Visit to St Kilda

A few days ago I decided to go the seaside so I caught a tram to St Kilda. Within about half an hour, we’d arrived at St Kilda Road. I disembarked from the tram and walked for about ten minutes towards the beach.

Along the way I passed a selection of quirky cafe’s, restaurants, bars and shops. Soon there was a glimmer of pale blue on the horizon: I was almost there!

I crossed the road and found myself near St Kilda Pier which jutted out into the ocean dotted with boats, ships and yachts from a golden sand beach.

I spotted fishermen wetting their lines, black swans, seagulls and in the distance, Luna Park complete with wooden rollercoaster.

I walked along the pier and saw an old fashioned kiosk in white and yellow at the end selling food and drinks. Its large windows peered at the sea and views of Melbourne from a seaside perspective.

I read the information signs about the pier’s history. Then I walked along a pathway with rocks at the edges.

Here at sunset you might be able to spot a fairy penguin or a water rat! Then I walked back along the pier, crossed the road and took the tram home. 

Snorkelling on Green Island

My mum and I caught the boat to Green Island from Cairns. We had our photos taken before entering. On board we received tea and coffee. We took a seat with a table near the centre of the boat then away we went out to Green Island! The last time I’d been on Green Island was when I was about 8 years old and my parents had taken my two brothers and I four wheel driving to Cape York and back. We had stayed at a caravan park in Cairns and saw freshwater turtles! When I was 8 I remember wearing a green and purple sarong with star fish prints on it. I remember snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and seeing clown fish, parrot fish and so on. I also remember getting startled by a moray eel peering out from behind a rock and kicked myself ferociously back into shore.

…

We arrived at the jetty and disembarked the boat. On the jetty I just had to stop and marvel at the magnificent colours of the reef. It reminded me almost of the patterns on marble with the light and dark blue moulding into each other. Mum and I both gazed at the island filled with memories. We walked across the jetty and arrived on the island. We looked at a sign and started a walk around the island. There were lots of informative signs along the way. We stopped at a beach, put on our flippers, googles and snorkels and waded into the water. 

Clown fish, parrot fish and other species swam peacefully around the coral. It was such a mesmerising experience-I could have done it for ages. I looked up every now and again to check I hadn’t strayed too far from the shoreline. After snorkelling we went to a nice restaurant on the island. I had a wonderful pink cocktail with pineapple. It was such a wonderful day.

I’m in the Tropics!

Rachel

I’m back in Australia after my year in the UK. It’s great to be back! I actually think I experienced a bit of a culture clash from my own country which I’ve never experienced before.

My family lived on the South Island of New Zealand for a year when I was little. We were in a place called Sumner which isn’t far from Christchurch and has an esplanade, beach, “Rocky Island” (a rock near the shore which we kids pretended was our island) and a horse riding club. My brothers and I used to go there all the time and ride horses and donkeys on the beach and through the port hills. When we came back to Australia and moved to Queensland in 2002 I guess the culture and climate were different and a new adventure was beginning.

Growing up in Canberra my parents always took us out camping, bushwalking…

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Wandering around Hastings: St Leonards and Ore

Today I began with a full English Breakfast at the B&B I’m staying at: absolutely delicious. Later I had a slice of Victoria Sponge cake and a cup of tea at a local bakery down the road: also delicious. 

I walked down to the Promenade with my lunch and the Daily Mail weekend newspaper. I walked to Ore Town Centre and back. I passed seagulls either sitting on the pebbly beach or bathing in the sea.

They did this in certain ways including sitting on varying levels of a structure which was in the water. This meant the seagulls on the lower levels got wetter than those on the upper ones and I thought the seagulls were very clever to have worked this out for themselves. I passed a theatre, 

a Queen Victoria statue in front of Warrior Square

and saw the castle ruins on the hill in Ore. I walked back past a jazz performance venue
and found St Leonards Gardens. Through a towering archway and open black giant spiky gates and onto the winding hilly paths past flower beds and trees.

There were bluebells, daffodils and many other flowers.

Birds chirped from the branches of the trees. I found an excellent vantage point almost at the top of the gardens where I could see across the entire area and look out to the sea beyond it: fantastic place to read my paper. 

Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival

I caught a taxi along the seafront from Brighton to Hove today. It was such a beautiful drive with the glittering sea on the left and the shops and old-fashioned hotels on the right! As I was walking back to Brighton, I came across the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival! Stalls with all manner of food and drink lined a grassy area not far from the promenade. There was even a jumping castle! I bought a pork sausage roll, a very rich chocolate brownie with nuts and a solid chocolate bottom and a pistachio and honey bun which to me tasted something like shortbread! Absolutely delicious though 🙂 I looked at every stall until I came back to the promenade and made my way to a bench looking out to sea. I sat at it and ate my food. The giant seagulls were out and one of them was nestled on the pebbly beach and gazing out to sea too! There were yachts in the distance and what looked to be a fishing boat.