Maremarra dogs are guardians. They love to protect. In Warrnambool they spend the summer on Middle Island protecting the Little Penguins from foxes during their breeding season. Known as the Maremma Penguin project it was a world first. And A huge success.
Flagstaff Hill is also the home of old retired Maremma dogs. They were so cute. The dogs are a great surprise in amongst all the history of the museum. Their purpose apart from supporting the dogs is to help educate tourists of the Little Penguins.
This journey is brought to life in the Australian movie Oddball. It tells the story of how a local chicken farmer, Swampy Marsh eventually persuaded the local council to allow his dog to help. His Maremma guarded his chickens from foxes so he was convinced that Oddball could use these skills to save the Little Penguins. It is a very funny movie.
Loch Ard Gorge is on the Great Ocean Road. It is a beautiful rugged piece of coastline. A sandy beach cove surrounded by high sheer cliffs with hidden caves. It is on Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast.
In 1878 it was the site of the areas most famous shipwreck, The Loch Ard. After the Loch Ard crashed into the outer island it broke up. The tide then brought debris, treasures, bodies and surprisingly 2 survivors into the gorge. The male survivor, Tom heard Eva calling for help and he went to rescue her. He pulled her onto the beach. He then somehow scaled the sheer cliffs to get help. For us, it was difficult enough climbing down the stairs to get into the gorge. So, I have no idea how he did it.
Standing in the gorge itself I was overwhelmed it’s beauty and how dwarfed I felt. It was so peaceful looking out from the gorge out to sea through the heads. I would have loved to have explored the caves had the tide been low.
It was from Loch Ard Gorge that the beautiful Loch Ard Peacock was recovered. The history of the Loch Ard shipwreck is well documented at Flagstaff Hill museum.
I think my favourite part of our recent holidays was seeing koalas in the wild. While koalas are an Australian marsupial most people only see them in zoos or koala parks. There habitat is very limited because they are very fussy about the types of gum leaves they eat.
We were lucky enough to see koalas on two occasions. The first was at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve in Victoria. A family pointed out two koalas to us at the very top of some gum trees. They were sleeping but we all so excited to see them. I think the last time I saw a koala out in nature was before I could vote. In other words over 40 years ago.
Our second koala sighting was a real surprise. It was in New South Wales at Narrandra. As we hadn’t planned to stop off here we hadn’t researched the town. If we had we would have known that the town is is working hard to breed koalas in the wild. It also has special protect environments for them. We were lucky enough to accidentally camp at one of these places. As it was in the early evening the were up and about moving around eating leaves. This was very special and something I had never seen before. I took a few videos so I hope you can see them. Both koalas were in separate trees. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Sharing koala sightings whilst on the road is a great way to start to get to know others.
During our visit to Aarat we explored J ward. When it was first built in 1859, it was the old goal. In 1886 the goal closed and the next year it became a ward of the Aradale lunatic asylum for the criminally insane. For my husband and I this was very interesting because of our jobs. I am a mental health nurse trained 41 years ago and hubby was a crime lawyer prior to retirement.
The guides who run the tours are volunteers, part of a group called the Friends of J Ward. They are interested in the history of the ward and many had worked in it. Our guide had been a psychiatric nurse there and told personal stories of those admitted. For me personally the museum gave a great understanding of the changes to psychiatry Dr Dax brought to Victoria especially relating to how patients were treated and cared for. He implemented many ideas that are classified as best practise today.
The front gates to the old goal. This very solid gate holds a door within a door. It is very large.
On the internal walls of the courtyard over 130 years ago a prisoner painted the old sailing ship. To help preserve it it has been restored to its original condition. This artwork now features on many creative works attached to J Ward.
This scene shows the set up for an early version of ECT ( electroconvulsive therapy). The treatment is still used today and may at times be the treatment of choice for depression. The procedure however has changed greatly over the years.
The above photos show the early ways of suicide prevention and self harm management. The blanket is very thick and cannot be ripped.
As well as the ship painted in the courtyard there are also several carvings. We were told they were carved by the patients of the J ward and had special meaning.
I love the above box. It was made by hand from by a very clever deaf and dumb patient. The photo shows several handmade items.
Whilst initially opened as a temporary solution solution to the criminally insane problem at the time, J Ward remained in use for over a century. It was closed in 1991. This was 10 years after I had started working in psychiatry.
One of the things I love doing on our recent holiday was watching the sunrise. I would frequently look at the time for sunrise and get up just before. Fortunately, because of Day Light Savings time sunrise wasn’t until 0700 so my sleep wasn’t really impacted. Below is a mix of the sunrise I was rewarded with.
