Day 20 - 26 Melbourne

Jan 23 - 28th  Day 20 - 26

Melbourne
(Beth)

Melbourne is an awesome walking city, and our first stop after checking in to our condo was dinner + tennis on the big screen at Afloat - a pop-up Mexican restaurant on the Yarra River just outside our door. 

The next day, we watched our first live match at the Australian Open. What an awesome party scene with a selection of food stands (our fave Fishbowl) and a great selection of hats! Thanks to our friend Bud (who puts the Schultz in the Schultzeboomsisselbergs), we were treated to awesome seats inside Rod Laver Arena, and even saw the legend himself. (Two additional celebrity sightings I was particularly excited about - Eric Bana (!) just one section over, and Kat Stewart from the Aussie shows "Offspring" and "Five Bedrooms.") From our thankfully shady and seagull-proof seats, we watched Coco win her quarterfinals match. (Sadly, she later lost in the semis.)

sunny day at the AO - happy group!

The next day, we played golf at the famous Royal Melbourne course, thanks to another Bud connection. While Steven, Bud, and Elaine played with Will (Christo's college roommate), Larry, Karen and I had a really fun time with Huey, another friend of Will's. He was a great guide on the course and also knew quite a bit about the interesting birds of Australia.

Back to the tennis, we were confident we'd watch Alcaraz beat Zverev on his way to the finals. Sadly, it did not work out for Carlos this time. Karen needed some therapy after the match - but luckily Zverev was defeated in the semis by Medvedev.

Between match days, we wandered the beautiful city of Melbourne from the Crown Casino to Flinders Station and Queen Victoria Market - a giant craft fair with loads of Australia souvenirs and interesting food trucks. Our fave - the massive paella pans that took two hands to stir. Too bad we weren't hungry!

Another fun activity was catching up with friends. My dear friend Dianne, whom I met through our mutual love for Twilight, joined us for a very late dinner after the Alcaraz match. We had a blast catching up. The next day, thanks to my posting on FB, we were able to meet up with Keith Weisberg, one of Jeffrey's close friends, and shared some over-sweet espresso martinis with Keith and his lovely girlfriend Erica. Little did we know we'd see them at the last two matches and be seated right behind them!

My personal favorite outing was to the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) International Museum, which hosted a very cool triennial exhibit with loads of modern works. We enjoyed reading the "Confessions" - four collections of giant post-it-note "confessions" mounted on each of the gallery's walls. There was also a tennis ball exchange, where you could leave your own "work of art" on one of the many shelves. I was delighted to accidentally wander into a gallery that told the story of Adam & Eve in paintings and text all around the room, starting with Creation and ending with the expulsion of the first couple from the Garden of Eden. The writer's mind never sleeps!

We were very sad to say goodbye to Karen and Steve on Saturday morning, but they have places to be and people to see... so we officially became the Schultzeboombergs, aka the Belaneybergs😆. We ventured across the Yarra for breakfast. Afterwards, we decided to try the scooters (I decided not to) and I caught Bud on video spinning around the little square in front of our condo. Elaine and I met the boys at the massive Queen Victoria Market where we quickly wore them out with our shopping.

That night, we FINALLY got to the rib restaurant we'd been drooling over all week, and the beef ribs did not disappoint! After dinner, we wandered to the women's singles final and watched a true champion in Aryna Sabalenka. Qinwen Zhen put out a great effort - and her fans could not have been more supportive - but Sabalenka was simply unbeatable.

One last breakfast with Bud and Elaine at the Hardware Societe, which is a lovely spot if you want everything AS IS (because French) - and also if you don't accidentally pour salt into your flat white.😕 We had to say goodbye to Bud and Elaine - and then there were TWO (sorta). We'd been spied the night before at tennis by our Boston friends Phil and Carolyn Perlmutter, and we made a plan to have dinner together before the last match.

Larry and I shmied around and checked out the casino. They have some weird blackjack-plus games we could not understand, so we kept our money in our wallets. We had a great pasta-ful dinner with Phil and Carolyn and walked over to tennis together. Medvedev had us all on the rails with the first two sets going 6-3, 6-3, but Sinner really came on in the third set (I believe I saw his coach say "Calm down," which seems to have done the trick, but don't try that one on me!) What an exciting match - and a great new Grand Slam champion. Congrats, Jannik!

Larry and I packed up and headed off to LA to visit Lindsay and Slim, officially concluding the reunion trip of the Sisselbergs to Australia.

