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The 26th of January is Australia Day and for non-locals, it is when the British first declared a settlement in Botany Bay in Sydney. Today it is celebrated as a bank holiday across Australia, with parties, fireworks and public shows all over. It is a good day to be in Australia!
I woke up and contacted Phil and Cassie who I was going to spend the day with to make arrangements. I quickly headed back down to Frankston on the train, and they collected me at the station. We set off on the main highway towards Melbourne, heading right round Port Phillip Bay to Torquay, the location of an annual world record attempt for the most "Thongs" floating on the sea.
For those of you reading this and thing, err, what the hell...Thong is probably not what you think it is over here. A thong is basically just a sandal / flip - flop. See http://www.havaianasthongchallenge.com.au/ for more information.
As we headed up the FreeWay, we all suddenly realised it was lunch time, and we were rather peckish. Phil drove us in to a Pancake Parlour - the same place (but a different location) as where I had the free pancakes 2 weeks ago. We quickly fed up - with me try a savoury pancake with bacon and eggs (called Canadian Pancakes - nom!) - and set back upon our way round the bay.
Passing Melbourne City, and emerging through the other side you come across some very dry land, and it really becomes apparent why bush fires are a real and ever present danger. The land is devoid of water, but with plenty of dry tinder just ready to burn. Phil is a volunteer firefighter, serving with Carrum Downs CFA. He carries a pager and radio in his car, and can be called at any time to firefight. This would have interesting results later in the day...
We arrived in Torquay and headed straight to the beach, being 3pm by the time we arrived. Unfortunately we missed the world record attempt, and have no idea if it even succeeded. That said, the beach was packed full of people, and we set off for a walk down the beach. This was the first time I have actually stood on Australian sand, and I have to say, with the warm wind blowing it felt fantastic.
After spending a few hours at Torquay beach, we headed back round to the bay, in order to go see an Australia Day fireworks display in Mornington. The display was not till 9:30pm though, so we had a lot of time to get back across the bay and drive down. We headed through Geelong, a predominantly industrial town where all the offshore gas and oil is sent to before being distributed through Victoria.
An hour and a half later we were passing through Carrum again heading south to Mornington when Philip noticed smoke rising from a fire he had faught only the previous day. He sprang into action, turning the car around and heading toward the source of the smoke. We got out the car and he went up and inspected the fire, only to return and confirm a tree and some dry bush very close to a building had caught fire, and needed to be dealt with immediately.
He called the local brigade, and together I watched phil and his team fight the fire for around 30 minutes before he returned and confirmed the fire was under control and we could head off. I find it truely remarkable so many people are prepared to give up their free time to do this sort of thing every day, with absolutely no reward (save a certificate) from the government. I understand that the fire service cannot be fully funded, however what is the harm in providing tax breaks or other incentives to those in the fire service?.
Phil soon switched back out of his fire fighting gear and we carried on down Port Phillip bay to Mornington, arriving half an hour before the fireworks were due to start. The streets were closed, with people partying and a sea of Australian flags all down the main street. The main parkland in the town had been converted to a live music concert with stalls around the outside to buy food and nic-nacks.
At 9:30 we headed down to the beach to take a front row seat to the fireworks that were to be set off from a barge just inside the bay. The beach filled up fast, as did the marina, with many boats sailing in just to watch the action. The fireworks were truely fantastic, and there is a small video I have taken to show the start of them.
At 11:30 we headed back for me to catch the last train home, and after a long day travelling, I crashed out pretty quickly as I went to bed back in my South Yarra Guest House.
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