Lal-Lal Falls - Australia Day 2011

26/1/2011

Happy Australia Day!  For all you non-Aussies, Australia day is official national day of Australia celebrated annually on the 26^th of January to commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. It’s like the 4^th of the July in the USA. Since Ben had the day off we decided to picnic at Lal-Lal Falls.  After a lovely menu of snags on the barbie (aka sausages on the grill) we went on a short walk in the bush and saw heaps of kangaroos. 

Ben at Lal-Lal Falls

My first attempt at getting Ben, myself, and the falls - Got myself, half of Ben, and no falls. Guess I have to work on the selfies.

Ben's attempt at us and the falls. He got us but no falls. However, it was better than my attempt.

3rd time is the charm. Us and Lal-Lal Falls.

Lal-Lal Falls

Australian Open 2011

22/1/2011

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi! Ok we didn’t see get to see any Australian players in a live match during our visit to the Australian Open but it was still a great day. We had ground passes ($29 AUS) which lets you onto all the courts expects Rod Laver and Hisense Arena. We arrived early and were the first in line for when the gates opened at 10am. Once inside the tennis grounds, we went to save our front row seats on Margaret Court Arena  to see Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France (2^nd match) and John Isner of USA (3^rd match) play. However, we first had to sit through Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Simona Halep.  I didn’t know either of these ladies but it was still a good match – Ben and all the other men in the arena especially enjoyed the large bouncing ta-ta’s of one the players. Unfortunately later in the day both Tsonga and Isner went down in 5 set matches. We didn’t last that long in the Isner match because it was just getting too hot and we had been sitting in the same place for 5 hours. On a side note John Isner is not only from USA but is from my home state of NC – Go Tarheels! We opted to grab a bite to eat in Melbourne before driving back to the ‘Rat to catch the two night matches from the comfort of our couch. More tennis disappointment in both Aussies Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic losing in the 3^rd round. But one a more positive note – we have completed one item on our Victoria Bucket List. 

Ben and I at the Australian Open 2011

2011 Victorian Bucket List

My husband, Ben, and I have been living in Ballarat, Victoria for a little over 18 months. He’s an Aussie from Lismore, NSW and I’m from North Carolina, USA. 

Ben and I in 2010

We have explored a bit around our local area but in 2011 want to push ourselves to discover more of Victoria. Using the Visit Victoria website (http://www.visitvictoria.com) as our guide, we want to love every piece of Victoria as their slogan goes.

With that in mind we have created our 2011 Victoria Bucket List of places we want to go and things we want to try to do this year. As I’m sure you will notice a lot of bucket list involves Melbourne that’s not a slight to the rest of Victoria, it’s just we are close to Melbourne and there is heaps of cool things to do in the city. However, we are trying to share our love around to all of Victoria so if there are some places we have missed that you would recommend, please give us a shout and we will add them to our bucket list. As we are on a budget, we may not get to everything on our list this year but we will do our best. Please join us on our adventures through this blog.

1.       Go to the Australia Open

2.       Go to an AFL Game

3.       Go to a Melbourne Heart/Victory Soccer Game

4.       Go to a Melbourne Rebels Rugby Match

5.       Take a tour of the MCG

6.       Go to a play/musical in Melbourne

7.       Visit the National Gallery of Victoria - Australia

8.       Visit the National Gallery of Victoria – International

9.       Go to the National  Sports Museum

10.   Picnic in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne

11.   Visit St. Kilda Beach

12.   Go to the ANZAC Day Parade in Melbourne

13.   Go to the Boxing Day Test Match

14.   Ride the free City Circle Tram in Melbourne

15.   Ride the free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle

16.   Go to the Royal Melbourne Show

17.   Visit the Immigration Museum in Melbourne

18.   Experience the Skydeck at the Eureka Tower

19.   Visit the Melbourne Zoo

20.   Go to the Old Melbourne Gaol

21.   Go to the Melbourne Aquarium

22.   Go to the Queen Victoria Markets

23.   Visit the Melbourne Museum

24.   Go to the Melbourne Travel Expo

25.   Go to the Grand Prix in Melbourne

26.   Visit the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne

27.   Watch something televised in Federation Square

28.   Take a cooking class in Melbourne

29.   Enjoy the outdoor cinema in Melbourne

30.   Go to the Werribee Open Range Zoo

31.   Visit the RAAF National Aviation Museum

32.   Visit You Yangs Regional Park

33.   Get photos with the Bay-Walk Bollards in Geelong

34.   Swim with the seals at Queenscliff

35.   Drive the entire Great Ocean Road Torquay to Portland

36.   Go to the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach

37.   See Split Point Lighthouse on Great Ocean Road

38.   Visit the Otway Ranges

39.   Climb to the top of the Cape Otway Lighthouse

40.   See what’s left of the 12 Apostles

41.   Whale Watching in Warrnambool

42.   Take Surfing Lessons

43.   Visit Lal-Lal Falls

44.   Visit  Werribee Gorge

45.   Visit Sovereign Hill

46.   See the ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ show at Sovereign Hill

47.   Go out on a boat on Lake Wendouree

48.   Visit Eureka Stockade Centre

49.   Spa Day in Daylesford

50.   Dress up to attend a Country Racing Carnival

51.   Visit the Central Deborah Goldmine in Bendigo

52.   Camping in the Grampians National Park

53.   Stay on a House Boat in Mildura

54.   Go to a Hot Air Balloon Ride

55.   Take a ride on a the paddle-steamer on the Murray River

56.   Visit the snow fields during the snow season

57.   Try snow shoeing/crosscountry skiing at the snow fields

58.   Go sledding or tubing at the snow fields

59.   Picnic at Hanging Rock

60.   Go to Healesville Sanctuary

61.   Visit the Dandenong Ranges National Park

62.   Visit Mornington Peninsula National Park

63.   See the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island

64.   Visit  Wilson’ Promorty National Park

65.   Visit the Gippsland’s Lake District

66.   Visit Snowy River National Park

67.   Visit Errinunda Naitonal Park