Thank you for sharing our journey with us!

full moon over Melbourne

great seeing Keith and meeting Erica

We chose our friends wisely - the restaurant, eh.

part of the "Confessions" exhibit at the
NGV International Triennial Exhibit

Adam and Eve eating
something naughty

Huey showing us around

Will hosting Bud, Elaine,
and Steve at Royal Melbourne

Sinner too tired to hold trophy

Karen and Steve grab a courtside selfie

paella!

Royal Melbourne

Rod Laver Arena

wannabe umpire

Day 16 - 19 - Barnbougle

Jan 19th - 22nd  Day 16 - 19

Barnbougle
(Karen)

We finally made it to Barnbougle. Lesson #1: world famous golf does NOT mean accommodations or amenities are also world class. Upon arrival, we checked in at the golf shop and were told to drive to our rooms. We immediately missed the "white glove" treatment from Saffire. Our rooms were "basic" at best -- they did not even come with a dresser nor a closet. We were no longer "posh!" 😱 The exciting part of this trip is that our great friends Elaine Cosseboom and Bud Schultz are now part of our Sisselberg group. (And we are officially the Schultzeboomsisselbergs!)

The lack of amenities extended to the golf experience. No golf carts (pushcarts only and they are the basic pushcarts -- no baskets nor water bottle holders). But we were there for golf and the course was beautiful. We had three really fun days of golf.

Day one, we played the Barnbougle Dunes course and it was very windy (approx 25 mph winds). The strong winds made for a very challenging and tiring day (pushing our big carts up the hill into the wind). Day two, we played Barnbougle Dunes again. No wind. The good news re: no wind is that the Wallabies come out to play; they were hopping around the course. The bad news is that the flies also come out. They are not cute nor fun (notice the hood on Beth which she wore to keep the flies away!). 

Day three we played the Lost Farm course and we had caddies. We each had our own caddy since these caddies are retirees and each pushes a cart (my caddy had an electric cart and Elaine's caddy couldn't hear!). We also had a "caddy in training," who was a buddy of Beth's caddy and he just walked along with us. They may not have been the best "instructional" caddies but they were fun to chat up and they were full stories.

The best part of our last day of golf is that we played a match: girls and against the guys best ball. To be far, the guys didn't have a shot at winning since we (especially me) got so many strokes (Bud is a scratch golfer!). The stakes were a gourmet, five course, home cooked meal. I can't wait to see Larry in an apron!

We all agreed that despite our first impressions Barnbougle was a great destination and a perfect addition to our Tassie experience.

On Monday, we set off two hours early for our ride to the Launceston Airport. The plan was to stop at a Lavender Farm, which was highly recommended by our caddy. A mile down the road, we stopped to fill our rental car with gas. This small stop turned into an unexpected -- and unwelcome-- adventure. After filling the tank with unleaded petrol, Steven learned that our car takes diesel! In Steven's defense, our previous rental car also took diesel and there was a big red sign next to the tank and our rental contract stated this vital information. Anyone familiar with diesel knows that you can not drive with petrol -- it will destroy the engine. Luckily, the gas station had an adjacent auto shop. After some convincing (and a flash of some Aussie bills), we convinced Ivan to juggle his schedule and spend the next hour draining the gas so that we could add diesel and be on our way. We missed the Lavender Farm, but most importantly made it to Launceston in time for our flight.

We are now at our final destination: Melbourne.

Our hero, Ivan, snacking while filling
empty jugs with our petrol-diesel combo

We missed the lavender farm but
found this display at the airport

The sky was on fire with this gorgeous sunset
over Tassy's north coast

Karen tackles the elements

The boys

Larry's pic of Steve's pic of ladies on 18th green

Day 15 - Travel Day: Freycinet to Barnbougle

Jan 18th  Day 15

Travel Day: Freycinet to Barnbougle
(Beth)

With heavy hearts and fuller tummies, we said goodbye to the amazing Saffire staff and set off toward Barnbougle, located on the north coast of Tassy. Choosing our route was easy - we unanimously picked the scenic route along the eastern coastline toward the Bay of Fire (so named for the orange rocks). 

Of the many km of trails in the Bay of Fire region, we chose a hike to Hall's Falls and enjoyed the lush greenery providing much-appreciated shade.

