Whilst I was in Melbourne, I visited Williamstown for an afternoon. It was busy, yet the landscape and housing are quite different from other areas of inner city Melbourne.
Montsalvat
I have just returned last night from a holiday in suburban Melbourne. I stayed with my daughter for a week. I totally enjoyed her company and had a look around the area she is now living. I took her to Monsalvat one day. I used to go there when I lived in the burbs and wanted to feel like I didn’t. It has changed in some ways and become more developed. There is a restaurant and you pay to enter. I enjoyed the visit although it was different to the solo trips I once treasured.
There was some great landscapes in the Long Gallery. If you haven’t ever been to Montsalvat, you should check out the link. It is Australia’s Oldest Artist Community.
There were peacocks there. It seemed the Easter thing to do since I had just been contemplating that.
Trip to Wollongong – Final thoughts
I learnt I am very afraid of heights on the trip. I am getting worse. Andy, in one of his amusing moments took a rather unflattering clip of me getting down from a monument that I had climbed thinking I could get a better shot. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by fear. You won’t find this video, because it hasn’t been put online. This horrible ‘fear of heights’ feeling came along several times during the trip, particularly on the ‘Suggan Buggan’ road and some of the lookouts.
I learnt that I prefer to stay a while in places rather than pass quickly through. We usually spend a week at a place we holiday to and I found this website today Slow Travel, and I totally agree it is the best way. I guess when we visited Broken Hill last year for a week and traveled to and from taking a week either way, it was the same. The most enjoyable part is the week long stay at the destination. We think we will spend a couple of weeks next year in the one spot rather than spend as much time travelling. We do like to take roads off the beaten track though, which takes longer. I thoroughly agree with the concept of ‘slow travel’ though. You need time in a place to appreciate it and to really relax there.
I learnt that I prefer smaller places and larger accomodation. I need to get fitter and healthier to continue to enjoy walking and camping. Wollongong was a beautiful place. It was not the industrial city I had thought it was.
I really enjoyed Andy’s company and appreciate the care and planning he puts into these trips. I wouldn’t see a quarter of the marvellous thing I get to see without him.
The coast is so populated. I was quite astonished by this. The price of real estate is high along the coast.