melbourne | sisters head east

The final part of our trip was a few nights Melbourne, which was our 'luxury' stop - we splurged a little & filled our days with good food, pretty gardens, wandering & generally having a good time.

We visited the botanic gardens (& had scones for breakfast), had a fancy picnic, dined on a tramcar, were delighted by the Fitzroy Gardens conservatory, wandered through arcades & lane-ways, browsed, enjoyed a pancake breakfast, did a little shopping, wandered the city & had our share of coffee (or tea) & cake.

& then, tired (but happy), we spent the next two days driving home (catching up with our sister in Broken Hill was lovely, but gosh it's a long drive!).

1. Royal Botanic Gardens. \\ 2. Como House. \\ 3. Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory. \\ 4. Block Arcade. \\ 5. Carlton Gardens. \\ 6. picnic from Stables of Como. \\ 7. Royal Botanic Gardens.

photo 4 + 5 by Kathryn

apollo bay + otway national park | sisters head east

We spent two days in Apollo Bay - or really, we spent three nights there & two days in the Otway National Park.

I think we worked the hardest during this part of the trip - lots of walks down to waterfalls & then back up to the car - but totally worth it.  The walks varied in length, gradient & ease - from a fairly gentle stroll, to heaps of stairs, to scarily steep + one extremely wet/soggy/mushy path - difficult to walk down & even worse to go back up. All the waterfalls were gorgeous though - Hopetoun was the most picture-perfect, but they all had a beauty about them.

Still - lush, ferny greenery, cascading water, tall (tall!) trees, birdsong, fish & chips on the beach, stunning views, a tree-top walk...it all made for a wonderful (if tiring) couple of days.

1. Triplet Falls \\ 2. Phantom Falls \\ 3. Beauchamp Falls \\ 4. Apollo Bay beach \\ 5. Otway Fly \\ 6. Hopetoun Falls \\ 7. Triplet Falls

// 2 by Kathryn / 6 by Amy //

the great ocean road | sisters head east

We spent a day travelling from Mt Gambier across the border & along the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay, stopping at as many of the attractions/scenic lookouts as we felt we had time for.

It was - to say the least - absolutely spectacular. The ocean looked so vast & wild & blue, all crashing waves, tall cliffs & wild winds - the coastline we're used to is much closer & tamer-looking. The drive itself was filled with interesting scenery (winding is an understatement) & when the road veered away from the ocean, the forest & farmland was just a beautiful & spectacular.

We marvelled from high lookout points, descended & ascended lots of steps (luckily they are generally in pretty good condition), had fish & chips on the beach at Pt Campbell (& got splashed), walked on the beach at Loch Ard Gorge & Gibson Steps & took a few photos - more than any other day of the trip.

1. The Crags // 2. Bay of Islands // 3. The Grotto // 4. ocean blues // 5. Port Campbell // 6. Loch Ard Gorge // 7. Twelve Apostles // 8. Gibson Steps

photo 2 by Amy / photo 3 & 6 by Kathryn

recently...

...summer has arrived...in temperature at least & I'm hoping that it doesn't mean too many long heatwaves to come...

...we had an absolutely amazing time on our road-trip - saw some spectacular coast line, visited amazing waterfalls, ate well, shopped a little, walked lots & basically enjoyed ourselves...

...shared some amazing views from my European adventure (seems I went up somewhere high pretty much everywhere I visited)...

...spent another weekend at the Flinders Street Market & filled up December with markets too...

...have been busy making jewellery (I'm hoping I need lots of stock for those markets) - made, baked & painted some colourful polymer, worked on a batch of copper clay & made lots of lovely, dainty silver pieces...

...celebrated my Babcia's (grandmother's) 90th birthday - I hope I'm as with-it & full of life at 90...

...decided it had been far too long since I baked, so I made a batch of hummingbird cupcakes - they worked out very well, beautifully moist & tasty. I added a bit of coconut to the mix & sprinkled some on top before I baked them...

...been having fun posting on instagram & tumblr...

...& from a cool, misty, dew dropped morning.

mt gambier | sisters head east

We had a wonderful time during our stay in Mt Gambier - the first stop on our road trip. The town itself was lovely, the natural attractions were gorgeous & the cool, blustery weather was very nice for all the walking we did.

In our three day stay, we walked around the Blue Lake (not yet at it's bluest, but pretty spectacular all the same), met an echidna, visited Cave Garden, spent some time at the Naracoorte Caves (which are awesome), saw lots of blue wrens, hiked the Mountain Trail, picnicked in the gorgeous Umpherston Sinkhole Garden, did a little shopping & ate some very nice food.

1. The Blue Lake \\ 2. view to Mt Schank \\ 3. sisters in silhouette \\ 4. Alexandra Cave, Naracoorte \\ 5. Valley Lake \\ 6. Mountain Trail \\ 
7. ivy in Umpherston Sinkhole.

more Mt Gambier photos on tumblr & also on Kathryn's blog.

lovely links...

The hot, hot days have started (quite abruptly, or so it feels), but we're still getting some lovely cool nights & mild days - thank goodness, I'm not quite ready for summer...

Shake up your work routine.

Been hanging out on instagram - all sorts of lovely & cute, delicious, wanderlust-inspiring & beautiful...

Awe-inspiring places. Beautiful countryside. Interesting cities to wander in. Magic light.

I've been enjoying watching this project all year.

I'll have some maple syrup cake please. Or vanilla bean confetti cookies, perhaps triple chocolate & vanilla crumb cake, or a peanut butter & dark chocolate skillet cookie, or maybe a chocolate chip buttermilk cake? I'm not that fussy really.

& getting excited about the Christmas Bazaar.

a few good things | sisters head east

1. walking around the blue lake in Mt Gambier.

2. the utterly amazing scenery along the Great Ocean Road.

3. lush forest & stunning waterfalls in the Otway National Park.

4. fish & chips on the beach at Apollo Bay.

5. gourmet picnic in the grounds of Como House.

6. browsing, wandering, eating & shopping in Melbourne.

7. the Conservatory in the Fitzroy Gardens - full to the brim with spring blooms.

photo 3 by Amy
photos 5 & 6 by Kathryn

beachy | sisters head east

1. Port Campbell \\ 2. beach at Gibson Steps \\ 3. beach at Gibson Steps (facing the other direction) \\ 4. between Lorne & Apollo Bay \\ 5. Apollo Bay

there & back again...

We're home from our sisterly (ad)venture - we had a wonderful time, saw some stunning scenery, did plenty of walking (some parts more difficult than others), ate some really good food, laughed alot, did a bit of shopping & just generally enjoyed ourselves.

There are plenty of photos to share, but I thought I'd start by posting a few of my favourite iPhone shots, as posted on my instagram/tumblr. Lots of other images on our trip tumblr too.

1. Blue Lake, Mt Gambier \\ 2. Umpherston Sinkhole, Mt Gambier \\ 3. Bay of Islands, Great Ocean Road \\ 4. Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road \\ 

5. Hopetoun Falls, Otway National Park \\ 6. Lindt Cafe, Melbourne \\ 7. Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.