Movin' To Melb'n

My last day in Sydney was both triumph and tragedy. I rose at 6:15 a.m. to walk the 1/2 hour to 6A Bold St., Burwood (a suburb of Sydney) to see the house where my Dad was billeted when he was here with the British Navy in the forties. I've put a photo below--does it look the same, Dad? On the way back, a thunderstorm blew up and I had to race the clouds for the last few blocks.

As I neared Boronia Lodge where I was staying, I saw a dramatic scene--an ambulance and police car with flashing lights, and a crowd of people huddled on the porch out of the rain. Sadly, a longtime lodger in the house had been found dead on the front steps, by the landlady. It was not yet known whether he had somehow slipped and hit his head, or had a heart attack, but I found myself being thankful that I had left by a side door and not been the one to find him. Poor man--what a way to end.

I packed up quickly and took a cab to the car rental place. I took possession of a shiny silver Commodore...briefly...spatial perception not being my strength, and this being my first experience with right hand drive and left side of road driving, I turned out of the rental place and promptly nicked a street sign with the left hand mirror--not enough to break the glass, but enough to knock it off its support. So, I reversed back in, and 10 minutes and $100 later I tried again, this time in a gold Camry. Luckily, I had no further mishaps, despite the 100's of kilometres I drove the rest of the week.

The 10 hour drive to Melbourne (see photo below--haven't figured out how to rotate the inserted photos yet--sorry)) is fairly pleasant, with golden rolling hills, but somewhat boring after awhile. Despite lots of warnings about wildlife on the road, the only kangaroos I saw were, unfortunately, three dead ones. In fact, in all my time in Australia the only native fauna I saw was in the Healesville Sanctuary (see next post). Glad I didn't see any on the bumper of the car, anyway!

Following my new host's detailed instructions, I navigated through the tangle of Melbourne's expressways and roads to arrive at my next home, the Bluebell B & B, in Blackburn, a suburb just east of the city. Unfortunately, no-one seemed to be home. I waited an hour, then found the nearest payphone and called my host, Geza (who I thought was a woman but turned out to be a man), who expressed dismay that I had waited so long--too bad he neglected to mention, in all our correspondence, that he lived off-site and I'd need to call him when I arrived!

Geza arrived in five minutes and let me into my little studio apartment, complete with a small fridge, microwave, single bed, sofa, TV, and the whitest, cleanest bathroom I think I have ever seen. I also had access to a full kitchen and dining room, plus laundry and my own private courtyard garden--all for $50 a night. Suited me perfectly.

A bite of bread and cheese and I fell into bed--a long drive and a long day of new experiences.