Sightseeing in Australia - 9

Fruit and custard tarts were all the excuse I needed to visit the single cafe in the tiny village of Macedon, just off Calder Highway, between Melbourne and Bendigo in the Macedon Ranges. A post office opened here in 1859 and until 1870, it was known as Black Forest. When the Ash Wednesday bush fires swept through in February 1983, many of the town's homes were destroyed. Today the population hovers around 1450. Woodend is not far from Macedon. It's a much bigger though and I visit most years to see family there. It's a pleasant spot about an hour north of Melbourne and conventiently, on the Melbourne-Bendigo commuter line so the big city is a leisurely train ride away. I use it as a base for my forays into the Victorian countryside.

The popular spa town of Daylesford is another Victorian gem; and it's here you'll find the grand old Convent Gallery, close to Wombat Hill and the Botanic Gardens. It was originally built in the 1860s as a private residence for the Gold Commissioner and was later sold to the Catholic Church in the 1880s. They set it up as a convent and boarding school, which operated for almost a hundred years. It lay deserted for some time after that, until artist, Tina Banitska discovered it and took on the astonishing renovation project, which now stands completed. The Convent today features several art galleries and shops, the Bad habits Cafe, the Altar Bar, ghost tours and a wedding function centre.

I discovered the tiny Southwest Queensland town of Eulo in 2008, when I visited Cunnamulla, 67km to the east. Little more than a pub, a general store and a huddle of houses, it's home to around 70 people. Every August though, people come from near and far for a day out at the Paroo Lizard Race Track, which is marked by this distinctive statue of a giant frilled lizard, proving yet again, that the Aussies will bet on just about anything.

Sightseeing in Australia - 6

When I arrived in Adelaide for the first time 2007, I never expected to see pink spring blossoms and a bounty of lush green grass - South Australia after all, is one of the driest places in Australia. But up in the Adelaide Hills, things are a little different - cooler for a start - and just twenty minutes from Adelaide City, you'll find plenty of vineyards, wineries, farmlands and artist studios. not to mention cute little villages with names like Birdwood, Stirling, Hahndorf and Lobethal. I took this photograph in one of the small towns we passed through. This commanding tower belongs to one of the buildings of the University of Ballarat, in the city of Ballarat, Victoria. Founded in 1870, it's the third oldest centre of higher learning in Australia. Over 25,000 students attend courses in a number of different campuses. This building is right in the heart of the city and I was so busy walking backwards so I could fit the whole tower in my camera lens, that I tripped on a doorstep behind me and just about concussed myself on the massive stone wall of another old architectural beauty - of which Ballarat has a bounty. It was while I was driving to Ballarat in 2010, that I passed through the cute little town of Creswick, 18km north of Ballarat and 129km northwest of Melbourne. I HAD to stop. There were so many divine old limestone buildings begging to be photographed - many of them a legacy of the town's early wealth. Named after the three Creswick brothers, who started a large sheep station in the area in 1842, it was at its peak during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. It had a population of 25,000 back then.

I visit Daylesford often - every time I visit Victoria in fact, because it's not too far from Woodend (an hour north of Melbourne) where I usually stay with family. Daylesford is to Melbourne what Akaroa is to Christchurch, and Waiheke is to Auckland - the perfect weekend getaway, close enough to be convenient and far enough away to be 'of a different world.' Every weekend it's packed with incoming BMWs, Porches, Mercedes and the like and the many classy boutique accommdations and designer stores do a roaring trade. Today it's known as Victoria's Spa Town - which probably originated from the fact that nearby Hepburn Springs (a small village to the north), has long been renowned for its natural spring mineral spas. If you're visiting Melbourne, it's well worth making an overnighter to Daylesford as they also have great markets, cafes and restaurants. The photograph above is of one of their terrific old Aussie pubs.

Pub Crawl

Clockwise from top left: Cunnamulla, Southwest Queensland; Daylesford, Victoria; Castlemaine, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia.

2007-2008.Ajr.

