What is it about rocks?

Because of the rich pickings from marine life in Port au Choix, this was another ancient spot where once early Inuit groups, then the Dorset Paleo-Eskimo, and finally the Beothuk had lived over the last 3 000 years before Europeans arrived to chase the Beothuk inland where they couldn’t survive. On the way I spotted a moose in the distance crossing the road. The huge animal stopped briefly as it munched its way through the forest.

Kuantan and the South China Sea

Moving south to Kuala Lumpur, we only spent a day in this exciting city. I liked the mix of Chinese, Malay and South Indian culture in a modern Asian city, but we were headed east through row upon row of rubber trees to the coast. At a beach resort a few kilometres out of Kuantan we had our first swim in the South China Sea. 

the australian open

In January last year, I wound my way through Melbourne crowds that crisscrossed from one stadium to another. We headed to court three where a series of doubles were played and later wandered across the complex to watch a singles game. Our passes allowed us into any stadium (as long as there were seats) but this wasn’t the day for the superstars — Federer and Nadal. Their games came later.

collingwood’s street art

I’d strolled along Smith Street before, past Vietnamese restaurants, European specialist food stores and alternative clothing shops, but this visit, I came from a different direction.

Featured image — a Keith Harding replica street art

Why was part of ballarat closed off?

We hoped to park near Ballarat’s art gallery, but the road was closed. Police stood patrolling. People in iridescent green vests waved potential drivers away, but what was going on was hard to guess. 

A city founded on gold

North-west of Melbourne was Victoria’s Ballarat, home to over 100,000 residents. The first Europeans settled in the area in 1838, but thirteen years later after an Aborigine found a nugget of alluvial gold, Ballarat’s gold rush brought thousands of hopeful prospectors from around the world. Although the alluvial gold became scarce after several years, underground mining continued until 1918.

The world at our fingertips

We headed to Footscray, a western Melbourne suburb and arrived along a street where there must have been a dozen Indian restaurants as well as an Indian supermarket and a couple of glittering clothing shops. But after a quick grocery shop, we headed to the heart of Footscray to experience the rest of what the suburb had to offer.

why were geelong’s old buildings preserved?

Unlike most cities where highrise dominates the landscape, Geelong’s old buildings were spared demolition. There was a reason for this and it wasn’t just a handful of people who argued against the loss of these tasteful buildings.

geelong’s Federal woollen mills

I headed to the western edge of Port Phillip Bay to North Geelong combing antique stores when I spotted the tasteful Federal Woollen Mills’ main building. The brick factory was constructed by the first Australian Labour Government in 1915 and offered better working conditions for factory employees. Workers were responsible for scouring, carding, dyeing, spinning and weaving Australian wool into cloth using the mill’s own power plant.

Not just in melbourne city centre

Across the street from the downtown NGV, there were hoards of tourists with their cell phones aimed at Hosier Lane’s street art. I boycotted the alleyway and headed to Fitzroy — a Melbourne suburb.