The other great thing about sunrise in the country was the birds came to life. The cacophony they made was amazing. I love it so much I made a recording of it but unfortunately I am unable to share it through WordPress.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I can’t believe it has been nearly 3 months since our last chat. To be honest this is very similar to my real life coffee catch-ups that aren’t very regular. As you possibly know by now for 4 weeks of this year my husband and I went touring in Truby. ( Our slide on camper and Iveco. ) On many other weekends before and after, I was working to make up my shifts. After work I mean to blog but often don’t make it to the computer.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am again participating in Blogging from A to Z. Writing a blogpost daily is helping get my mojo back. Also, having a theme, our recent holiday, makes the decision of what to write easy. So, it is simply a matter of writing it. Each day I find this to get quicker. Just like when I started blogging in 2014 and I was following the daily word prompts. I have also realsied that when April is finished I still have a lot of other topics to write about.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that my daughter has moved home after living in regional NSW. She is easy to live with so beside the extra stuff around, everything is going smoothly.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have spent a lot of time covering my new secondhand books in contact. One of the things I love about traveling is going to second hand book shops. It is a great way to support the local communities and increase my library. Sometimes I have specific books that I am looking for, otherwise I accidently find new authors. My husband can now work out my book style based on the artwork on the front cover. We were even able to find some of his much rarer books at reasonable prices. Below is a photo of most of the novels I found.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how surprised I was back in January to hear our most famous children’s group had won the Triple JJJ’s Hottest 100. This countdown features the most popular song for the previous year. It the classic example of doing what you love and success will follow.
If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world.
Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekend coffee share
When we arrived at Hopkins Falls it was late afternoon. No-one was around and it was so peaceful. As I had not done any research about the falls I was very surprised. They are said to be one of the widest in Australia. At 90 metres in length and 11 metres in height they were truly worth the trip.
I hope one day to return after a major rain period as I’m sure that with more water flowing over the basalt rocks they would be even more spectacular.
The Great Ocean Road was the main destination of our recent holiday. It is an amazing hand built road that hugs the breath taking Victorian south western coast. Beginning at Tourquay on the Surf Coast, it ends at Warrnambool on the Shipwreck Coast.
The 243 kilometre Great Ocean Road is the world’s longest war memorial. It was built by returned soldiers from World War 1 to remember those who died serving their country. I believe it was also a gift to the world as prior to the road it was very difficult to travel to the towns along its path. The natural beauty it opened up is definitely unique. Building began in 1919, with the first section opening in 1922. The entire length was completed in 1932.
Our journey along the Great Ocean Road took just over a week. We meandered slowly, enjoying what each town has to offer. The views from the road are spectacular. The natural rock formations, rainforests, rugged coastline, world famous surfing beaches as well as glorious local produce. We even had a drink in Australia’s most southern pub.
On the hill overlooking Warrnambool we found this very informative tourist attraction. Flagstaff Hill as it is commonly known is divided into sections. The maritime museum specialising in shipwrecks from the local area. The original lighthouses of the area and Warrnambool Garrison. As well as the village containing 40 buildings based on life in the 19th century port and town.
This area of Australia is called the shipwreck coast in honour of the number of ship that have come to grief on our rugged shoreline. The maritime museum is heritage listed and contains Victoria’s largest maritime and ship wreck collection. Exhibits include stories of survival and salvaged goods many with major historical significance. The prize of the museum is the Loch Ard Peacock. A rare and beautiful statue washed up after the Loch Ard was shipwrecked in 1878. Amazingly it was undamaged. I was mesmorized by her beauty.
The outside village was full of surprises. It is a true replica of that moment in time. Personally, I have never seen so many genuine pieces in one area. The stories of how they came across their display pieces was also fascinating.
At the top of the hill are the two original lighthouses built in1858. They were relocated to their current positions when the fort was built. I love that you could climb into them as well as go through the light house keepers house.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village was definitely a surprise package with all of its hidden treasures.
The Murray River is Australia’s longest river and it divides the Victorian and New South Wales states. Echuca is a city on the Victorian side and Moama is its sister city on the New South Wales side.
Founded in 1853 Ecucha was once Australia’s largest inland port due to the river trade. Paddlesteamers were very busy going up and down the Murray carrying people and cargo, mainy redgum timber and wool. To honour the city’s history, Echuca has built a Discovery centre around the old port.
The original paddlesteamers have been brought back to life and today are used for tourism. Unfortunately, for us we visited Echuca on a long weekend. This meant the paddlesteamers were fully booked. Never mind, next time will do.
The Port of Echuca Discovery Centre was amazing. We spent hours emersing ourselves in a forgotten time. Learning about life in the early days of Echuca. I loved that they have rebuilt the original wharves mostly using the original timber. They are 3 stories high. This is due to the various changes in river depth and so at any level the cargo could unload. The flood marker below gives an indication or the river levels. During our visit the levels were low.
The scary thing for the river crews was that if the river level dropped too much the paddlesteamers became “stuck” and couldn’t move until it rained and the river levels rose again. This often meant waiting it out until the snow melted or the rains came.
I love the displays and horse and buggy that was giving rides through the precinct.
