26 Jan: Dunkeld (VIC) -- Australia Day.
Important point from the previous day that will become very relevant in today's update towards the end (almost resulted in me crapping in my pants - LOL). When +Marc and I arrived in Dunkeld (in the Grampians) and got settled in the B&B, the proprietor comes out for us to see a kangaroo right outside of the premises. This dude was freaking huge. To the point the owner said to stay away from it because of its power (we reckoned it was at least 6 feet). Ok point noted.
We got up this morning after sleeping like rocks after yesterday's amazing and long day. Marc and I drove over to Halls Gap, where many of the trails for he Grampians leave from. The weather was gorgeous to get some great views. It was Australia Day and a Saturday, so the path was fairly crowded. Regardless it was a nice short hike of 3.75 miles with a decent incline so that was good.
We grabbed lunch at a local cafe and then went to seek out some wineries in the Grampians region that were well regarded. Also this is the region for Sparkling Shiraz, so that was of keen interest to us as well. We went to what were probably the 3 top producers in Australia and we didn't come away impressed. More because it didn't taste like we thought it would and wasn't refreshing like other sparkling we have had in the past. That said, we did taste a couple of nice Shirazes from Mount Langi Ghiran, so that was nice.
We had some dinner at a local pub, watched the women's Aussie Open final and uploaded more pictures. Good stuff. This is where it gets interesting.
So we are walking home from dinner and Marc wants to take a different route back to the B&B that is pretty dark but easier to see the stars, which were plentiful. My wonderful husband forgets that kangaroos like to congregate at night. And as we are walking home, we hear rustling in the park and it is, of course, a pack of kangaroos. Now I am thinking, "Great, now we are going to get jumped by a bunch of kangaroos because we startled them!" Who needs to worry about people gang violence when you have the potential for kangaroo gang violence?! Marc quickly realized that we should get to a better lit road. But WTF?!
Since you are reading this, it is safe to assume that we made it back without incident.
 |
| View of the Pinnacle from the morning hike |
We grabbed lunch at a local cafe and then went to seek out some wineries in the Grampians region that were well regarded. Also this is the region for Sparkling Shiraz, so that was of keen interest to us as well. We went to what were probably the 3 top producers in Australia and we didn't come away impressed. More because it didn't taste like we thought it would and wasn't refreshing like other sparkling we have had in the past. That said, we did taste a couple of nice Shirazes from Mount Langi Ghiran, so that was nice.
 |
| Marc making new friends around the world |
So we are walking home from dinner and Marc wants to take a different route back to the B&B that is pretty dark but easier to see the stars, which were plentiful. My wonderful husband forgets that kangaroos like to congregate at night. And as we are walking home, we hear rustling in the park and it is, of course, a pack of kangaroos. Now I am thinking, "Great, now we are going to get jumped by a bunch of kangaroos because we startled them!" Who needs to worry about people gang violence when you have the potential for kangaroo gang violence?! Marc quickly realized that we should get to a better lit road. But WTF?!
Since you are reading this, it is safe to assume that we made it back without incident.