When Australian chef and brewer, Scott Watkins-Sully decided to embark on a journey around Australia, travelling from pub to pub, everyone he knew threatened to quit their jobs and join him. Watkins-Sully had hit upon the dream job. He shut down his own brewing operation and hit the road with his wife and two young kids. Over “25,000 kilometres, 300 counter meals and 200 tantrums” later, he could be forgiven for having imbibed more than his share of cold beers. He should also be applauded for producing “The Australian Crawl” (Piccadilly Books), a comprehensive guide to Australia’s regional pubs that shows the Aussies love nothing better than a few cold beers and a good yarn down at the pub. From an architectural and sociological point of view the grand old Aussie pub is about as iconic as it gets. I love them and every time I go to Australia I add to my collection of photos. The embellished corner establishments (and they’re almost always on corners), have been written into Australian culture and whether you’re roaming the sun-baked outback, cruising through small-town Australia or city suburbs, you’ll find a pub with a great story.

Art in Unexpected Places

Daylesford.2007.Ajr

Last time I was in Victoria, I visited the popular little town of Daylesford, about an hour north of Melbourne. That’s where I discovered this fabulous old convent. I spent hours here, wandering about marvelling at the architecture and wondering what life might have been like within its rabbits’ warren of spaces when it served as the Holy Cross Convent and Boarding School for Girls. Originally built as a private mansion in the 1860s, it was bought by the Catholic Church in the 1890s. It ceased life as a church facility in 1973 and was again purchased by a private owner – an artist - who converted it into a series of living and gallery spaces. It’s now open to the public and features several galleries, cafes, restaurant and bar, accommodation, reception rooms, gift shop and a gorgeous restored chapel. There’s even a religious museum in the basement (which was a little spooky) and, at the very top of the building, the nun’s infirmary has been left in its original state and now serves as a long thin gallery space that I loved – it reeked of history and past lives. www.theconvent.com.au

Tree Green

Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. 2007. Ajr

I'm drawn again to the striking contrast of red and green.

I almost caused a traffic accident when I slammed on my brakes to take this photo in the little village of Hepburn Springs, just out of Daylesford, an hour or so north of Melbourne.

Another Mad Mannequin

Daylesford, Australia. 2007. Ajr

This is one of several sultry looking mannequins I photographed in a secondhand store in the popular spa town of Daylesford, one hour north of Melbourne last year.

A Slice of Italy

The day before I head off to Australia again, I am reminded of my last trip – to Victoria – and this divine place I found at Hepburn Springs, near Daylesford, an hour north of Melbourne. Lavandula is a magical spot riddled with history. Its old sandstone buildings were built in the 1860s by Swiss Italians, who came to Australia to try their luck in the goldfields. They stayed on to farm and this property had been in the same family for 150 years when Carol White restored the buildings and recreated a little slice of Italy. I spent hours here. It’s a photographer’s paradise and along with historic buildings, extensive gardens and a great shop, it also has a terrific little restaurant, alfresco wood-fired barbecue and some gorgeous accommodation. It’s the sort of place you want to sink into and never leave. www.lavandula.com.au

Feeding the Birds

Lake House, Daylesford, 2007. Ajr.

Last time I was in Daylesford, the gorgeous little Victorian spa town an hour north of Melbourne, I was lucky enough to be taken to dinner at the very indulgent Lake House – that much lauded foodie’s heaven where executive chef and co-owner, Alla Wolf-Tasker has cemented her establishment’s reputation as one of Australia’s best restaurants. Divine meal aside – and it was certainly that – I fell in love with their ‘pet’ kookaburra. She nests across the lake and glides in to wait for fresh meat treats, which guests and staff feed her by hand. I couldn’t believe my eyes when she landed right in front of me and the maitre’de kindly gave me chopped meat to pass to her. They’re such fabulous birds and this was the first time I’ve ever been able to get a decent photo of one. www.lakehouse.com.au

The Simple Solution......

......is often the best.

If I had drawn up a list of

'Fifty Things To Do With A Brown Paper Bag' I'm not sure 'MENU' would have been on my list. I spied this delightful solution to table menus at Cliffy's Restaurant in Daylesford, an hour north of Melbourne in Australia last November - hooked over a wooden peg beside the table.

Hedging Your Bets

When a hedge is more than just a hedge, she says, barely disguising her closet passion for hedges. I photographed these beauties in Australia, bringing the car to a sudden halt with a squeal of tyres and a scream of delight. Mooltan sheltered a B&B in the little village of Hepburn, near Daylesford in Victoria; and Beltunga was an unexpected surprise on a dusty, gum-lined back road near McLaren Vale on the Fleurieu Peninsula, an hour from Adelaide.