Tropical Times

I took a welcome break from Wintery Melbourne by jetting up to Australia's 'Tropical Far North'. The first stop was Cairns, where we roamed around Rusty's Market, one of the best fruit and vege markets I've ever seen. I wish I could shop here every week, I'd be whipping up tropical delights like nobody's business.

Sugar cane juice - I've tried this once before and it is an absolute taste sensation.

These are from the Skyrail cableway to Kurunda village.

These crazy trees were everywhere in Kurunda. Google informs me they are called Curtain Fig Trees.

This was on the beach at Port Douglas and looks like it is spelling my name, but it actually said 'Happy Birthday Grandma'.

There were some pretty good markets in Port Douglas too.

This dog was so lovely. I said hello to him and received a gentlemanly snuffle to my hand.

The Daintree rainforest was amazing, we spent a whole day up there.

This a Tawny Frogmouth, who greeted us as we went to a crocodile farm.

Here we made friends with lots of crocs! Not really, but it was fun.

Golden Plains Sixxx

Good times at Golden Plains

Bat Country

Visiting the bat colony at Yarra Bend Park has been on my "Melbourne Bucket List" for some time now. Every evening at dusk the bats migrate over the city, and the park is where these leathery beasts hang out during daylight hours. Thousands of them! They make quite the freakish spectacle.

While we were there we saw this guy who had been found in a suburban garden. Luckily Wildlife Victoria could come and pick him up, and he was reunited with his batty pals. Our visit was at twilight, and there were some bands playing while we watched as the bats got ready for their evening adventures.

And we saw a cookaburra! He was unusually quiet - perhaps he was in awe of the bats too.

It's quite hard to capture on camera just how many bats there were, so I took some video footage! Check it out below for more bat action, peppered with some choice kiwi accents, marvelling at these amazing creatures.

In the Woods

Dreamy behind the scenes photos by Clever Nettle's Anya Verdugo, taken in the Washington woods during a photoshoot for Portland store Eden. I love all those friendly dogs hanging round, just chillin'.

More of Anya's amazing photos can be seen here on Clever Nettle. I can't wait to see the official photos once they're released, there is something really magical about those woods.

Mighty Brown River

Some Golden Half photos I just got developed. Obviously these were taken a while ago when it was warm and summery, unlike now which is fr-fr-freezing! One of my favourite Melbourne activities is hiring rowboats from the Fairfield Boathouse and going boating on the mighty brown Yarra River. Follow this up with potato wedges served with a layer of grilled cheese, and you have a pretty perfect summery outing.

Rosebud

Some pics from the weekend. We went to Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula, a short drive from Melbourne. Ate fish and chips on the beach and hit up all the op shops along the way!