warrandyte, a suburb of melbourne
most mornings, in melbourne, i would walk the 550m-track around the oval field at waverley park. today, i went with my friend chris and his dog toby to a riverside settlement called warrandyte for a nature walk . he likes to take his dog for a walk by the yarra river at this small town about 24km north-east of melbourne city. a lot of dog-lovers take their canines for exercise by the bank of the river.
warrandyte used to be a gold mining town in the 19th century. you can gather evidence of this from the conserved colonial wooden buildings and cottages, some of which have been coverted into hotels, craft shops, antique shops and cafes.
unlike the parks and nature reserves in singapore, over here, the tracks are not paved; they are well-trodden paths formed through continual usage. people from the other suburbs drive or take a bus to this rustic town to enjoy the atmosphere and to get close to nature. i saw quite a number of cuckatoos and parakeets up in the tall trees. not far from where we started our walk, we came upon this paddling of ducks.
the 8000 or so residents of this small town - with the feel of a village - takes good care of the natural environment. there are toilets and car parks along the route. but, what i find most welcoming was the bakery located by the side of the river. you could sit outside the cafe, with a view of the river, to enjoy your hot coffee and pie.
4 comments:
Looks like you are really enjoying yourself over there, YG. If I were you, I won't feel like coming home to Singapore.
What is the maximum period you are permitted to stay there? (By the Australian government I mean, not Ian. :p)
victor, visitor's visa is valid for 3 months. it's winter here, so it's cold. if you like the quiet life and can go without chicken rice, mee rebus, nasi briyani, chwee kueh, etc, then a longer stay is okay.
With a maximum daytime temperature of around 15C or 16C, it must be quite a chilly experience to drink coffee and eat pie outdoors!
Here in Sydney, the weather is equally cold. Except for its cold and wet winter, otherwise the kangaroo land is really not that bad, almost as good as home. And with so many asian restaurants and eateries around, it is actually not difficult to find your favourite laksa, chicken rice, mee rebus and other asian cuisines that taste as good as what we have back home!
pck, it slightly colder in melbourne than in sydney. sure, there are eateries offering asian cuisines but they are far and few between and you usually have to take a train or drive to get to these places; no hdb coffee-shops and neighbourhood food courts like in s'pore.
talking about driving, it is a much pleasant experience here. the majority of motorists signal when they are changing lane or when turning and they don't sound their horn or flash their light when you coast on the inner (fast) lane. generally, they keep to speed limits and stop when the traffic light changes to red.
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