The 12 Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks, just off the coast of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria.  The rock formations were created as a result of erosion, and they continue to erode at a rate of about 2cm/year at their base.  There were only ever nine stacks (despite their name) and one of them toppled over in 2005.

Tim and I visited a few weeks ago with my brother and his girlfriend.  The sunset was beautiful (although not nearly as good as our last visit!) and we spent a couple of hours there watching as the sun dipped below the horizon.  The changing light makes the rocks and cliff faces look different every few minutes, so it’s a pretty great place to bring your camera.

I would love to come back to photograph sunrise one day.  Something tells me that the direction of the rising sun would make this scene even more spectacular.

Can you see Venus in the sky up there?

It took about an hour and a half to get back to our place in Apollo Bay, and most of that was winding roads through the pitch dark national park.  When we arrived at home we were greeted by the smell of Tim’s Famous Chilli* simmering away in the slow cooker and a seriously excited little dog.  It was such a good way to warm up after our adventure to the Apostles.

We had to leave for Melbourne the next morning, but not before meeting the resident alpacas on the property!  More on those in my next post…

*Tim’s Famous Chilli has a block of dark chocolate in it.  It’s basically the best thing you’ve ever heard of.

Read Part 1 of our Great Ocean Road-trip to Apollo Bay

This was the view from my bed when we woke up Saturday before last.  No big deal, just an exquisite panoramic view of Apollo Bay and the sun peeking up from behind the hills as it rose for the day.  I opened my eyes just long enough to take this picture before snoozing for another hour, and listening to the birdies.  Bliss.

Our accommodation at Apollo Bay was amazing. Tim and I have stayed here before with a group of our friends but last week I realised that I never really wrote about it!  This place is too good to be kept secret (although I selfishly considered it!) so I’m sharing a bunch of photos in the hope that you’ll go there sometime.

I can’t recommend it highly enough, but you need to know three things before we begin:

1) Apollo Bay Ridge is owned by friends of ours;
2) They have no idea I’m writing this;
3) I would stay here in a HEARTBEAT even if it was owned by toothless ornithological taxidermists with an extensive replica Cosby sweater collection.  That’s how you know I’m serious.

So on to the good stuff. Apollo Bay Ridge is a few minutes past the township of Apollo Bay itself, situated on 3 hectares of land.  We stayed in the big house (there are also two smaller villas), and when you walk through the door this is the first thing you see.

Amazing views in the distance, modern decor and comfy lounges, and a wonderful woodfire heater.  The pyromaniac in me was devastated that it wasn’t yet cold enough to use the heater, but last time we visited it was given a thorough workout and it heated the entire house beautifully.

In the lounge area is a big TV with surround sound, and above the door is a screen for the projector TV!  (Bonus points for all the downlights with dimmer switches, so you can make the place as romantical as you like.  And yes, “romantical” is too a word, so there.)

Turn to your right and you’ll see the open plan kitchen and dining area.

This kitchen was the main reason that we barely left the house for our entire stay.  It’s fully equipped with a big fridge, oven, hot plates and all the other gear you need to cook with.  We even discovered an enormous electric wok and used it to make a tasty laksa on our first night.

The kitchen has enough plates, glasses (and wine glasses), cutlery etc to serve a big group of people and the big vase of flowers was on the table when we arrived. Plus, if you’re staying for a while that washer/dryer is going to come in handy.

Apollo Bay has a couple of supermarkets and other specialty shops that made it easy to stock up the kitchen for a few days.  And if you’d rather let somebody else do the cooking there seemed to be lots of great beachfront eateries where you can grab a meal too.

Behind that staircase is a second lounge area, and the first of the three big bedrooms.  That’s where Tim & I stayed, and a certain four-legged creature too!

You need to know that I have a policy regarding the making of one’s bed on vacation, and that policy is: no way, nuh uh, you can’t make me, no, not even for photos, you’re not the boss of me, etc etc.  It’s really not up for negotiation.

