The end of the roses has been gone. By several weeks, in fact. Giving me ample time to collect adequate experiences to blog about.
It is liberating to be free of the rose farm. Not in a bad way just in a … change sort of way. It’s not a job I could have done for much longer but, as I keep saying, it is probably one of the better farm jobs I could’ve found.
Instead, I have moved to Hotspur (a very very small, middle-of-where community north-ish of Portland) to do another Work for Accommodation gig. It is already a lot better and nicer than the last one.
Restrictions are beginning to ease in (regional) Victoria, which means I’ve actually been able to get out and do some things! Not only that, but I’ve finally met and made friends with other backpackers. A true miracle, I know I know.
Going from a very cushy, if lonesome, solitary life at a family friend’s home to shared accommodation with three others has been a little bit of a readjustment.
I always describe myself as an extroverted introvert. Which is basically a fancy way of saying I like my solitude but am capable of socialising when the need arises. Here, though, there isn’t really a choice to not socialise. There’s just always people about. In fact, the day I’m writing this is the first day I’ve had to myself which has been refreshing.
I will not bore you with details of my day-to-day life, as for the most part it involves a lot of gardening. Whilst some family members might be getting a little too excited at the prospect of me gardening (looking at you, Charlie Boy), I have to say I view it with indifference. It is not strenuous, or difficult, or very enjoyable. It is merely a means to an end. The end being food and a place to stay. The people, though, are lovely.
The main topic I want to talk about during this post is the daytrip we took to the Grampians.
The Grampians is one of those places that I’ve wanted to go to for a while but, for obvious reasons, have not been able to reach. Given it’s only an hour away from the area, it only made sense to finally go. To clarify, it is a mountain range that doubles as a National Park. Perhaps I should’ve opened with that.
We went with the intention of going on a hike but somehow found ourselves visiting the zoo instead.
We all have … mixed feelings about the zoo. Whilst seeing animals of all shapes and sizes and species is fascinating and fun, a large majority of the animals looked very unhappy. Don’t want to get into the ethical politics of zoos but I thought this was worth mentioning.
I’m not going to list every animal we saw. Instead, have a few pictures of my favourites.
We spent far longer at the zoo than I expected us to. Three hours, at least.
After the zoo, we intended to do at least a short hike before heading home.
Instead, we found ourselves a small, independent winery.
Fallen Giants was, rather conveniently, located right next to the zoo. It was also only their second day being back open since the easing of restrictions so that was a nice feeling.
It was sunny, we were in no rush, and the company was delightful. An excellent Sunday, in my opinion.
The wine, I feel it is prudent to mention, was far better than the $9 Aldi wine we’d all been drinking for a wine.
Naturally we all had tasters, and even all splashed out to buy a bottle each.
Okay now we can go on our hike.
As far as hikes go it was a short one. Due to several distractions (the zoo and the wine) we were left with only a limited amount of daylight.
We were recommended by our lovely host Mckenzie Falls (or Mackenzie, depending on which website you visit). As recommendations go, it was a pretty good one.
I said the hike was short but neglected to mention the descent and subsequent ascent. ‘Steep’ feels to be the appropriate word.
Once you (eventually) reach the bottom, you are greeted by, as you would guess from the name, a waterfall. Ignoring the people as best I could – I think we were all a little dazed by being in public – we had a grand old time taking in the scenery, exploring and, of course, taking plenty of pictures.
One of our number had the genius idea of finding somewhere scenic to watch the sunset. I have, in typical Richard fashion, forgotten the name but I can confirm it was another waterfall.
I can also confirm the name reminded me of ‘Niagara’ but can thrice confirm it was not the infamous Niagara Falls.
Not much to say about this one. There was no hike (level or elevated) to reach it, just a simple lookout point with a spectacular view across the fields as the sun started to set.
And that concludes the Grampians roadtrip.
A general life update is expected, I suppose. I apologise if this felt rushed. As is evident from the title, I have no service out here and limited WiFi. Normally I would research facts about places we’ve been but without connection, I’ve had to make do with personal photos and memory. Both of which are poor at times.
I digress. Life update: I am in a happier place here than I was when at the rose farm. Not that I was in a bad place back then, I just didn’t have an aim or anything to look forward to.
I still don’t have an aim really, seeing as it all depends on borders and restrictions and the like, but it is very nice having other backpackers around again. We’re even making vague plans to travel together in the near future.
Yes, that is likely to be the next blog post. Hopefully it’s not too far away!
A Weary Traveller 