which brought everyone to the beach and to our cafe. The result? Two days of utter mayhem at work. But it's all good fun of course...

On Friday, Jenni and I bundled into our housemates' truck and went with them to Phillip Island. The island itself is pretty dull on a cold and windy day - there was a hurricane south of Australia and Melbourne caught the edge with some fantastic gales. All rather thrilling when you're on clifftops.

It felt a bit like a British holiday - even more so when we visited Cowes, which is actually twinned with Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

We fuelled up on McCafe coffee on the way and ventured across the bridge to the island - which is a few hours drive from St Kilda. Once we got there we realised there wasn't a hell of a lot to do. We passed a few 'sights' - a beach and Swan Lake (cue much humming of Tchaikovsky) where there was a distinct lack of both lake and swans. Bloody drought.

Then we went to the, er, Nobbies. Two big rocks just off the coast and where we had hoped to see seals - however Seal Rock is actually 1.5km offshore. So we didn't. We did, however, have a very blustery walk along the cliffs to see a blowhole and a lot of waves pounding the rocks below.

Freezing cold, we hopped back into the car and went in search of warmth and ended up at Penguin Parade visitor centre for a look around and a very dodgy sandwich. We bought our tickets for the evening and headed to Cowes for a warming coffee, a shop at Coles, more food and a wander around the few shops.

At around 5.30pm we headed back to the Penguin Parade. We prepared ourselves mentally and physically for the cold challenge ahead and then walked down to the beach with a few hundred other freezing souls.

There were rows of concrete steps to sit on and an area of sand cordonned off around them. Jenny and I wrapped ourselves in blankets and we all huddled together. A ranger explained the Little Penguins which we had come to see were floating about 100m offshore waiting for the sky to darken.

After about an hour of sitting with numb bums and everything else, the first few penguins emerged from the water. They ducked and dived back in again and spent ages scouring the area to see if it was safe enough to waddle up the sands and up the grassy banks to their nesting boxes. It took a while for this to happen and a small group would collect at the edge of the surf only for one to turn back or be knocked over and then they would all leg it back into the waves.

After about half an hour we had seen several groups of Little Penguins (which used to be called Fairy penguins) come home. so we left the beach and went up to the boardwalks which ran back to the visitor centre. Here we could watch them finding their nests and calling to each other and waddling up to 1km back to their homes. It is moulting season at the moment and apparently they feed themselves up for this period and some were so fat they could hardly move.

They were tiny (the smallest species in the world) - about 40cm high - and so cute. They have disappeared from all but this one beach on Phillip Island and along a lot of the coastline of Australia. apparently there is a colony under Manly Wharf as well.

Jennny and I have attempted to go out a few nights but been too tired and I have been spending time with people from work too. Last night Jenny and I attempted to go to Neighbours night.

This failed. This failed mainly because we didn't pre-buy or reserve tickets and so queued for ages and ended up sitting in the public area of the Elephant and Wheelbarrow pub with Pip and Amy from work. Libby Kennedy, Darcy and Paul Robinson were the stars for the night.

After a bit, we decided to head to Amello's (my work) because we could get free drinks there and sat and ate all the staff pizza and drank nice,free wine. Jenny and I left at 10.30pm to go and see Dr Karl's band play at the pub and I know that I went there. I know that I saw Dr Karl because I have several short movie clips on my camera of him banging a tambourine.

However the night is a complete blank after Amello's (sorry dad) but I have a bump on my head, no credit on my phone and woke up with all my clothes on, contact lenses in having got a taxi home and wandering off without paying for it. Luckily Matt paid the driver who was banging on our house door. I was already asleep and snoring - alledgedly.

Not to yourselves kids - never ever let your drink leave your sight at dodgy British pubs in St Kilda...

Touristy things...

Sunny Autumn day in the Botannical Gardens


The Welshies return for a few nights of mayhem (them - not me dad!)




The thing about living and working in a place is that you become so accustomed to your daily routine and the places you know that you forget to do all the things you came here to do.

So I'm trying to fill out the last of my time in Melbourne doing the touristy things and not just watching dvds and working.

On Monday, Swedish Jen and I explored Chapel Street - a long road crammed with boutiques, one-off shops, cafes, funky bars and music shops. We spent a few hours traipsing along and wishing we had money before catching one of the ancient-looking trams back to St Kilda for a movie night.




Yesterday, we returned there and ate Thai food at a pavement cafe in the sunshine (it was about 30C at the start of the week) and bought loads of fresh fruit. When Jenny disappeared off to work, I walked further up the street and explored the suburb of South Yarra with it's lovely old houses with wrought-iron balconies, tram lines criss-crossing the tree-lined streets and pavement cafes.

Eventually I came to the Botanical Gardens and wandered around in the afternoon sunshine for an hour or so - the autumn weather here is like those wonderful late summer days in England - perfect weather for a walk.

Then it was the Shrine of Remembrance - a large memorial to those who gave their lives in the World Wars. Rather like an ancient temple, it is a commanding structure in the city. Around it are an eternal flame, the nation and state flags and dozens of memorials to various battalions, commanders, police officers killed in the line of duty, and also a specific one to the men who died building the Thai-Burma railway. That had special significance for me - having seen the places many died.

I wandered around the arts centre and then walked to Collins Street and the Rialto tower - the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere. I went to the top of the observation deck to watch sunset over the city and stayed until it was dark and the lights of the city were winking and blinking away up to the mountains in the distance.




I then bumped into a couple from Churchdown in Gloucester. Which was weird.

Other than that, I have been working a lot of hours - 13 hour shifts again at the weekend which is great money wise but bad for the energy levels. The bunch I work with are great and I am sad in a way that I'm not staying longer to work here. But Autumn is truly rolling in now - today was miserable and rainy - and the restaurant is quiet on those days. Tonight I went in for an hour and a half. Hardly worth getting out of bed for.

Two people - Alisa and Matt - who I work with have moved into Jenny and my apartment for the next week and we're all planning a road trip to see the Penguins at Philip Island on Friday. Right now, I'm off to watch Flubber with them...


Sunrise after an all-nighter on Tuesday