This bedroom has a wardrobe and mirror and a door that leads into the ground floor bathroom.  Plus that view I was telling you about, and pretty foresty views from the big windows on the side.

A cute second lounge area for all of your resto relaxo needs, plus the staircase to the second level.

The lounge and dining areas from the spiral staircase.

There are two more big bedrooms upstairs, each with queen size beds.  There’s also a third lounge area with its own little balcony, and a second bathroom.

This is where my brother and his girlfriend stayed, unless my Mum is reading this in which case they both slept in separate rooms ok Mum?

The house officially sleeps six people, but there’s a great futon in the upstairs lounge too!  I can see this being perfect for a couple of families holidaying together, especially with the extra living areas.

But, let’s go back to the views.  The house would be excellent regardless of its surroundings, but the view from the lounge and balcony is what really makes you feel like you’re on holidays.  The best part of staying here is that it’s quiet – just you, the bird calls and the people you’re with.

And this view.

Well-behaved pets are welcome.  It’s worth mentioning that we didn’t see or smell any trace of previous furry visitors – it’s not like some of the other pet-friendly places I’ve visited before!

This post is getting pretty long, but it would be a crime to wrap things up without telling you about the incredible night sky from this balcony.  It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced the stars without ambient light, with the exception of some twinkly lights from the township below.

You can see the Milky Way from here!  If this was my house, I would move that futon to the back deck and sleep there, just for the stars.  It’s just magic, and since I forgot to bring a tripod this photo really doesn’t do it justice.

The big house at Apollo Bay Ridge is probably overkill for two people, but the owners told me that they sometimes drop the rate for couples who only want to use the lower level.  There are also two villas on the 3 hectare property, and next time I think Tim and I will have to go back by ourselves so that we can see what they’re like.  We had a little peek last time and they were just as beautiful as the house, and spacious!

During our stay we took my brother and his girlfriend to see The Twelve Apostles.  The sunset was pretty magical, so I’ll be back soon with some of the photos I took.

Don’t worry, I won’t be posting all 350 shots!

If you’ve ever driven the Great Ocean Road you already know how beautiful it is.  The beaches are rocky and rugged, the wildlife is abundant, and the waves kick up enough salt and mist to make the sunsets even more spectacular.  It’s truly one of the best stretches of coastline that I’ve ever experienced and the journey is always worth the slight motion sickness that I get towards the end!

A couple of months ago my big brother told me that he was going to be in town for his friend’s wedding, and he mentioned that he’d never seen The Great Ocean Road or the Twelve Apostles.  Obviously we had to make it happen, so we packed the car (and the puppy) for a long weekend and made a road trip out of it!

We’re lucky to have friends in Apollo Bay who run a bed & breakfast, so planning our trip was a breeze.  The accommodation is incredible and I’m going to have to devote an entire post to it!

Our trip down the coast was just spectacular.  It was clear and sunny, but not hot.  Harry was calm the entire way, and approached each stop with enthusiasm and a waggy tail.  It was a really happy day.

How’s that for a sunset?

By this stage of the journey we were almost at our destination.  We were having our friends up to the house for dinner so we knew we had to get there and unpack quickly or they’d be starving!  However, we couldn’t resist one last stop when we noticed a bunch of cars pulled over on the side of the windy road.  It could only mean one thing…

Koalas, in the wild!  It was about this time that I realised what a city kid I have become, as the only koalas I’ve seen in the past decade have been in zoos.

(Don’t believe what you see on TV, Americanos.  Well, except for the kangaroos.  We all have one of those to commute to work.)

So that was Day 1 of our wonderful long weekend.  More photos to come!

This post is dedicated to Mrs Chinncredible, who once believed in dropbears.

About a hundred years ago I lived in a beautiful city in regional QLD called Toowoomba.  It was a pretty fantastic place to grow up when I was a kid, and I have a lot of awesome memories from those years.  One of the things I remember about it was the strong folk art and handmade culture that flourished there.

