We were near the station and the dock lands, and had a very noisy night, but no mosquitoes and it was cooler than Sydney!

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1 Tuesday 24th January On the train The train journey took almost 12 hours, and was a pleasant way to see the countryside, but nothing especially exciting, mainly sheep and cattle with the odd kangaroo as we approached Melbourne. It was very special that John's friend Graham met us off the train and walked us up to the Spencer's Backpackers where we were staying for a couple of nights. We had a beer with Graham and ate in the restaurant downstairs. We were near the station and the dock lands, and had a very noisy night, but no mosquitoes and it was cooler than Sydney! Wednesday 25th January Going our separate ways! This was a magical day for both John and I in our separate activities. We walked down the road and found a great toasty and coffee place close by before buying our tickets for the airport bus for tomorrow. John then got picked up by Graham to go out for his day on the Puffing Billy Railway which he will write about, and I got picked up by Jane, Mark, Jean and Estella for my own magical day. For three years from 1978 to 1981 Jane was a student of mine at the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, but there was much more than that as she helped run the Girl Scouts and Cadets, and her Mum Jean helped with the Girl Scouts, so we became staunch friends, and had lots of adventures together, especially when camping. I had not seen them since they left Tokyo, and here we were 36 years later in Melbourne where they live, and I was thrilled to meet Jane's husband Mark and 10, soon to be 11 Estella their

2 daughter. We started the day down in the newly developed Docklands area with so many modern apartment blocks some just being constructed, and really interesting sculptures. I love modern architecture and sculpture, and the whole area was well planned. We had coffee overlooking the Harbour and an initial catch up - I discovered it was the eighth anniversary of Jean's arrival to live in Melbourne she has never looked back and is involved in volunteering in the emergency department at the hospital and all U3A activities. Jane has a very high powered job with one of the universities organising students returning to do Masters degrees and match their experiences to qualifications. Mark is a 'stay at home Dad', running the household and transporting the family. After our coffee we set off and caught our first tram. They are all over the city, and in certain parts are free to ride. Jane had thought the day out well, so that we visited many aspects of the city, old and new, and boy did I get a feel for a very vibrant city. The fact that the city is built on a grid system means it is fairly straightforward to get the hang of. We took the tram up Bourke Street to the Parliament Building in the old area of town, and got a view down from the top of the steps. We then walked along and into the Treasury Building. There was a wonderful panorama display down below of Melbourne in 2012 and underneath of Melbourne in It really gave such a historical context to what we were seeing then and now. There were also displays all about the brief gold rush which brought so many people to the city. Onwards we took another tram along to the War Memorial, and walked across the grass passing an old shady tree, up to the Botanical Garden. Of all the Botanical gardens we have seen on this trip, this appears the best. It was well used and being enjoyed by families, visitors and locals. We headed first for the

3 terrace restaurant overlooking the lotus pond, with a harp being played, and people being punted on the pond with parasols held above them! Jean, Estella and I had scones and jam and cream, while Jane had a roll. We then wandered through the Shady gardens, listening to the tuneful bell bird singing. Back on the tram we went to one of Jane's favourite places, the National Gallery. Outside is a wall of water which is in itself special, it the room with a stain glass window roof was lovely, there were cushions to just lie down and look at it, and indeed the tapestries on the walls. There was a mirror

4 installation which gave all sorts of interesting reflections, and then we popped up for a Bulgari jewels exhibition, many once owned by Elizabeth Taylor. What was more interesting for me was a room of modern art, a little avant garde, but some very clever use of video. We walked from here to the Yarra River which by now was full of of people relaxing at the many cafes and bars after work. We rested then walked across the pedestrian bridge and up to Federation Square where people were sitting in deckchairs watching the Australian Open on a huge television screen! We then walked passed the Town Hall where Jane had got married, and on to a Japanese restaurant called Yoyogi, where Mark joined us for dinner. All too quickly our day was over, and they dropped me back at the hotel, and now I hope they will visit is at Marigold Cottage.

5 John and his buddies were eating at a nearby restaurant, so I joined them for a chat, and they too had a great day. Earplugs helped the sleep and sweet dreams. The Puffing Billy Railway Graham picked me up at 8 to drive out to Belgrave where we met up with Lindsay and we went round the running shed and I was introduced to Andrew and another Graham, the driver and fireman on the Garratt for the day. The Puffing Billy Railway is the biggest and most famous preserved Australian railway and runs steam-hauled trains 364 days a year unless the fire risk gets really extreme. Graham and Lindsay are both steam loco drivers on the line so know the line and the staff extremely well.

6 The main 3 attractions as they explained them are the steam trains, the wooden trestle bridges and the tradition of riding on the window ledge of the carriage with your feet out of the window! Somehow this health and safety nightmare has grandfather rights and is perfectly acceptable. Probably similar to the gravity slate trains on the Ffestiniog, this is probably a common practice of old now unique to the railway. We started by going to the longest of the trestles just outside Belgrave for an empty stock train that would bring a bus-load of tourists back from Lakeside. Foreign visitors probably make up 50% of the passengers and half of these are probably Chinese.

7 We then drove back to Belgrave and I had the pleasure of a cab ride on the Garratt through to Lakeside. This is a much more powerful loco than the original NA class locos and can easily haul a 16 coach train. We had 14 on our train. Andrew said the loco could haul more but the draw bars (the connections through the train linking all the coaches together) wouldn't take it.

8 After my cab ride, we went to find another trestle above Lakeside towards the end of the line at Gembrook for the one train of the day that was doing the full line. We managed to catch this train several times before it reached the terminus and we had a pie and Bundaberg ginger beer for lunch. In the afternoon, we visited the not-yet-open museum at Menzies Creek and photted some more train finishing with the Garratt on the long trestle. Then it was time to drive back to Melbourne for my rare kangaroo steak at the Royal Mail pub where Stephanie joined us. Also meeting us there was Rod whom I know from tours to Java and China. It was a great day out and great to have

9 two expert guides in Graham and Lindsay. Thank you very, very much! Scene looking back from the cab of the Garratt - legs out ready to depart! And that's it for Australia. We are now in Bali and Stephanie has started on the Bali Blog. For those on my Railway Blog list, I will try to put together all of the railway related items from Tasmania, Sydney and Melbourne in a railway blog due soon. Stephanie & John