We drove through miles and miles of gorgeous farmland, making friends with some giant cows along the way . . . until they became a little too interested in us and Larry's mooing. 😲

Our collective GPS guidance had us gambling on a remote dirt road for the final stretch of the drive. For over an hour, we drove without seeing a single car on the road! Just when we were beginning to worry we'd have to turn around and retrace our tracks, we reached the intersection we were hoping for!

beautiful farmland dotted with sheep and cattle

dirt road roller coaster -
both physically and emotionally

Day 13 - 14 Freycinet Saffire

 Jan 16 - 17th  Day 13 - 14

Saffire Freycinet
(Beth)

The Saffire Lodge in Freycinet National Park, shaped like a stingray with a gracefully sloped roof, is a stunning combination of hospitality and nature. As we walked into the main lodge building, we were treated to our first view of the Hazards mountain range and the gorgeous Coles Bay, with "Penguin Island" at its center. (We couldn't recall the real name of this privately owned island reputed to have a 10-BR AirBNB home and a penguin rookery that gets very loud around 2 am every day.) 

Warm welcome written right into the sand!

We were spoiled rotten by the amazing staff who fed us way too well, skillfully guided us along the terrain, educated us about the flora and fauna, and went out of their way to find us our first wallaby!

Our first adventure was a trip to the Marine Oyster Farm down the road. We donned our posh waders and strolled out into the bay.

Here's our adorable guide-slash-shucker Eli, who taught us how the oysters are nurtured from baby spawn to the delicious silky-topped oysters we enjoyed throughout Tasmania. He also told us how he wooed his girlfriend with his picnic skills. Eli's a keeper.

Rob filling barrels with newest batch.
Steve inspecting his work.

Later that day, we returned to Bicheno Bay (see Karen's previous post about our trip from Hobart) for a tour of the Waubs Harbour Whiskey Distillery. Tom walked us through the process from barley to fermented barley water to moonshine (!) to the delicious whiskeys we tasted at the end. We had the chance to talk with Rob, the visionary behind the whole enterprise. Then we cleaned up at the hotel and ate our 5th meal of the day!

The wind and threat of rain didn't slow us down as we set off with our guide Chris for our hike of Wineglass Bay, arguably Freycinet's most picturesque vista. Chris regaled us with some of his crazy trekking and tracking adventures, including a year spent with Tibetan monks to follow a beautiful snow leopard (now tattooed on Chris's forearm. Of all the experiences Chris shared, I think it's fair to say we were all most amazed that he could've been silent for 10 days at the monastery. 😄 With a dramatic flair, he delivered us to the lookout spot and took some stunning footage even though the sky was misty.

Back at "base camp," we learned all about the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary overseen by Saffire's devil expert, Nicole. (Devils are prone to a lethal face cancer, and by separating out the unafflicted,  they are helping to save the population from extinction.) While we had previously felt sorry for "poor Melvyn" because his back was all scratched up and hairless, we found out that male Tasmanian Devils have a nasty habit of trapping the female in the burrow where they've just done the deed by sitting on the opening. The female will then scratch at his bottom until he finally moves and lets her out. We were not a fan of the male devil after learning of this egregious behavior. I was not a fan of either gender after watching them tear apart a (pre-killed) wallaby with their nasty teeth and screechy screeches. I was grateful for the thick glass viewing area at one end of the sanctuary's enclosure!

We were very sad to leave our cozy home at Saffire, but it was time to move on to Barnbougle!

Karen & Steve pose at Wineglass Bay
(Whitish saucer of the goblet just behind K, stem runs
along back side of the mountain to S's left)

Waub's unique maritime location allows
the sea-air to influence its flavors

Sadly the cost of exporting prohibits
Waub from sharing these with the US

Our highly memorable guide Chris

A stunning rainbow after a misty day

The Sisselbergs between our guest units

Day 12 Travel Day: The Great Eastern Drive

 Jan 15th  Day 12

Travel Day: Hobart to Freycinet National Park
(Karen)

Today was a travel day - final destination Saffire Freycinet and we had all day to get there. So our first detour was Richmond (not Virginia), a very small town just northeast of Hobart. There are many wineries in Richmond. We stopped at Frogmore Creek since we had previously enjoyed a Frogmore Riesling.

After a quick wine tasting, we headed out on Tasman Highway (East Coast Highway) for approximately an hour and a half.  We drove along winding roads, through farms and A-LOT of sheep.  We were on the lookout for Wallabies but only saw "Wasas" ( as in "was a Wallaby") on the side of the road.

Gorgeous but scary drive

Devil's Corner was our lunchtime stop. Beautiful views and surprisingly good seafood (oysters and prawns). As we approached Freycinet, we made one final stop - Bicheno ("BEE-shin-oh"), a small beachside town. We walked along the rocks to the "Blow hole," water that shoots up from the rocks.   

 

 We arrived at Freycinet ready for our next adventure.