I came across Toowoomba artist Anna Bartlett by chance last month and had lots of fun poking around her shop, Shiny Happy Art.  I was immediately drawn to this sweet little robin fabric panel, and quickly added it to my cart despite having no idea what I was going to do with it!

It arrived after just a couple of days, beautifully packaged with a cute hand-drawn picture drawn on the envelope.  Adorable.  In fact, I had to convince the receptionist at work to part with it so that I could see what was inside!

There’s something extra special about receiving a package directly from the artist, especially when it’s personalised in this way!  Anna also  included a note with my order, suggesting that I might like to stitch around the robin to bring out his little feet.

A month later I still haven’t decided what my little birdy will become, but someday he’s probably going to be a cute little cushion or a bag.  For now I’m just admiring him from afar until inspiration strikes.

Did I mention that this little guy is only $12?

There’s plenty of other beautiful things to see at Shiny Happy Art.  These are my top picks.

Original art: Mid Century I and Antique I, $146

Robin Red Breast and Blue Wren hankies, $14

Robin Red Breast teatowel, $24

Blue Wren and Robin Red Breast parlour cushions, $35
(These are my favourites!)

I know sometimes it isn’t easy to be sure, so I thought I should mention that I wasn’t asked to write this post.

I’m just all about sharing the pretties with you guys!

Click here to see “Full Hearts & Empty Rooms” on iTunes

I heard this magical song by Emma Louise for the first time last week, and was happy to discover that she’s a Brisbane/Cairns girl like me. I bought her EP Full Hearts & Empty Rooms a few days ago and it’s been on a constant loop ever since.

This was the only version of the song that I’ve been able to track down online, and it seems to be an older recording than the one that made it to the EP. I love the raw beauty of this version.

Emma Louise – 1000 Sundowns by undercover tracks

(If you’re reading this via an RSS reader, and there is no flash audio player above, please click through to listen)

I met a boy who made me cry
He said, “stay away from my kind”
I said I appreciated his honesty
And I stayed away for a while

Then he cried and I laughed on the telephone
and we talked for hours
He says he wants to be a rock star, well so do I
so I guess it would never work

But on these summer nights when the weather’s fine
I miss him by my side
oh, by my side

And when the wind blows west from the hills
on these April nights I think of him
Oh the boy who surely taught me how to love
showed me how to trust, and I gave in

And oh, our love it was strong, it was so deep and we were young
and I was a little bit naive
But still how I was in his arms for 1000 sundowns
it was a love worth remembering

And on these summer nights when the weather’s fine
I miss him by my side
oh, by my side
And oh, my darling, say that you miss me too
on these summer nights
you miss me by your side

I know, I know I’ll see your face at the gates of heaven
when it’s my turn to go
But, oh Lord, please do not pass judgement on us
we were but young and full of love
And, oh please, let me cry in his arms just once more
for 1000 sundowns
for 1000 sundowns

There is more info at her Myspace and Facebook profiles. Hopefully a website (and album!) isn’t too far away.

I’ll leave you with Jungle, which has been the most popular single from the EP. There are big things ahead for this girl.

Moomba Festival, 2011 (using the Instagram iPhone app)

I’ve been missing this place.

It’s strange to not be writing here so much anymore; to have taken a break without actually meaning to. No great personal crisis occurred to bring on the silence, just a combination of factors that have made me take a back seat for a while.

But it’s been a strange year so far, beginning with the devastation of three of my childhood cities. Toowoomba, which was my home from ages 8 to 11, was the target of an ‘inland tsunami’ which killed many people (and even more in the Lockyer Valley). Then Brisbane began to drown underneath one of the worst floods it has ever experienced. There was almost no loss of life there, but large numbers of people were displaced and lost everything they owned. I was glued to every piece of footage, recognising landmarks as they went underwater and wondering how long it would take my old city to get back on its feet. Most of my friends and family were lucky enough to escape the floods unharmed, but a couple were forced to evacuate with whatever they could carry.

Shortly afterwards Cyclone Yasi hit Cairns, which is where I lived from the ages of 12 to 17. Cairns suffered only mild damage compared to the little towns to the South, but it was a scary couple of days as my old friends prepared to ride it out with their loved ones, bottled water and the occasional update on Facebook. Even here in Melbourne the impact is still felt with bananas costing $11/kg, but I buy them anyway in the hope that it helps Far North Queensland in some small way.

It was too much. Too many people killed or displaced in such a short period of time, too many terrified children, families broken apart, and animals who were left to fend for themselves. The media coverage was extensive, and sucked the energy from my bones here in Melbourne.

There wasn’t much energy left by the time Christchurch and Japan experienced their horrific earthquakes. It’s taken a lot of effort to push through the ‘disaster fatigue’ that I was feeling to expose myself to the incredible stories from both those places. These people must feel as though their world is ending.

It makes me hope that those Mayans weren’t as insightful as they claimed.

Moomba Festival, 2011 (using the Instagram iPhone app)

But I miss this place. I want to write here, I want to hear from you again, and I want to give myself permission to blog about pretty things – even if those things feel a bit flippant at the moment. I’d like to write more about the changes that I’m noticing in myself lately, instead of peeking from the sidelines until I’ve got it all figured out.

What I need is to give more of myself here, and to trust that I’m in good hands.

How are things with you?

My heart has felt very heavy this week.

Back home in Queensland, where I grew up, an area the size of France and Germany combined has been declared a disaster zone. 21 days of flooding culminated a few days ago in a devastating inland tsunami through my old town of Toowoomba, and then engulfed my beautiful Brisbane.

The news coverage has been – for better or worse – truly overwhelming. I’ve found it difficult to tear myself from the TV each night, and at work I’m really distracted by all the new stories coming through. My family and friends in Brisbane and Toowoomba have been using Facebook to share their personal accounts, and while all of my immediate family are safe and dry, many of my old friends are facing months of hardship as the damage is revealed.

Entire suburbs were submerged yesterday.

Right now, there have been 15 confirmed deaths with another 51 people missing – in some cases, entire families. I fear that there will be a sharp increase in the death toll as the water subsides and reveals muddy graves. I worry that a lot of avoidable deaths are ahead because of accidents with electricity or disease.

In my case, it’s been particularly weird to see footage of areas that I know like the back of my hand. There’s the restaurant where we celebrated my 21st birthday, which literally floated down the river before crashing into a bridge. My local McDonalds, filled to the rooftop with muddy water and accessible only by canoe. The rows and rows of rooftops, like tips of an iceberg.

It just makes me feel sick.

My mum’s good friend is anxiously awaiting news of her sister in law, who is on the missing person’s list. Another body from that area was discovered today 80km from home. Can you even imagine?

The spirit of the those affected has been astounding. There has been very little talk of lost possessions, just relief for safe loved ones. Stories of heroism are beginning to emerge, such as the 13 year old boy who insisted that his brother be rescued first. This decision ultimately cost him his own life.

Stories like this are teaching me some good lessons about what matters, and what matters most.

Please donate to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal if you have anything to spare.

I wish I was there to do more.

I’ve just been sifting through my photos from our holiday to Hobart, Tasmania in September.  Some of the prettiest photos came from Mt Wellington, on a day when it was covered in snow.

It was the second-coldest I’d ever been, and it was wonderful.

I was reminded of this funny little place today while (finally!) going through my holiday photos from September. Doo Town is a tiny little township made up with little houses whose names all end in “doo”.

Discover Tasmania explains:

The town dates back to the 1930s when in 1935, Hobart architect Eric Round began a custom that continues today. He placed the name plate ‘Doo I’ at his Pirate’s Bay weekender shack. Charles Gibson (Doo-Me) and Bill Eldridge (Doo-Us) followed. The tradition caught on and today most of the town’s 1930s or so cottages have ‘Doo’ names.

Here are some of my photos, taken quickly from the passenger seat of the car so as to not disturb the residents too much!

This place is such a gem! I love knowing that a place like this exists.

And speaking of funny town names, this video has to be seen to believed. The real fun kicks off at about the 1 minute mark…